Facts on Day of Arafah: 15th Nov 2010
The Day of Arafat is the 15th of November 2010 Insha'Allah. It is the day before Eid-ul-Adha therefore pilgrims performing Hajj in Makkah prepare for extra worship and non-pilgrims are encouraged to fast. Here are a few facts about the day,
- It is the day on which the deen was perfected and Allah'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 a verse in your Book which you recite. If [that] had come to us Jews, we would have taken that day as an Eid (festival).' Umar said, 'Which verse is this?' 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.' [Qu'ran, al-Maa'idah 5:3 interpretation of the meaning].
- It is a day by which Allah swore an oath in the Qu'ran
'By the witnessing day [Friday] and by the witnessed day [the Day of Arafaah].' [Qur'an, al-Burooj 85:3].
It was reported from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'The promised day is the Day of Resurrection, the witnessed day is the Day of Arafah, and the witnessing day is Friday.' Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.
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| My day on Arafat was spent on this "Mountain of Mercy". I'm the one in grey. |
- 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 'Aaishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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?'
- Fasting on this day is an expiation for two years.
It is reported in saheeh Muslim that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was asked about the fasting on the day of Arafat, he said: “It expiates the sins of the previous year and that of the following year.” [Sahih Muslim]
SubhanAllah! After reading this prophetic saying - Hadith, who wouldn't fast on the Day of Arafat?
Brought to you by FOSIS Ireland. Don't forget to make extra du`a.
Jazakallah khair.
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I have just started my fast . . . off to do Salah . . . oh and I think you meant to say non-Hajjis are encouraged to fast, not non-Muslims, right? Excellent post dear.
ReplyDelete-_- Yes. Allahu akbar. They can fast too.
ReplyDeleteAssalamalaikum Zaufishan! I have a question! Can we just fast on the day of Arafaah or we need to also fast a day before that? coz I have heard people say that jews fast for only 1 day, so we need to fast 2 days including the day of Arafaah! Please reply with reference dear!
ReplyDelete@Sister Uzma I'm afraid I do not know at all so it would be unfruitful to surmise a guess. I only know of fasting on Arafat. What you could do is look it up in hadith books if available or ask your local imams as well as imams online - Imam Faraz Rabbani, Hamza Yusuf, Yusuf Estes, Niamatullah, Reda Bedeir, AlShareef, Zaid Shakir, Suhaib Webb. (:
ReplyDeleteHappy late eid to you, may Allah keep you righteous.