Senegalese footballers Demba Ba, Jacques Faty spotted in Mecca on Hajj

Senegalese international footballers Demba Ba and Jacques Faty were spotted in Mecca together with French international Abou Diaby performing Hajj.

Demba Ba plays for Shanghai Shenhua while Jacques Faty is currently a free-agent like Abou Diaby.

A fan took a selfie with the three while they performed the pilgrimage in their white seamless cloths called Ihram which is meant to show equality before God.

Footballers Abou Diaby, Demba Ba and Jacques Faty performing Umrah today after arriving for #Hajj.

Photo courtesy of: Na’eem Raza pic.twitter.com/9xFJ3vtNhQ

— IlmFeed 🕋 (@IlmFeed) August 29, 2017

They are among the nearly 2 million Muslims who made it to Saudi Arabia for the annual ritual.

It is also reported that French footballer of Algerian descent Karim Benzema has also embarked on the pilgrimage.

He plays for Spanish club Real Madrid.

France and Real Madrid Footballer Karim Benzema arrived at Mecca to perform Hajj pic.twitter.com/2m3KqGPrtR

— Mishi Malik (@Mishi827) August 30, 2017

The five-day Hajj rituals started Wednesday.

Hajj Ritual

The Hajj ritual is traced back to the time of the Prophet Abraham by Muslims. It is a religious obligation to embark on Hajj at least once in a lifetime of every Muslim who can afford it.

Hajj is observed for five days in the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Male pilgrims wear two white seamless cloths called Ihram which is meant to show equality before God.
One of the cloths is wrapped around the waist reaching below the knee and the other draped over the left shoulder and tied at the right side.

For female pilgrims, they are allowed to wear any Islamically approved dresses when they reach the Miqat (a destination where intent is declared depending on where you are coming from).

The pilgrims perform ablution at the Miqat, declare their intention for Hajj and then refrain from all the prohibited activities including sexual relations, using perfumes, cutting nails, shaving, killing animals among others.

On the first day of Hajj, the pilgrims walk seven times around the Kaaba and kiss the black stone or point at it and pray if they can’t reach it.

This is followed by prayers inside the mosque near the Kaaba and then drink water from the Zamzam well which is believed to have gushed out where Abraham’s crying son Ishmael was placed when his mother went out looking for water for him.

The pilgrims then move to the Safa and Marwah hills near the Kaaba where they run or walk seven times between the hills like Ishmael’s mother Hagar did in search of water for her son.

The male pilgrims then completely shave their heads while the females cut a piece of their hair to signal the end of the ritual in Mecca called Umrah.

After the morning prayer, the pilgrims proceed to Mina where they spend the whole day in prayer.

They move to Arafat the next day and stand in vigil from noon to sunset to offer supplications, seek repentance and listen to sermons from where Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his last sermon. The ritual at Arafat is compulsory to fulfil a Hajj successful.

The pilgrims leave Arafat for Muzdalifah where they combine two prayers and spend the night in the open and gather pebbles for the next day’s ritual.

They move to Mina to perform the symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing seven pebbles at the largest of three pillars.

Animals are slaughtered after throwing the pebbles to commemorate Abraham’s sacrifice to God. This is simultaneous with the Eid al-Adha festival of sacrifice celebrated by Muslims worldwide.

The male pilgrims shave their hairs after the sacrifice and females clips pieces of their hair. They then head to the holy mosque at Mecca for another circumambulation of the Kaaba.

On the fourth day, the pilgrims go to Mina and throw seven pebbles at each of the three pillars. The same ritual is done on the fifth day and the sixth if the pilgrim is not able to return to Mecca.

Before leaving Mecca, the pilgrims perform another circumambulation of the Kaaba for seven times anti-clockwise.

This ends the Hajj ritual.

Photo Credit: Na’eem Raza