MINA: Pilgrims on Sunday performed the last major ritual of Haj, the “stoning of the devil”, in western Saudi Arabia as Muslims in several countries celebrated Eidul Azha.

Beginning at dawn, the 1.8 million Muslims undertaking the pilgrimage this year threw seven stones at each of three concrete walls symbolising the devil in the Mina valley, located outside Makkah.

Multiple stampedes have occurred in Mina over the years, most recently in 2015 when up to 2,300 worshippers were killed in the worst Haj disaster.

The site has been revamped since then to streamline the movement of the large crowds.

Roads leading to the concrete walls were nevertheless packed on Sunday, with some pilgrims struggling under the morning sun.

At least two pilgrims were seen lying on the side of the road, sheltered by buildings and cars.

“It’s very difficult, we can’t find transport. I can’t get up anymore,” said Ahmed Alsayed Omran, a 70-year-old Egyptian retiree sitting on the sidewalk.

Temperatures soared well above 40 degrees Celsius on several days and on Saturday hit 46 degrees Celsius on Mount Arafat, where pilgrims performed hours of outdoor prayers.

During last year’s Haj at least 240 people — many from Indonesia — died, according to figures announced by various countries which also did not specify causes of death.

There were also more than 10,000 cases of heat-related illnesses, 10 per cent of which were heat stroke, a health ministry spokesman said.

‘Very, very hot’

Worshippers did their best to take the taxing conditions in stride, seizing what for many was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pray at Islam’s holiest shrines.

“It’s physically gruelling, but it’s very spiritually charged. For me, I was sort of in awe at all times,” said 49-year-old Canadian Neron Khan.

For part of the pilgrimage, “I was in some sort of heat exhaustion situation,” she added.

“But I had to keep going because we were surrounded by everybody. And you just had to push through.”

One treatment centre near Mount Arafat recorded 225 cases of heat stress and fatigue so far, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

“It was very, very hot,” Rohy Daiseca, a 60-year-old Gambian living in the United States, told AFP on Saturday night as pilgrims collected stones to throw.

“Alhamdulillah, I put a lot of water on my head and it was OK.” Amal Mahrouss, a 55-year-old woman from Egypt, said she was happy beyond words and Haj showed “that we are all equal, that there are no differences between Muslims around the world”. This year’s figure of 1.8 million pilgrims is similar to last year’s, and Saudi authorities said on Saturday that 1.6 million of them came from abroad.

These included 17,500 Syrians, according to Badreddine Mansour, director of a Saudi agency specialising in pilgrimages.

For Syrians living in government-controlled areas, Haj has long been out of reach but the reintegration of President Bashar al-Assad’s government into the Arab fold last year has enabled direct flights to the pilgrimage. For Ghada Rifai, 60, a retired teacher from Damascus, this meant “a dream come true.”

Feast of the sacrifice

Sunday’s stoning ritual coincided with Eidul Azha, or the feast of the sacrifice.

Worshippers typically slaughter a sheep and offer part of the meat to the needy.

The festivities were clouded by the Israeli brutalities in the Gaza Strip.

“We don’t feel the Eid holiday because our brothers in Gaza are oppressed under the (Israeli) occupation,” said Najem Nawwar, a 43-year-old Egyptian pilgrim.

King Salman invited 2,000 Palestinians to Haj at his own expense, including relatives of Gazans who have sought refuge elsewhere.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2024