Haj pilgrims ‘stone the devil’ as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha
MINA, Saudi Arabia - Pilgrims performed on June 16 the last major ritual of the haj, the “stoning of the devil”, in western Saudi Arabia, as Muslims the world over celebrated the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Beginning at dawn, the 1.8 million Muslims undertaking the pilgrimage in 2024 threw seven stones at each of three concrete walls symbolising the devil in the Mina valley, located outside Mecca, the holiest city in Islam.
The ritual commemorates Abraham’s stoning of the devil at the three spots where it is said Satan tried to dissuade him from obeying God’s order to sacrifice his son.
The stoning ritual has been witness to multiple stampedes over the years, most recently in 2015 when up to 2,300 worshippers were killed in the worst haj disaster.
The site has been revamped since then to streamline the movement of the large crowds.
Roads leading to the concrete walls were nevertheless packed early on June 16, with some pilgrims visibly struggling under the morning sun.
Some sat on the side of the road to rest and drink water, while others stretched out on the ground, apparently exhausted.
On June 15, temperatures reached 46 deg C in Arafat, where pilgrims performed hours of outdoor prayers.
One treatment centre in the area recorded 225 cases of heat stress and fatigue, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
That figure was not comprehensive.
In 2023, more than 10,000 cases of heat-related illnesses were documented during the haj, 10 per cent of which were heat stroke, a health ministry spokesman told AFP.
Mr Rohy Daiseca, a 60-year-old Gambian living in the US, told AFP on the night of June 15 as pilgrims collected stones to throw: “It was very, very hot. Alhamdulillah (thank God), I put a lot of water on my head, and it was okay.”
Worshippers have tried to take the gruelling conditions in stride, seizing what for many is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pray at Islam’s holiest shrines.
“I am so happy that I can’t describe my feelings,” said Ms Amal Mahrouss, a 55-year-old woman from Egypt. “This place shows us that we are all equal, that there are no differences between Muslims around the world.”
One of the five pillars of Islam, the haj must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means.
This year’s figure of 1.8 million pilgrims is similar to 2023’s, and the Saudi authorities said on June 15 that 1.6 million of them came from abroad.
Feast of the sacrifice
The stoning ritual coincides with the feast of the sacrifice, or Eid al-Adha, which honours Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son before God offered a sheep instead.
Worshippers typically slaughter a sheep and offer part of the meat to the needy.
This year’s haj and Eid al-Adha holiday have been clouded by the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“We don’t feel the Eid holiday because our brothers in Gaza are oppressed under the (Israeli) occupation,” said Mr Najem Nawwar, a 43-year-old Egyptian pilgrim.
King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud invited 2,000 Palestinians to the haj at his own expense, half of whom are family members of victims in Gaza who have sought refuge elsewhere.
But the Saudi authorities have warned no political slogans would be tolerated during the pilgrimage.
That has not stopped many worshippers from voicing solidarity with Palestinians.
“We pray for them… and for the liberation of Palestine, so that we have two holidays instead of one,” said Mr Wadih Ali Khalifah, a 32-year-old Saudi pilgrim.
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a message to haj pilgrims on June 15, said that “the ironclad resistance of Palestine and the patient, oppressed people of Gaza… must be fully supported in every way”. AFP