Mount Arafah facts

Mount Arafat) mountain of mercy (

Mount Arafat (Arabic: جَبَل عَرَفَات‎, Romanized: Jabal ʿArafāt), also known by its Arabic name Jabal Arafat, and by its other Arabic name, Jabal ar-Rahmah (Arabic: جبل الرحمة‎, lit. ‘mountain of mercy‘), is a granodiorite hill about 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Mecca in the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia.

Importance of Arafat for the Hujjaj

The term Mount Arafat is sometimes applied to this entire area. It is an important place in Islam because, during the Hajj, pilgrims spend the afternoon there on the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah. Failure to be present in the plain of Arafat on a required day invalidates the pilgrimage.

The day is considered important among Muslim pilgrims because it is the day when Prophet Muhammad gave his farewell sermon to the many Muslims who had accompanied him as he completed Hajj towards the end of his life.

In this day Aisha (رضي الله عنها) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “There is no day in which Allah sets free more souls from the fire of hell than on the day of Arafat. 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]

Du’a on the Day of Arafat

Du’a on the day of ‘Arafat “The best invocation on the day of Arafat, and the best of all the invocations I ever offered or other holy Prophets before me ever offered is: “There is no god but Allah: He is Unique; He hath no partner, the whole universe is for Him and Him is the praise, and He hath power over all things.” [Tirmidhi]

 لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريكَ له، له الملك، وله الحمد، يُحيي ويُميت، وهو على كل شيءٍ قدير

Fasting on the Day of Arafat

It was reported from Abu Qatadah that a man said: “O Messenger of Allah, what do you think of fasting on the day of Arafat?” He said: “It expiates for the sins of the previous year and of the coming year” [Muslim]