MORE than two million Muslims perform their annual haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
The five-day pilgrimage represents one of the five pillars of Islam and is required of all able-bodied Muslims once in their life.
The haj offers pilgrims an opportunity to feel closer to God amid the Muslim world’s many challenges, including the threat of Islamic State group and the plight of Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority.
Hari Raya Aidiladha or the “Feast of Sacrifice” marks the end of the annual pilgrimage or haj to the holy city of Mecca and is celebrated in remembrance of Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son to God. Hari Raya Haji is celebrated each year by Muslims sacrificing various animals according to religious traditions, including cows, camels, goats and sheep. – August 22, 2018.
Pilgrims circumambulating the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque on the first day of Eid al Adha in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Eid al-Adha is the holiest of the two Muslims holidays celebrated each year, it marks the yearly Muslim pilgrimage (haj) to Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. Muslims slaughter a sacrificial animal and split the meat into three parts, one for the family, one for friends and relatives, and one for the poor and needy. – EPA pic, August 22, 2018.A Muslim pilgrim arriving to throw stones towards the symbolic devil represented by a Jamarat (Burning Coal) on the last day of the haj in the tent City of Mina near Mecca. – EPA pic, August 22, 2018.Muslim pilgrims resting near Mount Arafat, Mecca, Saudi Arabia. – EPA pic, August 22, 2018.
Pilgrims walking outside the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca. Muslims from across the world are gathered in Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the annual haj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam. – AFP pic, August 22, 2018.Muslim pilgrims praying during the haj pilgrimage in Mount Arafat, near Mecca, Saudi Arabia. – EPA pic, August 22, 2018.An aerial view showing some of the buses used by pilgrims at Mina, near Mecca, Saudi Arabia. – EPA pic, August 22, 2018.A general view of the tent city of Mina as Muslim pilgrims prepare to throw stones towards the symbolic devil represented by a Jamarat (Burning Coal) on the last day of the haj 2018 pilgrimage, near Mecca, Saudi Arabia. – EPA pic, August 22, 2018.Pilgrims partaking in the symbolic stoning of the devil at the Jamarat Bridge in Mina, near Mecca, which marks the final major rite of the haj. – AFP pic, August 22, 2018.A Saudi security officer standing among Muslim worshippers as they perform prayers around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca. – AFP pic, August 22, 2018.Muslim pilgrims riding buses as they head to the symbolic stoning of the devil at the Jamarat Bridge in Mina, near Mecca, which marks the final major rite of the haj. Muslims from across the world are gathered in Mecca for the annual haj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam. – AFP pic, August 22, 2018.An aerial view of the Mount Arafat, where thousands of Muslim worshippers gather during the haj pilgrimage, near Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Around 2.5 million Muslims are at this year's haj pilgrimage, which is highlighted by the Day of Arafah, one day prior to Eid al-Adha. – EPA pic, August 22, 2018.Muslim pilgrims moving in the Grand Mosque on the first day of Eid al Adha in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. – EPA pic, August 22, 2018.
Saudi men inside sleep pods in Mecca on August. The free nap pods are part of new measures Saudi Arabia is rolling out this year in a bid to modernise the centuries-old practice of haj. – AFP pic, August 22, 2018.
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