To The ‘Arafât Of Allah

After entering Mecca in a state of Ihrâm, the pilgrims perform Tawâf and Sa‘y, and on the eighth day of Dhu’l–Hijjah [The 12th month of the year in the Muslim calendar] they head for Minâ [An area close to Mecca on the road to ‘Arafah where pilgrims spend the Tashreeq days. It is the place of throwing pebbles at Jamarat and ritual slaughter of the sacrifice]where they spend the night. Then, on the ninth day of Dhu’l–Hijjah they proceed towards ‘Arafah [The area that surrounds Mount Rahmah, southeast of Mecca; Standing at ‘Arafah on the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah and staying there from mid-day to sunset is the essence of the Hajj] or directly proceed from Mecca towards ‘Arafah.

As well known amidst the rituals, ‘Arafah is not located inside the Sanctuary but outside it. Therefore, the mind paused meditatively before it for long. Whenever Allah reveals a secret to a faithful mind, He causes it to pause before another so that the Unseen remains non-submitting to the mechanism of legislation but to the absolute power of The Legislator.

Hajj involves many stages beginning first with the choice of having faith and pronouncing the Testimony of Faith (As-Shahadah) [Lâ ilâh illâ Allah wanâ Muhammadan rasûl Allah There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah]. By choosing belief man enters into the sphere of being assigned duties shared by all the believers in Allah and His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), which include performing the daily prayers (Salah), fasting during the month of Ramadan (Saum), paying the alms tax (Zakâh), and performing the major pilgrimage to Mecca by whoever can afford the expenses (for one’s conveyance, provision and residence).

We have aforesaid that the Hajj rituals moves us outside the sphere of general free choice to that of special assignments, so none should pass beyond the Mîqat [The place where pilgrims declare their intentions to perform Hajj or ‘Umrah and assume the state of Ihrâm]at the bordering limits of the Sanctuary without being in a state of Ihrâm, nor enters the Ka‘bah without performing the rites enjoined on him from Tawâf and Sa‘y and when the time of Standing at ‘Arafât is due he must set out from Mecca towards Mount ‘Arafât.

By embracing Islam man commits himself to duties and when he wants to perform Hajj he commits himself to another enjoined duties peculiar to Hajj. If he wants to complete the Hajj – and Hajj is ‘Arafah – he should move out of the Meccan Sanctuary to an area lying outside its borders.

If we want to specify the sacred precincts of Hajj we will find them four places: Al-Masjid-al-Harâm (the Sacred Meccan Masjid), Al-Baitul-Harâm (the Sacred House, i.e., the Ka‘bah), Al-Baladul-Harâm (the Sacred City), Al-Mash‘ar Al-Haram (the Sacred Monument) [The hill in Muzdalifah where pilgrims should supplicate Allah after they have spent the night at Muzdalifah, and after which they should go to Mecca to throw Jamarat Al-‘Aqabah (the closest stone pillar to Mecca) on the morning of the tenth of Dhu’l–Hijjah] – Al-Muzdalifah – the place between ‘Arafât and Minâ where pilgrims stop on their return from ‘Arafât to collect the pebbles with which they will stone the devil. There they offer the Maghrib (Sunset) and ‘Ishâ’ (Evening) prayers together in the time of the latter (‘Ishâ’ Prayer), before proceeding towards Minâ for spending the night and preparing themselves for throwing the pebbles. Then they go to Mecca to perform Ifadah Tawâf [Pilgrims’ circumambulation of the Ka‘bah upon their return from Muzdalifah].

Theophany in ‘Arafah

In Arafât many Bestowments of Allah on His servants are divinely manifested. They are endless, countless bestowments, for Divine Manifestation with forgiveness to all people happens in that place, why? To mind that when Allah manifests Himself with forgiveness in a place other than the Sanctuary, then such a Divine manifestation has its reasons. In ‘Arafah you have restricted your choice completely; you have no choice neither in time nor place. All those present in ‘Arafah on that day, standing in that vast domain are bound to be in that place at a set time. The sun must go down on them while in ‘Arafât.

Allah wants to invite our attention that the greater the restriction imposed on man the higher the reward. As aforesaid, all the acts of worship have been restricted timewise, as offering Salah (Prayers) and paying the Zakâh (obligatory charity), except the Standing at ‘Arafât, which has been restricted by both time and place.

