Striking images showed several separate feet of faithful dressed in white surrounding the Kaaba
New Delhi:
In years before the coronavirus, millions of pilgrims from around the world flocked to Islam’s holiest place to attend hajj, one of the world’s largest religious gatherings. However, with a virus-induced ban on large gatherings in place, only a few thousand people attended this year’s small-scale hajj pilgrimage rituals.
Striking images showed several feet of worshipers dressed in white surrounding the Kaaba, the holiest shrine in the grand mosque of the holy Saudi city of Mecca. Presenting a stark contrast to the massive crowds of previous years crowded around the shrine, this year’s hajj photos showed masked pilgrims walking at a moderate pace, holding umbrellas to protect themselves from the scorching sun of Saudi Arabia.
Only as many as 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom participate in this year’s pilgrimage, compared to the gathering of around 2.5 million people from around the world in 2019, the AFP news agency reported.
“Keeping the ritual in the shadow of this pandemic … required reducing the number of pilgrims, but forced several official agencies to make a double effort,” King Salman, 84, said in a speech read on state television by acting media minister Majid Al-Qasabi.
Unlike in previous years, when they set out for the Kaaba, this year pilgrims were not allowed to touch the smooth stone cube covered in black cloth and wrapped in Arabic script on golden silk.
Hajj, which started on Wednesday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for disabled Muslims at least once in their lives.
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