The Virtues of the Day of Arafah
The 9th of Dhul-Hijjah is called ‘Yawm Arafah,’ or the Day of Arafah. Standing at Arafah on this day is the greatest act of Hajj. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Hajj is Arafah.’[1] Therefore, standing at Arafah is obligatory. Hajj is not valid without standing at Arafah. The virtue of this day is close to that of Yawm al-Nahr, or the Day of Sacrifice. Every pilgrim should perform deeds on this day with utmost diligence. Various hadiths have been narrated concerning the virtue of this day. Some of them are mentioned below:
1. On the Day of Arafah, Allah Most High draws near to His servants and frees more of them from the Fire of Hell than on any other day. It is narrated from Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
«مَا مِنْ يَوْمٍ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَنْ يُعْتِقَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ عَبْدًا مِنَ النَّارِ مِنْ يَوْمِ عَرَفَةَ وَإِنَّهُ لَيَدْنُو ثُمَّ يُبَاهِى بِهِمُ الْمَلاَئِكَةَ فَيَقُولُ مَا أَرَادَ هَؤُلاَءِ»
‘There is no day on which Allah Most High frees more servants from the Fire of Hell than the Day of Arafah. On that day, Allah draws near and, taking pride in them before the angels, says: What do they want?’[2]
2. Allah Most High takes pride before the inhabitants of the heavens in those standing at Arafah. It is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
«إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يُبَاهِى بِأَهْلِ عَرَفَاتٍ أَهْلَ السَّمَاءِ فَيَقُولُ لَهُمُ : انْظُرُوا إِلَى عِبَادِى جَاءُونِى شُعْثًا غُبْرًا»
‘Indeed, Allah Most High takes pride before the inhabitants of the heavens in those standing at Arafah. He says to them: Look at My servants. They have come to Me dishevelled and covered in dust.’[3]
3. The Day of Arafah is the day on which Allah’s religion and blessing bestowed upon the Muslim nation were perfected. Tariq ibn Shihab said, ‘The Jews said to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), “You recite a verse which, had it been revealed to us, we would have celebrated the day on which it was revealed as a festival.” Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I certainly know for what purpose and where it was revealed, and where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was when it was revealed. It was the Day of Arafah. By Allah! We were on the plain of Arafah. (The day was Friday.) (The verse was
﴿ٱلۡيَوۡمَ أَكۡمَلۡتُ لَكُمۡ دِينَكُمۡ ﴾ [المائدة: ٣]
‘Today I have perfected your religion for you’).”[4]
4. Jibril (peace be upon him) conveyed greetings from Allah to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for those standing at Arafah and those staying at Muzdalifah, and undertook responsibility for their wrongdoings. It is narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that, before sunset on the plain of Arafah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) instructed Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) to make the people quiet. Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) said, ‘Remain silent for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).’ When the people fell silent, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
«يَا مَعْشَرَ النَّاسِ أَتَانِيْ جِبْرِيْلُ آنِفًا فَأَقَرَأَنِيْ مِن رَّبِيْ السَّلاَمُ لأَهْلِ عَرَفَاتَ وَأَهْلِ الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ وَضَمِنَ عَنْهُمْ التَّبِعَاتِ».
‘O people, Jibril came to me a short while ago. He conveyed to me greetings from my Lord for those standing at Arafah and those staying at Muzdalifah, and undertook responsibility for their wrongdoings.’ Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Is this only for us?’ He replied, ‘It is for you and for those who will come after you until the Day of Resurrection.’ Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, ‘Allah’s mercy is abundant and excellent.’[5]
5. Allah Most High grants special forgiveness to those standing at Arafah. It is narrated from Ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
«وَأَمَّا وُقُوفُكَ بِعَرَفَةَ فَإِنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَنْزِلُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا فَيُبَاهِي بِهِمُ الْمَلائِكَةَ، فَيَقُولُ:هَؤُلاءِ عِبَادِي جَاءُونِي شُعْثًا غُبْرًا مِنْ كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ يَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتِي، وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابِي، وَلَمْ يَرَوْنِي، فَكَيْفَ لَوْ رَأَوْنِي؟ فَلَوْ كَانَ عَلَيْكَ مِثْلُ رَمْلِ عَالِجٍ، أَوْ مِثْلُ أَيَّامِ الدُّنْيَا، أَوْ مِثْلُ قَطْرِ السَّمَاءِ ذُنُوبًا غَسَلَ اللَّهُ عَنْكَ».
‘As for your standing at Arafah, Allah descends to the lowest heaven. Then, taking pride before the angels in those standing at Arafah, He says: These are My servants. They have come to Me from distant regions, dishevelled and covered in dust. They hope for My mercy and fear My punishment, although they have not seen Me. What, then, if they had seen Me? Thereafter, even if your sins were equal to the grains of sand in a vast desert, or equal to all the days of the world, or equal to the raindrops of the sky, Allah would wash them away and cleanse you of them.’[6]
6. The supplication of the Day of Arafah is the best supplication. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
«خَيْرُ الدُّعَاءِ دُعَاءُ يَوْمِ عَرَفَةَ».
‘The best supplication is the supplication of the Day of Arafah.’[7]
7. If those who have not come to perform Hajj fast on the Day of Arafah, their sins of the previous year and the following year are forgiven. It is narrated from Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about fasting on the Day of Arafah, he said,
«يُكَفِّرُ السَّنَةَ الْمَاضِيَةَ وَالْبَاقِيَةَ».
‘Fasting on the Day of Arafah expiates the sins of the previous year and the following year.’[8]
However, this fast is not for the pilgrims; rather, it is for those who have not come to perform Hajj. For pilgrims, fasting on the Day of Arafah is contrary to the Sunnah. During the Farewell Hajj, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not fast on the Day of Arafah; rather, he drank milk in front of everyone.’[9] Ikrimah said, ‘I entered the house of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him about fasting on the Day of Arafah while present on the plain of Arafah. He said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade fasting on the Day of Arafah while on the plain of Arafah.”’[10] Rather, if a pilgrim does not fast on this day, it helps him to engage more in supplication, dhikr, seeking forgiveness, and worshipping Allah.
[1]. Musnad Ahmad, 4/335.
[2]. Muslim: 1348.
[3]. Musnad Ahmad: 2/224.
[4]. Bukhari: 4606. Explaining the perfection of the religion on the Day of Arafah, Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) says, ‘On that day, the religion was perfected in several ways. First, after Hajj had been made obligatory, the Muslims had never before performed Hajj in a completely Islamic environment. Most scholars have expressed this view. Second, Allah Most High restored Hajj on that day to its Abrahamic foundation and separated it from shirk and the polytheists. Thereafter, none of them joined the Muslims at that place in Arafah. The blessing was perfected through attaining Allah’s forgiveness and pardon, for a blessing is not perfected without Allah’s forgiveness. An example of this is that Allah Most High says to His Prophet,
لِيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ وَيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكَ وَيَهْدِيَكَ صِرَاطًا مُسْتَقِيمًا
‘So that Allah may forgive your past and future shortcomings, perfect His blessing upon you, and guide you to a straight path (Al-Fath: 2).’ Lata’if al-Ma‘arif: 486.
[5]. Sahih al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib: 1151.
[6]. Abd al-Razzaq, Musannaf: 8830.
[7]. Tirmidhi: 2837; Muwatta Malik: 1/422.
[8]. Muslim: 1163.
[9]. Muslim: 1123; Musnad Ahmad: 2/304.
[10]. Musnad Ahmad: 2/304.