More than 2 million Muslims in Saudi start hajj pilgrimage

More than 2 million Muslims on Tuesday started the first rites of the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest pilgrimages that draws people from different countries to the holy city of Mecca to perform a series of rituals and prayers aimed at erasing past sins. Newly-arrived pilgrims circled the Kaaba, the black cube-shaped structure in Mecca’s Grand Mosque toward which all Muslims pray. In a sign of humility and equality before God, the pilgrims shed symbols of worldly materialism, entering a state known as “ihram” — women forgo make-up and perfume for loose fitted clothing and a head-covering while men wear seamless terry cloth white garments. Islam requires all able-bodied Muslims to perform the hajj once in a lifetime.

In the white ihram, the rich man and the poor, we are all together.

Moussa bin Abdullah Butu, a 38-year-old artist from Nigeria

The main day of hajj this year falls on Wednesday, when between 2 to 3 million pilgrims gather in a valley called Arafat, packed shoulder to shoulder in prayer and supplication. It is at Arafat where the Prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon some 1,400 years ago, calling for equality and unity among Muslims.

Middle East Hajj