The Day of Arafah

Today is the day of Arafah, which, in the Islamic calendar and history, is one of the most important milestones to be remembered. The day of Arafah is essentially the day of Hajj, when Muslim pilgrims stand in the Plain of Arafat in complete devotion and devoid of any materialistic attachment. This event is said to be a foretaste of the scene on the day when Allah the Almighty will collect all humanity together for their accountability on the Day of Judgement.

This standing at Arafah is one of the pillars of Islam, to  be performed by all Muslims that have all the necessary legitimately gained means to travel to Makkah and spend their time in performing the obligation of this duty. It is a day when nothing but a devotional return to Allah is required and people feel the need to attach themselves to the purpose of their lives in the next world, which are blessed by Allah and will be a permanent existence without fear or grief.

The Prophet Muhammed, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, performed only one hajj and that was called the ‘Farewell Hajj’. All the tell-tale signs of that occasion indicated that the divine revelation of Allah’s guidance for mankind had been completed and that the role of the Prophet Muhammed, as a messenger of Allah, was coming to an end. While it was a Farewell occasion in which the Prophet Muhammad unequivocally announced that ‘perhaps I may not meet you after this year’, he gave a series of sermons, most famously on the mount of Arafa’, in which he highlighted the summary of Allah’s guidance through His revelation to him. We will in this short article remember some of those important points that the Prophet left for our guidance.

But first: Islam is guidance towards the Almighty, Allah the Creator, Who has no associates of deities or partners in creation, or sons and daughters. Allah has described Himself by Himself in the Surah al-Ikhlas. He said: ‘Say He is Allah, the One and Unique. Allah Who is in need of none and of Whom all are in need. He neither begot any nor was He begotten. And none is comparable to Him.’

This guidance we call ‘Tawheed’ or oneness of God. This is the most honourable and logical belief to have if we want to make a sense of our life and its purpose and of the creation. This concept of belief, ‘Tawheed’, brings humanity together and connects us all to the Lord, the Almighty Creator. On the day of Arafah and during the Hajj, this is proclaimed by pilgrims: ‘Here I am, O Allah, here I am, here I am, You have no associate or partner, here I am, indeed all praise and thanks, and favours belong to You and the dominion, You have no associate and partner.’ This chant re-emphasises or re-establishes our belief in the One God, the Almighty.

To invite humanity to this guidance was the purpose of all those prophets and messengers whom Allah sent out to people throughout human history, culminating with the Prophet Muhammad, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him.

The announcement of this culmination came through this Quranic verse, which said: ‘This Day I have perfected for you your religion (Deen), and have bestowed upon you My Bounty in full measure, and have been pleased to assign for you Islam as your religion,’ S5 V3

It is said that a Jew came to the Omar, May Allah be pleased with him, who was the second Caliph after the passing away of the Prophet, and said: “O leader of Believers! There is a verse in the Quran that you read, which if it was revealed to us we would have made it a day of celebration”. Then he read the verse. Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “We know that day when this was revealed to the Prophet peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, while he was standing in Arafah on Friday”.

So it should be a day of reflection and resolution for stronger attachment and devotion to Allah and for a full and stronger belief in Allah’s guidance.

When the Prophet, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, realised that this was his last opportunity to address such a big gathering of Muslims, he took the occasion to remind them of some of the bullet points of Islamic guidance.

The Prophet, in his summary of his prophetic mission, said: ‘Indeed your blood, your possessions (wealth) and your honour are inviolable to each other until the day you meet your Lord; they are as inviolable as that Day (the day of Arafah), in this month and in the city of Makkah. They are all called al-haram, meaning sacred and inviolable’.

The Prophet also said: you are going to meet your Lord and He is going to ask you about your deeds and actions and I have told you about it. So if anyone owes to anyone a trust (Amanah) let him return it to him. All usury is removed, but you have your capital money and so neither you should wrong nor you should be wronged.

The Prophet also reminded people of their responsibility towards women. He said: Your women have rights over you and you have rights over them. He said ‘I advise you to treat your women well’.

Among many things, the Prophet also said: ‘I have left with you that, which, if you hold them tight you will never go astray, ever; the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet’.

He said: ‘O mankind! Indeed your Lord is One, and your father is one. You all belong to Adam and Adam was created out of earth. Indeed the most honoured among you is the one who is most righteous among you. No Arab has excellence over a non-Arab, or a white over a black or vice versa, except through piety and righteousness. Behold I have conveyed, O Allah be my witness’. Then he said: ‘Let those in attendance here convey the message to those who are not here’.

The Prophet delivered this sermon to a congregation of over 140,000 people in the Plain of Arafah, on a day like today.

Every hajj should be a reminder to the Muslim community of their commitment to learn and convey those messages from the sermon of the Prophet, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, and should draw us all to worthwhile reflection and action.

Islam or Islamic teachings no longer seem to bind us together in brotherly and spiritual commitments as they used to. Words have lost their meaning and relevance. The occasions on which we could have accepted guidance to the right path are beyond number. If we had availed ourselves of these opportunities, by now we would have been most clean thinking beings or thought bearers, the wisest among us the most wise, the humble the humblest, the kind the kindest and strictly walking the path of God.

May Allah grant that this year and every year, on this Day of Arafah, we will all make the most of the opportunity!!!