Hundreds of thousands of Muslims will pray today on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia - the culmination of the hajj, which gathers the largest number of pilgrims since the outbreak of the covid pandemic, BTA reported, citing France Press.

One million pilgrims, including 850,000 randomly selected foreigners, spent the night in tents located in the Mina Valley, seven kilometers from the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam's holiest site.

At dawn, they gathered on Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his last sermon, to perform the most important ritual of the pilgrimage.

They will spend the day praying and reading the Koran before heading at sunset to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and Mina, where they will sleep under the open sky and celebrate Eid al-Adha tomorrow.

They will also perform the symbolic "stoning the devil" ceremony.

In the past, this ritual has led to deadly riots as hundreds of thousands of people gather in a small area.

The Hajj is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world.

It is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be performed at least once in a lifetime by all Muslims with the means.

In 2019, 2.5 million people took part in the pilgrimage, but the coronavirus pandemic has led Saudi authorities to drastically limit the number of participants in 2020 and 2021.