Hajj pilgrims arrive at Mount Arafat

Almost two million Muslim pilgrims converged on Mount Arafat today for a solemn prayer ritual that is the highlight of the hajj, a centuries-old pilgrimage to the birthplace of Islam.

After dawn prayers at the nearby valley of Mina, where most spent the night in white fireproof tents, they began the short trek to Arafat.

Singing the pilgrim chant “At Thy service, my God, at Thy Service,” they reached the small, rocky hill on foot, in buses and even clinging to the tops of vehicles.

By midmorning, as helicopters hovered overhead and police tried to keep order on the ground, the arid plateau turned into an ocean of pilgrims, with men dressed in identical seamless white garb, and women entirely covered – with only their hands and faces visible.

Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford too is required to perform the hajj at least once in their lifetime.

The annual ritual, which begins in the holy city of Mecca – birthplace of Islam and its seventh century prophet Muhammad – is a spiritual journey that, according to Islamic teachings, cleanses the soul and wipes away sins.

“It is the seventh time I perform the hajj. The seventh time to witness this scene and I hope I can come again and again until I die,” said Fawwaz Adeola, a 31-year-old Nigerian.

Praying at Arafat, about 12 miles southwest of Mecca, is the main ritual of the five-day hajj. The time Muslims spend praying here is believed to symbolise the day of judgment, when Islam says every person will stand before God and answer for his deeds.

Muhammad delivered his last sermon at Arafat in March of 632, three months before he died.

Muslims believe that during this sermon, the last passage of their holy book, the Koran, was revealed to Muhammad.