Hajj pilgrims return to the Emirates

Thousands are expected to arrive back in the country over the next few days

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  Malalla Alhammadi holds his son Nahyan as he returns from the Hajj pilgrimage at Abu Dhabi International Airport. All photos by Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  Hamdan, 15, and Rakan, 9, greet their father Mohammed.

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  Pilgrims return to Abu Dhabi following the Eid Al Adha holiday.

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  Hajj pilgrims return from Makkah after completing one of Islam's five mandatory pillars of faith.

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  Hajj pilgrims greet their families after returning from Makkah.

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  Hajj pilgrims return from Makkah.

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  Ahmad hands out coffee to returning pilgrims from Makkah.

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  Hajj pilgrims return to Abu Dhabi from Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

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  Hamdan and Rakan wait to greet their father, Mohammed, at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Thousands of pilgrims from the Emirates began returning to the country on Thursday following Hajj.

Last year, more than 6,200 Muslims made the journey to Makkah from the UAE, up from 4,600 in 2017.

For millions of Muslims around the world, the Hajj pilgrimage is an odyssey of huge consequence.

The five or six days of prayer and discovery to the holiest of cities in Saudi Arabia is part of the Five Pillars of Islam, and is considered mandatory.

The pilgrimage takes place each year during Dhul Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar.

The ritual literally translates as “to attend a journey” and denotes both the outward act of the physical travel involved and the inward act of an individual’s contemplation of their faith.