Muslim hajj pilgrims perform Satan stoning ritual

Muslim worshippers throw pebbles as part of the symbolic al-A’qabah (stoning of the devil ritual) at the Jamarat Bridge during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mina, near Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca on August 11, 2019. FETHI BELAID / AFP

Almost 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims took part Sunday in the “stoning of the devil”, the last major ritual of the annual hajj pilgrimage and one that has in past years led to deadly stampedes.

Carrying pebbles in the scorching heat, worshippers made their way across Mina Valley near Mecca in western Saudi Arabia to symbolically “humiliate” the devil.

Under the watchful eyes of security forces, waves of pilgrims clad in white threw seven stones each at a pillar symbolising Satan.

“It is hot, I drink a lot of water and I am still hidden under my umbrella,” said Jaker Akjar, a 48-year-old Indian pilgrim, sporting a henna-dyed beard.