The Day of ‘Arafah

The blessed ten days ofThul-Hijjahare honored and distinguished with
the Day of'Arafah. Indeed the Day of'Arafahis one of the greatest days
in the sight of Allaah The Exalted, a day when Allaah The Almighty
forgives sins and wrongdoings, fulfills supplications and boasts of
His slaves to the inhabitants of Heaven.
Additionally, the blessed Day of'Arafahis the day when the religion of
Islam was perfected and when Allaah The Almighty completed His favor
upon Muslims. It was narrated that a Jew once asked 'Umar ibn
Al-Khattaab"'O Commander of the Believers, there is a verse in your
Book, which you )Muslims( read. Had it been revealed to us, the Jews,
we would have taken that day )on which it was revealed( as a day of
celebration.''Umar ibn Al-Khattaab asked him, 'Which verse is that?'
The Jew replied, 'The verse that reads )what means(:}This day I have
perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and
have approved for you Islam as religion.{]Quran 5:3['Umarreplied,
'Indeed, we know when and where this verse was revealed to the
Prophet. It was a Friday when he was standing at 'Arafah]during the
Farewell Hajj[.'"]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
The Day of'Arafahis a source of pride to all Muslims and one of the
'Eedsin Islam. Hence,the Prophet,sallallaahu'alayhi wa sallam,
said:"The Day of 'Arafah, the Day of An-Nahr )the 10th day of
Thul-Hijjah( and the Days of Tashreeq are our feasts, the people of
Islam. They are days of eating and drinking."]At-Tirmithi[
Moreover, the Day of'Arafahis a day when Allaah The Exalted boasts
about His slaves, who are worshipping Him duly ]on that blessed day[
to the angels; a day when Allaah The Almighty forgives their sins and
emancipates them from the fire of Hell. What a great and a blessed day
it is!
TheProphet,, said:"There is no day on which Allaah frees a greater
number of His slaves from Hellfire than the Day of 'Arafah. Allaah
comes close then boasts about them to the angels, then asks ]a
rhetorical question[, 'What do these want?'"]Muslim[
Moreover, it was narrated that theProphet,, said:"Allaah The Exalted
boasts of His slaves standing at 'Arafaat to the inhabitants of Heaven
as He tells them, 'See how My slaves have come to Me dusty and with
tousled hair.'"]Ahmad[
Allaah The Almighty made that day an introduction to the Day
ofAn-Nahr)the 10th day ofThul-Hijjah(. On the Day of'Arafah, pilgrims
stand humbly beseechingAllaahThe Almightyin supplicationto grant them
forgiveness and accept their repentance. Hence, the
obligatoryTawaaf)circumambulation( that pilgrims should perform on the
Day ofAn-Nahris calledTawaaf Az-Ziyaarah; after having their sins
forgiven on theDay of 'Arafah, Allaah The Exalted grants them the
permission to come to His House on the Day ofAn-Nahr. In fact, the Day
of'Arafahcan be likened to a purification process ]from sins[; a
preparation procedure for the Day ofAn-Nahr.
It was narrated that theProphet,, commanded Bilaalto silence the
people on the Day of'Arafah. Then, he said:"Allaah The Exalted has
been so generous with you on the Day of 'Arafah; He forgave the
sinners among you for the sake of the doers of good among you, and He
granted the doers of good what they have asked for, proceed to Mina in
the Name of Allaah."]Ibn Majah, it was authenticated by some scholars[
Therefore, whoever wants his sins to be forgiven and wishes to besaved
from Hellfireon that blessed Day of'Arafah, should firmly adhere to
fulfilling the due reasons that are more likely to incur forgiveness
andemancipation from the fire of Hell,which entails the following:
1- Shielding one's organs from committing all that is forbidden: Ibn
'Abbaassaid,"So-and-so ]one of the Companions[ was the co rider of the
Prophetthe one riding behind himon the Day of 'Arafah. This young man
kept looking at womenrepeatedly andthe Prophetkept moving that man's
head away so as to avert his eyes from these women. Then, the
Prophetsaid to him: 'O nephew, whoever protects his hearing, sight and
tongue against what is prohibited on this day, would certainly be
granted forgiveness."]Ahmad[ Scholars said that its chain of narrators
is weak.
