The importance and the virtues of the Day of Arafah

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 'In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful'

The first ten days of Zul-Hijjah are more precious than gold, so you should make good use of them..........

The prophet (peace be upon him) said "No good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these (first ten days of Zul-Hijjah). Then some companions of the prophet said, "Not even Jihad? “He replied, "Not even Jihad, except that of a man who does it by putting himself and his property in danger (for Allah's sake) and doesn't return with any of those things.” [Al-Bukhari]

« ما العمل في أيام العشر أفضل من العمل في هذه. قالوا : ولا الجهاد ؟ قال : ولا الجهاد ، إلا رجل خرج يخاطر بنفسه وماله  فلم يرجع بشيء» [رواه البخاري]

The best days of the year, are the first ten days of Zul-Hijjah, in which the rewards of good deeds are doubled.

But in this blog, we will focus on the 9th day of Dhul-Hijja (the Month of Hajj), which is called the Day of Arafah. It is the day during which Hajj pilgrims gather at the mount of Arafat praying and supplicating to the Almighty.

Fasting on the day of Arafah is an expiation for two years:
It is highly recommended (mustahabb) for non-pilgrims to fast during this day for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about fasting on the day of Arafah, so he said, “It expiates the sins (Minor) of the past year and the coming year.”يكفر السنة الماضية والباقية (Muslim)

Allah frees slaves from the fire on Arafat more than any other day:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘There is no day on which Allah frees people from the Fire more so than on the day of Arafah. He comes close to those (people standing on ’Arafah), and then He revels before His Angels saying, ‘What are these people seeking.” (Tirmidhee) 

Forgiveness of the Sins even if they are like the foam on the Sea:
As for you staying till the evening in Arafah, then Allah descends to the sky of the Duniya and He boasts about you to the Angels, and says: ‘My slaves have come to Me, looking rough, from every deep valley hoping for My mercy, so if your sins were equivalent to the amount of sand or the drops of rain or like the foam on the sea I will forgive them. So go forth My slaves! Having forgiveness and for what or who you have interceded for.’ (At-Tabarani)

It is the day on which Islam was perfected and the Almighty’s Favour was accomplished:
It was reported from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah 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.” (Surat 5 Al-Maeda Ayat 3) . Umar 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.”Allaah expresses His pride to His angels:
It was reported from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:“Allah expresses His pride to His angels at the time of ‘Ishaa’ on the Day of Arafah, about the people of Arafah. He says, ‘Look at My slaves who have come unkempt and dusty.’” (Al-Albaani)

The Almighty Swears by these 10 Days:
Allah, the Almighty, swears by these days in the Holy Quran, Sura 37 (Al-Fajr), Ayat 1–3:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ' The ten are the ten days of Dhul- Hijja and the odd is the Day of Arafah and the even is the Eid. (Ibn Rajab)

Wuquf Arafah (The standing at Arafat):
The standing at Arafat praying and seeking forgiveness is of paramount significance. The standing huge crowds remind us of the Day of Resurrection, of how we will all stand equal before Allah on the Day of Judgment.