Mecca: Pilgrims were performing the last major ritual of the hajj — the “stoning of the devil” — on Friday, as Muslims around the globe celebrated the beginning of the Eid al-Adha holiday. Starting before daybreak, more than 1.6 million Muslims participating in the pilgrimage threw seven stones at each of three concrete walls symbolizing the devil in the Mina valley, on the outskirts of Mecca.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, droves of pilgrims had already set out from their camps and accommodations in the sprawling tent city in Mina before dawn, taking advantage of the shade and cooler temperatures. The ritual commemorates Abraham’s stoning of the devil at the three spots where it is believed Satan tried to dissuade him from obeying God’s order to sacrifice his son.
Wael Ahmed Abdel Kader, a 34-year-old pilgrim from Egypt, expressed satisfaction with the process, stating, “Our experience in Mina was easy and simple. We entered and within five minutes we had completed the stoning of the devil at the ‘Jamarat’.” Howakita, a pilgrim from Guinea, shared her joy about celebrating Eid in Mecca, saying, “When I threw the stones I felt at ease. I was truly proud.”
A day earlier, pilgrims had converged on Mount Arafat, engaging in prayers and reciting Koranic verses at the 70-meter rocky rise near Mecca, where Prophet Mohammed is believed to have delivered his last sermon. Many climbed the mount despite the heat, although numbers thinned by midday following official warnings for pilgrims to stay inside between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm.
This year’s hajj saw a range of heat mitigation efforts implemented alongside a crackdown on illicit pilgrims, resulting in noticeably thinner crowds and a significant security presence at holy sites in Mecca and surrounding areas. These measures aimed to prevent a repeat of last year’s fatal incident that saw 1,301 people die in extreme temperatures.
Saudi authorities reported that most of those deaths were among pilgrims who illegally entered Mecca and lacked access to services designed to keep them safe from the desert heat. This season recorded the lowest number of pilgrims in over three decades, excluding the years of Covid restrictions from 2020-2022. Last year, 1.8 million Muslims participated in the hajj, according to official figures.
Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota basis and distributed through a lottery system. Despite this, high costs prompt many to attempt the hajj without a permit, risking arrest and deportation if caught. The stoning ritual in the Mina valley was previously the scene of a fatal stampede in 2015, which resulted in 2,300 deaths, marking one of the deadliest hajj disasters.
Saudi Arabia earns substantial revenue from the hajj and the lesser pilgrimage known as umrah, undertaken at other times of the year. The pilgrimages also hold significant prestige for the Saudi monarch, known as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of Mecca and Medina. The end of the hajj coincides with Eid al-Adha, an annual holiday marked by the slaughter of an animal, typically a goat, sheep, cow, bull, or camel.