Masses of pilgrims on June 16 embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia under the soaring summer heat. The ritual marks the final days of the Haj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Id al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world.

The stoning is among the final rites of the Haj, which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It came a day after more than 1.8 million pilgrims congregated at a sacred hill, known as Mount Ararat, outside the holy city of Mecca, which Muslim pilgrims visit to perform the annual five-day rituals of Haj

Fourteen Jordanian pilgrims have died from sunstroke during the Haj, according to Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it has coordinated with Saudi authorities to bury the dead in Saudi Arabia, or transfer them to Jordan.

Mohammed Al-Abdulaali, spokesman for the Saudi Health Ministry, told reporters that more than 2,760 pilgrims suffered from sunstroke and heat stress on Sunday alone. He said the number was likely to increase and urged attendees to avoid the sun at peak times and drink water. “Heat stress is the greatest challenge,” he said.

The pilgrims left Mount Arafat on Saturday evening to spend their night in a nearby site known as Muzdalifa, where they collected pebbles to use in the symbolic stoning of pillars representing the devil.

The pillars are in another sacred place in Mecca, called Mina, where Muslims believe Ibrahim’s faith was tested when God commanded him to sacrifice his only son Ismail. Ibrahim was prepared to submit to the command, but then God stayed his hand, sparing his son. In the Christian and Jewish versions of the story, Abraham is ordered to kill his other son, Isaac.

On Sunday morning, crowds headed on foot to the stoning areas. Some were seen pushing disabled pilgrims on wheelchairs on a multi-lane road leading to the complex housing the large pillars. Most pilgrims were seen sweltering and carrying umbrellas to protect them against the burning summer sun.

An Associated Press reporter saw many pilgrims, especially among the elderly, collapsing on the road to the pillars because of the burning heat. Security forces and medics were deployed to help, carrying those who fainted on gurneys out of the heat to ambulances or field hospitals. As the temperature spiked by midday, more people required medical help. The heat had reached to 47 C (116.6 F) in Mecca, and 46 C (114.8 F) in Mina, according to Saudi meteorological authorities.

Despite the suffocating heat, many pilgrims expressed joy at being able to complete their pilgrimage.

“Thank God, (the process) was joyful and good,” said Abdel-Moaty Abu Ghoneima, an Egyptian pilgrim. “No one wants more than this.”

Many pilgrims will spend up to three days in Mina, each casting seven pebbles at three pillars in a ritual to symbolize the casting away of evil and sin.

While in Mina, they will visit Mecca to perform their “tawaf,” or circumambulation, which is circling the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque counterclockwise seven times. Then another circumambulation, the Farewell Tawaf, will mark the end of Haj as pilgrims prepare to leave the holy city.

The rites coincide with the four-day Eid al-Adha, which means “Feast of Sacrifice,” when Muslims with financial means commemorate Ibrahim’s test of faith through slaughtering livestock and animals and distributing the meat to the poor.

Most countries marked Id al-Adha on Sunday. Others, like Indonesia, will celebrate it Monday.

President Joe Biden in a statement wished Muslims around the world a blessed Id al-Adha and noted the holiday is a time of prayer, reflection and sacrifice.

“The Haj and Id al-Adha remind us of our equality before God and the importance of community and charity — values that speak directly to the American character,” it said. “The United States is blessed to be home to millions of American Muslims who enrich our nation in countless ways, from medicine to technology, education, public service, the arts, and beyond.”

Once the Haj is over, men are expected to shave their heads and remove the shroud-like white garments worn during the pilgrimage, and women to snip a lock of hair in a sign of renewal and rebirth.

Most of the pilgrims then leave Mecca for the city of Medina, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) away, to pray in Prophet Muhammad’s tomb, the Sacred Chamber. The tomb is part of the prophet’s mosque, one of the three holiest sites in Islam, along with the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

All Muslims are required to make the Haj once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to do so. Many wealthy Muslims make the pilgrimage more than once. The rituals largely commemorate the accounts of Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet Ismail, Ismail’s mother Hajar and Prophet Muhammad, according to the Quran, Islam’s holy book.

More than 1.83 million Muslims performed Haj in 2024, Saudi Haj and Umrah Minister Tawfiq bin Fawzan al-Rabiah said in a briefing, slightly less than last year’s figures when 1.84 million made the rituals.

Most of the Haj rituals are held outdoors with little if any shade. It is set for the second week of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month in the Islamic lunar calendar, so its time of the year varies. And this year the pilgrimage fell in the burning summer of Saudi Arabia.

This year’s Haj came against the backdrop of the devastating Israel-Hamas war, which has pushed the Middle East to the brink of a regional conflict.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip weren’t able to travel to Mecca for Haj this year because of the closure of the Rafah crossing in May when Israel extended its ground offensive to the city on the border with Egypt. And they will not be able to celebrate the Id al-Adha as they used to do in previous years.

Dozens of Palestinians gathered Sunday morning near a destroyed mosque in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis to perform the Id prayers. They were surrounded by debris and rubble of collapsed houses. In the nearby town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Muslims held their prayers in a school-turned shelter. Some, including women and children, went to cemeteries to visit the graves of loved ones.

“Today, after the ninth month, more than 37,000 martyrs, more than 87,000 wounded, and hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed,” Abdulhalim Abu Samra, a displaced Palestinian, told the AP after wrapping up the prayers in Khan Younis. “Our people live in difficult circumstances.”

Also in the occupied West Bank, Palestinians convened for the Id prayers in Ramallah, the seat of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. “We suffer greatly and live through difficult moments with (what’s happening to) our brothers in Gaza,” said Mahmoud Mohana, a mosque imam.

