Concluding peacefully the last of the solemn rituals of the soul-searching journey of hajj, more than 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims will begin leaving the holy city of Makkah,

In the last ritual of the annual pilgrimage, the white-clad pilgrims performed the final Tawaf (circumambulation) as they walked seven times around the Ka`bah in the Grand Mosque complex in Makkah, Arab News reported.

The Ka`bah, with a black stone set in the eastern corner, is not an object of worship, though Muslims pray towards it, but a sanctuary and a spiritual center.

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Pilgrims perform the farewell Tawaf at the last hour before leaving Makkah. If the pilgrim spends another night in Makkah after the tawaf, he or she must repeat the ritual.

The farewell circumambulation came after the pilgrims completed on Friday the three-day ritual of stoning the Devil at Jamrat Al-Aqaba, hurling pebbles at all three wide walls representing Satan.

Most of the pilgrims will now leave Makkah, either returning to their home countries or heading to the Madinah to visit the Prophet’s Mosque

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