All roads leading to the tent city of Mina were crowded with buses carrying pilgrims Thursday evening. As the caravan of buses proceeded toward Mina, men in seamless white clothes and women in robes and headscarves were heard chanting the Talbiya “Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik...” By midnight the tent city decked out to receive the Guests of Allah was teeming with pilgrims, who were seen exchanging pleasantries after settling down in their respective locations. Around 2.5 million pilgrims begin their Haj rituals, Friday, the first official day of the Haj. All pilgrims will spend the day worshipping before heading to Arafat. Later they travel to an open plain called Muzdalifa, between Arafat and Mina, to collect pebbles which they will throw at pillars representing Satan. Saudi authorities have mobilized some 100,000 security and Civil Defense personnel to insure a smooth pilgrimage. The Kingdom has drawn up a comprehensive plan and committed significant resources to ensure a successful Haj, said Dr. Fouad Bin Abdulsalam Al-Farsy, Minister of Haj, addressing the inaugural session of the annual Grand Haj Symposium. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Aal Al-Sheikh, Grand Mufti and Chairman of the Board of Senior Ulema and Religious Research and Ifta Administration, said pilgrims have come from all over the world to seek “Allah's forgiveness and reward in the Hereafter. To do this they have left their countries and loved ones. The greatest benefit they will reap is that their hearts will show obedience to Almighty Allah”. The Grand Mufti added that Haj is not a place for wrangling, personal pursuits and protests. These are grave sins and will be punished by Almighty Allah here and in the Hereafter. The Kingdom launched a new $10.6 billion project for an extension to the Grand Mosque to increase its capacity to two million worshippers. Investments also included a light-railway connection linking the holy sites. “My joy has no bounds,” said pilgrim Adel Abu Kasseh of Libya. “It is the first time that I am performing the pilgrimage after my country has been liberated,” he said. __