In Yemen’s Houthi-held capital of Sanaa and in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, Muslims celebrated and prayed for the war-weary Palestinians in Gaza.

“We are happy because of Id but our hearts are filled with anguish when we see our brothers in Palestine,” said Bashar al-Mashhadani, imam of al-Gilani Mosque in Baghdad. “(We) urge the Arabic and Islamic countries to support and stand beside them in this ordeal.”

In Lebanon, where the militant Hezbollah group has traded near-daily attacks with Israel, a steady stream of visitors made their way into the Palestine Martyrs Cemetery near the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut early Sunday morning, bearing flowers and jugs of water for the graves of their loved ones, an annual tradition on the first day of Id.

Following the footsteps of prophets beneath a burning sun, more than 1.83 million Muslims from around the world congregated on June 15 at a sacred hill in Saudi Arabia for worship and reflection amid a sweltering heat.

The ritual at Mount Arafat, known as the hill of mercy, is considered the peak of the Haj pilgrimage. It is often the most memorable for pilgrims, who stand together asking God for mercy, blessings, prosperity and good health. The hill is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Mecca.

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Thousands of pilgrims walked here through the predawn darkness. On the slopes of the rocky hill and the surrounding area, many raised their hands in worship with tears streaming down their faces.

“For sure it is something great. It is the best day for Muslims during the year, and the best feeling that anyone can experience,” Hussein Mohammed, an Egyptian pilgrim, said as he stood on the slopes at dawn. “It is the best place for anyone hoping to be (here) on this day and at this moment.”

It’s believed that Prophet Muhammad delivered his final speech, known as the Farewell Sermon, at Mount Arafat 1,435 years ago. In the sermon, the prophet called for equality and unity among Muslims.

Ali Osman, a Spanish pilgrim, was overwhelmed, as he stepped down from the hill. He said he felt that he gained spiritual and physical strength at the sacred site.

“The place, thank God, (gives) very good energy,” he said. “I came here, thank God. It is my first time. I hope to come again in the future.”

Haj is one of the largest religious gatherings on earth. The rituals officially started Friday when pilgrims moved from Mecca’s Grand Mosque to Mina, a desert plain just outside the city.

More than 1.83 million Muslims performed Haj in 2024, Saudi Haj and Umrah Minister Tawfiq bin Fawzan al-Rabiah said in a briefing. That’s slightly less than last year’s figures when 1.84 million made the rituals.

The pilgrimage is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. All Muslims are required to make the five-day Haj at least once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to do so.

The rituals largely commemorate the Quran’s accounts of Prophet Ibrahim, his son Prophet Ismail and Ismail’s mother Hajar — or Abraham and Ismael as they are named in the Bible.

This year’s Haj came against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, which pushed the Middle East to the brink of a regional conflict.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip weren’t able to travel to Mecca for Haj this year because of the closure of the Rafah crossing in May, when Israel extended its ground offensive to the city on the border with Egypt.

Staving off potential protests or chants about the war during the Haj, Saudi authorities said they won’t tolerate politicizing the pilgrimage.

In his sermon Saturday at the sprawling, six-minaret Namera mosque in Arafat, Saudi cleric Maher Bin Hamad al-Mu’wiqly, also cautioned about politicizing Haj.

However, he urged pilgrims to pray for the Palestinians who have been “harmed and hurt by their enemy” that killed them, and “deprived them of what they need from food, medicine and clothing.” He didn’t mention Israel in his sermon.

The war has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians there, according to Gaza health officials, while hundreds of others have been killed in Israeli operations in the West Bank. It began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage.

The time of year when the Haj takes place varies, given that it is set for five days in the second week of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month in the Islamic lunar calendar.

Most of the Haj rituals are held outdoors with little if any shade. When it falls in the summer months, temperatures can soar to over 40 C The Health Ministry has cautioned that temperatures at the holy sites could reach 48 C (118 F) and urged pilgrims to use umbrellas and drink more water to stay hydrated.

Most of the pilgrims at Mount Arafat carried umbrellas, while others sat in the shade. Many were seen splashing water on their faces and bodies. And, as at Mina and the Grand Mosque, cooling stations on the roads leading to the hill and in its surrounding areas sprayed pilgrims with water to help fight the heat, which had already climbed to 47 C (116.6 F) at Mount Arafat, according to Saudi metrological authorities.

Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel told The Associated Press that more than 150 pilgrims have been treated for heat exhaustion. He urged pilgrims to drink water and carry umbrellas as they perform Haj’s rituals.

As pilgrims perform their worships, contracted migrant cleaners with lime-green jumpsuits were collecting empty water bottles and other trash around Mount Arafat.

At sunset Saturday, pilgrims left Mount Arafat, heading to a nearby site known as Muzdalifa to collect pebbles that they will use in the symbolic stoning of pillars representing the devil back in Mina. Many walked, while others were transported there by buses.

Pilgrims then return to Mina for three days, coinciding with the festive Eid al-Adha holiday, when financially able Muslims around the world slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to poor people. Afterward, they return to Mecca for a final circumambulation, known as Farewell Tawaf.

Once the Haj is over, men are expected to shave their heads, and women to snip a lock of hair in a sign of renewal. Most of the pilgrims then leave Mecca for the city of Medina, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) away, to pray in Prophet Muhammad’s tomb, the Sacred Chamber. The tomb is part of the prophet’s mosque, which is one of the three holiest sites in Islam, along with the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.