Muslim pilgrims ritual of standing on Mount Arafat; its meaning
Some 2.5 million pilgrims started since sunrise today to flow to Mount Arafat in order to perform the most important part of Islamic Haj rituals which is to stand on Mount Arafat.
On Sunday evening the pilgrims spent al-Tarweyah day and spent their night there following the example followed by prophet Muhammad.
The voices of the pilgrims were high while walking barefoot or from buses chanting in various languages and dialects "Labaik Allahummah Labeik" (Almighty God we respond to your order).
The Egyptian Society for Spiritual and Cultural Research (www.esscr.org) describes the ritual as "All pilgrims chant these prayers together on Arafat Mount. This rite of Hajj cannot be done individually, it has certain date, that is the ninth day of Du' elheja, and it also has certain time limit; some time directly after the dawn Prayer, and up until sunset. All pilgrims gather and stand on and around Arafat Mount saying the same words, responding to Allah's call. On that awesome moment, they are united as one soul. This is a reminder of their origin. Aren't they created from one soul?"
The Egyptian Society for Spiritual and Cultural Research adds: The Stand on Arafat Mount is so significant that The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, "Pilgrimage is Arafa (Arafat)” (PH). Narrated by Al Nisa’i The name of the holy Mount is driven from the root a.ra.fa. It is the same pronunciation of the verb that means, "to know". The “knowledge” that is revealed in this sacred moment for the purified heart is: our belonging to one another and our belonging to Allah. On Mount Arafat, the fact that there is nothing but Allah is experienced from the depth of the heart. This divine experience is the prerequisite for the complete purification of which the following rites of Pilgrimage take place. (end of the explanation by the group).
Scores of thousands of Saudi security members were deployed in the area in addition to scores of medical teams and huge number of clearance workers.
After the day of Mount Arafat, the pilgrims will leave for Muzdalefah area where they will spend the night in preparations for the "Adha day" where sheep are slaughtered to mark Eid al-Adha (sacrifice) holiday.
After roaming around the prophet's tomb, the pilgrims in the fourth day of Eid al-Adha complete their Haj rituals and start the return back trip back home or visiting the tomb of the prophet in al-Madina al-Munawarra city.