Makkah: Millions of Muslim pilgrims headed for the Arafah plain, 20 km from here, for Wukuf (the grand assembly), the pinnacle of the Hajj rituals, today (Thursday).
Almost 130,000 Pakistani pilgrims are also among over 2.5 million Muslims who descended on the holy city for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, the fifth of the five obligatory fundamental practices of Islam.
After sunset on the wukuf day, the pilgrims will leave for Mina for the throwing of the Jamrah after passing through and staying for a while (mabit) at Mudzalifah.
The pilgrims arrived this week in Makkah for the Hajj (pilgrimage), which officially started on Wednesday.
Many pilgrims began leaving for Mina on Tuesday night after circumambulating the Holy Kaaba, the first house of worship on Earth, built by Adam. Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail rebuilt it some 5,000 years ago. Most Hajj rituals are related to Prophet Ibrahim, his wife Hager and his son Prophet Ismail, and thus reflect the unity of humanity.
The Saudi government has given top priority to the security and safety of pilgrims and has deployed thousands of security forces in Makkah, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah, all cities within a radius of 10 kilometers, to ensure a safe and secure Hajj.
Over the past decade Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars expanding the Grand Mosque and building new infrastructure to avert the stampedes and tent fires that marred past pilgrimages with hundreds of deaths.
In 2011, Saudi Arabia began the biggest expansion yet of the Grand Mosque, to increase its capacity to 2 million. A new railway will link the holy sites around Makkah.
This year alone, the kingdom spent more than 1.1 billion riyals ($293.3 million) on development projects in the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah, all outside Makkah, according to a report.
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