Stoning of the devil
Stoning of the devil is an annual ritual of pilgrims throwing pebbles at a pillar in Mina, Saudi Arabia. This ritual reenacts Abraham's pilgrimage to Mecca, as explained by the Muslim historian al-Azraqi:
- When he [Abraham] left Mina and was brought down to (the defile called) al-Aqaba, the Devil appeared to him at Stone-Heap of the Defile. Gabriel said to him: ?Pelt him!? so Abraham threw seven stones at him so that he disappeared from him. Then he appeared to him at the Middle Stone-Heap. Gabriel said to him: ?Pelt him!? so he pelted him with seven stones so that he disappeared from him. Then he appeared to him at the Little Stone-Heap. Gabriel said to him: ?Pelt him!? so he pelted him with seven stones like the little stones for throwing in a sling. So the Devil withdrew from him.
—F.E. Peters, A Reader on Classical Islam, Princeton University Press, 1994
The ritual stoning is performed by Muslim pilgrims who travel to the city of Mina just outside of Mecca. The act requires pilgrims to collect a number of pebbles from the ground on the plain of Ishmael, the second is where he tempted Abraham's wife Hagar to induce her to stop him, and the third is where he tempted Ishmael to avoid being sacrificed. He was rebuked each time, and the throwing of the stones symbolizes those rebukes.
It is the most dangerous part of the pilgrimage because of the crush of people; oftentimes many hundreds have suffocated or been trampled to death.
See also: Hajj.
Links
References
- F.E. Peters, A Reader on Classical Islam, Princeton University Press, 1994 (ISBN 0691033943)
