The tent city of Mina where pilgrims assemble at the start of Haj. (EPA)

MINA, 18 January 2005 — Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims began streaming into Mina yesterday turning the tent city into a vast white canopy symbolizing their seamless dress and sense of sublime piety as this year’s Haj began in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.

Chanting “Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik” (Here I am Oh Lord) in unison, they started arriving in large numbers from Makkah after nightfall in preparation for a day of supplication and tomorrow’s Haj proper when the Standing on Arafat takes place.

The weather is pleasant with temperatures between 30 and 18 degrees Centigrade. The tent city is not yet crowded and pilgrims are just arriving; however, it is already bubbling with activity. All arrangements have been completed to receive pilgrims, but the authorities are still fine-tuning the operations onsite in order to make the pilgrims’ stay as safe and comfortable as possible.

Pilgrims will continue arriving in Mina until noon today and will spend the night in fireproof tents before catching a bus or walking to Mount Arafat tomorrow. They will spend the day in Mina in prayer and meditation. The white tents, stretching in all directions, symbolize the peace and purity of essential Islam. There is no violence or terrorism; the emphasis is on peace, love and tranquility.

After dawn tomorrow, the pilgrims will move toward Arafat for the culmination of the Haj, which symbolizes the Final Judgment. They will return to Mina on Thursday after spending the night in Muzdalifa, to stone the Jamrat — pillars representing the devil. Once back in Mina, they will sacrifice animals. Over a million sheeps have been imported, most of them from Sudan and Uruguay, to meet the pilgrims’ demands. Pilgrims will spend two additional days in Mina to take part in the symbolic three-day stoning of the devil.

Pilgrims have been arriving in the hundreds from the day the Haj Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAIA) opened on Dec. 12 to receive Haj flights. Security and other Haj-related arrangements and preparations are amazing. The Saudi authorities have mobilized more than 50,000 security personnel to ensure a peaceful Haj, free of any incident.

Interior Minister Prince Naif who toured the Holy Sites in Makkah on Saturday to inspect the Haj preparations as well as new projects said that the Kingdom had made enough security arrangements to secure the pilgrims’ safety during Haj. He stressed that new security equipment and machinery used at the Haj sites are meant to ensure maximum safety. He added that Saudi security forces are fully prepared to meet any contingency.

The five-day Haj rituals begin today. Police reinforcements have been posted at the entrances to Makkah and on roads leading to the Holy Sites; over 14,200 buses will be used to transport pilgrims within the area.

Of the security personnel deployed, Brig. Mansour Al-Turki, said that they are primarily concerned with traffic control and pilgrim safety; the great desire is to avoid any accidents which could result in the deaths of pilgrims. More than 10,000 officers have been assigned to deal with security matters.

The Ministry of Health is also on full alert, eager to serve the guests of God. The executive Haj Health Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Adnan Al-Bar, director of health in Makkah, stated that all health centers and hospitals in Makkah, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifa were well-equipped and ready to provide health care to pilgrims. The director said, “We have huge stockpiles of medicines to combat any outbreak of disease. There are so far no reports of contagious diseases among the pilgrims.”

More than 12,000 food outlets have been set up to feed the faithful. Bakeries are equipped to make 10 million loaves of bread each day.

Despite all arrangements and preparations by Saudi authorities to make Haj comfortable and safe for pilgrims, there is still both physical pain and hardship to be endured. In the end, however, all problems yield to a sense of blessed serenity.

An old man Mehboob Khan, 65, from Baroda in India, exemplifies the pain and hardship; he is tired, has a low fever but still feels this is the most blissful moment of his life. He said, “I’m an old man with a number of health problems, but still I have come all the way from India to this holy place to perform Haj and show my gratitude to the Almighty.”

Bespectacled and sporting a disheveled beard, 33-year-old Yussef Khan spent $3,000 to come to Makkah from China. “It’s my first visit here. I am delighted by this city which is the soul of Islam, particularly as I’m from China which is a country of many unbelievers,” he said.

Outside his tent, Faisal Dessay, 26, from Reunion chats to his fellow compatriots from the French island in the Indian Ocean. “It’s awe-inspiring. It is an experience that every Muslim has to live through,” he said, adding that he was fed up with Al-Qaeda and the advocates of militancy. “Osama Bin Laden and the terrorists say they act in the name of Islam, but our religion preaches the opposite of what they practice,” he said, adding that Islam was “a religion of peace and mercy.”

Ikhlaque Qadri, a Bangladeshi, is ecstatically happy. He said only those fortunate ones whom God calls are able to come to perform Haj. “And I’m grateful to Him that I was summoned. I have waited for this moment for years and finally it arrived and now, I’m in the Holy Land.”

Zein Al-Arifin, a 43-year-old Indonesian, had thoughts only for the tens of thousands of victims of last month’s tsunami that devastated several countries in South Asia.

“I’m going to pray for the victims and all Indonesian pilgrims will do the same,” he said. “The tsunami was sent by God to test our faith and we must be patient in the face of these trials.”