Stoning of the Devil or stoning of the jamarat is part of the annual
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
ic
HajjThe Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca . It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
pilgrimage to the holy city of
MeccaMecca , sometimes spelled Makkah is the holiest meeting site of the Islamic religion. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and whilst being closed to non-Muslims is nonetheless ethnically diverse.Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants...
in
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south...
. Muslim pilgrims fling pebbles at three walls called jamarat in the city of
MinaMina is a desert location situated some 5 kilometres to the east of the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It stands on the road from Mecca's city centre to the Hill of Arafat....
just east of Mecca. It is one of a series of ritual acts that must be performed in the Hajj.
Until 2004 the three jamarat (singular: jamrah) were tall pillars. After the 2004 Hajj, Saudi authorities replaced the pillars with 26-meter-(85 ft) long walls
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/world/Viewdet.asp?ID=6833&cat=a for safety; many people were accidentally throwing pebbles at people on the other side. The jamarat are named (starting from the east) the first or smallest jamrah , the middle jamrah (
al-jamrah al-wusta), and the largest jamrah or jamrah of Aqaba (
al-jamrah al-kubra or
jamrat al-`Aqabah). Before 2004 the distance between the small and middle jamrah was 150 meters; between the middle and large jamrah it was 225 meters. To allow easier access to the jamarat a single tiered pedestrian bridge called the
Jamarat BridgeThe Jamaraat Bridge is a pedestrian bridge in Mina, Saudi Arabia near Mecca used by Muslims during the stoning of the devil ritual of the Hajj. The bridge was originally constructed in 1963, and has been expanded several times since then...
was built around them so pilgrims could throw stones from either the ground level or from the bridge.
On the 10th day of
Dhu al-HijjahDhu al-Hijjah is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic Calendar. It is also known as Thou al-Hijja.This is a very sacred month in the Islamic calendar, marking the end of the year...
(
Eid ul-AdhaEid al-Adha "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is a Muslim Holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to God....
), pilgrims must hit the large jamrah only with seven pebbles. On each of the following two days they must hit each of the three walls with seven pebbles, going in order from east to west. Thus at least 49 pebbles are needed for the ritual, more if some throws miss. Some pilgrims stay at Mina for an additional day; in this case they must again stone each wall seven times.
The pebbles used in the stoning are traditionally gathered at
MuzdalifahMuzdalifah is an open, level area near Mecca in Saudi Arabia associated with the Hajj. It lies just southeast of Mina on the route between Mina and Arafat. Each year on the 9th day of the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah, after an afternoon of prayer at Arafat , Muslim pilgrims visit Muzdalifah in...
, a plain southeast of Mina , on the night before the first throwing, but can also be collected at Mina.
Historical and spiritual significance
The ritual re-enacts
AbrahamAbraham is the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites and Edomite peoples, as described in the book of Genesis. He is widely regarded as the patriarch of Jews, Christians, and Muslims....
's pilgrimage to Mecca as explained by the Muslim historian al-Azraqi:
- When he [Abraham] left Mina and was brought down to (the defile called) al-Aqaba, the Devil appeared to him at Stone-Heap of the Defile. Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an angel who serves as a messenger from God....
said to him: “Pelt him!” so Abraham threw seven stones at him so that he disappeared from him. Then he appeared to him at the Middle Stone-Heap. Gabriel said to him: “Pelt him!” so he pelted him with seven stones so that he disappeared from him. Then he appeared to him at the Little Stone-Heap. Gabriel said to him: “Pelt him!” so he pelted him with seven stones like the little stones for throwing with a slingA sling is a projectile weapon typically used to throw a blunt projectile such as a stone. It is also known as the shepherd's sling....
. So the Devil withdrew from him.
All three jamarat represent the devil: the first and largest represents his temptation of Abraham against sacrificing
IshmaelIshmael is a figure in the Torah, Bible, and Qur'an. Jews, Christians and Muslims believe Ishmael is Abraham's eldest son and first born. Ishmael is born of Sarai's handmaiden Hagar...
