07/19/2021
We are informed that on ‘Arafah, Allah revealed that He perfected His religion, completed His favours upon His beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and certified Islam as the way of life.
As we know, the standing in ‘Arafah is an integral of Hajj. Without ‘Arafah, there is no Hajj.
What does the Day of ‘Arafah, as a rite of Hajj, teach me and you?
Hajj means to orient towards something in Arabic. While Hajj is a formal set of Islamic rituals that comprise both an inner and outer dimension, it has one aim: to orient ourselves — our hearts, most especially — on Allah.
In these days of the Hajj, every Muslim should attempt to do this, whether in Hajj or not.
‘Arafah is from the verb to know. On the plain of ‘Arafah, by standing in supplication to Allah and confessing truly who we are, the Muslim will come to know at least three things:
First, himself or herself — who they really are.
Second, we will know Allah and the vast extent of His loving-compassion. Rasulullah ﷺ teaches:
“There is no day on which Allah frees people from the Fire more so than on the day of ‘Arafah…”
Third, that the orientation to Allah is the Hajj of our lives with our hearts. The greatest gift of the one in Hajj is to return from Hajj and remain in Hajj with their hearts until they die.
The greatest gift to those of us not in Hajj is that these blessed days of Dhil Hijjah, and the recommended fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah, renews our orientation to be in Hajj with our hearts to Allah until we die.
Allah wants us to re-orient, to return to Him. Rasulullah ﷺ teaches that the fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah “expiates the sins of the past year and the coming year.”
May these remaining days of the Dhil Hijjah teach us about ourselves, re-orient us to our Lord and cause us to live in Hajj forevermore. Amin.