VIDEO: Difficulties of this life are a test from Allah, Hajj pilgrims told
Pilgrims converged Mount Arafah in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
Member of the Council of Senior Scholars and Adviser at the Royal Court, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Sulaiman in the Hajj sermon told the pilgrims gathered in Mount Arafat that the difficulties they face in this life were a test from Allah.
"The difficulties of this life are a test from Allah," Sheikh Abdullah said in his sermon from Masjid-e-Nimra on Thursday.
He added that sacrifice and worship was only for Allah, laying emphasis on the obligatory (Fardh) acts on Muslims.
"It is only through worship that you can ward off afflictions."
Muslim pilgrims converged on Thursday on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat for the climax of this year's Hajj, the smallest in modern times and a sharp contrast to the massive crowds of previous years.
A tight security cordon has been erected all around the foot of the rocky hill outside Makkah, also known as Jabal Al Rahma or Mount of Mercy.
Pilgrims, donning masks and observing social distancing, were brought in buses from neighbouring Mina, state television showed, as Saudi authorities impose measures to prevent a coronavirus outbreak.
They were subject to temperature checks and attended a sermon - which state media said was translated into 10 languages - before they set off on the climb to the summit for hours of Holy Quran recitals and prayers to atone for their sins.
The scene was strikingly different to last year's ritual when a sea of pilgrims ascended Mount Arafat, marshalled by tens of thousands of stewards in a bid to prevent any crushes.
After sunset prayers, pilgrims will make their way down Mount Arafat to Muzdalifah, another Holy site where they will sleep under the stars to prepare for the final stage of Hajj, the symbolic "stoning of the devil."
It takes place on Friday and also marks the beginning of Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice.
The Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, is usually one of the world's largest religious gatherings. But only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will participate in this year's ritual, compared with 2019's gathering of some 2.5 million from around the world.
"You are not our guests but those of God, the custodian of the two holy mosques (Saudi Arabia's King Salman) and the nation," Hajj Minister Mohammad Benten said in a video released by the media ministry on Wednesday.
A security cordon has been thrown around the Holy sites to prevent any security breaches, an interior ministry spokesman said.
The pilgrims have all been tested for the virus, and foreign journalists were barred from this year's Hajj, usually a huge global media event.
As part of the rites completed over five days in the Holy city of Makkah and its surroundings, the pilgrims converged on Mount Arafat after spending the night in Mina.
A district of Makkah, Mina sits in a narrow valley surrounded by rocky mountains, and is transformed each year into a vast encampment for pilgrims.
They began the Hajj on Wednesday with their first "tawaf," the circumambulation of the Kaaba, a large structure in Makkah's Grand Mosque towards which Muslims around the world pray.
Pilgrims were brought inside the mosque in small batches, walking along paths marked on the floor, in sharp contrast to the normal sea of humanity that swirls around the Kaaba during Hajj.
Agence France-Presse
