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In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon the master of all creatures, Muhammad, upon his immaculate household, upon their chosen companions, and upon those who follow them until the Day of Judgment.

Greetings be upon the Holy Ka’bah, the base of monotheism, the center of tawaf for believers and the settlement of angels. Greetings be upon Masjid al-Haraam, Arafat, Mash’ar and Mina. Greetings be upon humble hearts, praying tongues, insightful eyes and wise minds. And greetings be upon you blissful hajj pilgrims who have found the opportunity to respond to the divine call and who have gathered around this blessed banquet.

The first responsibility is to deliberate on this global, historical and eternal response: “Verily, all praise, blessings and dominions are Yours. You have no partner, I obey You”. This is the outlook that is imparted on hajj pilgrims in the first steps of this meaningful and significant responsibility. The continuation of this ritual is done in line with this outlook. It is presented to pilgrims as an eternal and unforgettable lesson and they are asked to coordinate their lives on the basis of it. Acquiring and acting on this great lesson is a blessed fountain that can shower freshness, life and dynamism onto the lives of Muslims and liberate them from the maladies that they are suffering from at this time and at all times.

The idol of selfishness, arrogance and lust, the idol of oppressing and being oppressed, the idol of global arrogance, the idol of laziness and irresponsibility and all other idols that belittle the venerable life of human beings will be broken with this Ibrahimi cry – when it comes from the bottom of one’s heart and when it is incorporated in one’s plan for life – and freedom, dignity and health will replace dependence, difficulty and calamity.

Dear brothers and sisters who are on the hajj pilgrimage, from whichever nation and whichever country, you should think about this instructive and divine word. You should define a responsibility for yourselves and endeavor to fulfill it by taking a deep look at the calamities of the world of Islam – particularly in West Asia and North Africa – and by paying attention to capacities and resources- personally and in your surroundings.

Today on the one hand, the vicious policies of America in the region – that have led to war, bloodshed, destruction, destitution, backwardness and tribal and denominational discord – and on the other hand, the crimes of the Zionist regime that has carried its usurping behavior in Palestine to extremes by showing utmost malevolence and viciousness, repeatedly insulting the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque and trampling upon the lives and property of the oppressed Palestinians- is the primary issue of all of you Muslims.

You should deliberate on it and know your Islamic responsibilities towards it. Religious ulama and political and cultural personalities have a much heavier responsibility, however they unfortunately ignore it in most cases.

Ulama, instead of fueling the fire of denominational discord, politicians – instead of adopting a passive outlook towards the enemy – and cultural personalities, instead of becoming busy with trivial matters, should identify the great pain of the world of Islam and embrace the mission whose fulfillment they are responsible for before divine justice.

The heartrending events in the region – in Iraq, Shaam, Yemen, Bahrain, the West Bank, Gaza and other Asian and African countries – are the great maladies of the Islamic Ummah. The fingerprints of global arrogance should be seen in these events and the cure for it should be thought about. Peoples should ask their governments to do so and governments should be loyal to their heavy responsibility.

And hajj and its magnificent gatherings are the best place for manifesting and exchanging this historical responsibility.

And the opportunity to express bara’at should be appreciated with the participation of all hajj pilgrims from everywhere in the world because it is one of the most expressive political rituals in this comprehensive duty.

This year, the bitter and devastating incident in Masjid al-Haraam brought bitter sorrow to pilgrims and their nations. Although the deceased – who rushed towards God while praying, doing tawaf and worshipping God – have found great happiness and although, God willing, they are resting in the safe haven of divine mercy and this is a great comfort to their families- this cannot reduce the responsibility of those people who are committed to ensuring the safety of God’s guests.

Acting on this commitment and fulfilling this responsibility is our firm demand.

Greetings be upon Allah’s righteous servants

Sayyid Ali Khamenei

Ibrahim thought it was Shaytan playing nasty tricks on him.

The next night Ibrahim had the same horrid dream.

Ibrahim knew that Allah would only ask him to do such a thing if he had good reason.

Even though he loved his son dearly, he was prepared to do this difficult thing for Allah.

Ibrahim told Ismail they had to go to Mount Arafat.

He took a knife and a rope with him.

On the way they passed a place called Mina. The devil, Shaytan, came to Ibrahim and

tried to talk him out of sacrificing his son.

Ibrahim turned his back on him and would not listen.

When they reached Mount Arafat, Ibrahim told Ismail what Allah wanted him to do.

Ismail listened and accepted what was to happen. He was an exceptional child.

He too was a great prophet.

Ismail told his father to tie his hands and legs and blindfold himself so he would not struggle and make his father even more upset than he was going to be and Ibrahim was blindfolded so he would not see his son suffer.

Ibrahim did as Ismail had said. He then took the knife and did what Allah had told him to do. When he took the blindfold from his eyes he looked down, not at his son but at a dead ram.

Ismail was at his side. Ibrahim was afraid.

He thought he had disobeyed but then he heard a voice telling him not to worry.

Allah looks after his followers. Ibrahim and Ismail had passed a difficult test.

Each year, during the month of Dhul Hijjah, many Muslims, from all over the world, travel

to Makkah. They want to remember what Ibrahim and Ismail did.

In the month of Dhul Hijjah these pilgrims go to Makkah, Mina and Arafat.

They visit places where Ibrahim and Ismail lived and preached.

