On the evening of August 20, 2018, two Muslim pilgrims prayed and sought forgiveness on Mount Arafat near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Mount Arafat is about 70 meters high and is a granite hill about 40 kilometers east of the holy city of Mecca, with a huge stone pillar on the mountain. Every year millions of Muslim pilgrims come here to pray and seek forgiveness.
This year, more than 2 million Muslims from about 200 countries around the world took part in the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, with religious muslims coming from not only Asian countries, but also Muslims from Europe, Australia, Africa and even South America!
Muslim pilgrims silently headed toward Mount Arafat and the nearby Nimra Mosque. The Pilgrimage to Mecca is probably the largest and most influential cross-country trip in the world at the same time!
Even Muslim pilgrims with disabilities, accompanied by relatives and friends, will hike to Mount Arafat once to seek forgiveness and pray sincerely.
Several pilgrims from Indonesia arrived at the Arafat Plain on the eve of the Hajj pilgrimage (the plain under Mount Arafat is about 7 km wide and 13 km long, known as the Arafat Plain).
Several female Muslim pilgrims took photos at Mount Arafat in commemoration. Hajj is arguably a sacred duty that every Muslim performs at least once in his or her lifetime (unless it is impossible to achieve it due to poor health or financial hardship).
All Muslims who are financially and physically fit are required to undertake at least one five-day pilgrimage in their lifetime.
Pilgrims gather on arafat plains and mount Arafat to pray. According to official Saudi figures, about 54 million pilgrims have participated in the Hajj in Mecca over the past 25 years.
During the Hajj, male pilgrims usually wear only two pieces of unstied white cloth that can cover the body, known as pilgrimage clothing. Women wear loose clothing.
Female Muslim pilgrims pray reverently at Jabal al-Rahma, the Mountain of Mercy.
For Muslims, the Hajj reworked the Prophet Muhammad's farewell pilgrimage in 632. The Hajj is also one of the basic systems that Islam prescribes for believers to observe, and every adult Muslim with economic strength and physical strength has a religious obligation to go to Mecca for the Hajj.