The Day of 'Arafah

TF-RA | August 10, 2019

The day of 'Arafah is the ninth day of the month of Dhul-Hijjah in Islāmic calendar and it is one of the greatest days of the year. On this day the pilgrims attend the 'Arafah.

Why Is It Called 'Arafah?

Some say it is taken from the word al-'arf  which means fragrance. Others say it is taken from the root 'arafa which means to recognize, to come to know, to understand etc. And it is called 'Arafah because people get to know one another in 'Arafah. It is also said that it is called 'Arafah because after Allāh sent Adam and Hawwā down to different places on earth, it was in the 'Arafah that they met one another again (1). It is also said that it is called 'Arafah because while Jibril (a.s) was showing the rituals of hajj to Abraham (a.s), he would say, ‘I understood, I understood’ (2). Others say, there is no clear evidence as to why it is called 'Arafah (3).

The Virtues of the Day of 'Arafah

It is one of the days of the sacred months, about which Allāh says:

Verily, the number of months with Allāh is twelve months (in a year), so was it ordained by Allāh on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are sacred. (Qur'ān, 9:36)

The four sacred months include Dhul-Qi'dah (the 11th month), Dhul-Hijjah (the 12th month), Muharram (the 1st month), and Rajab (the 7th month).

It is one of the days of the months of hajj, about which Allāh says:

The hajj (pilgrimage) is (in) the well-known (lunar year) months. (Qur'ān, 2:197)

The months of hajj include Shawwāl (the 10th month), Dhul-Qi'dah, and Dhul-Hijjah.

It is one of the appointed days which Allāh, the All-Mighty, the All-Sublime praises, saying:

That they may witness things that are of benefit to them and mention the Name of Allāh on appointed days. (Qur'ān, 22:28)

Ibn Abbās (ra) says the appointed days refers to the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah (4). The same has been reported from Abu Musā al-Ash'arī (ra), Mujāhid, 'Atā', Sa'eed bin Jubair, Hasan, Qatādah, Dhahhāk, An-Nakha'ī, it is also the madhhab of Ash-Shāfi'ī, and the prominent view from Ahmad bin Hanbal (5). 

It is one of the ten days by which Allāh swears an oath, saying:

By the ten nights. (Qur'ān, 89:2)

Ibn 'Abbās, ibn Zubair, Mujāhid, and others say these ten nights refer to the first ten days of the month of Dhul-Hijjah (6).

It is one of the best ten days of this world, about which Prophet Muhammad ﷺ says:

The best days of the dunyā (world) are the (first) 10 days (of Dhul-Hijjah) (7).

No good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these (first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah) ... Not even jihād, except that of a man who does it by putting himself and his property in danger (for Allāh's sake) and does not return with any of those things (8).

It is a day by which Allāh takes an oath, saying:

And by the witnessing day, and by the witnessed day. (Qur'ān, 85:3)

And by the even and the odd. (Qur'ān, 89:3) 

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allāh said: 

The witnessing day is Friday and the witnessed day is the Day of 'Arafah (9).

Ibn 'Abbās, Qatādah, 'Ikrimah, and Dhahhāk say the even in verse 89:3 refers to the day of Adhhā (10th Dhul-Hijjah) and the odd in the verse refers to the day of 'Arafah (10).

It is the day of the primordial covenant Allāh took from the children of Adam (a.s). Prophet Muhammad ﷺ says:

Allāh took the covenant from the back of Adam in Na'mān, i.e., 'Arafah. So, he drew forth from his loins all his offspring and spread them before Him like fine particles, then He addressed them face to face, saying: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said: ‘Yes! We testify’ Lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: ‘Verily, we have been unaware of this.’ Or lest you should say: ‘It was only our fathers aforetime who took others as partners in worship along with Allāh, and we were (merely their) descendants after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who practised falsehood.’ (Qur'ān, 7:172-173) (11)  

It is the day during which Allāh completed Islām. Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattāb: 

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-Khattāb asked, ‘Which is that verse?’ The Jew replied, ‘This day I have perfected your religion For you, completed My favor 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 'Arafah.’ (12)

It is a day of 'Eid for those staying in the 'Arafah. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ says:

