The Nobility of Arafat Day and the Deeds we can do( Abdullah Cheng)
Dear brothers and sisters,
We are currently living through the 10 most blessed days of the entire year. And among these 10 days, the most blessed among them is the 9th day, which is the Day of Arafah. It is the day Allah perfected the religion of Islam, as stated in Surah Al-Ma’idah:
اَلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِيْنَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِْى وَرَضِيْتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِيْنًا
Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My blessing upon you, and chosen Islam as your religion. [5:3]
It is the day when our souls were brought forth in the plains of Arafat:
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِي آدَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَا ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَافِلِينَ
And ˹remember˺ when your Lord brought forth from the loins of the children of Adam their descendants and had them testify regarding themselves. ˹Allah asked,˺ “Am I not your Lord?” They replied, “Yes, You are! We testify.” ˹He cautioned,˺ “Now you have no right to say on Judgment Day, ‘We were not aware of this.’ [7:172]
Our Fitrah has made a covenant with Allah, that we testify that Allah is our Creator and our Lord, to have the concept of Tawheed planted within ourselves. And that is why our natural disposition is to believe in the Oneness of Allah after being born into this world.
The day of Arafah is also the day when Allah frees more servants from the Hellfire than any other day during the year. During this day, millions of pilgrims performing Hajj from all around the world would gather in the plains of Arafat and make Du’a, seeking forgiveness from Allah, while those of us who are not performing the Hajj will also be dedicating ourselves to the worship of Allah and making Du’a in the best manner we can.
Even though it’s not recommended for those who are performing Hajj to fast on the day of Arafah, it is extremely recommended for all of us who are not performing Hajj to fast, if we are able to. The Prophet ﷺ told us that fasting on the day of Arafah wipes away the sins of the previous year as well as the upcoming year.
However, the common misconception that many people have, is take the day of Arafah as just another day of voluntary fasting. Fasting on the day of Arafah is only a portion of the worship, because we want to make the most out of this day, to fill it with as many actions of worship as possible. To pray with as much Khushoo’ as we can, to make Dhikr whenever our tongue is available, to give charity to purify our wealth, to make as much Du’a as we can. None of these acts of worship are an obligation. They are all highly recommended voluntary acts. Because if we really want to be successful, if we really want to become deserving of Allah’s Mercy, we need to show that commitment ourselves. This is the best time of the year, to ask Allah to ease our difficulties, to settle our affairs, to grant us peace and tranquility in our lives. And all of that shouldn’t be something to be told of, but rather they should be done spontaneously, from the bottom of our hearts, to show that we really want it.
Do we really want our sins to be forgiven? Do we really want to earn the blessings of Allah? Do we really want to be successful? The deeds we perform during these days will indicate how strong we truly want them. So even if it’s not an obligation to fast, we should take it as an obligation upon ourselves to fast. Even if it’s only a “recommendation” to slaughter, we should try to slaughter, give charity, and perform Dhikr.
Therefore for the upcoming day of Arafat, we should start making preparations from now. It is going to be on a Tuesday, which means that it will be at a time when many of us are working. If possible, we should try to take a day off, cancel any appointments, and start planning what to do on that day so that we can focus entirely for the worship of Allah.
And among the recommended actions:
Recite Tasbih (Subhanallah), Tahmid (Alhamdulillah), Tahlil (La ilaha illa Allah), Takbir (Allahu Akbar)
The best thing we can do on the Day of Arafah is to renew the covenant that our souls have made with Allah, which is to confirm the Oneness of Allah and recognize Him as our Lord. Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “The best supplication is that which is made on the day of Arafat. The best of it is what was said by myself and the Prophets before me,
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
There is no God but Allah alone, without any partners, unto Him belongs the dominion and all praise, and He has power over all things.
Recite this as many times as possible, reflect and ponder upon its meanings, and purify our Iman from anything that prevents us from getting closer to Allah.
Give Sadaqah before we start making private Du’a to Allah
Ask Allah for forgiveness, make sincere repentance for major and minor sins, the big and small, the public and the secret ones.
Make as many Du’a as we can. Write the things that we want to ask Allah down, either in papers or on the phone. Mention the specific things we want. Mention the specific names of our family members, our close relatives and friends, those who fight for this Ummah, for our own community, for the entire Ummah.
Lastly, for those of us who have the Niyyah and the ability, to perform the sacrifice of Qurban. This is a sacrifice that should humble ourselves, to pull down our ego, to allow us to close the gap between the rich and the poor. Because on the day of Eid, all of us get to enjoy the celebration by eating food and meat of the same quality. To share the meat so that it’s not only the rich who get to enjoy meat, but the whole Ummah can celebrate altogether.
May Allah grant us the health and the ability to make the most of these blessed days. May Allah grant us sincerity in our fasting that wipes away our sins of the past year and the year to come. May Allah write our names among those who are freed from the Hellfire on the blessed day of Arafah. Ameen.
