ISLAMABAD: The pilgrims will proceed to Arafat to perform main ritual of Hajj “Waqoof-e-Arafat” on Thursday (today).

They will listen sermon to be delivered at Nimra Mosque and perform Zohr and Asr prayers together.

The pilgrims will spend time in Arafat with prayers for acceptance of their pilgrimage and recitation of Qur’anic verses until sunset.

After sunset, they will head to Muzdalifah, where they will stay until midnight, engaged in prayers after performing combined Maghreb and Isha prayers.

The annual ritual to change Ghilaf-e-Kaaba was held at Masjid al-Haram in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

The fourteen meter tall garment has been prepared from pure silk fibre, embellished by gold and silver-plated thread and motifs illustrating verses from the Holy Qur’an.

The covering cloth of the Kaaba, known as Kiswa, is changed on 9th Zilhaj every year on the day of Arafat.

Also Read: Annual Hajj rituals begin in Makkah with 1,000 pilgrims

Only around one thousand pilgrims are performing Hajj this year due to crowd control restrictions put in place by Saudi Arabia in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. Normally, over two million people perform Hajj.

For the first time in decades, international travelers have been barred from the Hajj due to Coronavirus pandemic. Some seventy percent of the worshippers this year are foreign residents of Saudi Arabia, with the rest being Saudi nationals. All of those selected to take part are aged between 20 and 50.