Makkah Archives » Seekers Elite

NOTE: Day of Arafat 2017 will begin in the evening of Wednesday, 30 August and ends in the evening of Thursday, 31 August. Dates may vary. Insha Allah, you are just to learn about one of the most important days on the Islamic calendar. This day is such a very mighty day and it is worth your time. Those performing the rites of Hajj spend this day in prayer and worship on this mountain called Mount Arafah in Makkah. However, those of us who have not been blessed with the opportunity to be on the plains have still got lots of Barakah to strive for. But first of all, let’s know what it is. What is the Meaning of Day of Arafah? The term Arafah is the name of a mountain located in Makkah which is 70 meters high and is also known as the Mount of Mercy. Day of Arafah is a day that falls on the 9th day of Dhul Hijjah. It is called the Day of Arafah because, on this day, pilgrims go to this mountain from Mina, for the most important rite of hajj. On this day on the mountain, the Khutbah of Hajj is narrated and Zuhr and Asr prayers are combined. The whole day is spent by the pilgrims on the mountain to supplicate to Allah to forgive their sins and to pray for personal strength in the future. What are the virtues of the Day of Arafah? A day can’t just be praised and celebrated for no reason. What is it about this day that makes it special? It is on this day Islam was perfected “… This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (Quran 5:3) A day like this is really worth it. Imagine Allah completing Islam on such a day, no doubt that His favors will be a win-win for every Muslim who takes this serious. Reported by Umar Ibn al-Khattab [rahimahu], once a Jewish man said to him, “O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, there is an Aayah in your Book which you recite; if it had come to us Jews, we would have taken that day as a festival.” Umar said, “Which Aayah?” He said: “This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” Umar said, “We know on which day and in which place that was revealed to the Prophet [saw]. It was when he was standing in ‘Arafaah on a Friday.” It is a day of Eid for every Muslim. The Prophet[saw] said: “The day of ‘Arafah (Yawm ‘Arafah ), the Day of Sacrifice (Yawm al-Nahr ) and Ayyaam al-Tashreeq (the 3 days following Yawm al-Nahr) are Eid (festival) for us, the people of Islam. These are days of eating and drinking.” It is a day by which Allah swore an oath. The Almighty cannot swear by anything except that which is mighty. Yawm ‘Arafaah (the day of Arafah) is the “witnessed day” mentioned in the Quran: “By the witnessing day [Friday] and by the witnessed day [the Day of ‘Arafaah].” (Quran 85:3). It was reported from Abu Hurayrah [rahimahu] that the Prophet[saw] said: “The promised day is the Day of Resurrection, the witnessed day is the Day of ‘Arafah, and the witnessing day is Friday.” – Al-Tirmidhi Fasting on this day is an expiation for two years. "Fasting on the Day of 'Arafah absolves the sins for two years: the previous year and the coming year…" – Reported by all except Al-Bukhari and At-Tirmidhi It is the day of forgiveness of sins and freedom from the Fire It was narrated that the Prophet [saw] said: “There is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than the Day of ‘Arafah. He comes close and expresses His pride to the angels, saying, ‘What do these people want?’” Why should you fast on the day of Arafah? This is very simple. You should fast on this day if you want to achieve the mercy of Allah mention above. As I mentioned earlier, this day is an opportunity for every Muslim. We all are sinners who want to be forgiven, let’s secure this beautiful day to clean ourselves. Believers should note that this (fasting) is mustahab for those who are not on Hajj. In the case of the one who is on Hajj, it is not Sunnah for him to fast on the Day of ‘Arafah because the Prophet [saw] did not fast on this day in ‘Arafah. It was narrated that he forbade fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah in ‘Arafah.