Pilgrims visit Jabal Al-Rahmah before crowds arrive

MAKKAH: Pilgrims from all over the world are enjoying uncrowded conditions at the holy places before thousands of pilgrims descend on the historical sites at Arafat, including Jabal Al-Rahmah (Mountain of Mercy) and Namirah Mosque.
The head of the Historical Center in Makkah, Dr. Fawas Al-Dahhas, told Arab News that pilgrims visit Arafat for Jabal Al-Rahmah, where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) delivered a farewell sermon.
It is a wide plain connected to a mountain range on the eastern side. Arafat is a granite hill east of Makkah on the plain of Arafat.
“The Mountain of Mercy is unique because no mountains stand around it,” said Al-Dahhas.
“There’s a building built in modern times to recognize the mountain, but it has nothing to do with where the prophet stood,” he added.
“The mountain is named Mercy because it reflects the day that pilgrims ask God to forgive and have mercy on them.”
The mountain is surrounded by the Zubaidah wells. Zubaidah was an Abbasid princess who is remembered for digging and building a series of wells, reservoirs and artificial pools that provided water for pilgrims along the route from Baghdad to Makkah and Madinah, Al-Dahhas said.