Mina: Over 1.5 lakh Indians along with tens of thousands of Muslims from across the globe on Tuesday marked the beginning of the Haj pilgrimage, the world’s largest annual gathering, as they travelled from the holy city of Mecca to nearby tent-city of Mina to perform the first rites.
Chanting ‘Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik’ (I come to you, Oh my Lord, I come to you), pilgrims clad in white seamless cloth began moving to the tent-city Mina in groups.
During Haj, men pilgrims wear a seamless two-piece white garment, symbolising a state of purity. Women also generally wear white, covering full body except their faces and hands. While a significant number of pilgrims started the five kilometre journey from Mecca to Mina last night, most of the pilgrims began soon after pre-dawn prayers on Tuesday. Most pilgrims embarked on board buses arranged by their respective Haj missions and the Saudi government but some preferred moving on foot.
Emotional scenes were witnessed as on arrival many pilgrims could not control tears and many thanked Allah. There are 1,60,000 fire-proof tents in Mina to accommodate pilgrims.
