By the Associated Press
MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Muslims are celebrating Eid al-Adha as over 2 million pilgrims carry out the final rites of the hajj in Saudi Arabia.
Muslim pilgrims leave after offering noon prayers on the road near the Namirah mosque on Arafat Mountain, during the annual hajj pilgrimage, outside the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Aug. 20, 2018. More than 2 million Muslims have begun the annual hajj pilgrimage. The five-day pilgrimage represents one of the five pillars of Islam and is required of all able-bodied Muslims once in their life. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Pilgrims walked to a complex in Mina on Tuesday to throw pebbles at three columns. Muslims believe the devil tried to talk the Prophet Ibrahim out of submitting to God's will there.
Muslims believe Ibrahim's faith was tested when God commanded him to sacrifice his only son Ismail. God stayed his hand, sparing his son. In the Christian and Jewish version of the story, Abraham is ordered to kill his other son, Isaac.
The final days of hajj coincide with the Eid al-Adha holiday, or "Feast of Sacrifice," to commemorate Ibrahim's test of faith. Muslims slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to the poor.