Muslim pilgrims 'stone the devil' as hajj concludes in Saudi
Pilgrims were set to perform the last major ritual of the hajj -- the "stoning of the devil" -- on Friday, as Muslims around the globe celebrated the beginning of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Starting at dawn, the more than 1.6 million Muslims taking part in the pilgrimage will throw seven stones at each of three concrete walls symbolising the devil in the Mina valley, on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca.
The ritual commemorates Abraham's stoning of the devil at the three spots where it is said Satan tried to dissuade him from obeying God's order to sacrifice his son.
This year's hajj saw authorities implementing a range of heat mitigation efforts alongside a wide-ranging crackdown on illicit pilgrims -- resulting in noticeably thinner crowds and a heavy security presence at holy sites in Mecca and surrounding areas.
The measures were aimed at preventing a fatal repeat of last year's hajj that saw 1,301 people die in temperatures that hit 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit).
Saudi authorities said a majority of those deaths were among pilgrims who illegally snuck into Mecca and lacked access to accommodation and other services aimed to keep pilgrims safe and protected from the searing desert heat.
Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota basis and distributed to individuals by a lottery system.
But even for those who can secure them, the high costs spur many to attempt the hajj without a permit, even though they risk arrest and deportation if caught.
The stoning ritual in the Mina valley was the scene of a fatal stampede in 2015, when 2,300 people were killed in one of the deadliest hajj disasters.
Saudi Arabia earns billions of dollars a year from the hajj, and the lesser pilgrimage known as umrah, undertaken at other times of the year.
The pilgrimages are also a source of prestige for the Saudi monarch, who is known as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of Mecca and Medina.
The end of the hajj coincides with the beginning of Eid al-Adha -- an annual feasting holiday marked by the slaughter of an animal -- typically a goat, sheep, cow, bull or camel.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SBS Australia
a day ago
- SBS Australia
Israel seeks 10,000 more troops amid conscription row; airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached dire lows, with residents enduring severe shortages of food and other essentials, even after a more than two-month Israeli blockade on aid was recently eased. Source: AAP / Mohammed Saber / EPA Israeli strikes killed at least 38 people in Gaza as the Palestinian territory observed the Eid al-Adha holiday , according to local authorities, as Israel's military plans to call up tens of thousands more troops for its offensive. Gaza's civil defence agency reported Israeli attacks across the besieged enclave on Friday as Palestinians observed the Eid al-Adha under the shadow of war for a second consecutive year. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday's strikes, Agence France-Presse reported. It comes as the humanitarian situation in Gaza reaches dire new lows, with residents enduring severe shortages of food and other essentials, even after a more than two-month Israeli blockade on aid was recently eased with a controversial new program . In Israel, military spokesman Effie Defrin said four Israeli soldiers were killed as they "were operating in the Khan Yunis area, in a compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation". "Around six in the morning, an explosive device detonated, causing part of the structure to collapse," he said, adding that five other soldiers were wounded, one of them severely. "The losses suffered today by the occupation in Khan Younis ... illustrate what the occupation forces will face wherever they are present," said a statement attributed to Abu Obeida, spokesman for the armed of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, while urging the Israeli public to "force its leaders to end the war of extermination or prepare to receive more of its sons in coffins". Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended his condolences to the soldiers' families, saying they "sacrificed their lives for the safety of all of us". The deaths bring to 429 the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since the start of the ground offensive in late October 2023, according to Agence France-Presse. Israel recently stepped up its Gaza campaign in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas — the Palestinian military and political group that rules Gaza — whose 7 October 2023 attack sparked the war, a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict. But the ramping up of its offensive comes amid a row over the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews — an issue that's threatened to sink Netanyahu's government. Ultra-Orthodox religious parties have warned they will pull out of Netanyahu's coalition if the prime minister fails to make good on a promise to codify in law the military