AMMAN (JORDAN TIMES

Muslim pilgrims walk outside the Grand Mosque during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca on Thursday (Reuters photo)

The main Hajj ritual, Arafa Day, will thus fall on Saturday, November 5, the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah, according to the announcement, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The announcement was made after authorities in Saudi Arabia declared that the new moon of Dhul Hijja, the last month of the Islamic calendar, had been sighted on Thursday.

Eid Al Adha, or the feast of sacrifice, which marks the end of the annual holy pilgrimage to Mecca, is celebrated by Muslims on the 10th day of this lunar month.

During the Eid, Muslims perform religious rites and visit family and friends. The occasion also serves as a reminder of its spiritual symbolism.

This period of celebration is called the Great Eid, and in the Islamic belief it is intended to commemorate the readiness of Abraham – the father of the prophets and the founder of monotheistic religions – to sacrifice his son, Ismail, in an expression of obedience to God, an act that God stopped by offering Abraham a ram to sacrifice instead.

According to the Islamic faith, this act took place in Mecca, where the Kaaba still stands today and which is the qibla, the direction Muslims face during their prayers.

Every capable Muslim is supposed to perform the Hajj pilgrimage once in his/her lifetime, which culminates in Eid Al Adha.

The Hajj is one of the five main pillars of Islam, which also include the shahada, the act of verbally expressing faith; the five daily prayers; fasting during the month of Ramadan; and zakat, or giving alms to the poor.