Nearly one million Muslims ascend Mt. Arafat near holy city of Mecca

Around one million Muslims from around the world have begun ascending the Mt. Arafat near Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca as part of the largest Hajj pilgrimage since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Pilgrims on Friday morning flocked to Arafat after spending a night of meditation and introspection in the tent city of Mina, which marked the first leg of their five-day Hajj. It was on Mt. Arafat that Prophet Muhammad delivered his last sermon. It is located some 22 kilometers (14 miles) from Mecca and 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Mina. The pilgrims would spend the entire day on the Arafat plateau while praying continuously and asking Allah for forgiveness and mercy. They then would descend back to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and Mina. They would go back to Mina, where they will take part in the symbolic stoning of the devil. The ritual is a recreation of Prophet Abraham's stoning of the devil at the three places where the latter is said to have tried to dissuade Abraham from obeying God's order to sacrifice his son, Ismael, according to Islamic traditions. After the stoning ritual, pilgrims will sacrifice animals to mark the beginning of the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday on Saturday. The Hajj pilgrimage is the 'fifth pillar' of the Islamic faith, a ritual that must be performed by all Muslims if financially viable, at least once in their lives. Saudi authorities had announced that around one million Muslims will perform Hajj this year, including some 850,000 coming from abroad. Saudi Arabia held downsized Hajj in the last two years due to COVID-19 restrictions.