‘..Glorify Allah for having guiding you; and that you be grateful.’ [2:185]

On the 9th Dhul-Hijjah the hajis make their way to Arafah, a fard of Hajj. We may not be in Arafah but Allah has given us the day of Arafah.

Why is this day called Arafah?

(1) Some state, when Adam a.s and Hawa a.s were cast out of Jannah, they were sent to different parts of the world; Adam a.s was sent to a place, which today is called Sri Lanka. Hawa a.s was sent to Jeddah. After many years of separation, they met in Arafah. The word ‘Arafah’ in Arabic means ‘To recognise’ i.e they recognised each other in this land on this day.

(2) Allah ta’ala told Ibrahim a.s:

وَأَذِّن فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَىٰ كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَأْتِينَ مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ

And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant hilly pathway. [22:27]

Ibrahim a.s was approached by Jibraeel a.s and the rituals of Hajj were taught to him in Arafah. Thereafter, Ibrahim a.s was asked: هَل عَرَفْتَ (Have you understood/recognised) to which he replied عَرَفْتُ (I have understood). So, because they used the Arabic word عَرَفْتَ and عَرَفْتُ the place is called Arafah.

(3) Some are of the opinion based on a hadith in Mishkaat. Before we came to this world, Allah gathered all the souls and said: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ to which we replied ‘Yes! We bear witness’. This was the covenant we made with Allah.This same covenant was taken again in Arafah. When Adam a.s was sent into the world, all the souls were gathered and Allah said, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ to which we replied, ‘Yes! We bear witness’. The place is called Arafah because it is where we recognised Allah as our Lord.

What is the speciality of Arafah

عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، مِنَ الْيَهُودِ قَالَ لَهُ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، آيَةٌ فِي كِتَابِكُمْ تَقْرَءُونَهَا لَوْ عَلَيْنَا مَعْشَرَ الْيَهُودِ نَزَلَتْ لاَتَّخَذْنَا ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمَ عِيدًا‏.‏ قَالَ أَىُّ آيَةٍ قَالَ ‏:‏الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الإِسْلاَمَ دِينًا‏‏‏.‏ قَالَ عُمَرُ قَدْ عَرَفْنَا ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمَ وَالْمَكَانَ الَّذِي نَزَلَتْ فِيهِ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ بِعَرَفَةَ يَوْمَ جُمُعَةٍ‏.‏

Narrated by Umar r.a: Once a Jew said to me, “O the chief of believers! There is a verse in your Holy Book Which is read by all of you (Muslims), and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken that day (on which it was revealed as a day of celebration.)” ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab asked, “Which is that verse?” The Jew replied, “This day I have perfected your religion For you, completed My favour upon you, And have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (5:3) ‘Umar replied, “No doubt, we know when and where this verse was revealed to the Prophet. It was Friday and the Prophet (ﷺ) was standing at ‘Arafat (i.e. the Day of Hajj)”

قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ مَا مِنْ يَوْمٍ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَنْ يُعْتِقَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ عَبْدًا مِنْ النَّارِ مِنْ يَوْمِ عَرَفَةَ وَإِنَّهُ لَيَدْنُو ثُمَّ يُبَاهِي بِهِمْ الْمَلَائِكَةَ فَيَقُولُ مَا أَرَادَ هَؤُلَاءِ

Rasulullah ﷺ said: There is no day upon which Allah frees more of his servants from the Hellfire than the day of Arafat. He draws near and then he boasts of them to the angels, saying: What do these servants want. [Muslim]

عَنْ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ سُئِلَ عَنْ صَوْمِ يَوْمِ عَرَفَةَ فَقَالَ يُكَفِّرُ السَّنَةَ الْمَاضِيَةَ وَالْبَاقِيَةَ

Rasulullah ﷺ was asked about fasting on the day of Arafat, he ﷺ said, “It will expiate the sins of the previous and upcoming years. [Muslim]

This hadith applies to those who have not gone for Hajj. Those gone for Hajj do not keep fast. Rasulullah ﷺ was given milk when he went for Hajj. He drank it in front of everyone to show he is not fasting.

What to do on the day of Arafah

  • Fast and encourage others to do so.
  • Abundantly read the fourth kalimah (This is the best dhikr to read on this day).
  • Make lots of dua. Have hope that Allah accepts your duas like He does for those in Hajj.
  • Read Takbir Tashreeq from Fajr of 9th Dhul-Hijjah until Asr 13th Dhul-Hijjah:

اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ لَا إلَهَ إلَّا اللَّهُ وَاَللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلِلَّهِ الْحَمْد

Read this abundantly, Many believe you only read takbir tashreeq after fard salaah and that’s it. The sahaba like Abu Hurayrah r.a, Abdullah ibn Umar r.a, Muhammad ibn Ali r.a etc. used to excessively recite it in the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah. Abdullah ibn Umar r.a used to constantly recite it until the Imam was present for salah on Eid day.

Above is an extract from Shaykh’s jumuah speech on 09/08/19 in Harlow Islamic Centre. Click here to listen to the full audio (Audio no.42 from minute 8:30, audio no.76 and 163)