, the second represents the temptation of Abraham's wife
Hagar-People:* Hagar , in the Abrahamic faiths, the handmaiden of Sarah , and the mother of Abraham's son Ishmael.* Sammy Hagar, rock musician.* Mandy Hagar, New Zealand children's book author.* Albert Hagar, Canadian politician....
to induce her to stop him, and the third represents his temptation of Ishmael to avoid being sacrificed. He was rebuked each time, and the throwing of the stones symbolizes those rebukes.
The stoning of the jamarat also represents the repudiation of man's self (literally the "internal despot",
al-Nafs al-Amarah) and the act of casting aside one's low desires and wishes. As one Islamic theologian puts it,
- If one is able to crush the al‑Nafs al‑Amarah during the stoning of the Jamarah al‑'Uqbah [the jamrah of Aqaba], then one has taken the next step in attaining closeness to Allah, and since between the servant and Allah there is no more than the distance of one step, if one has been able to take this step and make it past one's own low desires and wishes, then that which follows is the level of closeness to Allah.
- During those two or three days after the Eid
Eid al-Adha "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is a Muslim Holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to God....
that one is in Mina, one must stone the three Jamarat, meaning that one must trample upon his internal despot (al-Nafs al-Amarah), the external despot of the Shaitan from the JinnIn Islam, a Djinn is a supernatural creature which occupies a parallel world to that of mankind, and together with humans and angels makes up the three sentient creations of Allah...
(Iblis and those like him), and the Shaitan from among the Humans (the enemies of religion and of humanity).
- The stoning of the three Jamarat is in essence, the trampling upon the despots and waging war against all of them. When one focuses on them and the hatred for them, then one automatically focuses with complete attention upon one's self – and rightfully so – while stoning the Jamarat, one must focus entirely upon one's self. M
It is not clear from when all Pilgrims started to do this task because there is no duty or activity mentioned in Quran by God. God clearly mentions in Quran how to perform the Hajj but some ancient religious leaders established this event and many activities have been performing by the pilgrims from ancient time. Stoning is not part of religious task but all pilgrims perform it.
Incidents
The stoning of the devil ritual is the most dangerous part of the pilgrimage because sudden crowd movements on or near the Jamarat Bridge can cause people to be crushed. On several occasions hundreds of participants have suffocated or been trampled to death in
stampedeA stampede is an act of mass impulse among herd animals or a crowd of people in which the herd collectively begins running with no clear direction or purpose. Stampedes are believed to originate from biological responses in the brains and endocrine systems of herd animals...
s.
The bridge has been expanded in recent years to accommodate the ever-growing number of pilgrims who perform the Hajj every year, but because of the sheer size of the crowds the ritual is nearly impossible to control.
An important step in managing crowds is the recent replacement of the jamarat pillars by walls to ease and speed up the stoning.
Crowd conditions are especially difficult during the final day of Hajj, which is the day pilgrims leave the valley of Mina and return to Mecca for the farewell Tawaf (the final circumambulation of the
KaabaThe Kaaba is a cuboidal building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The building predates Islam, and, according to Islamic tradition, the first building at the site was built by Abraham. The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram...
). According to
hadithHadith are oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Hadith are regarded by traditional schools of jurisprudence as important tools for determining the Muslim way of life, the sunnah. Hadith were originally oral traditions of Muhammad's actions and customs...
,
MuhammadMuhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh , is the founder of the religion of Islam [ إِسْلامْ ] and is regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of , the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of Islamic prophets as taught by the...
's last stoning was performed just after the noon prayer. Many scholars feel that the ritual can be done any time between noon and sunset on this day; however, many Muslims are taught that it should be done immediately after the noon prayer. This leads to people camping out until noon and rushing out then to do the stoning. Because this is also the day pilgrims prepare to leave Mina, many also take their luggage with them to the jamarat, adding to the clutter of the already crowded area.
These two factors are felt to be most responsible for the most recent tragedy during the Hajj of 2006, in which a stampede killed at least 346 pilgrims and injured at least 289 more. This was despite several attempts by the authorities to inform pilgrims about the permissibility of staggering their visits to the jamarat as well as instructing them to leave their luggage at their tents. Adding to the confusion involved in the tragedy is the lack of co-operation on the part of pilgrims who do not leave the jamarat area by the proper route, and therefore interfere with the movement of others who are arriving.
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