About 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims marked on Saturday the second day of Hajj, the peak of the Islamic major pilgrimage, the world’s largest annual gathering of the faithful. This year’s pilgrim numbers have surpassed last year’s.
According to the Center for International Communication, Ministry of Media, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the General Authority for Statistics said on Saturday that the total number of international and domestic pilgrims who arrived in Makkah by 9 am on the 9th of Dhul Hijjah 1440 Hijri – corresponding to August 10, 2019 in the Gregorian calendar, has reached 2,487,160, with the number of pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom put at 1,855,027. A total of 632,133 pilgrims are Saudis or residents of the Kingdom. The numbers for 2019 have already surpassed last year’s, when more than 2.37million pilgrims performed Hajj.
The second day of Hajj is known as Yaum Arafa, as pilgrims leave the holy site of Mina for Mount Arafat (also known as Arafa). Once at Mount Arafat – where Prophet Mohammed delivered his last sermon in 632 CE – the pilgrims stood in contemplation, praying and asking God for forgiveness of their sins amid continuous chanting of “Labbeika Allahumma Labbeik” (“Here I am, O God, here I am”). They also listened to a sermon near Jabal Al-Rahmah.
Hajj officially started on the evening of 8th of Dhul Hijjah, or Friday, August 9th, and lasts until the 12th of Dhul Hijjah but some pilgrims still perform Hajj on the 13th of the same Islamic month, corresponding to Wednesday, August 14th.
