Then, which of the favors of your Lord will you deny? (13: Sura e Rehman)

The best of supplications is the supplication on the day of Arafah and the best which I and the Prophets before me have said (is) … `None has the right to be worshiped except Allah, alone, without partner. To Him belongs all praise and sovereignty, and He is over all things omnipotent.’

The Day of ‘Arafah, the 9th of Dhu’l-Hijjah is one of the selected days of Allah. Hence, it has many virtues and blessings. Some of these virtues are ….

Perfection of the Religion: It is the day the religion was perfected and Allah’s favor was completed on the entire humanity. Umar ibn Khattab (ra) reported that a Jewish man said to him, “O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, there is an ayah 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 ayah?” He said: “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 said, “We know on which day and in which place that was revealed to the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa salam). It was when he was standing in Arafah on a Friday.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

Day of Eid: It is a day of Eid and celebration for all the Muslims, whether they are in the Sacred House or any part of the world. The Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa salam) said: “Yawm ‘Arafah (the day of Arafah), 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 Khattab said: “It – i.e., the ayah ‘This day I have perfected?’ was revealed on a Friday, the Day of Arafah, both of which – praise be to Allah – are Eid for us.”

Day of Oath: It is a day on which Allah swore an oath. The Almighty Allah cannot swear an oath by anything except that which is mighty. Day of ‘Arafah is the “witnessed day” mentioned in the Qur’an: “By the witnessing day (Friday) and by the witnessed day (the Day of ‘Arafah).” (85:3)

Abu Hurairah (ra) reported that the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi was salam) said: “The promised day is the Day of Resurrection, the witnessed day is the Day of Arafah, and the witnessing day is Friday.” (Tirmidhi)

It is the “odd” (i.e., odd-numbered, Witr) by which Allah swore in the verse (which means): “And by the even and the odd.” ( 89:3)

Ibn Abbas said: “The even is the Day of Adhaa (10th Dhu’l-Hijjah) and the odd is the Day of Arafah (9th Dhu’l-Hijjah).”

Expiation of sins for two years: It is the day on which, if anyone fasts, his sins are forgiven for two years. Abu Qatadah (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa salam) was asked about fasting on the Day of Arafah. He said, “It expiates for the sins of the previous year and of the coming year.” (Muslim)

The fasting is mustahab (recommended) 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 Arafah, because the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi was salam) did not fast on this day in Arafah. It was narrated that he forbade fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah in ‘Arafah.

Covenant from the Progeny of Adam: It is the day on which Allah took covenant from all the progeny of Adam. Ibn Abbas (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa salam) said: “Allah took the covenant from the loins of Adam in Na’man, i.e., ‘Arafah. 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 Allah, and we were (merely their) descendants after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who practiced Batil (polytheism and committing crimes and sins, invoking and worshiping others besides Allah)?’ (7:172-173) (Ahmad)

There is no greater day than this and no greater covenant than this.

Day of Forgiveness of Sins: This is the day to get forgiveness from sins, freedom from the Fire, and pride in the people who are there: Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa salam) said: “There is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than on the Day of Arafah. He comes close and expresses His pride to the angels, saying, ‘What do these people want?'” (Muslim)

Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa salam) said: “Allah expresses His pride to His angels at the time of Isha’ on the Day of ‘Arafah, about the people of ‘Arafah. He says, ‘Look at My slaves who have come unkempt and dusty.'” (Ahmad)

These are just some of the blessings and merits of the day of ‘Arafah. We all should try our best to avail maximum benefit from this blessed day. Praise be to the One who gave us an opportunity to earn rewards and have our sins removed on this day.

Virtues Of The Day Of Arafah (9th Zil Hijjah)
Aaishah radhiyallahu anhaa reports that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: ” There is no day in which Allah sets free more souls from the fire of Hell than on the day of Arafah. And on that day, Allah draws near to the earth and by way of exhibiting His pride remarks to the Angels: “What is the desire of these (servants of mine).” Muslim

Talhah radhiyallahu anhu reports that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: “Apart from the day of the Battle of Badr, there is no day on which the Shaytaan is seen to be more humiliated, more rejected, more depressed and more infuriated than on the day of Arafah, and indeed all this is only because of beholding the abundance of descending mercy (on that day) and Allah’s forgiveness of the great sins of the servants.” Mishkaat

Abu Qataadah Al Ansaari radhiyallahu anhu narrates that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam was asked about the fast on the day of Arafah. He said, “It compensates for the (minor) sins of the past and the coming year. ” (Muslim P.368 Vol. 1, Tirmizi P. 157 Vol. 1, Ibne Maajah P.124 Vol. 1)

Fasting On The Day Of Arafah
The ninth day of Zulhijjah is the day of ‘Arafah. It is the day when pilgrims stand on the plain of ‘Arafah to pray. On this day, Muslims all over the world who do not witness the annual Hajj should spend the day in fasting in preparation for the three-day festivity following Eid ul Adha.

Abu Hafasah (ra) said the Prophet (saas) said: “Fasting on the day of ‘Arafah absolves the sins for two years: the previous year and the coming years, and fasting on ‘Ashura, the tenth day of Muharram atones for the sins of previous years.” (Reported by Jama’ah except Bukhari and Tirmidhi)

In another hadith, the Prophet’s wife Hafsah (ra) said: “Four things the Messenger of Allah never neglected: Observing fast on the day of ‘Ashura, (on the tenth of Muharram), three days every month, and offering Fajr sunnah prayers early in the morning.” (Muslim)

These ahadiths are proof that fasting on the tenth of Zulhijjah, the day before Eidul Adha was a lifelong practice of the Prophet (saas) as his wife reported.

There are some reports that fasting is prohibited on the day of ‘Arafah. However, it must be understood that this refers to a person performing Hajj. If a person is on Hajj, there is no fast for him or her on the day of Arafah. That is undoubtedly a blessing for him because of the hardships of the pilgrimage. In a hadith reported by Umm al-Fadl (ra) she said: “The companions doubted whether the Prophet was fasting on Arafah or not. She decided to prove to them that he was not, so she said, ‘I sent to him milk, which he drank while he was delivering the Khutbah on ‘Arafah.'” (Bukhari)

Prohibiting the pilgrim from fasting on these days is a great mercy for him, for fasting will exert undue hardship on the person performing the Hajj, while he is concerned with his pilgrimage. Above all, the pilgrim would not be fasting anyway because he is traveling.