In what looked like an unbroken sea of white, the pilgrims marched to the top, reciting prayers and supplications.

According to Islamic belief, Allah is the most common word to represent God, and humble submission to his will, divine ordinances and commandments is the pivot of the Muslim faith. "He is the only God, creator of the universe, and the judge of humankind." "He is unique and inherently one , all-merciful and omnipotent." The Qur'an declares "the reality of Allah, His inaccessible mystery, His various names, and His actions on behalf of His creatures

Most Muslims use the untranslated Arabic phrase in shā’ Allāh (meaning 'if God wills') after references to future events. Muslim discursive piety encourages beginning things with the invocation of bismillāh (meaning 'in the name of God').]In Islamic tradition, there are 99 Names of God (al-asmā’ al-ḥusná lit. meaning: 'the best names' or 'the most beautiful names'), each of which evoke a distinct characteristic of Allah. All these names refer to Allah, the supreme and all-comprehensive divine name.]Among the 99 names of God, the most famous and most frequent of these names are "the Merciful" (al-Raḥmān) and "the Compassionate" (al-Raḥīm).

 A MUSLIM PILGRIM PRAYS ATOP MOUNT MERCY ON THE PLAINS OF ARAFAT DURING THE PEAK OF THE ANNUAL HAJ PILGRIMAGE, NEAR THE HOLY CITY OF MECCA

On the second day of the Hajj, Muslims gather at Mount Arafat to mark the most important ritual of the pilgrimage.Nearly two million Muslims have gathered in the vast Saudi plain of Mount Arafat for the most important ritual of the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage that re-enacts the actions of the Prophet Muhammad from more than 1,400 years ago.


Worshippers from more than 150 countries converged at the 70-metre hill at sunrise on Sunday, some 15km from Mecca, for "wukuf", a high point of the Hajj which all pilgrims must attend in the mid-afternoon.


Wearing two white, unstitched pieces of cloth for men known as the "ihram", and any loose-fitting clothing for women, the pilgrims climbed steps built into the hill where the Prophet Muhammad gave his final sermon.


In what looked like an unbroken sea of white, the pilgrims marched to the top, reciting prayers and supplications.

According to Islamic belief, Allah is the most common word to represent God, and humble submission to his will, divine ordinances and commandments is the pivot of the Muslim faith. "He is the only God, creator of the universe, and the judge of humankind." "He is unique and inherently one , all-merciful and omnipotent." The Qur'an declares "the reality of Allah, His inaccessible mystery, His various names, and His actions on behalf of His creatures

Most Muslims use the untranslated Arabic phrase in shā’ Allāh (meaning 'if God wills') after references to future events. Muslim discursive piety encourages beginning things with the invocation of bismillāh (meaning 'in the name of God').]In Islamic tradition, there are 99 Names of God (al-asmā’ al-ḥusná lit. meaning: 'the best names' or 'the most beautiful names'), each of which evoke a distinct characteristic of Allah. All these names refer to Allah, the supreme and all-comprehensive divine name.]Among the 99 names of God, the most famous and most frequent of these names are "the Merciful" (al-Raḥmān) and "the Compassionate" (al-Raḥīm).

There are certain phrases in praise of God that are favored by Muslims, including "Subḥān Allāh" (Holiness be to God), "al-ḥamdu lillāh" (Praise be to God), "lā ilāha illā Allāh" (There is no deity but God) and "Allāhu akbar" (God is greater) as a devotional exercise of remembering God (. In a Sufi practice known as dhikr Allah (lit. remembrance of God), the Sufi repeats and contemplates on the name Allah or other divine names while controlling his or her breath.

Some scholars] have suggested that Muḥammad used the term Allah in addressing both pagan Arabs and Jews or Christians in order to establish a common ground for the understanding of the name for God, a claim Gerhard Böwering says is doubtful. According to Böwering, in contrast with pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism, God in Islam does not have associates and companions, nor is there any kinship between God and jinn] Pre-Islamic pagan Arabs believed in a blind, powerful, inexorable and insensible fate over which man had no control. This was replaced with the Islamic notion of a powerful but provident and merciful God.