More than 1.7 million Muslim pilgrims gathered in the valley of Mina near Mecca on Wednesday to perform the Stoning of the Devil, the final major ritual of the Hajj, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, as fears of a renewed Middle East conflict cast a shadow over the world's largest annual gathering.
Mina, Saudi Arabia © Mena Today
More than 1.7 million Muslim pilgrims gathered in the valley of Mina near Mecca on Wednesday to perform the Stoning of the Devil, the final major ritual of the Hajj, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, as fears of a renewed Middle East conflict cast a shadow over the world's largest annual gathering.
From dawn, waves of pilgrims took turns hurling pebbles at three concrete pillars symbolising Satan, re-enacting the moment Abraham drove away the devil at the three spots where he had tried to dissuade the prophet from obeying God's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael.
The ritual marks the culmination of days of physically gruelling worship, performed this year under punishing heat, temperatures on Mount Arafat, where pilgrims prayed on Tuesday in one of the Hajj's most sacred moments, reached 45 degrees Celsius.
After the stoning, pilgrims return to Mecca for a final circumambulation of the Kaaba — the black cubic structure at the heart of the Grand Mosque toward which Muslims worldwide turn to pray, completing the pilgrimage.
Saudi oil giant Aramco announced Tuesday a 44% surge in net profit for the second quarter compared to the same period last year, driven by soaring crude prices amid the war in the Middle East.
Iran is betting it can outlast Washington by turning the Middle East's trade routes, shipping lanes and energy infrastructure into pressure points that steadily raise the cost of confrontation, according to Gulf officials and analysts.
Conflicting signals from the United States and Iran over the status of talks to end their five-month-old war boosted uncertainty on Tuesday, with the latest attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz highlighting risks to global energy flows.
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