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Praise be to Allaah.
1.It is the day on which the religion was perfected and Allaah'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 an
aayah 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 aayah?' 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.' [al-Maa'idah 5:3 interpretation of
the meaning].
Umar said, 'We know on which day and in which place that was revealed to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It was when he was standing
in Arafaah on a Friday.'
2.It is a day of Eid for the people who are in that place.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'Yawm Arafaah (the
day of Arafaah), 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 al-Khattaab said: 'It i.e., the aayah 'This day I
have perfected' was revealed on a Friday, the Day of Arafaah, both of which
praise be to Allaah are Eids for us.'
3.It is a day by which Allaah swore an oath.
The Almighty cannot swear by anything except that which is mighty. Yawm Arafaah
is the 'witnessed day' mentioned in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
'By the witnessing day [Friday] and by the witnessed day [the Day of Arafaah].'
[al-Burooj 85:3].
It was reported from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'The promised day is
the Day of Resurrection, the witnessed day is the Day of Arafaah, and the
witnessing day is Friday.' Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani.
It is the 'odd' [i.e., odd-numbered, Witr] by which Allaah swore in the aayah
(interpretation of the meaning):
'And by the even and the odd' [al-Fajr 89:3]. Ibn Abbaas said: 'The even is the
Day of al-Adhaa [i.e., 10th Dhul-Hijjah] and the odd is the Day of Arafaah
[i.e., 9th Dhul-Hijjah] This is also the view of Ikrimah and al-Dahhaak.
4.Fasting on this day is an expiation for two years.
It was reported from Abu Qutaadah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about
fasting on the Day of Arafaah. He said, 'It expiates for the sins of the
previous year and of the coming year.' Narrated by Muslim.
This (fasting) is mustahabb 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 Arafaah,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not fast on
this day in Arafaah. It was narrated that he forbade fasting on the Day of
Arafaah in Arafaah.
5.It is the day on which Allaah took the covenant from the progeny of Adam.
It was reported that Ibn Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'Allaah
took the covenant from the ...[offspring] of Adam in Na'maan, i.e., Arafaah. He
brought forth ... all his offspring and spread them before Him, then He
addressed them, and said: 'Am I not your Lord? They said, 'Yes, we testify,'
lest 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 Allaah, and we were (merely their)
descendents after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who
practised Al-Baatil (i.e., ploytheism and committing crimes and sins, invoking
and worshipping others besides Allaah)?' [al-A'raaf 7:172-173 interpretation of
the meaning].' Narrated by Ahmad and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani. And there
is no greater day than this and no greater covenant than this.
6.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 Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her)
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah 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?'
It was reported from Ibn Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: 'Allaah expresses His pride to His angels at the time of Ishaa
on the Day of Arafaah, about the people of Arafaah. He says, 'Look at My slaves
who have come unkempt and dusty.' Narrated by Ahmad and classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani.
And Allaah knows best.
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