Watch: Pilgrims embrace heavy rain while circling the Kaaba in Mecca

Dubai: Thousands of worshippers circumambulated the Kaaba on Friday under heavy rain, their white garments drenched as they prayed, chanted and smiled through the downpour at Islam’s holiest site.

Footage of the moment spread quickly online, showing pilgrims undeterred by the weather — some raising their hands in supplication, others embracing the rain as a blessing.

The scenes came as the National Centre of Meteorology issued multiple severe weather warnings across the Kingdom.

In Medina, authorities reported torrential rain, hail and strong winds that reduced visibility and triggered flash floods. The alert remains in place until 9pm Friday.

Further north in Hail, thunder, heavy showers and surface winds swept across open areas and highways. In the south, Sharurah experienced lightning, rain and poor visibility, with conditions expected to persist into the evening.

The centre warned that widespread thunderstorms, some severe, would continue over Najran, Jazan, Asir, Al Baha, Mecca and Medina, posing risks of hail, dust storms and flooding.

Over the Red Sea, northwesterly winds were forecast to exceed 50 kilometres per hour, with waves rising more than two metres in central and southern sectors.

For many of the faithful in Mecca, however, the storm was seen not as a hindrance but as a moment of divine mercy. Rainfall at the Grand Mosque is traditionally regarded in Islam as a blessing.