内容摘要：“They would shout a lot, in Chinese – ‘What are we here for? Money!’”

“They would shout a lot, in Chinese – ‘What are we here for? Money!’”

It ends with Tashreeq days, where pilgrims return to Mina for the symbolic stoning of the Devil at a site called Jamarat, after which they perform final rituals to symbolise the end of the Hajj. Some may leave on the 12th if they complete their rites early, while others stay until the 13th.5. What is the difference between the Hajj and Umrah?

While the Hajj is a compulsory pilgrimage for all able-bodied Muslims once in their life, Umrah is a recommended smaller and simpler pilgrimage that Muslims can perform any time throughout the year.The graphic below shows some of the key differences between the Hajj and Umrah:6. Which key rituals do Muslims perform during the Hajj?

Muslims perform many rites and rituals during the days of the Hajj, which can be explained in the following steps.On this day, Muslims from around the world celebrate the first day of Eid al-Adha, or the celebration of the sacrifice.

Before leaving Mecca, pilgrims perform a final Tawaf around the Kaaba, known as the Tawaf al-Wada or a “farewell tawaf,” signifying a spiritual farewell to the holy sanctuary.

7. What are the different types of Hajj?By the 1980s, even Oualata’s mosque was submerged in sand. “People were praying on top of the mosque” rather than inside, recalled Bechir Barick, a geography lecturer at Nouakchott University.

Despite the relentless sands and wind, Oualata still preserves relics from its days as a key stop on trans-Saharan caravan routes and a renowned centre of Islamic learning.As the town’s imam, Mohamed Ben Baty descends from a distinguished line of Quranic scholars and is the custodian of nearly a millennium of scholarship. The family library he oversees houses 223 manuscripts, the oldest dating back to the 14th century.

In a cramped, cluttered room, he half-opened a cupboard to display its precious contents – fragile, centuries-old documents whose survival is nothing short of remarkable.“These books, at one time, were very poorly maintained and exposed to destruction,” Ben Baty said, gesturing towards pages marked by water stains, now stored in plastic sleeves. “Books in the past were stored in trunks, but when it rains, the water seeps in and can spoil the books,” he explained, recalling when part of the roof collapsed eight years ago during the rainy season.