More than 1.5 million international pilgrims have converged on Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the official start of Hajj 2026 on Monday, May 25 — the largest gathering of its kind since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and one taking place against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East after months of open war between Iran and a US-led coalition.
The Saudi Passport Forces command confirmed that foreign arrivals had reached 1,518,153 as of Friday, May 22, with that number expected to climb through the weekend as final flights land in Jeddah and Riyadh. The scale of the pilgrimage rivals pre-pandemic totals, an remarkable achievement given that air routes across the Gulf were severely disrupted for weeks following Israeli and American strikes on Iranian infrastructure in late February.
The Hajj — one of the five Pillars of Islam and a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for every Muslim who is physically and financially able to undertake it — officially begins with the Day of Tarwiyah on Monday. Pilgrims who have already arrived in Mecca will don the seamless white garments of Ihram and travel in their millions from the Grand Mosque to Mina, an area eight kilometres away, where they will spend the day and night in prayer and preparation. The Ihram dress code is designed to erase distinctions of wealth and nationality, placing all pilgrims in identical state before God.
Ceasefire Holds, But War’s Legacy Lingers on the Journey
The Iran war, which began with US and Israeli strikes in late February, saw Tehran launch retaliatory waves of missiles and drones at targets across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other Gulf states. For weeks, major international carriers cancelled flights, airspace was intermittently closed, and travel costs for pilgrims soared. The May 6 ceasefire brokered through Omani and Swiss intermediaries held through the weekend, allowing Gulf airlines — Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Bahrain’s Gulf Air — to restore much of their regional capacity and get pilgrims to Saudi Arabia in time for the start of the rituals.
Despite the disruptions, the pilgrimage has continued largely unbroken. Saudi authorities have reinforced air defence systems around Mecca and the holy sites, and the kingdom’s Hajj ministry has coordinated with regional partners to ensure that pilgrims holding valid entry permits have been able to reach the kingdom.
A Sacred Calendar: Key Dates and Rituals
The Hajj follows the strict lunar calendar, and 2026 falls in the month of Zil Hajj (Dhul-Hijjah), the 12th and final month of the Islamic year. The most consequential days of the pilgrimage unfold over the next 72 hours:
Monday, May 25 (Day of Tarwiyah): Pilgrims travel from Mecca to Mina and spend the night in prayer. The name refers to the practice of drawing water from the Zamzam well to drink and cool the body in the desert heat.
Tuesday, May 26 (Day of Arafah): The most sacred day of Hajj. Pilgrims travel from Mina to the plains of Arafat, just outside Mecca, where they stand in prayer from midday to sunset — the single act without which Hajj is not considered valid. It was on the Plain of Arafat that Prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon during his last pilgrimage. Pilgrims then move to Muzdalifah for the night.
Wednesday, May 27 (Eid al-Adha — Festival of Sacrifice): The culmination of Hajj. Pilgrims perform the symbolic stoning of the devil at Jamrat al-Aqaba in Mina, followed by the sacrifice of an animal — commemorating Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son at God’s command. Eid al-Adha is celebrated worldwide by Muslims on this day; in Saudi Arabia it falls on May 27, while in India it is observed on May 28 (barring Kashmir).
The final days of Hajj involve further circumambulation of the Kaaba and a farewell walk between the hills of Safa and Marwah — the same journey that Hagar, the wife of Abraham, is said to have made desperately searching for water, which subsequently emerged as the Zamzam spring.
A Test of Peace and Commitment
Saudi Arabia’s Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman, welcomed the pilgrims in a statement issued Sunday, calling this year’s Hajj “a testament to the enduring power of faith and the unity of the Muslim ummah.” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose de facto rule has overseen a rapid transformation of the kingdom’s security architecture, ordered the deployment of additional forces to protect the pilgrimage route and the holy sites.
For millions of pilgrims, the journey has been years in the planning and represents the culmination of profound spiritual aspiration. “We were afraid the war would stop us,” said Ahmad Al-Rashid, a pilgrim from Malaysia who arrived in Jeddah on Thursday. “But we prayed, we waited, and God opened the way. We are here.”
The Saudi health ministry has deployed more than 30,000 medical personnel and established field hospitals in Mina and Arafat. Civil defence units are on standby for extreme heat conditions, with temperatures in the region forecast to reach 43 degrees Celsius this week.
As the sun rose over Mecca on Monday morning, the sound of the takbir — the declaration “Allahu Akbar” — echoed from the Grand Mosque as pilgrims began moving in their white robes through the city streets. The war may have cast a shadow over the journey, but it has not extinguished it.
Media Hook will continue to monitor Hajj 2026 developments as they unfold through the week.
