Masses of pilgrims in Saudi Arabia threw pebbles at a large pillar in a symbolic ritual on Wednesday, one of the final days of the Hajj as Muslims around the world started celebrating the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.
Pilgrims in Mina, Saudi Arabia, at the annual Islamic pilgrimage chanted “Allahu akbar,” or God is great, while throwing pebbles in a ritual seen as a symbolic stoning of the devil. The act also is seen as a symbol of rejecting evil and a commemoration of the Prophet Ibrahim’s rejection of temptation when the devil tried to dissuade him from submitting to God’s will.
