SAUDI ARABIA: Hundreds of thousands of Muslims flock to Mount Arafat to mark the Day of Arafat during the Haj pilgrimage

Record ID: 189249

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Hundreds of thousands of Muslims flock to Mount Arafat to mark the Day of Arafat during the Haj pilgrimage
  • Date: 14th October 2013
  • Summary: ARAFAT, EAST OF MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA, (OCTOBER 14, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS, DRESSED IN WHITE, WALKING TOWARDS MOUNT ARAFAT PILGRIMS ON MOUNT ARAFAT / MILITARY PRESENCE AT FOOT OF MOUNTAIN VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS PRAYING, READING KORAN ON MOUNT ARAFAT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EGYPTIAN PILGRIM, AHMED, SAYING: "May he protect Egypt from all sedition and grant her victory; make Egypt victorious and Muhammed's people too and may God enable all who have Egypt's best interest at heart." PILGRIMS PRAYING VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS WALKING TO MOUNT ARAFAT / LINE OF SECURITY MARKING PATHWAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN PILGRIM, MOHAMMED BAKR, SAYING: "God willing, all Syria's children can celebrate their Eid." VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS PRAYING ON MOUNT ARAFAT
  • Embargoed: 29th October 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAEQFYJT9E8HPD2QUN24ETLUG7S
  • Story Text: Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims poured onto the plain of Arafat, east of Mecca on Monday (October 14) to mark the Day of Arafat during the Islamic pilgrimage of Haj.
    The Day of Arafat, considered the most important day during the Muslim pilgrimage of Haj, sees pilgrims making their way to the site of Mount Arafat to spend much of the day in prayer. It is also the site where Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad delivered his last sermon to believers.
    Pilgrims are seen clothed in white, standing and sitting on Mount Arafat, joined in prayer.
    Egyptian pilgrim Ahmed told Reuters Television that his prayers are focused on Egypt this year.
    "May he protect Egypt from all sedition and grant her victory; make Egypt victorious and Muhammed's people too and may God enable all who have Egypt's best interest at heart," he said.
    For Syrian pilgrim Mohammed Bakr, his prayers were with the children of Syria.
    "God willing, all Syria's children can celebrate their Eid," he said.
    As one of Islam's five pillars, the Haj is an obligation for all Muslims who are physically and financially able to carry it out.
    Among the rites they must perform during the three-day pilgrimage, pilgrims must walk seven times around the Kaaba, the cube-shaped building at the centre of the Grand Mosque, pray at nearby Mount Arafat and ritually stone the devil by hurling pebbles at three walls.
    The annual Haj begins in the 12th month of the Islamic year, which is lunar, not solar.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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