Makkah: Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims arrived at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, June 13, to perform Tawaf Al-Qudum (Tawaf of arrival) before heading to Mina to mark the start of the annual pilgrimage of Haj on Friday, June 14.
Pilgrims perform the first tawaf (circumambulation of the Kaaba) after assuming ihram, marking their arrival in Makkah.
The General Presidency for the affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque has made significant preparations and dedicated resources to ensure the safety and smooth execution of holy rituals at the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque.
On Thursday night, pilgrims starts moving to Mina, approximately 5 kilometers from the Grand Mosque, to spend the Day of Tarwiyah in their tents.
The pilgrims would be busy day and night with supplications and prayers in their tents on Friday.
After performing the Fajr prayer on Saturday, June 15, they begin to leave Mina and head to Arafat for the ‘wuqoof Arafat’ ritual, one of the four pillars of Haj, which marks the culmination of the annual pilgrimage.
On Saturday afternoon, pilgrims will make their way to the Namira Mosque to listen to the sermon of Arafat and perform the Zuhr and Asr prayers, both together and short, following the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad.
They will then head to Muzdalifah after sunset, and then return to Mina on the morning of Sunday, 10th Dhul-Hijjah (the day of sacrifice, the first day of Eid Al Adha) to stone Jamrat al-Aqabah and sacrifice, then shave or shorten and their hair to Makkah to perform the tawaf al-ifaadah.
Pilgrims spend in Mina the three days of Tashreeq (11th, 12th and 13th of Zul Hijjah) to stone the three Jamarat, starting with the small, middle and then Jamarat Al-Aqaba (the Great).
