Clad in white, worshipers began arriving at dawn for the most gruelling day of the annual rites, climbing the rocky, 70m hill where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have given his last sermon.
The temperature on Mount Arafat hit 46°C, the spokesman for the national meteorology centre said on X, creating taxing conditions for pilgrims who had spent the night in a giant tented city in Mina, a valley outside Mecca, Islam’s holiest city.
“This is the most important day,” said 46-year-old Egyptian Mohammed Asser, who came prepared with a list of prayers.
“I pray also for the Palestinians. May god help them.”
Some 1.8 million pilgrims have participated in this year’s haj, the state-affiliated Al-Ekhbariya channel reported today, roughly the same as last year’s total.
This year the pilgrimage has unfolded in the shadow of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, which was triggered by the Palestinian fighters’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel on Oct 7.
The assault resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 37,266 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Some 2,000 Palestinians are performing the haj at the special invitation of Saudi King Salman, official media said.
‘Scary’ heat
The haj, one of the world’s biggest religious gatherings, is increasingly affected by climate change, according to a Saudi study published last month that said regional temperatures were rising 0.4°C each decade.
Saudi authorities have urged pilgrims to drink plenty of water and protect themselves from the sun during the rituals, which take at least five days to complete and are mostly outdoors.
Since men are prohibited from wearing hats, many carry umbrellas.
Mustafa, an Algerian pilgrim who gave only his first name, clung to his umbrella which was handed out by haj organisers, saying, “It’s what saves you here.”
Another man, an Egyptian who preferred to remain anonymous, said he was drinking “a lot of juice and water” and had twice stopped to rest on the roadside.
More than 10,000 heat-related illnesses were recorded last year, 10% of them heat stroke, a Saudi official told AFP this week.
Ahmad Karim Abdelsalam, a 33-year-old pilgrim from India, admitted that he found the prospect of praying atop Mount Arafat “a little scary”.
But with the help of an umbrella and water sprays, “God willing, everything will go well,” he said.
‘Once in a lifetime’
The haj is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims with the means must perform it at least once.
Yet visas, doled out to individual countries on a quota system, can be difficult to obtain.
“It’s a chance that only comes once in a lifetime, I couldn’t not come,” said Abdulrahman Siyam, a 55-year-old Iraqi pilgrim who was performing the rituals on a prosthetic leg.
After Mount Arafat, the pilgrims will head to Muzdalifah, where they will collect pebbles to carry out the symbolic “stoning of the devil” ritual in Mina tomorrow.
The haj is said to follow the path of the Prophet Muhammad’s final pilgrimage, about 1,400 years ago.
Along with last year’s 1.8 million haj pilgrims, the kingdom also welcomed 13.5 million Muslims who came to perform the umrah, the pilgrimage which can be done year-round.
The goal is to reach 30 million pilgrims in total by 2030.