It was a moving scene. In a perfect show of unity and self-discipline, pilgrims poured into the plain of Arafat from Makkah and Mina before dawn for a key ritual around the site where Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) gave his farewell sermon. Hajis spent the day at Arafat in reflection and reading the Holy Qur’an.

Some were crying as Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh called on Muslims the world over to follow the true principles of Islam in his address. Mount Arafat was draped in white as thousands of pilgrims climbed upon the 70-meter-high hill to meditate.