Praise be to Allah, who leads His servants to worship Him and bless them with special times, days and nights as an opportunity to approach Him and His Pleasure. The ninth day (9th) of Dul-Hija is one of these days, and it is known as Arafat Day. This is the day when millions of pilgrims gather on the Arafat plain as an obligatory hajj ritual.
Almost everyone who performed the hajj agrees that the situation on Arafat is the largest part of the hajj, because it is here that a person can begin to truly know himself, his shortcomings and weaknesses.
And, recognizing his mistakes, he can also learn about the presence of His Creator in his life, about His infinite forgiveness and generosity. He recognizes that all he can do at this moment is to turn to Allah, to seek His mercy and forgiveness.
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Just as those who are on Hajj are blessed with the opportunity to turn to Allah, repent and “come out as sinless as a newborn child” (Al-Bukhari), those who are not on Hajj also receive a similar opportunity. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Fasting on the day of Arafat (9th Dul-Hija) is the atonement (sins) of the previous year and the atonement (sins) of the coming year.” (Muslim)
Not every one of us can perform the hajj, but almost all of us can chase after the joy and forgiveness of Allah, observing fasting on Arafat Day, which is the day of salvation from Fire. Allah exempts from the fire those who gather in Arafat, as well as those Muslims in their home cities who cannot gather there.
However, the next day is the Eid celebration for all Muslims in the world, regardless of whether they were on the hajj or not, because they were still included in the salvation and forgiveness of Arafat Day. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “There is no day when Allah frees more people from the fire than the day of Arafat. He comes close and expresses his pride to the angels, saying: “What do these people want?” (Muslim)
The Almighty made Arafat Day the best day of the year, just as He made Night of the Frame the best night of the year. Although no one knows for sure what night is the night of the Frame of the last ten nights of Ramadan, Allah made the best Day of the Year famous, and this is His special mercy before believing servants and the opportunity for them to improve their relationship with Him by doing all sorts of good deeds and duas.
Arafat is the day of acceptance dua, and dua is the cord that connects a person to the Almighty Allah, and according to the Hadith: “The best of dua is dua on the day of Arafat.” (Hasan Al-Albaani in Sahih Al-Jaami “1102)
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The Prophet (saw) also said: “The best of dua is dua on the day of Arafat, and the best that the prophets and I have said before me is: ‘Laa ilaaha ill-Allah wahdahu la shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulku wa lahu’l-hamdu wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer (There is no god but Allah alone, without a partner or like-minded person; His dominion, praise Him, and He has power over all things). ”(Tirmidhi-3585) Another Hadith also mentions that no matter who says these words with sincere heart, confirming the truth of this with his tongue, then Allah will certainly break the sky until He looks at the person from among the people of the earth who said this. And the right of the servant whom Allah looks at is that He gives him everything he asked. ” (An-Nisi – Sahih Al-Albani)
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Therefore, make a list of your closest hearts and pray to Allah on the best day of the year with sincerity and humility. Talk to Him as if you were talking to a friend and confessing your fears and expectations. He is Al-Sami (the Listener) and Al-Mujib (He who answers), so He will surely listen and respond to what He knows is best for you. Imam Shawkani (rahimahu Allah) rightly said: “To know that your dua is accepted means to have your heart ready, to cry and shed tears to Allah, to be persistent, and after this feeling – a burden removed from your shoulders.”
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Arafat Day is one of the most blessed times of the year in Islam. This marks the finality of revelation (Quran 5: 3) and the completion of the Hajj pilgrimage. This is also the day when the Prophet delivered his last sermon – a gem and a reminder of our responsibility and responsibility to Allah, so read about it, meditate and strive to fulfill the advice. The key points from the last sermon included:
- The sanctity of the life and property of a Muslim
- The importance of spreading this message to everyone else (the responsibility of a Muslim, therefore, does not end with following a religion)
- A reminder that everyone bears full responsibility for his actions, and Allah (God) will take into account each person. If everyone listened to this fact alone, today the world would be much better.
- “Do not hurt anyone so that no one can harm you.” These words of the prophet are self-explanatory.
- The prohibition on the treatment of interest (Numerous accounts in the Quran and Hadith forbid accepting, giving away or participating in any transaction related to interest).
- “You will neither cause nor tolerate any injustice.” These words of the Prophet are self-explanatory.
- Awareness of the shaitan and how he can work to divert us from the right path and do evil deeds.
- Women’s rights over men and men’s rights over women.
- Treating women with kindness.
- Modesty and chastity in women.
- The importance of worshiping Allah (offering five daily prayers, fasting Ramadan, charity (zakat) and performing Hajj).
- Equality between all (blacks, whites, Arabs, non-Arabs, etc.)
- The need to establish justice.
- Islam is the last divine religion (the last prophet and the last book).
May Allah guide us to fulfill our role in following the message of the Prophet and distribute it among all we know, and take from us the tiniest good deeds that we perform on the best days! Amine.