Pilgrims pray and avoid the sun as Hajj reaches peak

Muslim worshippers prayed on Mount Arafat during the high point of the Hajj pilgrimage on Thursday, as authorities urged them to avoid the hottest hours of the day after tragedy struck last year.

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Thousands of white-robed pilgrims recited Quranic verses from dawn on the 70-metre rocky rise near the Holy City of Makkah, where the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) given his last sermon. But numbers thinned by midday following official warnings for pilgrims to stay inside between 10:00am and 4:00pm. “I came here early to (avoid) the sun and later I will pray inside my tent,” said 54-year-old Adel Ismail, from Syria.

Saudi authorities have taken several steps to reduce the risk from heat at the Hajj, which has drawn more than 1.6 million pilgrims to one of the world’s hottest regions, according to fresh figures published on Thursday.

Dr Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humaid, the Imam of Makkah’s Grand Mosque, delivered a spiritually charged sermon on Thursday during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, calling for unity, piety, and compassion—while offering heartfelt prayers for the people of Palestine.