MUZDALIFAH: Hundreds of pilgrims thronged at small cabins set up this year to distribute pouches of pebbles free among pilgrims on Thursday at Muzdalifah.
The government distributed millions of bags of sterilized pebbles to all pilgrims to felicitate them in performing the symbolic ritual of stoning the Satan at the Jamrat.
The Makkah municipality set up 37 centers for distributing the pebbles in Muzdalifah and the surrounding areas.
The idea was an instant hit with pilgrims from all over the globe as it saved time and energy they would have put to collect the 70 pebbles on their own.
“When I arrived at Muzdalifah from Arafat my first worry was to collect stones for Friday’s stoning ritual that will continue another three days. But then I heard from some fellow pilgrims that this year some small cabins set up by a Haj welfare group were distributing pebble pouches for free. I located one such cabin and collected two packs: one for myself and another for my wife. I really liked the idea,” said Egyptian Amr Al-Sulaimi.
Until last year pilgrims use to collect small stones from all over the Muzdalifah valley and some time they were exposed to unhygienic conditions while digging for stones.
With this facility we are now not worried about any such thing, said a pilgrim from United States, Ahmad Muhammad Shakir.
Earlier, speaking about the project, Muhammad Al-Amoudi, a member of a general planning committee for this year’s Haj, said: “This project targets three million pilgrims. We prepared one million bags. Each bag contained enough stones for three pilgrims, for the required three days of the stoning.”
“The idea of distributing the stones among the pilgrims has been recommended by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. It aims to make pilgrims more comfortable and to facilitate the Haj steps,” he said.
However, some pilgrims especially from South Asia were skeptical about the idea and preferred to collect pebbles from Muzdalifah themselves.
According to Al-Amoudi, Makkah’s officials discussed this new step with scholars, the grand mufti and other experts, who all confirmed that it falls in line with Islamic teachings.
“This will ensure the pilgrims comfort and safety because clean and sterilized stones will help to contain the spread of infectious diseases,” added Al-Amoudi.
The project includes several steps, said Al-Amoudi.
“First we will bring a large quantity of stones to Muzdalifah. Then we will wash them, sterilize them seven times and then place them out in the sun to dry. After finishing this process, we will check the stones again and remove any unacceptable ones. We will then place them in bags and distribute them to pilgrims,” he added.
