Mount Arafat, NU Online
Muslim pilgrims from around the world began gathering before dawn Wednesday in the valley of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for a day of prayer that marks the pinnacle of the annual haj pilgrimage.
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Some 2 million pilgrims will be packed should-to-shoulder for an emotional day. Many wept as they stretched their hands out toward the sky in supplication to ask for forgiveness and pray for loved ones.

It was on this day some 1,400 years ago that Islam's Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his final sermon from Mount Arafat during the haj, calling for equality and for Muslims to unite.

Muslims believe prayer on this day at Mount Arafat, about 20 kilometers east of Mecca, is their best chance to erase past sins and start anew.

The five-day haj pilgrimage began Tuesday. To shed symbols of materialism, male pilgrims wear white terry cloth garments meant to symbolize humility and equality. Women forgo makeup and perfume, cover their heads and wear loose-fitting clothing.

Islam requires that able-bodied Muslims perform the haj once in their lives. While following a route the Prophet Muhammad once walked, the rites are believed to ultimately trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael as they are named in the Bible.

The haj also includes circling Islam's holiest site the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure in Mecca's Grand Mosque that observant Muslims around the world face in prayer five times a day.

The pilgrimage requires physically demanding purification rites and often walking long distances. Pilgrims with disabilities and the elderly are pushed in wheelchairs.

Saudi authorities say there are 1.4 million international visitors for the haj this year. Some 600,000 pilgrims from the kingdom itself are also expected to take part.

Millions of Muslims save for years to make the journey. (masdar)