The Hajj pilgrims ascended Mount Arafat on Monday, the holiest days of their journey.
The pilgrims had arrived at Mina on Saturday where they spent the night ahead of heading to Arafat for the most important part of the Hajj.
Just 60,000 people, all citizens or residents of Saudi Arabia, have been selected to take part in this year’s Hajj, with foreign pilgrims again barred due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Being one of the lucky few “gives you a feeling that our God is forgiving and has chosen us to be in this place,” said Selma Mohamed Hegazi, a 45-year-old Egyptian.
“God willing, our prayers will be accepted,” she told AFP as she stood among the other emotional pilgrims, wearing the ihram, the traditional seamless white garment worn during the Hajj.
Dr. Bandar Balila, the imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque and a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, delivered the noon prayer sermon, which was simultaneously translated into ten languages for the benefit of the multi-national pilgrims.
After the prayer, the worshippers, carrying water bottles and umbrellas, made their way up the 70-meter (230-foot) high hill for hours of prayers and Quran recitals to atone for their sins.
Dr. Bandar praised the Saudi government’s measures which he said had prevented the Hajj from being “a site for the spread of disease and a focus of the epidemic”.
Authorities were intent on staging the ritual “in a healthy manner that meets the requirements of disease prevention and social distancing,” he said in the sermon.
Worshippers described a sense of tranquility descending on the mountain, also known as the “Mount of Mercy”.
“To be one of only 60,000 doing Hajj... I feel like I am part of a (privileged) group that was able to reach this place,” said Baref Siraj, a 58-year-old Saudi national.
Security forces and service personnel have been deployed heavily throughout the holy sites to ensure that the pilgrims perform their rituals safely and within the necessary health regulations given the pandemic.
At the end of their day in Arafat, the pilgrims will spend the night in Muzdalifah ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday that begins on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, they will gather stones for the symbolic stoning of the Devil at al-Aqaba.
Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Mohammed Abdelali said no coronavirus cases have been reported among the pilgrims so far.
He added that health authorities are closely monitoring the pilgrims and implementing the necessary measures to ensure their safety.