Regarding the state to which the pilgrim should adhere while performing the Hajj rituals Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, says (what means):

“The Hajj (pilgrimage) is (in) the well-known (lunar year) months (i.e. the 10th month, the 11th month and the first ten days of the 12th month of the Islâmic calendar, i.e. two months and ten days). So whosoever intends to perform Hajj therein by assuming Ihrâm), then he should not have sexual relations (with his wife), nor commit sin, nor dispute unjustly during the Hajj.” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 197)

Allah has bound the Hajj rites timewise; you cannot perform Hajj on any day of the year, and has also bound it by place in Mecca, ‘Arafât and Minâ; because if you miss going to any of the three your Hajj will not be complete. But Hajj includes other rituals in which compensation is accepted, which we shall discuss in the next chapters.

Allah, praise and glory be to Him, wants to train you on how you may restrain yourself and bind it by His Commands, to be worthy of the blessings He showers upon you on that honorable day. He bestows on you endless forgiveness and good pleasure, endless to the extent that it is stated in the tradition that Iblis (the devil) is seen in no other time or place more exasperated than in that Standing, why? Because the satisfaction and happiness of Iblis is in having man a sinner. Iblis disobeyed his Lord by refusing to prostrate himself before Âdam (peace be upon him); therefore he wants all mankind sinners. When Iblis senses that the inner self of man is talking him into committing a misdeed, he hastens to tempt him and endear it to him until he falls into sin, which fills Iblis with great joy because people have disobeyed as he did. But the Power and Might of Allah, praise and glory be to Him, willed to make the Day of ‘Arafah a day on which all the handiworks of Iblis are vainly wasted, and Allah showers His Mercy, Good Pleasure, Forgiveness and full Pardon on all the people of ‘Arafah, a reward offered for binding the movement of their lives on that day according to the Will of Allah, praise and glory be to Him.

The Day of forgiving sins

About this day, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Verily, Allah has manifested Himself to the people of the Standing (meaning ‘Arafah) and He forgave the people of ‘Arafah and He forgave the people of Al-Mash‘ar Al-Haram (the Sacred Monument) and Allah bore on behalf of all the consequences of what they committed against the servants.” Therefore, it is said that Al-Hajj Al-Mabrûr [Hajj performed in accordance with the Prophet’s tradition and is accepted by Allah] erases whatever precedes it, causing the forgiveness of all the sins that were committed before the Hajj, so man returns as his mother gave birth to him (sinless).

But religious scholars differ in opinion regarding the following question: Whether Hajj causes the forgiveness of all the sins, those having to do with Allah and with people, or does it only cause the forgiveness of the sins transgressed against Allah, meaning those between you and your Lord? As for the remission of the sins between you and the servants, it stipulates to hand back their rights and to beg the forgiveness of those whom you have wronged.

There is another opinion that says, ‘When Allah manifests Himself with His endless Mercy on the Day of ‘Arafah to the people of ‘Arafât, He forgives all the sins; whatever is between you and Allah, He forgives and whatever is between you and the servants, He bears on your behalf. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to invoke Allah saying, “O Allah! Forgive my sins; those sinned against you forgive them for me, and those sinned against others than You, bear them on my behalf.”

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) informs us that Allah forgave the people of ‘Arafah and He forgave the people of Al-Mash‘ar Al-Haram (the Sacred Monument) and He, glory be to Him, bore the burdens committed in violation of the servants’ right.

We have to clarify that ‘Arafât has two pronunciations: in the first we say ‘Arafât, as stated in the Noble Qur’an and in the second we say ‘Arafah, as stated in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) saying, “Hajj is ‘Arafah.”

‘Arafât became a proper noun indicating a spacious place wherein pilgrims gather on the ninth of Dhu’l–Hijjah. ‘Arafât is not a mount; if you heard what people usually call (Mount ‘Arafât), learn that what is meant is the mount ascribed to ‘Arafât area but the mount itself is not ‘Arafât.

Many people think that the completion of Hajj is in ascending the mount called Rahmah, on which the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stood in the Farewell Hajj and if the pilgrim did not ascend it, as though he did not perform Hajj!! We say that this is untrue, ‘Arafah is the spacious valley that the mount overlooks. The name of the mount is derived from its proximity to this valley; the mount is ascribed to ‘Arafât area not the opposite.

Many opinions were stated regarding the significance of the word ‘Arafah. There is a difference between an attributive name that becomes a name afterwards and a proper noun. If the name is a proper noun from the beginning, it does not necessitate standing for a meaning. A man’s name could be ‘Happy’ when he is most miserable; this is a proper name unrelated to a certain denotation.

