Hundreds and thousands of Muslims performed pilgrimage this year in October and stoned the devil in Saudi Arabia’s Mina Valley on Saturday, as the hajj reached its final stages.
Men and women from around 189 countries worldwide reached Saudi Arabia to perform pilgrimage, and many people had saved their money for years.
Since the people are so huge in numbers, they are grouped together according to their nationality. And groups are moved from one pillar to another under their country’s flags.
Most of the Muslims are seen involved in the prayers, and some are also keen at taking their pictures with the pillars and sharing them with their loved ones. The photographing was criticized by members of the security forces who said through loudspeakers, “How are you people stoning Satan and taking pictures with him at the same time?” In a corner, 77-year-old Afghan pilgrim Aysha Mohammed sat down panting, “There’s a sweet feeling about getting tired during hajj.”
“Ever since I was a child I had dreamt of standing on the Mount of Mercy in Arafat,” she said with a smile. “They were purely spiritual moments.” (NT,Hajj, 22)
”The trip to perform the hajj has cost me all the money I had,” Aysha Mohammed told AFP. “I had been saving small amounts for over 15 years and I finally sold all my jewelry to reach this place.”
In order to maintain the security of the area, police and security forces were deployed to the three adjacent pillars representing Satan. Although there have never been any incidents. It’s a great achievement for them to perform the pilgrimage whole heartedly. But just to maintain the discipline and guide the newcomers, the security forces provide remain in the places, so that no one is distracted or feels any difficulty in reaching the exact location.
The location of mina is the most problematic of all as there are stampedes and fires into the camps. The stoning area has been expanded over the years to avoid the overcrowding and tents being used are fire proofed. “Saudi authorities have built a five-level structure around the three stoning sites, allowing for a smooth flow of pilgrims who are only permitted to move in one direction throughout the area to prevent congestion, According to the authorities, 168,000 police officers and civil defense personnel were mobilized for this year’s hajj. For the stoning, they organized specific times of day for groups of pilgrims to perform the ritual.’ (NT,Hajj, 22)
Overall, the arrangements in terms of security and grouping have been up to the mark, and Muslims thoroughly enjoyed performing pilgrimage, taking the best memories out of the pilgrimage.
View the Original article
0 comments:
Post a Comment