08/07/2022
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ ، وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ ، وهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
“None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, alone, without partner. To Him belongs sovereignty and all praise and He is over all things omnipotent.”
The Prophet (saw) said, ’There is no day on which Allah (swt) frees people from the Fire more so than on the Day of ‘Arafah. Indeed, He draws near and then boasts of them to the angels then says, “What do these want?“’ [Muslim]
Undoubtedly, it would be a wasted opportunity if we did not spend ’Arafah in trying to be one of those people whom Allah draws near to and forgives.
For those of us who are not able to perform Hajj this year, we still have plenty of opportunities to reap the rewards of this blessed day. You should spend as much of the day as possible in worship, with the most important time being between Dhuhr and Maghrib.
1. Make du’a
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said of the Day of ’Arafah, ‘In it, there is an hour in which no believing worshipper makes a supplication to Allah for good, except that Allah answers it for him, and he does not seek Allah’s protection from evil, except that He protects him from it’. [Tirmidhi]
2. Fast
It is highly recommended for those who are not pilgrims to fast on this day. The Prophet (saw) said, ’It (fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah) expiates the sins of the past year and the coming year (i.e. those sins will be forgiven)’. [Muslim]
SubhanAllah, what an amazing opportunity: to be forgiven for sins we haven’t even committed yet!
The pilgrims at Hajj do not generally fast as the most important worship on this day are their prayers, the remembrance of Allah (swt) and begging for His forgiveness.
′The people of knowledge consider it recommended to fast on the Day of ’Arafah, except for those at ‘Arafat’. [Tirmidhi]
3. Seek forgiveness
As mentioned before, ’Arafah is a day of immense forgiveness when Allah sets many people free from the Fire. Even if you are not standing on the Plains of ’Arafat, you can still seek Allah’s forgiveness from your own home, workplace or local masjid.
4. Make dhikr
For the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, the Prophet (saw) recommended reciting tahleel (La ilaha ill-Allah), takbeer (Allahu Akbar) and tahmeed (SubhanAllah and Alhamdulillah, for example).
5. Give a Prophetic Qurbani
Finally, while ordering your Qurbani, you can earn even more reward by sacrificing an extra Qurbani like the Prophet (saw).
Abu Talhah (ra) reported, ‘The Prophet (saw) sacrificed for the one who could not sacrifice from his Ummah, one who bore witness to the Oneness of Allah and [his] Prophethood’. [Tabarani and Ahmad].