Muslim pilgrims in Saudi Arabia mark final day of Hajj

Muslim pilgrims on Wednesday marked the last day of the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia with a final ritual at the Masjid alHaram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, an epa journalist reports.

Hundreds of thousands of devotees today performed the ‘tawaf’ (circling ritual) around the Kaaba, an ancient stone building in the center of the mosque, considered the most sacred Muslim site in the world.

During the ritual, the pilgrims prayed and walked in a circle around the Kaaba seven times in a counterclockwise direction, believed to demonstrate the unity of Islam believers in their worship of God.

More than 1.8 million pilgrims attended Hajj this year, according to the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia, local Al Arabiya News website reported.

Of that number, 1.7 million pilgrims were from countries outside of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi authorities implemented strict safety and crowd control measures during the Hajj to prevent a repeat of last year’s tragedy, when around 2,000 pilgrims died in a human stampede.

The pilgrimage, which Muslim devotees are expected to carry out at least once in their lifetime, is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with the ‘shahada’ (profession of faith), almsgiving, prayer and fasting during Ramadan.