MINA: The faithful in many countries celebrated the first day of Eidul Azha on Friday, as some two million pilgrims performed rites of Haj in Saudi Arabia.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims made their way towards a massive multi-storey complex in Mina after dawn on Friday to cast pebbles at three large columns that symbolise the devil.

Under close supervision of Saudi authorities, pilgrims clad in white robes converged on Jamarat carrying pebbles to perform the rite. Some of them carried umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun, with temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius.

In previous years, mismanagement and jostling to perform the stoning before returning to pray at the Grand Mosque in Makkah accounted for many of the stampedes and crushes that have afflicted Haj.

Eid celebrated in many countries across world

At least 800 people were killed in a stampede resulting from a collision between two groups who were en route to performing the stoning. The Saudi government has since widened some roads in Mina to try and improve the safety of the pilgrims.

King Salman was in Mina on Friday, the first day of Eidul Azha in the kingdom. He and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, welcomed well-wishers at a palace gathering attended by princes, clerics, military leaders and other distinguished guests.

In countries where Eid was celebrated on Friday, the faithful offered special prayers in mosques and prayed for the well-being of the Ummah. Many of them used the occasion to pray for the safety and welfare of people trapped in conflicts, from Kashmir, Palestine and Myanmar to Yemen, Syria and Iraq.

Big gatherings were held at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the mosque of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in Madina. Huge congregations were also organised in almost all the cities in Malaysia, Indonesia, Qatar, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Afghanistan.

However, most Pakistanis will celebrate the first day of Eid on Saturday (today).

In the United States, Muslims opened the Champions Islamic Centre mosque, Houston, on the eve of Eidul Azha for the evacuees of Hurricane Harvey.

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad made a rare public appearance outside Damascus for Eid prayers, state media reported.

In Russia, a large number of Muslims gathered for prayers at the Central Mosque in Moscow.

Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is in London to attend to his ailing wife, offered Eid prayers at the Pakistan High Commission, TV channels reported. He was accompanied by sons Hasan and Hussain, and nephew Suleiman Shehbaz. In his brief talk with the media after the prayers, Mr Sharif extended his greetings to the whole nation. Many world leaders and eminent personalities also took to Twitter to convey their greetings on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2017