greatly venerated, by the heathen Arabs before Mohammed's time. On "Mount" Zafa the pilgrim makes his obeisance to the place where this idol formerly stood (although not one in ten thousand Hadj pilgrims has any clear idea of what he is venerating there!), and then proceeds to the neighboring hill, Madwa, on the summit of which was once an image called Naila. Here he again bows down and worships. He then returns to the summit of Mount Zafa, then back again to Marwa, alternating between the two summits until he has made the round trip seven times. The ritual prescribes that this trip from hill to hill shall be made "running"—but few of the Hadj pilgrims take this order literally. They usually pass from summit to summit at a fast walk, running a few steps down hill, so as to comply with the letter of the ritual. The tasks set for this, the first day of the Hadj, are strenuous enough to tire the pilgrims thoroughly.
On the following day (the 8th day of the month) all the pilgrims congregate in the valley of Minah, where they pass the night.
On the morning of the ninth day of the month, as soon as morning prayers have been said, they run with great noise and tumult to the summit of Mount Arafat, where they remain the whole day, until sunset. When the sun drops behind the Western horizon they come down from the hill and assemble at a place called Muzdalifeh, where they pass the night.
