News desk :
Over two million pilgrims from all corners of the globe have arrived in Mecca yesterday to join the hajj rituals.
The religious gathering, one of the largest in the world, takes place at Mecca’s Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia from yesterday until Monday.
During that time, pilgrims of all ages and social status will come together as one community to pray and complete rituals as part of the fifth pillar of Islam.
Every adult Muslim is required to complete the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime as long as they are physically and financially capable of making the expensive and difficult journey.
Each year, Muslim faithful from about 180 countries converge on the Islamic city of Mecca and other locations in western Saudi Arabia to complete the holy journey.
The week of Hajj occurs during the last month of the Islamic calendar and requires pilgrims to perform ten services or rituals before and during Hajj.
The first begins around six miles from Mecca when pilgrims enter a state of holiness known as Ihram in the days before the start of the pilgrimage.
Men are required to wear two white seamless cloths with no knots and footwear must show the ankle and back of the foot.
Pilgrims from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have been banned from taking part in the Hajj this year to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus entering Saudi Arabia.
However, Nigeria, where Ebola has killed eight people, was granted permission to send pilgrims to the world’s largest gathering of Muslims.
In the second phase, known as Tawaf, when the faithful reach the Grand Mosque, they walk counter-clockwise seven times around the cube-shaped Kaaba -built by Abraham 4,000 years ago.
It is this building that, wherever you are in the world, Muslims are expected to face when praying – it is the most sacred location in Islam.
Each circuit starts by kissing the Black Stone, called Hajar al-Aswad. Alternatively, pilgrims can point to it if prevented by the crowds.
After the circuits, pilgrims pray before drinking water from the Zamzam well, which is dispensed in coolers around the mosque. The third rite, known as Sa’ay, requires walking or running seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah, which are now enclosed by the Grand Mosque.
Afterwards, the men shave their heads and women cut off part of their hair to end the restriction of Ihram.
On the first day of Hajj, Muslims proceed to Mina for prayers then head to Mount Arafat, around 20km east of Mecca, the following day to repent their sins.
The sixth requirement sees the pilgrims arrive back at Mina to perform a symbolic stoning of the devil.
They do this by throwing seven stones at the largest of three pillars, which for safety reasons have now been replaced by walls with areas to catch the projectiles.
After this, animals are slaughtered to mark the sacrifice of Abraham and Ishmael.
In the eighth rite, the pilgrims return to the Grand Mosque for another Tawaf. Then, on the fourth day of Hajj, they head back to Mina to ‘stone the devil’ again and repeat this ritual the following day. For the final rite, the pilgrims return to the Grand Mosque for a farewell Tawaf.
Hajj, the fifth of the pillars of Islam, coincides with the Eid al-Adha festival, known as the Feast of the Sacrifice and is meant to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.
