26/05/2026
SIGNIFICANCE OF ARAFAH DAY
The Day of ‘Arafah (Yawm Al-‘Arafah), is important because it is the holiest day of the Islamic Hijri lunar year (just as Laylat Al-Qadr, the Night of Majesty is the holiest night of the Islamic year).
Day of ‘Arafah is the ninth day of Dhu’l-Ḥijjah, the 12th and final month in the Islamic calendar.
It occurs on the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah (and its surrounding religious waymarks) that Muslims are obligated to perform at least once in their lifetimes, if able.
The Day of ‘Arafah is the Hajj in itself. So said the Prophet, God’s blessings and peace upon him:
“Al-Hajj ‘Arafah,” meaning “‘Arafah is the Hajj” (Ahmad).
Without observing it in its proper place and time, there is no Hajj. This means that all other aspects and rites of Hajj have some lawful way to make up for missing or modifying them, or factors that may excuse one from them.
Should Muslims not making Hajj observe the Day of ‘Arafah?
Yes. While Pilgrims do not fast on the Day of ‘Arafah, Muslims who are not making Hajj are strongly urged (in Islamic Law, fiqh, it is codified as mustaḥabb, highly desirable) to fast this day.
The Prophet, God’s blessings and peace upon him, said of this act of worship, that is, fasting the Day of ‘Arafah for those not present at Hajj:
“It atones for the sins of the preceding and coming year” (Muslim).
The Day of ‘Arafah — for the Pilgrims and all the believers — is the best day for worship and supplication in the entire year because the Prophet, God’s blessings and peace upon him, said of it:
“On no day does Allah emancipate people from the Fire [of Hell in the Hereafter] as He does on ‘Arafah. Near does He draw to them [the Pilgrims upon ‘Arafah]. Then does He exalt [them] before His angels, saying:‘And what do they seek?’ ” (Tirmidhî)
So, on the Day of ‘Arafah, God descends in the way that befits His Holiness to the heaven of the world and lauds before the Heavenly Community the resolute striving unto Him in humility of His human Pilgrims, saying:
“Come unto Me are My slaves, disheveled, from every faraway pass, longing for My mercy. Then [He says to the Pilgrims] be your sins like unto the grains of sand, the drops of rain, the foam on the sea, yet I forgive them! So go forth, My slaves, with all forgiveness, and for whatever and whomever you have pleaded” (graded Ḥasan by Al-Albânî).
SPECIALITIES OF ARAFAH DAY
1. It is the day God perfected the religion of Islam.
2. It is the day God bestowed the completion of His divine favor upon the Muslims, and for humanity.
3. It is the day God said He chose and was pleased with Islam as the religion of the believers unto the end of the world.
4. It is the day God revealed these three virtues of Islam to His Prophet as part of the Quran.
5. It is the day of the Prophet’s Farewell Pilgrimage (Ḥajj Al-Wada‘) and his celebrated Farewell Khutbah to all the believers until the end of time, which took place on a Friday during which the previously cited revelation came down.
6. It is the day the Prophet, on him be peace, bore witness three times before the believers and God that he had successfully completed the divine mission of His messengership: To convey God’s message of the Quran and Islam to humanity.
Allahu Akbar
Maa sha Allah
May Allah accept our worship 🙏
