Mecca fire of 1997 Mecca fire of 1997 The Mecca fire of 1997 was a fire that occurred in the tent city near Mecca in Saudi Arabia 15 April 1997, killing between 217 and 300 people. The fire erupted in the overcrowded tent city, Mina, where an estimated two million Muslim pilgrims were gathered on for the first day of the Hajj, the ritualistic pilgrimage to Mecca. The fire erupted at 11:45 a.m. (), and was caused by exploding canisters of cooking gas, according to witnesses. The fire was fanned by winds of nearly causing the destruction of an estimated 70,000 tents. Officially, 1,290
Muhammad in Mecca Muslims. Moreover, some of these were spared when they converted to Islam. Muhammad's return was followed by several battles which led to Muslims conquering the rest of Arabia, and a final return to Mecca in 632 where he completed his first true Islamic pilgrimage, and made his Farewell Sermon at Mount Arafat. His return marked the end of the tenth year after Muslims' migration to Medina, and his pilgrimage set the precedence for the annual Great Pilgrimage, known as "Hajj." In his "Farewell Sermon", at Mount Arafat east of Mecca on the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, Muhammad advised his followers