PLAIN OF ARAFAT, Jan 31: Saudi Arabia's grand Mufti said terror and violence must be mercilessly crushed and urged women to be modest and adhere to Islam's values in a special Haj sermon on Saturday.

"Islam has forbidden violence in all its forms; it has forbidden hijacking aeroplanes, ships and other means of transport and has forbidden all acts that would undermine security," said Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh at Namirah mosque on the Plain of Arafat, the site of Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) last sermon 14 centuries ago.

"Allah says the penalty of those that fight Allah and his prophet and spread violence and terror is to be killed, crucified or have their hands and legs chopped off.

"Islam has also called for the killing of anyone who attempts to undermine legitimate rulers or divide Muslims," he said.

The Mufti then questioned why "Islam is branded by some as the religion of terror given its strong opposition to terror.

"You must know of Islam's firm stance against all these terrible crimes that are attributed to it."

The Mufti urged millions of pilgrims and prayer-goers gathered inside and outside the mosque to "praise the leaders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who are providing us with peace and security."

His sermon preceded a Haj prayer that combines the daily Zohr and Asr prayers to mark the holy prophet's farewell sermon on Arafat near Makkah.

Dressed in white robes to mark a state of purity erasing differences of class or culture, the pilgrims headed at dawn to Mount Rahma where the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) gave his farewell sermon 14 centuries ago.

As the sun rose over Mount Arafat, the outcrop covered in large boulders became a blanket of white as pilgrims trekked to the top.

Crowding on to the space among East Asian pilgrims who had slept there all night, other worshippers prayed and joined in the hypnotic chant in Arabic: "O Allah, I am in Thy presence again, there is no presence like Thine presence, to You is the praise, the power and domain, there is no equal to You."

A carnival atmosphere filled the huge pilgrim city at Arafat. Roadside hawkers sold everything from umbrellas to ward off the sun, to prayer mats and beads. Men were offering to take pictures of pilgrim groups for up to $12 a photograph, and enterprising teenagers offered camel rides for around $3.

Pilgrims on Sunday will throw stones at pillars on the spot where the devil is said to have appeared to Hazrat Abraham (AS).

Eidul Azha falls the same day, with pilgrims sacrificing sheep, goats and cows in commemoration of Hazrat Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Hazrat Ismail (AS) at Allah's command.

Saudi authorities have taken unprecedented security measures to protect the pilgrims.

But this has been marred by violence in Riyadh where raids on two hideouts of Muslim militants on Thursday night netted a booby-trapped car and 21 explosives belts among large amounts of arms and explosives, according to the interior ministry.

The security operation followed the fatal shooting, on Thursday, of six security men and the father of a detained suspect during a search of his home.

Saudi Arabia has been battling militants believed linked to the Al Qaeda network since a string of suicide bombings killed 52 people in Riyadh in May and November last year.

The kingdom has also been on a cautious path of reforms that critics say are necessary if the roots of fundamentalism and violence are to be dealt with.

These include the controversial public role of women in the conservative kingdom.

The Mufti repeated his strong opposition on Saturday to recent efforts to allow women to mix more freely with men.-AFP/ Reuters