Day of Arafah

Day of Arafah

Pilgrims at the Mount Arafat in Makkah
Official name Arabic: يوم عرفة
Also called The Day of Repentance and Acceptance of Supplications
Type Islamic
Significance Commemoration of Muhammad's final sermon and completion of the message of Islam. Marks the second day of the Pilgrimage or Hajj for the millions of Muslims who make the trip to Makkah each year. A day on which Muslims who did not go to Hajj fast to repent for their sins.
Observances Prayer, Fasting, Repentance
Ends 9 Dhul-Hijjah
Date 9 Dhu al-Hijjah
Frequency annual
Related to Eid ul-Adha, the major Islamic festival, which occurs the day after the Day of Arafah

The Day of 'Arafah (Arabic: يوم عرفة) is the holiest day in Islam that falls on the 9th day of Dhul Hijja (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic Calendar.[1] It is the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage and the day after is the first day of the major Islamic Holiday of Eid ul-Adha. [2] At dawn of this day, Muslim pilgrims will make their way from Mina to a nearby hillside and plain called Mount Arafat and the Plain of `Arafah. It was from this site that Muhammad in gave one of his last famous sermons in the final year of his life. Muslims hold that part of the Qur'anic verse announcing that the religion of Islam had been perfected was revealed on this day. [3]

Location

Mount Arafat (Arabic: جبل عرفات‎‎ Jabal ‘Arafāt [4]) is a granite hill east of Mecca in the plain of Arafat. Arafat is a plain located in 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Mecca. Mount Arafat reaches about 70 m (230 ft) in height known as the Mount of Mercy (Jabal ar-Rahmah). According to Islamic tradition, the hill is the place where the Islamic prophet Muhammad stood and delivered the Farewell Sermon to the Muslims who had accompanied him for the Hajj towards the end of his life.[5]

Ceremonies

On 9th Dhu al-Hijjah before noon, pilgrims arrive at Arafat, a barren and plain land some 20 kilometers east of Mecca [3] where they stand in contemplative vigil: they offer supplications, repent on and atone for their past sins, and seek mercy of God, and listen to sermon from the Islamic scholars who deliver it from near Jabal al-Rahmah (The Mount of Mercy) [6] . Lasting from noon through sunset,[3] this is known as 'standing before God' (wuquf), one of the most significant rites of Hajj.[7][8] At Masjid al-Namirah, pilgrims offer noon and afternoon prayers together at noon time.[6] A pilgrim's Hajj is considered invalid if they do not spend the afternoon on Arafat.[3]

Arafah prayer

As Husayn ibn Ali recited the prayer during the Hajj at Mount Arafat on 9th day of Dhul Hijja, Muslims during the Hajj recite the Arafah prayer from Zuhr prayer to sunset. [9] This day is called prayer day, specially for people who stand on Mount Arafat.[10] On day of Arafah Iranian people go to holy places such as mosques and grave of descendant of a Shi'i Imam to recite Arafah prayer.[11]

Occurrence in Hadith Literature

Abu Qatada al-Ansari reported that Muhammad was asked about his fasting. He was asked about perpetual fasting, whereupon he said: He neither fasted nor did he break it, or he did not fast and he did not break it. He was then asked about fasting for two days and breaking one day. He (Muhammad) said: And who is strong enough to do it? He was asked about fasting for a day and breaking for two days, whereupon he said: May Allah bestow upon us strength to do it. He was then asked about fasting for a day and breaking on the other, whereupon he said: That is the fasting of my brother David. He was then asked about fasting on Monday, whereupon he said: It was the day on which I was born and on which I was commissioned with prophet-hood or revelation was sent to me, (and he further said): Three days' fasting every month and during the whole of Ramadan every year is a perpetual fast. He was asked about fasting on the day of 'Arafah (9th of Dhu'I-Hijja), whereupon he said: It expiates the sins of the preceding year and the coming year. He was asked about fasting on the day of 'Ashura (10th of Muharram), whereupon he said: It expiates the sins of the preceding year.[12]


In Sahih Muslim it was narrated from 'Āishah that Muhammad said:[13]

'There is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than the Day of Arafah. He comes close and expresses His fulfillment to the angels, saying, 'What do these people want?'

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sheikho, Mohammad Amin (1783). Pilgrimage Hajj: The Fifth High Grade of Al-Taqwa: Volume 5. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
  2. ↑ DAVID BENTLEY. "Eid al-Adha 2016 - What is the Day of Arafah before the Eid celebrations and why is it so important?". birminghammail.co.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Long, David E. (1979). The Hajj Today: A Survey of the Contemporary Pilgrimage to Makkah. p. 19. ISBN 0-87395-382-7.
  4. ↑ Peters, F. E. The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691021201.
  5. ↑ Caudill, Mark A. Twilight in the Kingdom: Understanding the Saudis (Praeger Security International). Praeger. p. 51. ISBN 978-0275992521. Retrieved 30 June 2006.
  6. 1 2 Adelowo, E. Dada, ed. (2014). Perspectives in Religious Studies: Volume III. Ibadan: HEBN Publishers Plc. p. 403. ISBN 9789780814472.
  7. ↑ Nigosian, S. A. (2004). Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices. Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 111. ISBN 0-253-21627-3.
  8. ↑ "ihram". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  9. ↑ William C. Chittick; Mohammed Rustom; Atif Khalil (15 February 2012). In Search of the Lost Heart: Explorations in Islamic Thought. SUNY Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-4384-3935-8.
  10. ↑ Staff, Writer. "Day of Arafah". Hawzeh.
  11. ↑ Staff, Writer. "people prayed at places called Karbala of Iran". Farsnews.
  12. ↑ Zulfiqar, Muhammad (2011). Fast According to the Quran and Sunnah. Dar-us-Salam. ISBN 978-6035001618.
  13. ↑ "The Virtues of the Day of Arafat". www.jannah.org.
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