MAKKAH: Volunteers planted small iron bars around a big rock in Makkah to prevent it from rolling down on pilgrims converging for the annual Haj next month.

The Sada newspaper published a picture of the rock which it said is awkwardly placed on Jabal Al-Rahma (Mountain of Mercy) in the plain of Arafat in Makkah.

It said the bars were planted around the rock by volunteers.

Standing in the plain of Arafat and on Jabal Al-Rahma is a fundamental part of the Haj ritual. Muslims spend the whole day on the mountain and the plain surrounding it to pray and to supplicate to God to forgive their sins on the 9th of Dul Hijjah.