Hajj 2023: Over 2.5 Million Pilgrims Ascend Mount Arafat For This Year's Pilgrimage Amid Soaring Mercury. In Pics

Muslim pilgrims around the world gathered for annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia's Mecca in potentially record-breaking numbers this year amid scorching heat with temperatures reaching as high as 46 degree Celsius. Image Source: Getty Images

Pilgrims, known as 'hujjaj' ascended the Mount Arafat on the 9th day of Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah, where Prophet Mohammad is believed to have delivered his final sermon. Image Source: Getty Images

The ritual is considered to be the climax of the pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, which is being performed by over 2.5 million pilgrims that officials say could be the biggest on record after three years of Covid restrictions. Image Source: Getty Images

Before embarking to Arafat, pilgrims stay in one of the largest tent-settlements in Mina from where the pilgrimage is believed to commence. Image Source: Getty Images

Circumabulation around the black-cube like structue called Kaaba, inside the Grand Mosque, which is the final stop in the pilgrimage. Image Source: Getty Images

All able-bodied Muslim adults who can financially afford the piglrimage are supposed to take the trip which is believed to wash away all the sins. Image Source: Getty Images

Muslim worshippers touch the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca. Image Source: Getty Images