By Haroon-Ishola Balogun, Saudi Arabia
Muslims from different countries around the world assembled at the plains of Arafat, a sacred hill in Saudi Arabia for major Hajj rites on Saturday.
The pilgrims stood daylong in worship and reflection, from noon to sunset where they will move to Muzdalifah and proceed to Jamarat for the stoning rite.
In Islam, Hajj is not complete without presence on the plains of Arafat. Even those ailing pilgrims, receiving treatment at various hospitals were brought in to observe this important rite on the Arafat.
Prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon, known as the Farewell Sermon, at the sacred mount 1,435 years ago, where he called for equality and unity among Muslims.
Pilgrims, Ulamas offer prayers for Tinubu, Nigeria
Meanwhile, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, offered prayers for the country and administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
At a special session organised by the commission, prayers were rendered by team of scholars under the umbrella of Ulama Committee of NAHCON, in different Nigerian languages.
The scholars and pilgrims used the Special Prayer session to pray for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration, beseeched Allah to grant him wisdom and strength to tackle the multifaceted challenges facing the country and its citizens.
They prayed against all forms of insecurity such as kidnapping, banditry and terrorism, while also praying for peace, national unity and economic development of Nigeria.
Earlier, in his opening remark, the chairman, CEO, NAHCON, Malam Jalal Arabia appreciated the ulamas for considering the assignment .
He said “I am grateful to Allah for given us this day. We are grateful for this favour of Allah.
“We are starting new, you must have noticed some changes and that is because we are determined to bring new ideas to bring developmental changes to the areas of our operations.
“Certainly we would have learnt some lessons, we are determined to make all areas of our operations better.
“We can’t thank you enough, because you felt as people chosen by Allah, you have to be available to make things work out successfully.
“Please don’t leave us alone, we count on your advice, criticise us and we will make amends where we make mistakes.”
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Imams offer prayers in eight languages
Imam Nasir Adamu led the prayers in Arabic, while Dr Bashir Umar offered his prayers in English.
The Imam of Abuja Central Mosque, Dr Muhammad Kabir rendered his prayers in Hausa, Imam Rafie, Al-Ijebuwiy prayed in Yoruba language.
Sheikh Sulaiman Njoku prayed in Igbo language just as Imam Sufyan Jimeta prayed in fulfulde language. Imam Ahmed Shettima Ibrahim and Khalifa Sani AbdulQadir rendered their prayers in Kanuri and Nupe languages respectively.