In fact, some people like to choose names inspiring good omen, as some used to name their sons ‘Sa‘d’ (i.e., Good Fortune) hoping that he becomes fortunate. The Arab used to choose names of good omen; they used to name ‘Sakhr’ (i.e., Rock) so that the person may grow to be rocklike in the face of his enemies or name him ‘Kalb’ (i.e., Hound) so that none would dare defy him.

It was said to the Arab that they well choose the names of their slaves by calling them, ‘Sa‘îd’ (i.e., Happy), ‘Sa‘d’ (i.e., Good Fortune) and ‘Fadl’ (i.e., Grace) but choose improper names for their sons calling them ‘Sakhr’ (i.e., Rock) and ‘Kalb’ (i.e., Dog), and they answered, ‘Yes, because we name our sons for our enemies and name our slaves for ourselves!’

Reason of naming

‘Arafah now became a proper noun but the reason of being named thus has more than a story. It was narrated that when Âdam and Hawwâ’ (Adam and Eve, may Allah be pleased with them) descended from Paradise in obedience to the Command of Allah, Âdam (may Allah be pleased with him) descended in a place and Hawwâ’ (may Allah be pleased with her) in another.

Each of them descended in a separate place and both kept looking for the other until they met at that place, therefore it was named ‘Arafah (Forgathering).

Discussing Âdam and Hawwâ’ and their forgathering in ‘Arafah demands an explanation. Just try to imagine the state of Âdam descending in a wide strange world all by himself, looking around him and finding no human. If he were to see a human, he would surely meet him with strong longing. For that purpose Allah set apart Âdam and Hawwâ’ so that each of them would look for the other longingly and when they meet each would hold on to the other, never to let go. Another narration tells that the angels said to Âdam after he came down to earth at that place, ‘Confess your sins and turn in repentance to your Lord.’ So he said as the Noble Qur’an relates to us (what means):

“They said: ‘Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers.’” (Al-A‘râf, 7: 23)

Bearing on that, the meaning would be (admitting) his sins and (knowing) how to repent. Now we shall move back to the Khalîl (the close servant) of Allah, Ibrâhîm (Abraham, peace be upon him), and how did Allah inform him about the place of ‘Arafah.

Ibrâhîm (peace be upon him) saw in the vision he had that he was slaughtering his son Ismâ‘îl (Ishmael, peace be upon him), a hard deed on the soul being his only son whom he should slaughter with his very hands. Ibrâhîm sat at that place thinking over and mediating, therefore the day of ‘Arafah was known as the Day of Tarwaiyah (Deliberation). On becoming certain that the vision is true and knowing that he must slaughter his son, the place wherein he learned the truth of the vision was named ‘Arafah (Seeing the truth).

Another says that Jibrîl (Angel Gabriel) used to teach Ibrâhîm (peace be upon him) the Hajj rituals at that place and used to ask him, ‘Do you now know?’ And Ibrâhîm answered, ‘Yes, I do.’ And perhaps it means that man knows his Lord in that place and comes to it confessing his sins and begging for the Forgiveness of Allah in humility and submission.

However, the different meanings and circumstances that led to assigning the name of ‘Arafah or At-Tarwaiyah to that day are not in opposition. Indeed, on that blessed Day Allah boasts of His servants saying:

“See My servants, they have forsaken all what they possess and came to Me disheveled and dust covered begging for My Forgiveness and Mercy. I call you to bear witness that I have forgiven them.”

In ‘Arafât we notice absolute equality and full presence of all the hajjis to the Sacred House of Allah without the absence of anyone. All present at one time that ends with the setting of the sun of ‘Arafah Day, which is the only place on earth wherein people gather that way at such perfect timing.

We go to Mecca on different journeys arriving at different times, each according to the time of his trip. One group may arrive before the Hajj by two weeks, whereas another by one day only and in back home journeys we return separately, each according to the time of his trip. Even when lodging in Mecca the means of people vary; some may lodge in a luxurious apartment, others in a room or part of a room, others lodge in a hotel, others lie down on the floor to the end of what people’s capabilities may afford them.

But in ‘Arafât the situation completely differs; the place holds all races, all nationalities, all languages, all ranks and all fates. Equality is the distinctive feature amongst them all, all are disheveled and dust covered. No difference between the rich and the poor, the masters and the humble folk; all have an untidy disordered appearance, weary and fatigued. All are equal with regard to humility and submission; none is superior or higher in rank.

You will never find a bragger in ‘Arafah, boasting of his worldly status, but all are showing submission and humility to Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted. Each is rivaling to declare his submissiveness and fear of Him. As if goodness only prevails among people when they become even in submission and servility shown to Allah, and none of them daresay that he is better than another.

