Saudi Arabia’s King Salman wishes Muslims around the world a blessed Eid al-Adha

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz has wished Muslims around the world a blessed Eid al-Adha, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday.

“I pray that God accepts the Hajj pilgrimage of all those who performed the ritual this year,” King Salman said on the first day of Eid al-Adha.

“Following the exceptional circumstances (due to the coronavirus pandemic), pilgrims have been able to perform Hajj thanks to God and thanks to the massive efforts of workers in all sectors in the Kingdom,” he said.

King Salman noted that Saudi Arabia increased the number of pilgrims allowed to participate in this year’s Hajj to one million from inside and outside the Kingdom following the authorities’ success in confronting the pandemic.

Earlier on Saturday, Hajj pilgrims started heading to Saudi Arabia’s Mina to perform the symbolic ‘stoning of the devil’ ritual.

The ritual is an emulation of Prophet Ibrahim’s stoning of the devil at the three spots where he is said to have appeared trying to dissuade him from obeying God’s order to sacrifice his son, Ismael.

Hajj is considered the world’s largest religious gathering, with about 2.5 million people performing the ritual in 2019.

However, due to COVID-19, the Kingdom had sharply decreased the number of pilgrims allowed to perform the ritual.