Muslims from around the world started the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on Friday. Roughly two million people will be on the Mountain of Arafat for a day-long vigil. Pilgrims will then head to Muzdalifah, a rocky plain area a few miles away.
Saudi officials have said they expect the number of pilgrims this year to exceed those in 2023, when more than 1.8 million people performed hajj, approaching pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, over 2.4 million Muslims made the pilgrimage. Saudi authorities control the flow of pilgrims through quotas, allowing each country one pilgrim for every thousand Muslim citizens.
The hajj is an annual pilgrimage that millions of Muslims make to Mecca with the intention of performing religious rites as taught by the Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] to his followers 14 centuries ago.
The fifth pillar of Islam, the hajj is mandatory once in a lifetime for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it and is the most significant manifestation of Islamic faith and unity. The hajj begins in the 12th month of the Islamic year, which is lunar, not solar, meaning the hajj and the fasting month of Ramadan can fall at different times of the solar calendar each year.
A quota system for visitors to Mecca was introduced in 1987, agreed by member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, to limit the number allowed by each country to 0.1% of its population.
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