Pilgrims Enjoy Rain as Hajj Ends

As rains lashed the Saudi desert, tens of thousands of drenched Muslim pilgrims welcomed the deluge Saturday as an act of God as they circled the Kaaba shrine in this holy city’s Grand Mosque, the final rite in the annual hajj pilgrimage.

A record 2.56 million people took part in this year’s hajj. Saudi authorities, jittery over fears that terrorists might strike the event, said increased security and improved crowd management saw the pilgrimage go off without a hitch.

Giant storm clouds dumped rain on the white-robed pilgrims, many of whom put plastic shopping bags on their heads or garbage bags around their shoulders in an effort to stay dry.

Amid lighting and thunder, thousands of the faithful in Mina, about four miles from Mecca, threw rocks at rectangular stone blocks symbolizing the devil.

“Rain is always a blessing and for it to fall so hard at the end of our hajj rituals means our sins are washed away and God has accepted our prayers,” said a drenched Mohammed Jamal Khan, from Peshawar, Pakistan.

After the ceremony, hundreds of buses started ferrying pilgrims from 160 countries back to Mecca, where they entered the inner courtyard of the Grand Mosque to begin performing a farewell circling of the Kaaba.