The rains were not hard but gusty winds increased their impact. Some of the pilgrims refused to look for shelter and instead enjoyed the showers. “This is the sign from God that our Haj has been accepted,” said Iranian pilgrim Ibrahim Mohammadi. “This is rahma (a blessing).”
There was lightning and thunderstorms. The lightning was quite intense, and the skies flashed every few seconds. Inside the tents raindrops created a pitter patter. Many pilgrims busied themselves reading verses from the Holy Quran aloud. Many of them used cell phones to warn others not to venture out.
The roads have become slippery, and the makeshift shops that vendors from Makkah and Jeddah had set up had to fold up.
Pilgrims huddled inside their tents and prayed for the wellbeing of everyone in and around Mina. Those pilgrims who erected makeshift plastic tents fared worse. The winds threatened to rip off their tents. To make matters worse, some had pitched tents at steep inclines on the Mina mountainsides.
Officials from several pilgrim establishments expressed concern. Floods in the past wreaked havoc in areas surrounding Makkah and Mina. “We have taken all precautions and the civic officials have made good arrangements for rain water drainage,” said Naif Al-Muttawa of the Southeast Asian Pilgrim Establishment. “Let us hope these dark clouds will be carried away from here.”
Earlier in the day, nearly three million pilgrims threw stones at all the three walls representing the devil on the second day of a Haj ritual here that represents Prophet Abraham’s rejection of Satan’s temptations.
Civil Defense and Interior Ministry helicopters monitored pilgrim traffic that flowed smoothly on the multilayered Jamrat complex throughout the day.
In the last of the Haj rituals, pilgrims chanting “God is Greatest” threw seven small pebbles at each of the three gray stone walls. The stoning that symbolizes the rejection of evil and temptations will be repeated again on Thursday as the Haj draws to a close. Watched and guided by friendly security officers, pilgrims were directed to approach the stoning site in orderly waves.
On one occasion, a group of Egyptian pilgrims lost its cool and got into a heated exchange of words with security officials. They were pacified after the intervention of top officials.
Interior Minister Prince Naif formally received here the Islamic dignitaries and heads of Haj missions. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah had asked him to supervise Haj arrangements to receive the foreign guests.
Among the dignitaries who attended the reception were Sudanese President Omar Bashir, Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Gambian President Yahya Jambi, Gabon President Ali Bongo, Dagestani President Mohammad Salam Muhammidov, Senegalese Premier Solomon Indeni, Yemen's Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Karim Al-Arhabi, GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Atiyyah, Malaysian Foreign Minister Sri Anifah, Lebanese former Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Egypt's former Prime Minister Abdul Aziz Hijazi. The ceremony was also attended by Makkah Gov. Khaled Al-Faisal, senior princes, ministers, ulema, top officials, and ambassadors of Arab and Islamic countries.
The stoning ritual tends to be the most animated, with pilgrims heaving their pebbles along with declarations against the evils they perceive in the world. The ritual is largely symbolic. However, a lot of pilgrims were seen venting their fury while performing it.
“I stoned the devil with all my might today. I was too weak on Tuesday having spent the day in standing at Arafat and sleeping out in the open in Muzdalifah ... I couldn’t really mete out justice to this Satan ... He needs to be stoned vigorously,” said Bangladeshi pilgrim Tufail Muhammad. “This is an act of self-purification,” he said as he completed his stone throwing.
“Alhamdulillah, the stoning was peaceful and smooth and everybody is safe and sound,” said Mokhtar Tayseer from Palestine.
“The pilgrimage has gone much easier than I expected,” said M. K. Muneer, a minister from India's Kerala state. “It was very peaceful and organized. I am very impressed with the arrangements,” he told Arab News. According to him, the beauty of Haj is that nobody gets any preferential treatment here. “Whether one is a minister or a commoner, everyone is wearing the same stuff and performing the same rituals,” he said. “We all know that in Islam there in no difference between rich and poor, black and white but it is only here during Haj that one gets to see those noble principles in practice.”
Though symbolic, some pilgrims felt the stoning act should be perpetuated by the world against those “devils” that ruin the very fabric of coexistence and world peace. “They should be stoned in the same way the devil is pelted with pebbles,” said Egyptian pilgrim Mohammad Abdel Ghani.
For some pilgrims, the stoning of the devil was actually getting rid of the devil within. “This is an act of self-purification,” said Maulana Sadeq from Pakistan.
“By doing this, we are saying that from today on we have decided to live according to the principles of Islam ... That we will not indulge in usury, that we will not harm others, that we will remain steadfast in the defense of Islam.”
“There were, by the grace of God, no injuries and no deaths,” said an Interior Ministry official. “It is an achievement that the whole exercise went off in a much, much better way than last time. We always try to achieve the best possible results. This will not stop us from further streamlining and improving health services in the future.”
“I finished the stoning ritual in a matter of minutes,” said Umar Salama, a Saudi national from Hafr Al-Batin.
“The only difficulty I faced was to get to Jamrat. I had to walk to lot. Once I reached the complex, it was a piece of cake,” he added.
“The experience of the Jamrat today for me was exhilarating, especially being amongst all those people who were casting stones at their own devils. It encouraged me to do the same,” said Saudi-based Somali pilgrim Salim Bakar.
“I hope for a new start and I will definitely go back a changed person. It has been a great experience. The traffic was orderly and I didn’t feel like I was going to be crushed at anytime. We did not take much to the Jamrat except our stones and a bottle of water. I took my wife and did not fear for her at anytime. Everything went smoothly.”
“I feel relieved at finally being able to complete these most challenging Haj rites. I feel cleansed, spiritually and mentally,” said Canadian pilgrim Omar Ali.
“I just hope I can build on this fresh start and be the best Muslim I can be. The Jamrat experience was unbelievably smooth, considering the horror stories we’ve heard about stampedes there in the past. But we have no complaints. The authorities have done a fantastic job.”
