Hajj participants stoned Shaitan, the Muslim world celebrates Eid al-Atha

More than 1.7 million pilgrims gathered in the Mina Valley to take part in the stoning of Shaitan, considered one of the central and most dangerous stages of the Hajj. It was here that stampedes repeatedly occurred with hundreds, or even thousands of victims.

The devil is symbolized by three pillars. You need to throw seven stones into each of them. To avoid accidents, multi-tiered overpasses are located around the pillars.

The ceremony refers the faithful to the sacrifice of Abraham. According to Muslim tradition, Ibrahim had to sacrifice to Allah not Isaac, but Ishmael, and threw stones at Satan, who tempted him.

The symbolic stoning of Shaitan opens the Eid al-Atha holiday. It was installed in memory of Ibrahim’s willingness to submit to the will of Allah and sacrifice his son to him.

By Editor