Sheikh Ali al-Hudhaifi, Imam and khatib of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, delivered a segment of the Arafat sermon at Masjid Namrah in Mecca [1].
The sermon and the subsequent prayers are central components of the Hajj pilgrimage, marking the most critical day of the spiritual journey for Muslims worldwide.
The event took place on June 5, 2025, which corresponded to 9 Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 AH [2]. As part of the prescribed Hajj rites, pilgrims gathered at the Mosque of Namrah on the Arafat plain to listen to the Khutbat al-Arafah, and perform combined Dhuhr and ‘Asr prayers [3].
Attendance at the mosque was significant, with reports indicating that hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathered for the sermon [4]. Broadly, more than 1.6 million Muslims were present on the Arafat plain during the 1447 Hajj period [5].
The conditions during the gathering were challenging due to extreme heat. Temperatures during the prayers at Masjid Namrah exceeded 41 °C [6]. Despite the weather, the gathering proceeded as a requirement of the pilgrimage's religious protocols [3].
Sheikh al-Hudhaifi's address provided spiritual guidance to the congregants before they transitioned into the period of standing and prayer on the plain. The combined prayers are a specific liturgical arrangement allowed for the Day of Arafah to accommodate the massive scale of the gathering, and the specific requirements of the rite [3].
“Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathered for the sermon”
The delivery of the Arafat sermon by a high-ranking official like Sheikh Ali al-Hudhaifi underscores the centralized religious authority in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj. The scale of the gathering—exceeding 1.6 million people in extreme heat—highlights the logistical and public health challenges the Saudi government manages annually to maintain the safety and spiritual integrity of the pilgrimage.
