Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Pilgrims Arrive in Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat for Most Important Hajj Ritual


Fri 08 Jul 2022 | 11:29 AM
Ahmad El-Assasy

Muslim pilgrims started arriving in Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat on Friday to take part in the most significant ceremony of the yearly Hajj pilgrimage. Mount Arafat is a granite hill 20 kilometres from the Kaaba in the Arafat plains.

The second day of Hajj, known as the Day of Arafat, is when pilgrims travel to the mountain where the Prophet Mohammed delivered his final speech and where Adam and Eve first reconnected after being brought to Earth.

Each pilgrim group travels to the Nimra Mosque on the Arafat grounds, where they attend a sermon.

After that, they will travel to Muzdalifah, where they will be handed stones to use in a ritualistic stoning of the demon.

Hajj is regarded as the largest religious gathering in the world, with around 2.5 million pilgrims participating in the ceremony in 2019.

The Kingdom had severely reduced the number of pilgrims permitted to carry out the ceremony, nevertheless, as a result of COVID-19.

One million pilgrims from both inside and outside the nation were permitted to attend this year by the Kingdom.

According to a report by Al Arabiya on Thursday, 93 healthcare facilities across Mecca's holy sites have been fully outfitted by Saudi officials to offer speedy and efficient medical care to pilgrims performing the annual Hajj trip.

The centres, which are open 24/7, comprise general clinics and provide pilgrims with a range of healthcare treatments, including those for inpiduals who have chronic conditions.

53,450 pilgrims benefited from the services offered by Mecca's hospitals and healthcare facilities between June 30 and July 7, according to the health ministry. Arafat where they hear a sermon.

The pilgrims spend the day praying on the mountain after the preaching, where camps have been made there.