Knowledge Every Muslim Should Know (Book One)

Virtues of the Day of Arafah

VIRTUES OF THE DAY OF ARAFAH

 It is the day on which the religion was perfected and Allah’s (Glorified and Praised is He) favor was completed.
        In Al-Saheehayn it was reported from Umar ibn AlKhattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) that a Jewish man said to him, “O Ameer AlMu’mineen, there is an ayah in your Book which you recite; if it had come to us Jews, we would have taken that day as an Eid (festival).” Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, “Which ayah?” He replied, “This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion [al-Maa’idah 5:3 – interpretation of the meaning].” Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “We know on which day and in which place that was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). It was when he was standing in Arafah on a Friday.”

 It is a day of Eid for the people who are in that place.
        The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Yawm Arafah (the day of Arafah), Yawm AlNahr (the Day of Sacrifice) and Ayyaam AlTashreeq (the 3 days following Yawm AlNahr) are Eid (festival) for us, the people of Islam. These are days of eating and drinking.” This was narrated by the authors of AlSunan. It was reported that Umar ibn AlKhattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “It – i.e., the ayah ‘This day I have perfected…’ was revealed on a Friday, the Day of Arafah, both of which – praise be to Allah – are Eid for us.”

 It is a day by which Allah (Glorified and Praised is He) swore an oath.
        The Almighty cannot swear by anything except that which is mighty. Yawm Arafah is the “witnessed day” mentioned in the ayah (interpretation of the meaning): “By the witnessing day (Friday) and by the witnessed day (the Day of Arafah) [AlBurooj 85:3].”
        It was reported from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah 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 AlTirmidhee and classed as saheeh by AlAlbani.
        It is the “odd” [i.e., odd-numbered, Witr] by which Allah (Glorified and Praised is He) swore in the ayah (interpretation of the meaning): “And by the even and the odd [AlFajr 89:3].”
        Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “The even is the Day of AlAdha [i.e., 10th Dhu-AlHijjah] and the odd is the Day of Arafah [i.e., 9th Dhu-AlHijjah] This is also the view of Ikrimah and AlDahhaak.

Fasting on this day is an expiation for two years.
        It was reported from Abu Qutaadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about fasting on the Day of Arafah. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 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 Arafah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not fast on this day in Arafah. It was narrated that he forbade fasting on the Day of Arafah in Arafah.

It is the day on which Allah (Glorified and Praised is He) took the covenant from the progeny of Adam.
        It was reported that Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Allah (Glorified and Praised is He) took the covenant from the loins of Adam in Na’man, i.e., Arafah. He brought forth from his loins 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 Allah, and we were (merely their) descendents after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who practiced albatil (i.e., polytheism and committing crimes and sins, invoking and worshiping others besides Allah) [AlA’raf 7:172-173 – interpretation of the meaning]?’” Narrated by Ahmad and classed as saheeh by AlAlbaani. And there is no greater day than this and no greater covenant than this.

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 Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “There is no day on which Allah (Glorified and Praised is He) frees more people from the Fire than the Day of Arafah. 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 Allah be upon him) said, “Allah (Glorified and Praised is He) expresses His pride to His angels at the time of Isha on the Day of Arafah, about the people of Arafah. He says, ‘Look at My slaves who have come unkempt and dusty.’” Narrated by Ahmad and classed as saheeh by AlAlbaani.
        And Allah (Glorified and Praised is He) knows best.

Source: http://islamqa.info/en/7284