SAUDI ARABIA: Muslims undertaking the Haj pilgrimage arrive and pray in the holy city of Mecca

Record ID: 188824

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Muslims undertaking the Haj pilgrimage arrive and pray in the holy city of Mecca
  • Date: 29th October 2011
  • Summary: MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA (OCTOBER 28, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS WALKING TO THE GRAND MOSQUE IN MECCA FOR FRIDAY PRAYERS VARIOUS OF PILGRIM SITTING IN STATION READING THE KORAN PILGRIMS WALKING TO THE GRAND MOSQUE GRAND MOSQUE VOICE CALLING MUSLIMS TO PRAYER VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS READY FOR FRIDAY PRAYERS PILGRIMS AROUND KAABA VARIOUS OF PRAYERS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE GRAND MOSQUE VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS PRAYING PILGRIMS LEAVING THE GRAND MOSQUE
  • Embargoed: 13th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA20OFZLM0J07A2VECTF15W0PH1
  • Story Text: Muslim pilgrims from all over the world arrived for prayers on Friday (October 28) in the first Friday of the month in the Al Hija (Islamic calendar) at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
    Pilgrims flocked to the Mosque, the most holy site in the Muslim world, to mark the first day of the haj, which one of the five basic obligations of a Muslim, along with a short creed, prayer, giving alms, and fasting during the month of Ramadan.
    Every Muslim who has the means should perform the pilgrimage at least once in his lifetime.
    Hundreds of thousands of Muslims lined the areas around the Mosque, praying towards the Kabaa, the ancient cubic shrine which all Muslims face when they perform their daily prayers, located at the centre of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
    The haj is older than Islam and took place annually during the childhood of the Prophet Mohammad when he grew up in Mecca in the late 6th century. Muslims trace its origins to an ancient monotheistic cult associated with the prophet Ibrahim, known to Jews and Christians as the patriarch Abraham.
    The pilgrimage itself takes at least six days, starting on the 8th day of the lunar month of Dhul Hijja, which falls this year on Monday. But most pilgrims come earlier and first perform the rites of the umra, or lesser pilgrimage, which are confined to central Mecca.
    The haj itinerary takes pilgrims out of Mecca to the plain of Arafat about 10 miles to the east, where they spend the afternoon of the second day. They then return to Mecca in stages, stopping on the way to throw pebbles at a wall, representing defiance of the devil. In Mecca they repeat the rites of the umra, including the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the cube-shaped stone shrine at the centre of the Grand Mosque.
    Typically around two million people undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca every year.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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