Pilgrims headed to the plain of Arafat early this Saturday morning to perform the greatest pillar of Hajj (standing at Mount Arafat), after the arrival of all pilgrim groups at Mina for the Day of Tarwiyah. The guests of Allah spent the Day of Tarwiyah in Mina and stayed overnight there. As dawn broke today, pilgrims from various countries set out to perform the greatest pillar of Hajj, standing at Mount Arafat, dressed in their white garments, in one of the largest human gatherings. They will then head to Muzdalifah after sunset to spend the night there, and return to Mina on the morning of the tenth day to throw stones at Jamrat al-Aqabah, perform the sacrifice, then shave or shorten their hair, and proceed to Mecca for the Tawaf of ifadah.
Pilgrims spend the three days of Tashreeq (11th, 12th, and 13th of Dhul-Hijjah) throwing stones at the three Jamras, starting with the small Jamrah, then the middle one, and finally the large Jamrah. Those who wish to hasten can shorten this period to just two days, after which they proceed to Mecca for the Farewell Tawaf.
The movements of the pilgrims were characterized by ease, with thousands of security personnel from various sectors accompanying them, monitoring their paths via the roads, tunnels, and bridges prepared by the Saudi government and through the Sacred Sites train.
The Civil Defense forces in Arafat raised their readiness and declared their "full preparedness with all human and mechanical resources to ensure the safety of the pilgrims on the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah, allowing for readiness against all potential risks through the deployment of preventive inspection teams to monitor all construction and electrical works in the tents and check exits and corridors, alongside defining supervisory locations to cover all sections of the Arafat sanctuary and securing the latest equipment to monitor and follow the movement of pilgrims."
The readiness of the Civil Defense forces included "managing the millions of crowds in the Arafat sanctuary through studying, analyzing, and identifying all potential risks and determining the best way to handle them, as well as responding to all potential incidents."
For its part, the Ministry of Health warned pilgrims of "the dangers of exposure to high surface temperatures in the sacred sites, which can reach elevated levels." It alerted pilgrims that "prolonged exposure to sunlight poses a significant risk to their health," noting that "this year's Hajj season 1445 AH coincides with rising temperatures in Mecca, which is one of the biggest challenges facing pilgrims."