That day, on which we shake off pride and unjustness, Allah, praise and glory be to Him, manifests Himself to us with forgiveness, because obduracy is what set a barrier between us and Allah. That is to say, living in one community where each of us regards himself better than the other, sees his merits and fails to see his demerits! On that great day we learn that what distinguishes us is not self-given but from our Creator. Thereon, servility is forged within us and only then The Truth, praise and glory be to Him, says:

“They are a congregation who deserve My Forgiveness and Mercy.”

Obduracy, vanity and attempts of claiming superiority and assuming airs of haughtiness are the withholders of the Mercy of Allah, and nothing is more indicative of it than what happened when the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) went out to tell his companions about the Lailatul-Qadr [The night of Al-Qadr is either indicative of the honor and station of that night, thus meaning ‘An honorable night’, or the word ‘Al-Qadr’ may also refer to the ordainment and disposal of affairs. So it would mean ‘the night in which all that will occur in the following year will be decreed,’ following the Qur’anic Statement of Allah saying (what means), ‘Therein (on that night) is decreed every matter of ordainment.’  (Ad-Dukhân, 44: 4) Lailatul-Qadr is concealed in one of the odd nights in the last ten days of Ramadan; the Noble Qur’an was sent down in the Night of Al-Qadr and the Qur ‘an itself describes as ‘Better than a thousand months’]. On finding two quarrelling persons he forgot it, thereby the Companions were deprived of knowing its exact day. Following upon, disputation, dissension and quarrelling prohibit the bestowment of boons on the community. An assembly that wishes to receive the Bestowments of Allah must enjoy absolute serenity together, having all their faculties congruous and each is in the right state to be instructed by his Lord.

On the Day of ‘Arafah people supplicate much; each on that great Day, be it hot or rainy, stands earnestly supplicating. All are standing, all are submissive and all are humble before the Lord of the Worlds.

In that Standing, mercy is sent down and Allah manifests Himself with forgiveness to the people of ‘Arafah, and by the grace of Allah they become sinless because Hajj erases whatever precedes it, as aforesaid. Since you have been successfully guided to that endless goodness and since Allah has manifested Himself to you with forgiveness, after ‘Arafât you should never revert to what incurs the Wrath of Allah, The Most Exalted. You do not guarantee that The Almighty will keep you in this world and destine another Hajj for you in the coming years. Since you do not guarantee that, you must strive for your hereafter and hold fast to the righteous path for the sake of meeting Allah at any time with your sins forgiven.

Seize the opportunity of Hajj for it purges you of sins and never listen to the whispers of the devil, and enough of the Mercy of Allah that you conquered him. If he sneaked in your soul at a time of weakness and you fell into sin, Allah has forgiven you by virtue of a day in which you showed your sorrow, submissiveness and awe, that is the Day of ‘Arafah.

But keep in mind that the devil will never leave you alone, because the stronger you grow in faith the more effort the devil exerts to tempt you into sin. Either it is Satan who disturbs the peace of the human conscience in its beliefs, for being the summit of faith; a task needing Satan who devotes himself to the purpose of tempting people to disbelieve, Allah forbid.

Or the offspring of Satan, the devils of jinn along with the devils of humankind, who devote themselves to what is ranked below the supreme faith: temptation of people to commit other sins like adultery, bribery, stealing and others. That is the work of the offspring of Satan. As for Satan himself, as aforesaid, he barges, into your highest beliefs and tries to arise doubts within you, with respect to the existence of Allah, His Oneness and His Might and Power and he keeps insinuating evil to man.

Pouring down from ‘Arafât

The Truth, praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):

“Then when you pour down from (mount) Arafat, remember Allâh (by glorifying His Praises, i.e. prayers and invocations, etc.) at the Sacred Monument.” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 198)

But what is the significance of pouring down? When you fill a cup to the brim the surplus must overflow on the sides. Hence, the surplus is something beyond the capacity that got separated from an existing whole.

The Qur’anic verse saying (what means), ‘Then when you pour down from (mount) Arafat,’ is a forejudgment that on departing ‘Arafât it will be filled in a way that surpasses its specified capacity as though overflowing. That is the Judgment of Allah in Hajj. If you witnessed that scene and saw the pilgrims overflowing from ‘Arafât, as though you are seeing a cup that was filled and started to overflow, knowing not wherefrom these multitudes have emerged and whereto they are heading.

