Muslim pilgrims take part in the ritual "stoning of Satan"
© AFP Roslan Rahman

MINA, Saudi Arabia (AFP) - Eager pilgrims who had travelled from across the world thronged around the Jamarat Bridge at Mina east of Mecca from the early hours to throw pebbles at the three massive pillars representing the devil.

With cries of "Allahu Akbar" -- God is greater -- echoing around the valley, the vast multitude of hajjis completed the ritual as the ceremony began drawing to a close.

People spoke of their joy at completing the hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam which all Muslims must undertake once in a lifetime if they have the means to do so.

"My husband is blind and we are both very old, but we are glad we're here though we have our disabilty to overcome," said Fozia from Pakistan as she led her elderly partner through the crowd.

Egyptian Zaynab, attending with her husband and child, added: "My child is very frightened by the noise and it is very dirty here, but this is an important hajj ritual because we have many tests to overcome."

Muslim pilgrims take part in the ritual "stoning of Satan"
© AFP Roslan Rahman

After throwing their pebbles at the pillars, pilgrims began returning to the Grand Mosque in Mecca before making their trip home.

"It was a good release of anger and frustration, especially in our material world. Temptations are many, you know," said Sami, a Canadian Muslim from Toronto performing the hajj with his wife.

Hundreds of slippers lost during the ritual and empty drinking bottles used by the faithful to carry pebbles littered the three-storey bridge overlooking the pillars.

Security forces and medical staff stood by to guard against any repetition of tragedies that have marked the hajj in previous years.

There have been no reported deaths or injuries caused by overcrowding at this year's celebrations, but thousands of people have lost their lives during previous pilgrimages, some in stampedes as pilgrims jostled and pushed to get close to Satan's pillars.

Muslim pilgrims take part in the ritual "stoning of Satan"
© AFP Roslan Rahman

In January 2006, 364 people were killed in a huge crush during the stoning ceremony, and a similar tragedy in 2004 saw 251 people trampled to death.

The worst incident was in 1990 when 1,426 people suffocated in a tunnel at Mina after a ventilation system broke down.

Saudi authorities have now added a third level to the bridge complex to ease the pressure, allowing more than 200,000 people an hour to cast stones at the pillars.

According to official Saudi figures a total of 2,454,325 pilgrims from 181 nations, 1,707,814 of them from outside the kingdom, are performing this year's pilgrimage.

The pillars at Jamarat are traditionally believed to be the place where the devil appeared to Abraham, his wife Hagar and son Ishmael.

This year Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the first president of the Islamic republic to take part in the hajj after he was invited to attend by King Abdullah.

His visit had an added political significance because of the sometimes rocky relations between Shiite Iran and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia, both key players in the Middle East.

©AFP