Virtues of the Day of Arafaah
[Posted by ilove Allaah editor]
9th of Dhul Hijjah is the Day of Arafaah.
1. It is the day on
which the religion was perfected and Allaah’s Favour was completed.
In Al-Saheehayn it
was reported from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) that 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 an ‘Eid (festival).” ‘Umar said,
“Which aayah?” He said: “This day I have perfected your religion for you,
completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” [al-Maa’idah 5:3 –
interpretation of the meaning]. ‘Umar said, “We know on which day and in which
place that was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). It was when he was standing in ‘Arafaah on a Friday.”
2. It is a day of Eid
for the people who are in that place.
The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Yawm ‘Arafaah (the
day of ‘Arafaah), Yawm al-Nahr (the Day of Sacrifice) 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.” This was narrated by the authors
of al-Sunan. It was reported that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: “It – i.e., the
aayah ‘This day I have perfected…’ was revealed on a Friday, the Day of
‘Arafaah, both of which – praise be to Allaah – are Eids for us.”
3. It is a day by
which Allaah swore an oath.
The Almighty cannot
swear by anything except that which is mighty. Yawm ‘Arafaah is the “witnessed
day” mentioned in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
“By the witnessing
day [Friday] and by the witnessed day [the Day of ‘Arafaah].” [al-Burooj 85:3].
It was reported from
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“The promised day is
the Day of Resurrection, the witnessed day is the Day of ‘Arafaah, and the
witnessing day is Friday.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani.It is the “odd” [i.e., odd-numbered, Witr] by which Allaah swore in
the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
“And by the even and
the odd” [al-Fajr 89:3]. Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “The even is the Day of al-Adhaa
[i.e., 10th Dhoo’l-Hijjah] and the odd is the Day of ‘Arafaah [i.e., 9th
Dhoo’l-Hijjah] This is also the view of ‘Ikrimah and al-Dahhaak.
4. Fasting on this
day is an expiation for two years.
It was reported from
Abu Qutaadah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about fasting on the Day
of ‘Arafaah. He said,
“It expiates for the
sins of the previous year and of the coming year.” [Narrated by Muslim]
This (fasting) is
mustahabb 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 ‘Arafaah, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not fast on this day in
‘Arafaah. It was narrated that he forbade fasting on the Day of ‘Arafaah in
‘Arafaah.
5. It is the day on
which Allaah took the covenant from the progeny of Adam.
It was reported that
Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the
Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Allaah took
the covenant from the loins of Adam in Na’maan, i.e., ‘Arafaah. He brought
forth from his loins all his offspring and spread them before Him, then He
addressed them, and said: ‘Am I not your Lord? They said, ‘Yes, we testify,’
let 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 Allaah, and we were (merely their)
descendents after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men
who practised Al-Baatil (i.e., ploytheism and committing crimes and sins, invoking
and worshipping others besides Allaah)?’ [al-A’raaf 7:172-173 – interpretation of the
meaning].”
[Narrated by Ahmad
and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani. And there is no greater day than this and
no greater covenant than this.]
6. It is the day of
forgiveness of sins, freedom from the Fire and pride in the people who are
there:
In Saheeh Muslim it
was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“There is no day on
which Allaah frees more people from the Fire than the Day of ‘Arafaah. He comes
close and expresses His pride to the angels, saying, ‘What do these people
want?’”It was reported from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said:
“Allaah expresses His
pride to His angels at the time of ‘Ishaa’ on the Day of ‘Arafaah, about the
people of ‘Arafaah. He says, ‘Look at My slaves who have come unkempt and
dusty.’”Narrated by Ahmad and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.
And Allaah knows
best.