Mina: Tens of thousands of Muslims ritually stoned the devil in Mina Valley for the second day on Sunday and sacrificed animals to mark the culmination of the annual Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
The ritual began on Saturday when the pilgrims, wearing two-piece seamless white garments, stoned one wall representing the devil and a sizeable number of pilgrims participated on Sunday as well stoning the walls representing the devil.
The pilgrims, shouting ‘Allahu Akbar” (God is Great), converged at Mina Valley, about five kilometres east of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, to hurl stones at the concrete pillars.
The stoning ritual symbolises the renunciation of evil in all its forms and a promise never to fall prey to Satan.
It is meant to mirror Prophet Ebrahim’s stoning of the devil when he appeared to try to dissuade him from obeying God’s order to sacrifice Esmail.
The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam that should be performed at least once in a lifetime by every Muslim who is financially and physically able.
A total of 2,085,238 people participated in the Haj, including 1,389,053 foreigners.
Indians continued to stay in their tents in Mina and came out in large numbers along with other pilgrims for the symbolic stoning of the devil for a second day on Sunday.
Many pilgrims were also overjoyed by their visit and said they were praying for another opportunity to come for the Haj or Umrah.
“It has been an enriching experience. I feel like I am a changed man. My perspective to life has changed and I go back as a reformed person,” Mohammad Shahid, a pilgrim from India, said.
