AlHijjah 9, 1433, Oct 25, 2012, SPA -- Millions of pilgrims successfully performed the peak of Hajj ritual when they attended a joint-trimmed Dhuhur and Asr (noon and afternoon) prayers in and around Namirah mosque, in the valley of Arafat, and were present until sunset on or in the vicinity of the mount of Arafat. In his historical Hajj journey, Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) some 14th centuries ago, performed shortened-one go noon and afternoon prayers in Namirah mosque and delivered his last speech from the mount of Arafat. Immediately after sunset and after having turned their faces to Al-Gibla (House of God in Makkah) calling on God Almighty to forgive and bless them and their beloved and first of kin, dead or alive, pilgrims started a comeback journey that will take them to Muzdalifah, Mina and Makkah. In Muzdalifah, pilgrims will pray Maghrib (sunset) and Isha (evening) jointly, pick pebbles to throw the replicas of devil in Mina and perform Al-Fajr (dawn) prayer before going to Mina. Women, children and the elderly could be exempted from staying in the station of Muzdalifah. They could just pass to Mina for a camping of two to three days called Al-Tashreeq Days. The high level services and infrastructure leading to and around Arafat Mount, prepared by the different governmental authorities have played the pivotal role in the success of the journey in addition to the cooperation of pilgrims who devoted themselves to worshipping. It was indeed a success to the Islamic civilization, SPA reporters noted.