2- Fasting:
The Prophet,, said:"I seek from Allaah The Almighty that fasting the
Day of 'Arafah would expiate the sins of two years; the previous year
and the year to come."]Muslim[
Actually, fasting the Day of 'Arafahis only for Muslims who are not
performingHajjas thepilgrims should not fast that day imitatingthe
Prophet,. He drank on the Day of 'Arafahwhile the people were looking
at him. The wisdom behind that is to make thepilgrim strong enough to
recite the due supplications andThikr)remembrance( on the eve of
'Arafah.
Another means of attaining mercy on that blessed day, is reciting more
and more ofThikrand supplications especially those declaring the
Oneness of Allaah The Almighty; as it is the essence of Islam that was
perfected on that particular day.The Prophet,, said:"The best
supplication is that made on the Day of 'Arafah, and the best thing
that I have ever said along with all the previous prophets is 'La
ilaaha illa Allaah wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul mulk wa lahul hamd,
wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadeer)None is worthy of worship but
Allaah, The Exalted Alone, without any partners. All sovereignty and
praise belongs to Him and He is over all things
Omnipotent(.'"]At-Tirmithi[
Moreover, thepilgrims should reciteThikrand supplicate Allaah The
Exalted frequently to grant them forgiveness and free them from Hell.
It is the situation wherein one's supplications are more likely to be
answered. Additionally, pilgrims should adhere to the duemannersduring
supplication such as facing theQiblah, raising the handsup to the
shoulder ]with palms open facing up[andshowing helplessness, weakness
and need before Allaah The Almighty. They should follow on the
footsteps of the Prophet,, who, after finishing his prayers on the Day
of'Arafah, stood at the rocks down the mountain of'Arafah, faced
theQiblahandkept supplicating Allaah The Exalteduntil sunset.
Dear pilgrim, beware of sins and wrongdoings that might hinder
forgiveness such as arrogance, vanity and insistence on committing
grave major sins. Furthermore, the pilgrim should come to his Creator
with a humble and submissive heart showing his helplessness and
humility before Him; indeed He is The Best to be asked and The Most
Generous to grant you whatever you request and accept your
supplication.
Dearpilgrim, standing at'Arafahis an augustand dignified stance;
therein the feelings of the pilgrims differ. Some might feel mostly
bashful and afraid ]of Allaah The Exalted[ such as Mutarrif ibn
'Abdullaah ibn Ash-Shikhkheer and Bakr Al-Muzani. When they stood at
'Arafah one of them said, "O Allaah, do not withhold Your mercy and
forgiveness from all thepilgrims because of me."Whereas, the other
said,"What an honored and blessed Day it is, had it not been for me
being here."
Moreover, when Al-Fudhayl ibn 'Iyaadhstood at'Arafahand while
otherpilgrimsinvoking Allaah The Almighty, he was crying like the
bereaved ]of a child[ and could not even supplicate Allaah The
Almighty. It was almost sunset when he raised his sight to the sky and
said,"O Allaah, How ashamed I am of my sins before You, even if You
have forgiven me!"
Others sought refuge in the mercy and generosity of Allaah The
Exalted. Ibn Al-Mubaaraksaid, "I came to Sufyaan Ath-Thawri on the eve
of 'Arafah and he was on his knees crying and weeping. When I asked
him about the worst person in this gathering, he answered, 'He who
doubts that Allaah The Exalted might not forgive his sins today.'"
Moreover, Al-Fudhayl ibn 'Iyaadhlooked at the pilgrims on the eve
of'Arafahcrying and mentioning Allaah The Exalted and wondered, "Do
you think that if these pilgrims asked a man for one sixth of a
Dirham, he would turn them down?"They answered,"No, he would
not."Al-Fudhayl ibn 'Iyaadhsaid to them,"Indeed, it is easier for
Allaah The Exalted to grant them His forgiveness than this man to give
them one sixth of a Dirham."
Dear pilgrim, you should remain in a state between hope and fear on
that great day. You should fear the punishment of Allaah The Almighty
and at the same time hope for His forgiveness and reward.
Furthermore, on the Day of'Arafahamong this great gathering of
pilgrims, you should remember the momentuous Day of Judgment when all
human beings shall stand before Allaah The Almighty. The Day
of'Arafahshould remind you of that difficult Day when you will be held
accountable before Allaah The Exalted. It is a Day that renders the
children gray-haired due to its gravity. On the Day of Judgment, when
people will be gathered barefoot, naked and not circumcised so as to
reap what they had sowed; every soul will be recompensed ]in full for[
for what it had earned and no one shall be wronged.
Dear pilgrim, do more righteous deeds that might save you on that
august Day while you still can and before it is too late.