Whoever beholds the Muslims in ‘Arafât, would find them an endless mass of humans. When they overflow on the eve of that day and they descend ‘Arafât, you somehow feel while looking at them as though they were a flood pouring down. Human masses impossible to be differentiated, wearing the same clothes, thus you get the impression that they have the same traits, as if they were one running flood. That is the picture of pouring down from ‘Arafât.

When you contemplate the people heading for Al-Muzdalifah you wonder where have been all these multitudes. You see the valleys streaming with people exactly as a vehement flood, moving as a single mass. After pouring down from ‘Arafât comes the second overflow, proceeding from Al-Muzdalifah to Minâ, which is stated in the Qur’anic verse saying (what means):

“Then hasten onward from the place whence all the people hasten onward and ask Allâh for His Forgiveness. Truly, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful.” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 199)

A pilgrim must celebrate the Praises of Allah time and again for the grace He conferred upon him by easing that blessed journey. He brought you – faithful believers – to His Sacred House then would make you return, which is a matter that deserves expressing thankfulness and gratitude and keeping on remembering Him. The Qur’anic verse says (what means), ‘And remember Him (by invoking Allâh for all good, etc.) as He has guided you,’ (Al-Baqarah, 2: 198). Through His Guidance you were shown the shortest path to goodness and the path to forgiveness was smoothed to you by money, health and ability. Surely, such Guidance from Allah deserves engaging oneself in His Remembrance and expressing gratitude.

Afterwards, The Almighty says (what means), ‘And verily, you were, before, of those who were astray.’ (Al-Baqarah, 2: 198), meaning before Islam, because during the Pre-Islamic era they used to circumambulate the House naked doing nothing but clapping and whistling, but Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, guided them to the right Hajj that forgives the sins.

Abrogating the privileges of the Quraish

The Truth, gloried ever be His Majesty and Might, says (what means), “Then hasten onward from the place whence all the people hasten onward.” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 199), where ‘then’ denotes consecutiveness, but does it here means to hasten after standing at ‘Arafat? Or is it after spending the night at Muzdalifah? ‘Then hasten onward,’ is a retort to all who say that spending the night at Muzdalifah is a must.

This noble verse was revealed with regard to the leaders of the Quraish who considered themselves the people of the Meccan Sanctuary, trying to have privileges distinguishing them from the rest of the people. Therefore, they used to depart first from ‘Arafat then people follow them. In the Farewell Hajj [the first and the last Hajj performed by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace], the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “You all belong to Âdam and Âdam is of dust. Verily the most honored among you, in the Sight of Allah, is he who is the most righteous of you.” Allah thus barred the behavior the Quraish comported itself with in trying to be distinguished from people, by abolishing whatever advantages the Quraish had over other Arabs.

Some interpreters say that the noble Qur’anic verse saying (what means), “From the place whence all the people hasten onward,” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 199) signifies the place wherefrom Ibrâhîm (peace be upon him) has hastened onward, because Allah taught Ibrâhîm all the Hajj rituals, which he in turn taught to people.

There is no ambiguity in the Qur’anic verse saying (what means), “From the place whence all the people hasten onward,” because Allah has portrayed Ibrâhîm (peace be upon him) in words as a nation.

The word ‘people’ here is used to describe someone who combines many attributes. Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, has portrayed our Messenger, Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in words with the Qur’anic verse saying (what means):

“Or do they envy mankind for what Allah hath given them of his Bounty?” (An-Nisâ’, 4: 54)

Further, the man who went to the believers to warn them against the nonbelievers who were preparing themselves to fight them, was expressed as follows in the Qur’anic verse saying (what means):

“Those unto whom the people said, ‘Verily, the people (pagans) have gathered against you (a great army), therefore, fear them.’”  (Âl-‘Imrân, 3: 173)

Subsequently, ‘The people’ is used in the Qur’anic verse to describe a person (the Prophet Ibrâhîm, peace be upon him) in whom good morals were gathered.

Afterwards, The Truth, gloried ever be His Majesty and Might, says (what means), “Ask Allâh for His Forgiveness,” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 198) a proof that no matter how hard man tries to guard the due Rights of Allah, still he may mistake. Therefore, begging forgiveness is required. “Truly, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful,” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 199) means that you will find Allah Most Forgiving, Most Merciful and will answer your supplication and forgive you. He will bring you back from Hajj purely white of all sins.

On that night the pilgrims gather the pebbles with which they will stone Iblis (the devil) from Al-Muzdalifah and offer the Maghrib (Sunset) and ‘Ishâ’ (Evening) Prayers together in the time of the latter (‘Ishâ’ Prayer). Afterwards, they head towards Minâ to stone the devil, which has a story to tell apart in the next chapter.

Chapter Four