Is there a kind of worshipping peculiar to the Arafah of (the day before) Eid al-Fitr?

Is there a kind of worshipping peculiar to the Arafah of (the day before) Eid al-Fitr?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Arafah is the day one day before eid al-adha, the 9th day of the month of Dhul-hijjah of the Hijri calendar. No other day can be called Arafah. However, the day before eid al-fitr is also called Arafah in some Islamic countries.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following :

"The most virtuous day among the days is the day of Arafah. It is like Friday in terms of virtue. It is more virtuous than seventy hajjs except the one performed on Friday. The most virtuous prayer (dua) is the one said on the day of Arafah. The most virtuous sentence uttered by me and the prophets before me is (Lailaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lahu. (There is no god but Allah; He is one; He has no partners.)" (Muwatta, Hajj, 246)

Hazreti Aisha narrates:

"There is no day when Allah sets free more servants from Hell than the day of Arafah. He draws near His slaves and praises them to the angels, saying: 'What do these want?'" (Muslim, Hajj, 436)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"Show respect to the day of Arafah. Arafah is a day that Allah appreciates."

Thus, the Prophet (pbuh) wanted us to show respect to the day that Allah appreciates and to try to live consciously. Respect starts by realizing the boon that is granted and being able to know and see. To spend the day of Arafah by performing fasting, saying prayers, asking for forgiveness without committing sins is an expression of respect and gratitude to Allah, who gave the glad tiding that He would forgive His slaves. (Daylami)

The following conversation between Hz. Umar and a Jew shows the importance of the day of Arafah:

During the caliphate of Hz. Umar, a Jew said to him,

"O Umar! You read a verse; if it had been sent down to us, we would have celebrated that day as an eid (festival)."
It was the third verse of the chapter of al-Maida. Allah Almighty stated the following:

"This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you."

That verse was sent down in the tenth year of the Migration during the Farewell Hajj on Friday, which was the day of Arafah, in the afternoon when the Prophet (pbuh) was on his camel called "Adba". The camel slumped down due to the heaviness of the revelation.

When Hz. Umar heard the verse from the Jew, he said,

"We know that day and the place where that verse was sent down. It was on Friday and Arafah." Thus, Hz. Umar mentioned the importance of Arafah by stating that it was eid for us. 

The day of Arafah is the day when Hz. Adam and Hawwa (Eve) met.

Tawriyah is one day before Arafah.

The Prophet (pbuh) stated the following:

"A Muslim who performs fasting on the day of Tawriyah and does not utter any sinful words enters Paradise."

The fasting performed on that day is equal to supererogatory fasting of one thousand days. Besides, it causes the repentance of the previous year and the next year to be accepted. One gets a lot of rewards when he fasts on the day of Arafah. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stated the following:

"A reward of twice the number of the people that lived beginning from Hz. Adam and that will live up to the Day of Judgment will be given to a person who performs fasting on the day of Arafah."

"The fasting performed on the day of Arafah is equal to supererogatory fasting of one thousand days."

"The fasting on the day of Ashura is equal to supererogatory fasting of one year and on the day of Arafah two years."

The fasting performed on the day of Arafah is equal to freeing two thousand slaves, sacrificing two thousand camels and giving two thousand horses in the way of Allah for jihad."

"The fasting performed on the day of Arafah will be atonement for the sins of the previous year and the next year."

It is recommended to read the chapter of al-Ikhlas one thousand times by some great personalities. It is stated in hadiths that reading the chapter of al-Ikhlas will be a means of forgiveness for the sins except individual rights.

"The sins of a person who reads al-Ikhlas one thousand times with Basmala are forgiven and his prayer is accepted."

The Prophet (pbuh) prayed to Allah on the night of Arafah to forgive his ummah. His prayer was answered as follows: 'I have forgiven them, except for the wrongdoer, with whom I will settle the score in favor of the one whom he wronged.' The Messenger of Allah said,

'O Lord, if You wish, You will grant Paradise to the one who is wronged, and forgive the wrongdoer.' No response came from Allah in Arafat to this prayer. The next day at Muzdalifah, he repeated the same prayer. This time, his prayer was accepted. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) laughed, showing his joy. Thereupon, Hz. Abu Bakr and Umar said to him,

‘May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! This is not a time when you usually laugh. What made you laugh?’ The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

‘When the enemy of Allah, Iblis, came to know that Allah answered my prayer and forgave my nation, he took some dust and started to sprinkle it on his head, crying 'Woe on you! You have been destroyed!' This cry of Satan's, which I saw, made me laugh.'

It is necessary to show respect to the day of Arafah; we should join the prayers of hajjis who are on Arafat on that day by feeling that we are with them spiritually. We should avoid anything that can cause us to commit a sin on that day. Nowadays, the day of Arafah is experienced as a very busy day with worldly affairs since it is one day before eid. In fact, Arafah is one of the most important time periods given to man. These days are days of worshipping and forgiveness.  It is the most valuable time period when hajjis come together in Arafat regardless of their languages, races and skin colors reminding of the Day of Gathering  by saying, "Labbayk (Here I am at your service)" and when servitude is presented to Allah by supplications and talbiyahs. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following:

"The most virtuous prayer is the one said on the day of Arafah." (Bayhaqi)

"Allah looks at His slaves on the day of Arafah and forgives anyone who has even a very little amount of belief."

Allah informed the Prophet (pbuh) that prayers are not rejected on some nights. The four holy nights when the doors of mercy are opened are as follows:

1. The night of (before) eid al-fitr,
2. The night of (before) eid al-adha,
3. The night of Tarwiyah (8th night of Dhul-hijjah),
4. The night of Arafah. (Isfahani)

It is very virtuous to spend the day and night of Arafah worshipping. There are narrations stating that a person who spends the night of Arafah worshipping will be saved from Hell. It was stated by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) that a person who avoids sins on the day of Arafah will be forgiven.

"On the day of Arafah, a young man who was near the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was thinking about women and looking at the women. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) turned the man's face away from the women a few times. The young man started to think about them again. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"My brother's son! Today is such a day that anyone who controls his ears, eyes and tongue is forgiven." (Musnad)

The following are advised to do on the day of Arafah:

1. It is necessary to start uttering takbirs of tashrik after the fard of the morning prayer.
2. One should perform fasting on the day of Arafah.
3. One should show respect to the day of Arafah and try not to commit sins.
4. One should pray to Allah and ask for forgiveness a lot on the day of Arafah.
5. One should read the chapter of al-Ikhlas 1000 times on the day of Arafah.

Questions on Islam