This year’s annual Haj pilgrimage has drawn more than 1.8 million worshippers, with most of the faithful coming from abroad.

A day earlier, hundreds of thousands of Muslims crowded Mount Arafat to pray at the height of the Haj pilgrimage held in the fierce Saudi Arabian summer.

Today, Muslims will take part in the stoning of the devil ritual as the biggest Haj pilgrimage since the pandemic draws to a close. The ritual marks the start of the three-day Eidul Azha holiday.

Afterwards, the pilgrims return to Makkah to perform a farewell tawaf — walking seven times around the Holy Kaaba.

Header image: Muslim pilgrims attend the annual Haj pilgrimage outside Namira Mosque on the plain of Arafat, outside the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia on June 27. — Reuters