Muslim pilgrims mark final hajj rite with 'Stoning of Devil'

In stifling heat, a Saudi security guard sprayed Muslim pilgrims with water as they advanced through Mina for the final rite of the hajj, the "Stoning of the Devil" that has proved lethal in past year
Muslim pilgrims circumambulate around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (AP)
Muslim pilgrims circumambulate around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (AP)

In stifling heat, a Saudi security guard sprayed Muslim pilgrims with water as they advanced through Mina for the final rite of the hajj, the "Stoning of the Devil" that has proved lethal in past years.

An estimated two million Muslims from across the globe were gathered in Mina on Friday for the final major ritual of the annual hajj pilgrimage at the Jamarat Bridge, the scene of a stampede in 2015 that left 2,300 people dead. 

For many, the pilgrimage, which runs five days and which all Muslims must perform at least once in a lifetime if physically and financially able, has been a lifelong dream. 

Amin Hashkir, a 26-year-old from Casablanca in Morocco, travelled to western Saudi Arabia, home of the holiest sites in Islam, together with his sister and mother, who was unable to physically perform the stoning rite herself. 

"My father passed away in 2011, and we've been trying to make it here ever since to perform hajj for him," Hashkir explained on a sidewalk in Mina, near Mecca. "It was what he felt was missing from his life".

Hashkir's mother was also counting on her son to fulfil her dream of hajj. "My mother is sick, so I offered to throw the stones for her." 

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