More than 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims were performing final devil-stoning rites on Monday, thanking God and Saudi Arabia there had been no repeat of the tragedies that marred the hajj in recent years.
"Praise be to God, we have had a safe hajj this year. I bring my sons with me normally (for protection), but this year I found I was okay without them," said Saadiya Mustafa from Egypt.
"The organisation has been great," said Indian pilgrim Sayed Yousef, sitting on top of a van amid severe traffic congestion on the final day of hajj. "I was here two years ago, but this time there was more free food and less hassle."
Authorities congratulated themselves that the hajj rites had passed off without incident so far, although the last day could see a surge of pilgrims in the rush to finish and leave.
"There have been no security violations at all at the Jamarat area," Interior Minister Prince Nayef told reporters.
It was on the final day of the last hajj that 362 pilgrims were crushed to death during the stoning-throwing ritual. Another such incident would be a major embarrassment for Saudi Arabia in the Islamic world.
New construction work completed in recent months allows 250,000 pilgrims to pass over the Jamarat Bridge each hour, to throw stones at three large walls representing the spot where Satan tempted the biblical patriarch Abraham. For the first time, Saudi authorities have also removed pilgrim squatters who often set up makeshift tents in the area.
Saudi Arabia regularly deploys more than 50,000 security men to try to avoid deadly stampedes, as well as attacks by al Qaeda-linked militants opposed to the US-allied Saudi royals.
The five-day rites were overshadowed by the hanging on Saturday of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, a hero to some Sunni Arabs because of his anti-US stance, but hated by many Shi'ites.
Saudi Arabia criticised Iraq for despoiling the spirit of the hajj, one of the world's biggest displays of mass religious devotion, which is a duty for all able-bodied Muslims who can afford it.
The hanging also raised fears of clashes at the hajj, where police have used force to put down protests in the past.
Security was already tight during this hajj season because of sectarian strife between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.
Saudi officials say 2.4 million pilgrims are officially on the hajj, but with hundreds of thousands of local residents sneaking into Mecca without official permits, the total number could be closer to a record 3 million.
Pilgrims, mostly on foot, cover a 44-kilometre route around Mecca during the gruelling rites, as well as walking some 15 kilometres in at least three visits to the city's vast mosque complex. Source
to the Saudi's for finally getting together alhamdulillah.
"...You are my Walî in this world and in the Hereafter. Cause me to die as a Muslim, and join me with the righteous." [Surah Yusuf 101]
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to the Saudi's for finally getting together alhamdulillah.
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