THE DAILY ISLAMIC REMINDERS. Yaum Al-khamis, 5th day of Zul Hijjah (Thursday, 16th August 2018). THE TRUTH BEHIND THE DAY OF ARAFAH & ITS NAME. Please share to your contacts and groups. BismilLahir Rahmaanir Raheem. The Messenger of ALLAH (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “ الحج عرفة “ or “Hajj is all about Arafah“. The Arabic text implies a very important concept of the meaning of Hajj. This short statement means that the whole hajj and its validity is confined in the actual day of Arafah i.e. Hajj becomes valid only when the day of Arafah is observed and witnessed by those who undertake the journey, the pilgrims. Regardless how long the hujjaj stay in Makkah, if they missed that single day, they have then missed the whole Hajj. The name Arafah عَرَفَة was mentioned in many ahadith such as hadith of the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam): “ الحج عرفة “ or Hajj is Arafah(reported by Imam Ahmad and the four sunan). The name Arafat was mentioned in Surat al-Baqara 2:198 لَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ تَبْتَغُوا فَضْلًا مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ ۚ فَإِذَا أَفَضْتُمْ مِنْ عَرَفَاتٍ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ عِنْدَ الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ ۖ وَاذْكُرُوهُ كَمَا هَدَاكُمْ وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ لَمِنَ الضَّالِّينَ “It is no crime in you if ye seek of the bounty of your Lord (during pilgrimage). Then when ye pour down from (Mount) Arafaat, celebrate the praises of ALLAH at the Sacred Monument, and celebrate HIS praises as HE has directed you, even though, before this, ye went astray” There are different interpretations on why that day was called Arafah, none of these opinions was authenticated by a solid textual evidence that can be traced to the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). Nevertheless, the scholars of the past recorded them in their books as akhbar or stories of the past and therefore I quote for you few of these opinions here: 1. Arafah was the place where Aadam and Eve met once again when they were sent down to reside on earth. They came down on two different spots but eventually were able to meet and recognize each other on this plain. Arafah here means “to get acquainted”, so based on this opinion Aadam and Eve got acquainted to each other on that very same land we call today Arafah. 2. When Angel Jibreel came down to Prophet Ibrahim (alayhis salam), he taught him the rituals of Hajj and took him around the Holy Sites. For every ritual explained Jibreel would say to Ibrahim “A’raft?” or “Did you learn (this one)?” and Ibrahim would reply with “Araft” or “I did”. Thats why it was called Arafah i.e. he got to know or learn. 3. It is a place where people get to know “ عرف or arafa” each other. Since the hujjaj or pilgrims spend most of that day on the same place and perhaps spot, many will get to know new people and learn more about them. So it is a place of تعارف or getting to know one another, and because of the great number of people who get to know each other the word عرفات or Arafaat came about. Despite the difference of opinion on why the day was called so, no scholar would argue the importance and significance of Arafah for the hajj and hujjaj (Pilgrimage and the Pilgrims). To be continued in shaa ALLAH. May ALLAH aid us to be part of this great journey one day and accept our acts of worship on these blessed days ongoing. It's my hope you are fasting today, if not you can make up your mind to continue the day fasting in shaa Allaah or please don't miss fasting on Monday 20th August (Day of ARAFAH). May ALLAH accept it from us all. Aameen.