Hajj 2010 : Stoning of the Devil or stoning of the jamarat

Stoning of the Devil or stoning of the jamarat is part of the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Muslim pilgrims fling pebbles at three walls called jamarat in the city of Mina just east of Mecca. It is one of a series of ritual acts that must be performed in the Hajj.

Until 2004 the three jamarat (singular: jamrah) were tall pillars. After the 2004 Hajj, Saudi authorities replaced the pillars with 26 m (85 ft) long walls for safety; many people were accidentally throwing pebbles at people on the other side. The jamarat are named (starting from the east) the first or smallest jamrah (Arabic: al-jamrah al-ula or al-jamrah as-sughra?), the middle jamrah (al-jamrah al-wusta), and the largest jamrah or jamrah of Aqaba (al-jamrah al-kubra or jamrat al-`Aqabah). Before 2004 the distance between the small and middle jamrah was 150 m (490 ft); between the middle and large jamrah it was 225 m (738 ft).[1] To allow easier access to the jamarat a single tiered pedestrian bridge called the Jamaraat Bridge was built around them so pilgrims could throw stones from either the ground level or from the bridge.

On the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah (Eid al-Adha), pilgrims must hit the large jamrah only with seven pebbles. On each of the following two days they must hit each of the three walls with seven pebbles, going in order from east to west. Thus at least 49 pebbles are needed for the ritual, more if some throws miss. Some pilgrims stay at Mina for an additional day; in this case they must again stone each wall seven times.

The pebbles used in the stoning are traditionally gathered at Muzdalifah, a plain southeast of Mina , on the night before the first throwing, but can also be collected at Mina.

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