Agencies/Makkah
Stoning the devil and circling the Makkah Grand Mosque’s Kaaba shrine, 2mn Muslim pilgrims launched into the final rituals of the Haj yesterday ahead of their massive exodus from Islam’s holiest city.
Tens of thousands of the faithful were circling the Kaaba at the heart of the mosque in Makkah while many more continued the three stage ritual of stoning of the devil at the jamarat pillars in nearby Mina.
The stoning—casting 49 pebbles against the three broad stone pillars over two or three days—mark Abraham’s three rejections of the devil’s attempts to persuade him to ignore God’s instructions to sacrifice his son Ishmael, as related in the Qur’an.
After the stoning they circumambulate the Kaaba to complete Haj, required of all able Muslims and for many a purifying, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“I spent the night here (in Mina) with my husband to finish the stoning rite early this morning because we have to leave tomorrow,” said Moroccan Amira al-Haj, 59, pointing to a carpet near the three pillars.
Many who had completed the rigorous process were out on the streets of Makkah shopping for souvenirs to take back.
Saudi-style jalabiya caftans, prayer beads, Saudi perfumes and dates were popular with pilgrims, along with jugs of holy water for drinking and ablutions produced by the Zam Zam well inside the Grand Mosque.
Against fears of a mass outbreak of swine flu and deadly stampedes of past pilgrimages, Saudi authorities said this year’s Haj was mostly trouble-free.
In the event, less than 100 suspected flu infections were reported and only five deaths, all of people already suffering other afflictions, according to Saudi health officials.
Intense preparation and screening for the flu, and the construction of new walkways designed to avoid crushes, were credited with ensuring safety.
“The measures were very effective,” said Algerian pilgrim Mohamed Fazeli.
“Frankly, I did not witness any impact of crowd congestion or the swine flu,” said Ahmed Mansour Sissi, a Senegalese government official.
Saudi Arabia’s civil defence authority yesterday raised the death toll from this week’s flash floods to 106.
An official with the authority said crews were still searching for survivors from the flooding that hit the western part of the country.
Health authorities have warned people to stay away from the water, to avoid further casualties and the spread of diseases.
Hundreds of people have been rescued by the defence forces in the past few days, but the death toll is expected to rise further.
The victims were drowned or were killed by collapsing bridges and in car crashes when floodwaters caused by the torrential rainfall ripped through the Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Wednesday. |
