Following months of dry and hot weather with temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celcius, millions of Muslims raised their hands in gratitude when rain fell for about 10 minutes during Maghrib prayers.

The light rainfall washed away some dust in the Masjidil Haram area which was a result of large-scale renovation works actively being done there.

A resident of Makkah, who wants to be known as Jaafar, said this was the second time they experienced a drizzle in six months as the area was frequently hit by hot and dry weather.

Millions of Muslims from around the world have begun flooding Makkah in preparation for the haj scheduled to begin on Oct 14.

Meanwhile, Tabung Haji (TH) media manager Mohamad Naser Jaafar said about 9,000 Malaysian haj pilgrims are now in Makkah and Madinah.

Those in Madinah are entering Makkah in stages and will be in Makkah on Sept 29 when all 33 flights from Malaysia to Madinah ends on Sept 20.

Starting Sept 21, all flights from Malaysia land in Jeddah to bring haj pilgrims straight to Makkah and the last flight to Jeddah is on Oct 9.

- Bernama