November 28, 2009 18:07 PM

Stoning At Arafat Goes Off Smoothly

From Ahmad Kamil Tahir

MECCA, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- More than 2.5 million Haj pilgrims stoned pillars symbolising the devil at the Jamrat Bridge in Mina on the first day Friday of the three-day ritual here.

They performed the stoning with ease, now that a massive 4.6-billion Saudi Riyal (RM4.1 billion) multi-storey structure has been built to reduce overcrowding.

"Everything went according to plan and there was no untoward incident at the Jamrat," the "Arab News" English daily quoted a security official as saying.

The newspaper said the flow of pilgrims started early Friday morning and continued till late in the evening, and the faithful chanted "Allah-o-Akbar" (God is great) as the stoned the Jamrat Al-Aqaba.

A large security force monitored pilgrims heading for the stoning after slaughtering sheep in a ritual for Aidiladha (Feast of the Sacrifice) that recalls Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Prophet Ismail on God's order.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, in his speech, issued a warning to those who harboured evil designs against the country.

"Those who think that the sovereignty and security of the country could be a facile target for enemies with sickly notions will realise that they are under an illusion.

"Those who committed injustice will know that they will be paid in kind. Just as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not approve injustice to others, it also will not allow anyone to defile even an inch of its land," he said.

-- BERNAMA

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