Muslim Pilgrims Pray in Makkah as Hajj Winds Down

Worshippers pray at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (SPA)
Worshippers pray at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (SPA)
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Muslim Pilgrims Pray in Makkah as Hajj Winds Down

Worshippers pray at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (SPA)
Worshippers pray at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (SPA)

Millions of Hajj pilgrims began heading back to Makkah for final prayers on Tuesday as the world's largest annual gathering of Muslims wound down without incident despite the logistical challenges and escalating regional tensions.

Senior officials said there had been no major incidents and the logistical, security and health plans had been successful, even with some heavy rainfall.

Pilgrims participated in a symbolic stoning of the devil, part of the Hajj rituals, in Jamarat before returning to Makkah, where the Grand Mosque filled with worshippers preparing to depart.

Saudi pilgrim Jasem Ali Haqawi said he was grateful to the authorities for a well-run week of rituals.

"Nobody comes to the Hajj without things inside him that he wants to ask from God," he said while preparing to conduct final prayers in Makkah.

"The sick, the indebted ... such things only God can grant and so you ask God for whatever you want,” he added, according to Reuters.

Nearly 2.5 million pilgrims, most of them from abroad, came for the five-day ritual this year. Attendance is a religious duty, once in a lifetime, for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.

More than 120,000 members of the security forces and more than 30,000 health workers were on hand this week to maintain safety and provide first aid.



MWL Welcomes UN Co-Chairs' Statement on Palestinian Question and Two-State Solution

MWL Welcomes UN Co-Chairs' Statement on Palestinian Question and Two-State Solution
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MWL Welcomes UN Co-Chairs' Statement on Palestinian Question and Two-State Solution

MWL Welcomes UN Co-Chairs' Statement on Palestinian Question and Two-State Solution

The Muslim World League (MWL) welcomed the statement issued by the Co-Chairs of the United Nations High-Level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, represented by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the French Republic.
In a statement from the League’s General Secretariat, MWL Secretary-General and Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa reaffirmed the League and the Islamic world’s appreciation for the pivotal and significant momentum generated by the international coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, to implement the two-state solution.

He noted that this conference was one of the important outcomes of these efforts, alongside the coalition’s remarkable diplomatic achievements in a short time, which have pushed the international community toward a legitimate and responsible stance aligned with the legal and human rights of the Palestinian people, SPA reported.

Dr. Al-Issa also expressed regret over the ongoing escalation and recent developments in the region that led to the suspension of this historic conference, which had been widely anticipated as a step toward a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian question, the implementation of the two-state solution, and an end to the prolonged suffering of the Palestinian people and the humanitarian tragedy facing civilians in Gaza.

He praised the statement’s reaffirmation of unwavering support for all efforts aimed at ending the war in Gaza and achieving a just and sustainable resolution to the Palestinian question through the implementation of the two-state solution.