exemption for their community. At the same time, much of the public has turned against the exemption amid the increasing strain put on reservists' families by repeated call-up orders during the war. Asked by a reporter about the issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, Defrin said: "This is the need of the moment, an operational necessity". The army was short around 10,000 soldiers, he added, including about 6,000 in combat roles, adding that "tens of thousands more notices will be issued in the upcoming draft cycle". In April, a military representative told a parliamentary committee that of 18,000 draft notices sent to ultra-Orthodox individuals, only 232 received a positive response. Netanyahu's office announced shortly after 1am on Friday that he had met with a lawmaker from his Likud party who has recently pushed for a bill aimed at increasing the ultra-Orthodox enlistment and toughening sanctions on those who refuse. The premier's office said "significant progress was made", with "unresolved issues" to be ironed out later. Netanyahu also faced scrutiny after he admitted to supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes Hamas. Knesset member and ex-defence minister Avigdor Liberman had told the Kan public broadcaster that the government, at Netanyahu's direction, was "giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons". The European Council on Foreign Relations think tank describes the group a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks". The marking of Eid al-Adha also comes as aid distribution in Gaza was halted after the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said overcrowding had made it unsafe to continue operations, in the latest disruption to its troubled relief effort. In a day of confusing messaging, the GHF — the organisation that has sought to replace United Nation's distribution of aid to Gaza— first announced its distribution sites in southern Gaza were closed, then it revealed that it had actually handed out food, before saying that it had had to close its gates as a precautionary measure. "The distribution was conducted peacefully and without incident; however, it was paused due to excessive crowding that made it unsafe to proceed," it said in a statement. Food shortages have made it all but impossible for many Gazans to celebrate Eid al-Adha, which fell on Friday and is traditionally marked with huge family meals and gifts of new clothes. Suad al-Qarra told Agence France-Presse from Nasser Hospital on Friday that her son never got a chance to wear his new clothes. "He went to get dressed and there was an explosion," she said, her soft voice breaking. "I took him to the hospital and (they) found him dead." "They took the children from us," she continued. "I bought him Eid clothes yesterday and he didn't wear them, instead he wears a white shroud." In the Muslim faith, Eid commemorates the sacrifice Ibrahim — known to Christians and Jews as Abraham — was about to make by killing his son, before the angel Gabriel intervened and offered him a sheep to sacrifice instead. Hamas' unprecedented 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 4,402 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18 after a brief truce, taking the war's overall toll to 54,677, mostly civilians. The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling. In 2021 the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories dating back to 2014, including the recent attacks of both Israel and Hamas. The ICC has also issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his former defence chief, alleging that the two are criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza". Hamas in its entirety is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and seven other countries, including Australia. But the UN Assembly rejected classifying Hamas as a terrorist group in a 2018 vote.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Inside Saudi's hajj-only barbershop, shaving thousands of heads in a day
Near the holy city of Mecca, men in white robes stand quietly in a long queue, waiting for the next important act of their hajj pilgrimage: a haircut. Shaving or cutting the hair comes near the end of the hajj, and marks the moment when pilgrims can change out of the Ihram clothing that signifies purity and devotion. The barbershop, strategically positioned by the Jamarat complex in Mina, where the "stoning of the devil" ritual took place on Friday, opens exclusively for the annual hajj and does a roaring trade. On the pilgrimage's third day, which coincides with the major festival of Eid al-Adha, its barbers typically handle 6,000 customers, said manager Imad Fawzi, an official employed by the hajj organisation. Inside, men in plastic aprons wield electric clippers and cut-throat razors, shearing scalps on an industrial scale for 60 riyals ($13) per head. Despite the rush -- there are so many customers that an usher is required -- Ahmed, a 28-year-old barber from Egypt, is happy in his work. "This is a very simple thing to do, but it brings us so much joy," he says. "We're happy to serve the pilgrims... and