Haj pilgrims will proceed to plains of Arafat today

Nearly two million Muslims from across the world including India will perform Haj in Saudi Arabia today.  Marking the beginning of five-day pilgrimage, Haj pilgrims converged at Mina yesterday. After offering pre-dawn prayers, they will proceed to plains of Arafat today for the main ritual of Haj -reciting prayers. They will spend the day there praying and asking for God's forgiveness.                                     



  

The pilgrims will listen the Khutba-e-Haj or Haj Sermon at Nimra mosque and offer midday and afternoon prayers together before leaving for Muzdalifah in the evening, where they will spend the night under the open sky. The pilgrims will return to Mina tomorrow morning for ritual of animal sacrifice and symbolic stoning of the devil. For the first time since independence, a record number of 2 lakh pilgrims from India have gone there to perform Haj this year.