The day of 'Arafah, the day of nahr (sacrifice), the days of tashrīq are (the days of) our festival, O people of Islām. These are the days of eating and drinking. (13)

It is a day of deliverance from Hellfire and praise on those attending the 'Arafah. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ says:

There is no day when Allāh sets free more servants from Hell than the Day of 'Arafah. He draws near, then praises them to the angels, saying: ‘What do these want?’ (14)

It is a day during which the greatest pillar of hajj, i.e. attending the 'Arafah, begins. The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) says:

The hajj is 'Arafāt, the hajj is 'Arafāt, the hajj is 'Arafāt. The days of Mina are three: But whoever hastens to leave in two days, there is no sin on him, and whoever stays on, there is no sin on him (Qur'ān 2:203). And whoever sees (attends) the 'Arafah before the rising of fajr, then he has performed the hajj. (15)

It is a day of du'ā (supplication). The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ says:

The most excellent du'ā is the du'ā on the day of 'Arafah, and the best of what I and the prophets before me have said, is ‘There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner.’ (16)

It is a day that he (among the non-pilgrims) who observes it by fasting will have his sins of the preceding and following year forgiven. Concerning the observance of fasting on the day of 'Arafah, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ says:

Fasting on the day of ‘Arafah, I hope from Allāh, expiates for the sins of the year before and the year after. (17)

 Is 'Arafah the Best Day of the Year?

Shaikhul Islām ibn Taymiyyah (ra) says: “Muslim scholars unanimously agree that the best day of the week is Friday, and the best day of the year is the day of sacrifice, yet some said it's the day of 'Arafah; however, the first view is correct, because in the sunan it has been reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘The greatest day in Allāh's sight is the day of sacrifice and next the day of resting.’ That is because it is the day of the greatest hajj according to the madhhab of Mālik, Shāfi'ī, and Ahmad, as it's been reported in the sahih (collections) that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘the day of sacrifice is the day of the greatest hajj.’ And there are performed deeds on this day which are not performed on any other days.” (18)

Yet, it is one of the best ten days of the year as discussed before. To be more precise, after the first best day of the best ten days of the year, i.e. the day of sacrifice, the day of 'Arafah is the second best day of these best ten days of the year.

Footnotes

(1) Al-Qurtubī, Jāmi'-ul Ahkām il Qur'ān, Dār-ul Kutub il Misriyyah, vol. 2, page 415.
(2) Al-Qādhī Iyādh, Ikmāl-il Mu'lim bi Fawā'idi Muslim, Dār-ul Wafā', vol. 4, page 280.
(3) Sālih bin 'Awwād al-Maghāsimī, A'lām-ul Qur'ān, vol. 2, page 15. 
(4) An-Nawawī, Al-Majmou', vol. 8, page 382. Its isnād is classed as authentic by Nawawī (ra).

(5) Ibn Katheer, ‘Tafseer-ul Qur'ān al 'Azīm’, Dār-ul Kutub ul 'Ilmiyyah, Vol. 5, Page 364.
(6) Ibn Katheer, ‘Tafseer-ul Qur'ān al 'Azīm’, Dār-ul Kutub ul 'Ilmiyyah, Vol. 8, Page 381.

(7) Sahih-ul Jāmi' 1133.

(8) Sahih al-Bukhāri 969.

(9) Jāmi` at-Tirmidhī, Hadīth 3339. Classed as hasan by Tirmidhī (ra).
(10) At-Tabarī, ‘Jāmi' ul-bayān fi ta'wīl il-Qur'ān’, Ar-Risālah institute, Vol. 24, Page 397-398.
(11) Musnad imām Ahmad, hadīth 2455. Its narrators has been classed as reliable by Al-Arnaout (ra).
(12) Sahih al-Bukhāri 45.
(13) Sunan Abi Dāwud 2419. Classed as sahih by Albānī (ra).
(14) Sahih Muslim 1348
(15) Jāmi` at-Tirmidhī, Hadīth 2975. Classed as sahih by Albānī (ra).
(16) Sahih-ul Jāmi' 1102. Classed as hasan by Albānī (ra).
(17) Sahih Muslim 1162.
(18) Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmou'-ul Fatāwā, King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'ān, vol. 25, page 288.