Muslim pilgrims gather on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia – in pictures

Pilgrims arrive in Arafat for part of the five-day hajj pilgrimage in which an estimated 2 million Muslims will embark on a series of rituals around the desert city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia

A woman carries a child in Arafat

As dawn broke, groups of worshippers recited verses from the Qur’an on the rocky rise, where the prophet Muhammad is believed to have given his final sermon

A pilgrim makes a video call from the mountain, also known as Jabal al-Rahmah or Mount of Mercy

Pilgrims pray on the rocky hill

The ritual is the high point of the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, that officials say could be the biggest on record after three years of Covid restrictions

An Egyptian pilgrim prays

Water mist is sprayed on pilgrims

A pilgrim protects herself from the sun. Temperatures reached 46C on Monday as worshippers journeyed from Mecca to Mina, where they slept in a giant tented city before the rites at Mount Arafat

Pilgrims will spend hours praying and reciting the Qur’an on Arafat and in the surrounding area amid high temperatures. Thousands of health workers were on alert for cases of heat stroke and exhaustion

This year, a maximum age limit has also been removed, giving thousands of elderly people the chance to attend

Two pilgrims pray on Mount Arafat

So far, more than 1.8 million pilgrims from around the world have gathered in and around Mecca for the hajj, and the number was growing as more pilgrims from inside Saudi Arabia joined, said a spokesperson for the Saudi hajj ministry, Ayedh al-Ghweinim. Authorities have said they expect this year to approach pre-Covid levels of more than 2 million

In 2019, more than 2.4 million pilgrims participated in the hajj. In 2020, amid worldwide coronavirus lockdowns, Saudi Arabia limited the pilgrimage to a few thousand faithful and local people. Last year, just under 900,000 attended as Saudi Arabia allowed limited numbers of pilgrims from abroad

The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims are required to complete it at least once if they are physically and financially able

After sunset, pilgrims will travel the short distance to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and Mina, to sleep in the open air