Stoning the devil marks Hajj

SAUDI ARABIA: Pilgrims pelted pillars symbolising the devil with pebbles to show their defiance on the third day of the Hajj on Friday as Muslims worldwide marked the Eid al-Adha holy day with mass animal sacrifices.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims filed by the three jamarat pillars in Mina tossing stones to mark Abraham’s three rejections of the devil’s attempts to persuade him to ignore God’s instructions to sacrifice his son Ishmael as related in the Koran.

The stoning was orderly during the night and early morning Friday, as Saudi authorities hoped enlarged pillars and a newly-built five storey pilgrim walkway would avert the deadly stampedes of previous years caused by the crush of the faithful as they jammed into the area for the required ritual.

The stoning is followed by the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of head of livestock, also rooted in the Koranic account.

As Abraham fended off the devil and moved toward fulfilling the command to kill Ishmael, an angel intervened and revoked the command, supplying Abraham instead with a ram to sacrifice.

Muslims around the world ritually kill goats, sheep and cattle on this day to commemorate Abraham’s obedience to God and Ishmael’s reprieve.

An estimated 2.5 million Muslims from all over the world were in the holy city of Mecca this week for the hajj, braving the threat of swine flu which has killed four of their number and a heavy downpour on Tuesday that caused mass flooding in nearby Jeddah. At least 77 people died.

Weather was clear in Mecca early on Friday as pilgrims filed around the Jamarat and smiled and waved at television cameras broadcasting the ritual. MECCA, Friday, AFP