The virtue of the Day of ‘Arafah

15/11/2010| IslamWeb

It was narrated on the authority of ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet said: “There is no day when Allah sets free more slaves from Hell than the Day of ‘Arafah. He draws near, then boasts of them to the angels, Saying, ‘What do these [slaves] want [that I may give them]?’” [Muslim]

It was narrated by Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said: “Allah boasts about the people of ‘Arafah to the dwellers of heaven, saying, ‘Just look at My slaves! They have come to Me with disheveled hair and covered in dust.’” [Ahmad in his Musnad, Ibn Hibbaan in his Saheeh and Al-Haakim in Al-Mustadrak]

It was narrated by Jaabir that the Prophet said: “There is no better day in the Sight of Allah than the Day of ‘Arafah. Allah The Almighty descends [on that day] to the lowest heaven, and boasts about the people of the earth to the dwellers of heaven, saying: ‘Just look at My slaves! They have come to Me with disheveled hair and covered in dust, standing in the forenoon. They have come from every distant pass. They seek My Mercy although they have not seen My punishment.’ There is no day when Allah sets free more slaves from Hell than the Day of ‘Arafah.’” [Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibbaan, Al-Bazzaar, Abu Ya‘la and Al-Bayhaqi]

Ibn ‘Umar said that two men went to the Prophet to ask him about matters of religion and the Prophet said to them: “As for the standing at ‘Arafah, Allah The Almighty descends to the lowest heaven and boasts of the people there to the angels saying, ‘Here are My slaves! They have come to Me with disheveled hair and covered with dust, from every distant pass. They seek My Mercy and fear My Punishment, although they have not seen Me. And what [would be their state] if they had seen Me!’ [Even] if you have sins like [the number of grains of] sand, the [number of] days of the worldly life or the [number of] drops of rain, Allah will [nevertheless] erase them for you.” [Musannaf ‘Abdur-Razzaaq]

Anas said,

I was with the Prophet at Al-Khayf mosque and a man from the Ansaar [helpers] and another one from the Thaqeef tribe came to him. The Prophet said a long statement and part of what he said was: “As for the standing at ‘Arafah: Allah The Almighty descends to the lowest heaven [on that day], and boasts about you to the angels, saying: ‘Here are My slaves! They have come to Me with disheveled hair and with pale faces seeking My Mercy and Forgiveness. If your sins are as many as the grains of sand or the drops of rain or [as much as] the foam on the sea, I would forgive you. Go My slaves after being forgiven, and after the ones whom you asked forgiveness for have been forgiven.” [Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr]         

It was narrated on the authority of Anas that he said,

The Prophet stood at ‘Arafah and the sun was about to set, so he said: “O Bilaal, call the people.” Bilaal stood up and asked the people to listen to the Prophet so they listened. The Prophet said: “O people, Jibreel [Gabriel] came a while ago, delivered the greetings of Allah to me and said, ‘Allah has forgiven the people of ‘Arafah and the people of the Mash‘ar [a place in Muzdalifah].’” ‘Umar got up and asked the Prophet “Is this specific to us?” The Prophet said: “This is for you and all the people who come after you until the Day of Judgment.” ‘Umar, replied, “The goodness of Allah is plentiful and wonderful.” [Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr]

The Significance of these Ahadeeth:

In his explanation of Saheeh Muslim, Imam An-Nawawi said, “This Hadeeth explicitly indicates the virtue of the Day of ‘Arafah.” An-Nawawi combined the understanding of the Ahadeeth that deal with the virtue of the Day of ‘Arafah and the Ahadeeth that deal with the virtue of Friday such as the Hadeeth that says: “The best day that the sun rises upon is Friday.” [Muslim] He said that the Ahadeeth that deal with the virtue of the Day of ‘Arafah show that ‘Arafah is the best day of the year, while the Ahadeeth that deal with the virtue of Friday show that it is the best day of the week.

It was narrated on the authority of Saalim ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar that he saw someone begging on the Day of ‘Arafah, so he said to him, “What a strange thing! On this day you are asking someone other than Allah?”

‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul-‘Azeez delivered a Khutbah (sermon) at ‘Arafah and said, “O people, you have come from near and far distances, exhausted your camels, and worn out your clothes. The winner today is not the one whose camel is ahead, but rather it is the one whose sins are forgiven. Praise be to Allah - the Lord of the worlds.”