Pilgrims Pray for End to Pandemic as Hajj Peaks

As the annual Hajj reached its peak, some 60,000 masked and socially distant Muslims gathered Monday at Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat to pray and call for a quick end to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the second year, the pilgrimage was limited to Saudi citizens and residents age 18-65 who have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from the virus. Normally, the Hajj draws more than 2 million people. Mount Arafat is believed to be where the Prophet Muhammad delivered his last sermon. "It is an indescribable feeling that I got selected among millions of people to attend the Hajj,” Um Ahmed, a Palestinian pilgrim who lives in Riyadh, said in an interview with Reuters. “I pray for God to put an end to these hard times the whole world has gone through under the coronavirus."