to be able to work in a holy place," he said. Fawzi, who grew up in Mecca, called himself a "child of the hajj". "I've been working in hajj since I was seven," he says. - 'This outfit is exhausting' - The once-a-year hairdresser is not the only place for a cut: parts of Mecca and the plain of Mina, on its outskirts, turn into an open-air barbershop at this stage of the hajj. Leaving the Jamarat, a southeast Asian man took out a razor and started scraping the back of his head as he walked. Further down the street, a group of African men were shaving each other with clippers. In Mecca, entire streets are lined with barbershops doing brisk business. While men shave their hair, women trim theirs by a fingertip-length. About 1.6 million pilgrims have gathered in and around Mecca, Islam's holiest city, for this year's hajj, which all Muslims with the means must complete at least once. Outside the Jamarat barbershop, Hani Abdel Samih is looking forward to changing out of the wrap-around skirt and shawl he has been wearing for the past three days. "The stoning of the devil at Jamarat requires great effort and we've been wearing these clothes all day," he said. "We wanted to wear our everyday clothes and be comfortable, so we went to the nearest barbershop we could find after the Jamarat," said the Egyptian. Yet his face was beaming with joy. He said he did not mind the wait for a haircut that bears a special place in his spiritual journey. "I'm excited, of course! Because this is Sunnah from the Prophet, peace be upon him," he said, referring to the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed. "We like (this ritual) and we cannot break it," he said. The hajj retraces the Prophet's last pilgrimage, with rites at Mecca's Grand Mosque and Mount Arafat before "stoning the devil" -- throwing pebbles at three giant walls at Jamarat. aya/th/jsa
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
BTN Newsbreak 06/06/2025
TRUMP AND ELON DRAMA Elon Musk and Donald Trump have exploded back into headlines today. That's right, the political bromance of tech billionaire Elon Musk, and US President Donald Trump is over. But what on earth happened? Well, from Mr Trump's first day in office, Elon Musk had been a major player. But recently, the pair started butting heads over some policies, particularly this spending bill called the One Big Beautiful Act, and last week, Musk left his role at the White House. But things really escalated overnight after the President said this. Mr Musk started firing back on his social media platform, X. And then the President hopped on his social media platform and well, the fight of the century began. It's been a war of words that honestly you'd expect from more of a roast battle. And while plenty of people have the popcorn out, lots are also worried about what it'll mean for American politics, if this feud continues to escalate. SOCCEROOS The Socceroos are on the brink of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a nail biting one-nil win last night. Japan dominated play for most of the match, until the very final minute when Aziz Behich scored this winning goal. It was his first Socceroos goal in 13 years and Australia's first win over Japan in 16 years. And as long as they avoid a heavy defeat in next week's game against Saudi Arabia, they're all but certain to qualify. PARA SPORT Now over to Darwin, where students living with disabilities are taking part in a program that's all about trying new sports and getting active. From golf, to wheelchair rugby, these kids in Darwin are discovering their new favourite sports. It's all part of a national program designed to encourage people living with disabilities to explore different sports, and this year more than 250 students took part. And Sam says events like this aren't just about getting active, they're about giving it a go, making friends and having a lot of fun at the same time. ROBOTS MOVING HOUSES First up, to a block of buildings on the move in China! 400 robotic feet lifted and moved them in sync. They're actually being moved back to their original location after making way for underground construction works. The robots moved the buildings, weighing 7-and-a-half thousand tonnes, at a rate of about 10 meters per day. SWITCH STAPLES Now to people around the world who have lined up for hours just to buy the new Nintendo Switch 2. But for some customers in the US, excitement quickly turned to disappointment, as reports of punctured screens appeared on social media. Turns out, because Nintendo packaged the Switch with its screen facing outwards, when game shop employees used staplers to staple receipts to the front of boxes. A whole bunch of console screens were left damaged. One shop has already offered to replace them, adding staplers have been confiscated. STANLEY PUP And finally, if you've ever wanted to watch dogs play hockey, this is the closest you're gonna get. The world's first Stanley Pup, a play off the famous Stanley Cup hockey championship, features rescue dogs who are all up for adoption. It's a collaboration between America's national hockey league and an animal welfare charity.
