Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims pelted pillars symbolising the devil on the third day of the world's largest annual pilgrimage

story by Reuters

Some two million Muslims headed to Muzdalifa (picture above and directly below) on Thursday after spending the day at the plain of Arafat to prepare to cast stones at the devil in the most dangerous part of the annual haj pilgrimage.

Bright weather greeted the pilgrims after heavy rain hit the nearby city of Jeddah, gateway to Mecca, on Wednesday. Some 77 people were killed, none of them pilgrims, most of whom were swept away by currents and drowned, state television said.

At Muzdalifa (below pictures), the pilgrims will collect pebbles to throw at walls at the Jamarat Bridge on three occasions over the next three days in an act that symbolises the rejection of the devil's temptations.

Aisha Mennan, 63, from Morocco, managed a smile as she sat against a wall waiting for a bus. "I just cried and cried while I stood and prayed in Mount Arafat. You really feel something special as if you are standing before the Almighty," she said.

"Now I can die in peace. My two sons and three daughters have been saving for years to send me here and when the money was ready I had to wait another three years before I got picked by a ballot. I'm very lucky to be here," said Mennan.

In Mecca, pilgrims flocked to Arafat to pray until sunset. They set up tents on a plain, squatted on the side of the road in shelters or stayed at the nearby Namira mosque.

About 1.6 million pilgrims have come from abroad for the haj, the world's largest regular religious gathering and a duty for all Muslims to perform at least once if possible. Many wait for years to get a visa under a strict quota system.

The haj marks sites that Islamic tradition says Prophet Ibrahim -- biblical patriarch Abraham -- visited in Mecca and that Prophet Mohammad established as a pilgrim route 14 centuries ago after removing pagan idols from Mecca.

Islam is now embraced by a quarter of the world's population.

"The rain was a blessing from God. We are now going to pray to beg for God's forgiveness and mercy, for the good of our children and of all Muslims," said Egyptian pilgrim Nasser Abu Ahmed.

Nigerian businessman Mustafa Abu Bakr said Muslims from different parts of the world and different walks of life renew their allegiance to God in Arafat.

"We will pray for world peace," he said.