Pilgrims triumph over heat as Hajj 2024 nears conclusion

Muslim pilgrims used the early morning hours of Monday to perform the second day of the symbolic stoning of the devil, hoping to escape the noontime summer heat that caused heatstroke among thousands wrapping up the Hajj pilgrimage.

The final days of the Hajj coincide with faithful around the world celebrating the Eid al-Adha holiday.

The stoning of the pillars representing the devil takes place in Mina, just outside the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. A third stoning is scheduled for Tuesday, before the Farewell Tawaf, or circling the cube-shaped the Holy Kaaba in Mecca, towards which Muslims face from all over the world for prayer.

The rites have taken place under the soaring summer heat, which at 2 p.m. reached 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) in Mecca and the sacred sites in and around the city, according to the Saudi National Centre for Metrology.

"Of course, it is something very hard and tiring. The temperature is abnormal compared to the past years and this affects us a lot,” said Ahmed Al-Baradie, an Egyptian pilgrim, after finishing his second symbolic stoning.

More than 2,760 pilgrims suffered from sunstroke and heat stress on Sunday alone at the start of the first round of stoning, according to the Health Ministry. Jordan announced Sunday that 14 Jordanian pilgrims had died from heatstroke.

Security forces, medics and first responders have been deployed in and around Mina, especially on roads and open areas to direct and help pilgrims. They treated many people for sunburns.

"Impressed by the preparations"

“I am really impressed by the preparations,” Sani Abdullah, a Nigerian, told The Associated Press, adding that he was used to such burning heat in his country. "I have never encountered any problems. Everything is going smoothly."

Later in the day, the sky turned cloudy and it rained, helping taper off the stress of the desert heat.

Mina is where as per tradition Prophet Ibrahim’s (AS) faith was tested when God commanded him to sacrifice his only son Ismail. Ibrahim was prepared to submit to the command, but then God sent down a goat for sacrifice, sparing his son. The Eid al-Adha holiday celebrates Ibrahim's submission to God.

The stoning began Sunday, a day after the pilgrims visited the sacred Mount Arafat where they spent their day in worship and reflection. The ritual in Mount Arafat, known as the hill of mercy, is considered the peak of the Hajj pilgrimage.

The pilgrims collected the pebbles, which they have used in the symbolic stoning of pillars, from Muzdalifa, an area located a few kilometers (miles) away from Mount Arafat.

Largest religious gathering

The Hajj is one of the largest religious gatherings on earth. The rituals officially started Friday when the pilgrims moved from Mecca’s Kaaba to Mina, then to Mount Arafat. They then return to Mina, where they spend up to three days, each casting seven pebbles at three pillars in a ritual to symbolise the casting away of evil and sin.

While in Mina, the pilgrims visit Mecca to perform a “tawaf,” or circumambulation, which is circling the Kaaba counterclockwise seven times. Then another circumambulation, the Farewell Tawaf, will mark the end of the Hajj as pilgrims prepare to leave the holy city.

Once the Hajj is over, men are expected to shave their heads, and women to snip a lock of hair in a sign of renewal.

Most of the pilgrims then leave Mecca for the city of Medina, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) away, to pray in Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) tomb, the Sacred Chamber. The tomb is part of the Prophet’s Mosque, which is one of the three holiest sites in Islam, along with the Holy Kaaba in Mecca and the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

This year’s Hajj came against the backdrop of the devastating Israel-Hamas war, which pushed the Middle East to the brink of a regional conflict.