The Month of Dhul-Hijjah and the Day of Arafa
Dear brothers, as mentioned in last week’s khutba, we are now in the month of Dhul-Hijjah.
As mentioned previously, this is the month in which the Hajj is performed by millions of Muslims all over the world and followed by Eid.
We also mentioned last week how the Prophet SAWS spoke of the first ten days of this month leading up to Eid and that specifically they are days in which good deeds are worth more to Allah SWT.
That being said, it is worth mentioning the following ayat from Sura Al-An’am in which Allah SWT encourages us even more with the following:
Whoever comes [on the Day of Judgement] with a good deed will have ten times the like thereof [to his credit], and whoever comes with an evil deed will not be recompensed except the like thereof; and they will not be wronged.
Dear brothers, if we analyse the ayat we can see the mercy of Allah SWT in granting us ten times the reward for our good deeds. If we then transpose that onto the next week then we have great potential for earning His pleasure.
And in these blessed days we have the gem of which is the day of Arafa. This is the 9th day of Dhul Hijjah and it is the day in which pilgrims of Hajj gather on the mountain plain of Arafa, praying and supplicating to Allah SWT.
The day of Arafa also holds great importance in Islam because this is the day when Allah SWT completed his revelation on his messenger SAWS. It was on the day of Arafat when the following verse from Sura Al-Maidah was revealed:
This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.
Dear brothers, the day of Arafa is a profound day. For those of us who have been blessed with performing the Hajj pilgrimage, it invokes images and emotions that are simply out of this world.
For those of us yet to embark upon the pilgrimage Insh’Allah, the day of Arafa is now something we can witness through live broadcasts on the Islamic television channels.
But we must all be mindful of the fact that the virtues of Arafa are not reserved for pilgrims only. They are of benefit to all muslims.
We are also able to achieve great reward and pleasure from our Lord on this blessed day. And so, dear brothers, with the blessed day but a week away, here is a three step guide to spending the day of Arafa:
- Fast. Our beloved Prophet SAWS recommended non-pilgrims to fast on this blessed day as it removes the sins of the past year and the sins of the upcoming year.
Dear brothers, what greater incentive do we need here? To fast next Friday for just under 13 hours will remove two years’ worth of sins.
- Pray. Try to perform even 2 units of obligatory prayer. Remember, this is the day in which the deeds weigh heavy and what is an extra 2 minutes or so in front of your Lord in comparison?
- Supplicate. There is no better day to ask from your Lord than this day. Just imagine dear brothers, you have fasted on the day of Arafat, performed obligatory prayers during your fast and on the moment you open your fast you ask of your Lord. Wouldn’t you want that moment for you, your family and your afterlife?
The Prophet SAWS said:
The best of dua is on the day of Arafa, and the best of what I have said and the prophets before me is: La Illaha Il’Allah, Wahdaho La Shareekalah, Laho Almulk, Wa Laho Alhamid, Wa huwa ala kuli Sha’in Qadeer.
Dear brothers, this is translated as There is no Lord worthy of worship except Allah, and has no partners, has the ownership, has the praise, and is able and capable of everything.
Try to use this dua if you can but remember above all to request from Him on this day even it is in English, Urdu or Kurdish.
May Allah SWT instill into our hears the value of these days. May Allah SWT enable us to fast on the 9th of Arafa and May Allah SWT accept our supplications and efforts on the day of Arafa.
Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen.
