Muslims embark on Hajj amid scorching heat and regional tensions
The annual Hajj pilgrimage, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, officially began Monday.
More than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from outside the country, Saleh bin Saad Al-Murabba, commander of the Hajj passport forces, said Friday.
The faithful have been pouring into the country for the Hajj against the backdrop of a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war and related regional tensions and uncertainty.
Egyptian pilgrim Samya Abdul Moneim said she was grateful to God that she made it to the Hajj, which is required once in a lifetime of every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to make it.
“I am in a state of blessing and happiness,” she said in Mecca on Sunday. “It’s an indescribable feeling, truly. I mean, thank God, I am in a blessing.”
Typically on the first day, many pilgrims in Mecca converge on a vast tent camp in the nearby desert.
Ahead of that, pilgrims have been circling the cube-shaped Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in sweltering temperatures.
For pilgrims, Hajj can be a deeply moving spiritual experience and a chance to seek God’s forgiveness and the erasure of past sins. Pilgrims perform the Hajj rituals over several days.
Pilgrims brave intense heat
Some spend many years hoping and praying to one day perform the Hajj or saving up money and waiting for a permit to embark on the trip.
As they brave the intense heat to perform religious rituals, many pilgrims have been using umbrellas for shade and carrying handheld fans.
Volunteers hand out water bottles to help them stay hydrated and large fans spray fine mists of water.
On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal with Iran on the war, including opening the Strait of Hormuz, has been “largely negotiated” after calls with Israel and other allies in the region.
He described it as a “Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE” that still must be finalized by the United States, Iran and the other countries that participated in the calls.
That capped a week in which the U.S. weighed a new round of attacks on Iran.