We are currently living through the 10 most blessed days of the entire year. And among these 10 days, the most blessed among them is the 9th day, which is the Day of Arafah. It is the day Allah perfected the religion of Islam, as stated in Surah Al-Ma’idah:
اَلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِيْنَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِْى وَرَضِيْتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِيْنًا
Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My blessing upon you, and chosen Islam as your religion. [5:3]
It is the day when our souls were brought forth in the plains of Arafat:
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِي آدَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَا ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَافِلِينَ
And ˹remember˺ when your Lord brought forth from the loins of the children of Adam their descendants and had them testify regarding themselves. ˹Allah asked,˺ “Am I not your Lord?” They replied, “Yes, You are! We testify.” ˹He cautioned,˺ “Now you have no right to say on Judgment Day, ‘We were not aware of this.’ [7:172]
Our Fitrah has made a covenant with Allah, that we testify that Allah is our Creator and our Lord, to have the concept of Tawheed planted within ourselves. And that is why our natural disposition is to believe in the Oneness of Allah after being born into this world.
The day of Arafah is also the day when Allah frees more servants from the Hellfire than any other day during the year. During this day, millions of pilgrims performing Hajj from all around the world would gather in the plains of Arafat and make Du’a, seeking forgiveness from Allah, while those of us who are not performing the Hajj will also be dedicating ourselves to the worship of Allah and making Du’a in the best manner we can.
Even though it’s not recommended for those who are performing Hajj to fast on the day of Arafah, it is extremely recommended for all of us who are not performing Hajj to fast, if we are able to. The Prophet ﷺ told us that fasting on the day of Arafah wipes away the sins of the previous year as well as the upcoming year.
However, the common misconception that many people have, is take the day of Arafah as just another day of voluntary fasting. Fasting on the day of Arafah is only a portion of the worship, because we want to make the most out of this day, to fill it with as many actions of worship as possible. To pray with as much Khushoo’ as we can, to make Dhikr whenever our tongue is available, to give charity to purify our wealth, to make as much Du’a as we can. None of these acts of worship are an obligation. They are all highly recommended voluntary acts. Because if we really want to be successful, if we really want to become deserving of Allah’s Mercy, we need to show that commitment ourselves. This is the best time of the year, to ask Allah to ease our difficulties, to settle our affairs, to grant us peace and tranquility in our lives. And all of that shouldn’t be something to be told of, but rather they should be done spontaneously, from the bottom of our hearts, to show that we really want it.
Do we really want our sins to be forgiven? Do we really want to earn the blessings of Allah? Do we really want to be successful? The deeds we perform during these days will indicate how strong we truly want them. So even if it’s not an obligation to fast, we should take it as an obligation upon ourselves to fast. Even if it’s only a “recommendation” to slaughter, we should try to slaughter, give charity, and perform Dhikr.
Therefore for the upcoming day of Arafat, we should start making preparations from now. It is going to be on a Tuesday, which means that it will be at a time when many of us are working. If possible, we should try to take a day off, cancel any appointments, and start planning what to do on that day so that we can focus entirely for the worship of Allah.
And among the recommended actions:
Recite Tasbih (Subhanallah), Tahmid (Alhamdulillah), Tahlil (La ilaha illa Allah), Takbir (Allahu Akbar)
The best thing we can do on the Day of Arafah is to renew the covenant that our souls have made with Allah, which is to confirm the Oneness of Allah and recognize Him as our Lord. Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, “The best supplication is that which is made on the day of Arafat. The best of it is what was said by myself and the Prophets before me,
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
There is no God but Allah alone, without any partners, unto Him belongs the dominion and all praise, and He has power over all things.
Recite this as many times as possible, reflect and ponder upon its meanings, and purify our Iman from anything that prevents us from getting closer to Allah.
Give Sadaqah before we start making private Du’a to Allah
Ask Allah for forgiveness, make sincere repentance for major and minor sins, the big and small, the public and the secret ones.
Make as many Du’a as we can. Write the things that we want to ask Allah down, either in papers or on the phone. Mention the specific things we want. Mention the specific names of our family members, our close relatives and friends, those who fight for this Ummah, for our own community, for the entire Ummah.
Lastly, for those of us who have the Niyyah and the ability, to perform the sacrifice of Qurban. This is a sacrifice that should humble ourselves, to pull down our ego, to allow us to close the gap between the rich and the poor. Because on the day of Eid, all of us get to enjoy the celebration by eating food and meat of the same quality. To share the meat so that it’s not only the rich who get to enjoy meat, but the whole Ummah can celebrate altogether.
May Allah grant us the health and the ability to make the most of these blessed days. May Allah grant us sincerity in our fasting that wipes away our sins of the past year and the year to come. May Allah write our names among those who are freed from the Hellfire on the blessed day of Arafah. Ameen.