They give a sacrifice just as Allah commanded Ibrahim to do. The pilgrims sacrifice animals in memory of the deed.

We must obey Allah’s commands as Ibrahim and Ismail did. We obey by doing the things we know are right, praying, obeying our parents and always telling the truth.

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Wuquf-e-Arafat (Stay at Mount Arafat)

Having spent the evening at Mina, the Tent City, Hajis are headed towards rocky hill, Mount Arafat where they believe the Prophet Mohammed gave his final sermon 14 centuries ago after leading his followers on the hajj.

Wuquf (Stay) in Arafat is performed from Zuhr to sunset on the 9th of Zil-Hajj of Islamic year.

Imam of Nimra Mosque will deliver his sermon to Hajj pilgrims in Arafat and the pilgrims would offer Zohar and Asar prayers jointly at Arafat.

The main action in Wuquf is not to pray lots of Nafils but to just stand facing the Baitul Haram (Sacred House) asking Allah for forgiveness while recognizing Him as our Lord.

The holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “Al Hajju Arafah,” means ‘standing in Arafat’ is the Hajj.

After the Wuquf-e-Arafat, the pilgrims would move towards Muzdalafa and there they would perform remaining two prayers, Maghrib and Isha, together.

All Hajj pilgrims will stay whole night in Muzdalfa and continue worships for forgiveness and pleasing God, the almighty.

They would perform Fajar prayer on morning of 10th Zil-Hajj in Muzdalfa and then return to Mina for following act of Hazrat Ibrahim (A.S), Rami, stoning the big Satan.

After stoning the Satan, Hajj pilgrims will shave off heads or trim hairs, to the prescribed level, and then would get off the Ahrams, Hajj cloths, at completion of Hajj rituals.

Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Adha and sacrifice Halal animals of their choices every year, after completion of Hajj proceedings.

Tired But Happy

A sandstorm blew and light rain fell as streaks of lightning lit up the skies above the vast plain surrounding Mount Arafat, where the faithful began to arrive ahead of the climax of hajj on Wednesday.

Many reached Arafat by bus but others walked from the holy city of Makkah about 15 kilometres (nine miles) away.

Some unloaded their luggage from buses while fellow pilgrims struggled in the winds to set up their tents beside the road.

Police manned checkpoints along the way to verify the permits of the faithful, many of whom appeared worn out, a contrast to the joy pilgrims showed earlier in Makkah.

“Transport is bad, our residence is bad, and food is really bad… even though we paid around $4,000 (3,603 euros) to come,” said Tunisian pilgrim Abu Salim, 58.

“However, tiredness for the sake of God is not that big a problem.”

For many, the hajj will be the highlight of their spiritual lives.

This year’s gathering is about the same size as last year’s, with 1.4 million foreign pilgrims joining hundreds of thousands of Saudis and residents of the kingdom.

They are undeterred by a construction crane collapse at Makkah’s Grand Mosque earlier this month that killed 109 people, including foreign pilgrims.

About 400 people were injured by the crane which was working on an expansion of Islam’s holiest site.

Previously marred by stampedes and fires that killed hundreds, the pilgrimage had been largely incident-free for the past nine years after safety improvements.

The hajj is among the five pillars of Islam and every capable Muslim must perform it at least once in a lifetime.

Yemeni pilgrim Mohammed al-Mikhlafi, 54, complained of “a lack of organisation” at the gathering, where he planned to pray for Muslim unity.

“One belongs to the Islamic State (IS) group, another to Al-Qaeda. These groups are destroying Islam while fighting under its banner,” said the Yemenia Airways employee, who lives in Saudi Arabia.

His wife stood covered from head to toe with only her eyes showing.

100,000 police

This year’s gathering takes place against a backdrop of increased jihadist violence in some Muslim countries, a surge of the potentially deadly MERS virus and the war in Saudi neighbour Yemen.

About 100,000 police have been deployed to secure pilgrimage sites and manage the crowds.

Authorities say they are on alert for possible attacks by extremists.

IS jihadists have bombed security forces and Shiite mosques in the kingdom in recent months.

Security forces have taken “measures to prevent terrorist groups from exploiting hajj season to carry out acts of sabotage,” interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki said.

This year’s hajj also comes with Saudi Arabia at war.

Since March the kingdom has led an Arab coalition conducting air strikes and supporting local forces in Yemen against Shia al-Houthi fighters.

Most Yemeni pilgrims performing the hajj this year already reside in the kingdom.

Among other challenges facing Saudi authorities is potential transmission of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

The capital saw a jump in infections last month, but health officials say there has never been a case of MERS infection among pilgrims.

The health ministry has mobilised thousands of medical workers to help ensure a virus-free pilgrimage and to care for routine ailments.

The first day of the hajj is known as Tarwiah Day, when pilgrims traditionally watered their animals and stocked water for their trip to Mount Arafat.

On the way, modern-day pilgrims stay in specially built fireproof tents during their stop in Mina, a city which only comes alive during hajj season.

At Mount Arafat they will pray and recite from the holy Koran.

Pilgrims start the hajj by entering ihram, a state of purity in which they must not quarrel, wear perfume, or cut their nails or hair.

During ihram, men wear a seamless two-piece shroud-like white garment, while women must wear loose dresses, generally also white, exposing only their faces and hands.

The clothing emphasises their unity, regardless of whether they spend the hajj in Makkah’s five-star hotels or in shabby highrise hostels.

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