Published by Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Millions of Muslim pilgrims have completed the final major ritual of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, casting stones at concrete pillars symbolising the devil in the valley of Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, as the world's largest annual gathering of its kind enters its climactic phase. The ritual of "stoning the devil" began at dawn on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, with crowds of pilgrims throwing pebbles at three pillars representing Satan, re-enacting the tradition of Prophet Abraham who is said to have cast stones at the devil at the very spots where Satan attempted to dissuade him from obeying God’s command to sacrifice his son Ishmael. This year's Hajj, which involves a series of outdoor rituals spread over several days, is being conducted under intense heat, with pilgrims enduring temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius during their prayers atop Mount Arafat on Tuesday, the day before the stoning ritual, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have delivered his final sermon. After the stoning, pilgrims will return to Mecca to perform the final Tawaf, a circumambulation of the Kaaba, the cuboid structure at the heart of the Grand Mosque toward which all Muslims face during their daily prayers.
More than 1.7 million people are participating in the Hajj this year, which is a religious obligation for all Muslims who are physically and financially able to perform it at least once in their lives. The pilgrimage has, for the third consecutive year, been overshadowed by war, specifically the US‑Israeli conflict with Iran, which has drawn in Gulf nations. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8, 2026, largely halting active hostilities, but diplomatic efforts to bring the war to a definitive end have so far proven inconclusive. The final day of the Hajj coincides with the festival of Eid al‑Adha, the "Feast of Sacrifice," which commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son before God provided a ram as a substitute. The festival is traditionally marked by the slaughter of a sheep or goat, with portions of the meat distributed to the needy. In Syria, the country’s president, Ahmed al‑Sharaa, performed morning prayers marking the start of Eid al‑Adha at the Abdullah bin Abbas Mosque in Aleppo, according to an image released by the state‑run Syrian Arab News Agency. In Cairo, crowds of worshippers gathered at the historic Al‑Azhar Mosque for special morning prayers to mark the occasion.
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