WEB DESK
Around one thousand Muslims converged at plains of Arafat in Saudi Arabia today as part of downsized pilgrimage due to coronavirus pandemic globally, for the main ritual of Haj. The mask-clad pilgrims wearing Ehraam or seamless white robes listened the Haj- Sermon and offered afternoon and mid-day prayers together at Nimra mosque while maintaining physical distance.
Haj pilgrims will now be leaving for Muzdalifah and offer evening and night prayers together. They will spend the night there under the open sky and will return to Mina tomorrow morning for animal sacrifice and symbolic stoning of the devil.
Hajj 2020 began in earnest on Wednesday as 1,000 pilgrims began their spiritual journey amid a raft of protective measures to ensure their health and safety.
The pilgrims walked into the Grand Mosque in Makkah to start the rituals with their first “tawaf,” the circumambulation of the Kaaba.