Makkah - Hajj Landmarks
Mina
A valley surrounded by mountains located 6km east of Masjid-ul-Haram, where a large part of the Hajj pilgrimage takes place. It incorporates more than 100,000 tents with a capacity of up to 3 million pilgrims making it the world’s largest tent city. Mina also incorporates the Jamarat area, which is the location of the stone throwing ritual performed by pilgrims during Hajj.
The Jamarat
Three stone structures (walls) situated in Mina, which symbolically represent the locations where Satan repeatedly attempted to dissuade the Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) from carrying out the command of Allah. These structures are pelted by pilgrims with small pebbles during the days of Hajj, which commemorates the actions of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH).
Masjid Namirah
Located in Wadi Uranah near Makkah and marks the location where the Prophet (PBUH) camped before delivering his final sermon in Arafat. It is one of the most important landmarks during Hajj, as it is where the sermon is delivered to pilgrims during the Day of Arafah.
Jabal Al Rahma
Jabal al-Rahmah (“Mount of Mercy”), also known as Jabal Arafat (“Mount Arafat”), is a small mountain in Arafat, at the base of which the Prophet (PBUH) supplicated during his Farewell Pilgrimage. On the 9th of Dhul Hijjah, thousands of pilgrims gather around this mountain during the most important rite of Hajj.
Muzdalifah
An open and level area located southeast of Mina on the route to Arafat near Makkah, where Hajj pilgrims spend the night on the 9th of the month of Dhul Hijjah praying Maghrib and Isha and collect pebbles for the throwing of the stones Hajj ritual.
Masjid Mashar Al-Haram
A mosque situated in Muzdalifah, which marks the area where the Prophet (PBUH) supplicated during his Farewell Pilgrimage. It is located halfway between Masjid Al Khayf in Mina and Masjid Namirah in Arafat. Mashar al-Haram means the ‘Sacred Monument’.
Allah (ﷻ) mentions in the Quran: ((Then when you pour down from (Mount) Arafat, celebrate the praises of Allah at the Sacred Monument, and celebrate His praises as He has directed you, even though, before this, you went astray.)) [2:198]
Masjid Al Khayf
It is a location near Mina where several prophets, including Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), performed Salah.
It can be very overwhelming to see these places in reality as they take us back to the advent of Islam, giving us a closer look into the early Islamic history.