Saturday, 4 October 2014 01:33
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Over two million pilgrims wrapped in seamless white cloth made their way into an extremely hot Mina on Thursday. They came in buses, large utility vehicles, two-wheelers, wheelchairs, and on foot for the journey of a lifetime.
As they walked into the valley, they were greeted by a sea of white tents as far as the eye could see. At one end was the massive multistoried concrete structure of the Jamarat, with Masjid Al-Khaif one side and Masjid Al-Kuwaiti at the far end.
Pilgrims traversed through a maze of roads to reach their tents. Vehicles were not allowed inside the tent city. The pilgrims were dropped off at various bridges and walked to their camps.
Once inside, the pilgrims prayed Dhuhr, Asr, Maghreb and Isha. The able-bodied walked to Masjid Al-Khaif to say their prayers. Inside the massive mosque, they recited verses from the Qur’an. These were scenes filled with piety and devotion to Allah.
A news report published by Arab News quoting Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif said a total of 1,389,053 foreign pilgrims have arrived for Haj this year from 163 countries. Among them 757,981 are men and 631,072 women. “There was an increase of 8,545 pilgrims or 0.6% compared to 2013,” he said. Of this year’s foreign pilgrims, 1,315,850 came by air, 59,204 by land and 13,999 by sea.
