The Interior Ministry said more than 1.3 million people from 160 different countries have arrived to the kingdom to perform the Hajj this year.
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Last year, Saudi Arabia said that almost 800 pilgrims were killed when two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometres east of Mecca, on their way to performing the stoning ritual at Jamarat.
On the first of three days of stoning, elevated cameras stationed several metres (yards) apart filmed the pilgrims, most clad in white moving behind coloured flags identifying their groups.
At Muzdalifah, half way between Arafat and Mina, pilgrims gather 49 pebbles for Monday’s symbolic stoning of the devil, the last major rite of hajj.
Head-shaving is one of the final parts of the Hajj before pilgrims return home, and takes place after hurling stones at a pillar representing the devil.
A local media reports that Saudi Arabia security forces were deployed in large numbers in the Jamarat Bridge, a multi-level structure in the desert valley of Mina, where the ritual is being carried out.
The comments came after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced Saudi Arabia’s management of the Hajj.
The General Authority explained that the total number of male pilgrims for this year’s Hajj reached 1,082,228 pilgrims, while the total number of female pilgrims stood at 780,68.
The leader of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement has lashed out at Saudi Arabia for mishandling of the Hajj rituals, saying restrictions imposed on Muslims for this year’s Hajj are reminiscent of Israel’s repeated desecration of the al-Aqsa Mosque. However, the harsh rays of the sun did not dampen the spirit of the pilgrims and they remained unperturbed and recited verses from the Holy Qur’an with even greater vigor.
After the stoning, sheep are slaughtered and the meat distributed to needy Muslims, symbolising Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice Ismail on the orders of Allah, who provided a lamb in the boy’s place at the last moment.
Able-bodied Muslims the world over must make the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime if it is financially possible.
This year a number of safety measures have been taken and pilgrims said they were satisfied with this year’s organisation.
More than 1.8 million faithful, majority from overseas, are performing the six-day hajj, which ends Thursday.
The verbal sparring, ahead of the Hajj which this year starts on Saturday, following months of tension between Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia and its Shia regional rival Iran since the stampede.
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But, for the first time in more than 35 years the Grand Mufti and the country’s top religious authority, Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, did not deliver the main sermon.
