Today hundreds of thousands of Hajis are gathered on the plains of Arafat. All dressed in white and from all over the world.

Black, white, Africans, Asians, Caucasians, Orientals, Anglo-Saxons, they have all come to perform Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Here they congregate with only one thing in mind. To pray to the Lord asking for His forgiveness, beseeching Him for mercy, praying for whatever is nearest and dearest to them. 

And above all their personal requests will be a plea, a request that God will accept their prayers for peace and prosperity not only for themselves but also for their fellow brethren. 

The Haj is a great equalizer and all pilgrims, young and old, rich and poor, healthy and  disabled, with their hands stretched share the same link as they pray to the Almighty.

This year they will be praying for peace, tolerance and an end to bloodshed.

They will pray for the millions of people uprooted in the Arab region due to the terrorism of a group who have in the name of religion attacked and killed thousands. They will pray for scores of others who are missing, as a result of the senseless wars being waged.

They will pray for the return of the missing children of Nigeria abducted by the evil and ruthless Boko Haram drug cult. 

They will pray for the oppressed Uighur people of China. They will pray for an end to hostilities in the Ukraine.

And many from this part of the world will also pray that God in His infinite mercy will keep us all safe and secure in our country and grant us progress so that we can play our role in world affairs.

The writer is Editor-at-Large. follow him on Twitter: @KhaledAlmaeena

KHALED ALMAEENA