His eminence, Ustadh AbdulGaniy Adebisi is the Mudeer of Al-Madrasatul Mumtiah, Lagos, Nigeria with branches in the major higher institutions in the state. We have already published his opinion on the permissibility of fasting on Arafah Day if it falls on a Saturday.
In this article, Ustadh AbdulGaniy take us through the importance of Day of Arafah and what to be wary of this special day.
- It is reported by Ahmad and Tirmidhi (and this is the wording of Tirmidhi) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
عن جد عمرو بن شعيب عن النبي: خيرُ الدُّعاءِ دعاءُ يومِ عرفةَ وخيرُ ما قلتُ أنا والنبيُّون مِن قَبلي لا إلهَ إلّا اللهُ وحدَه لا شريكَ له له الملكُ له الحمدُ وهو على كلِّ شيءٍ قديرٌ• أخرجه الترمذي (٣٥٨٥)
“The best supplication is that of the Day of Arafah, and the best thing that I and other Prophets before me said is:
‘ لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك وله الحمد وهو على كل شيئ قدير.’
La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lahu lahul mulk wa lahul hamd wa huwa ‘ala kuli sha’in qadeer ((There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah Alone. He has no partners. To Him alone belongs the Kingdom, and all praise. In His hand is all the good, and He has power over all things).”
2. Why it (Day of Arafah) is best despite containing only words of praise❓
FIRST REASON: Al-Hussain bin Al-Hasan Al-Maruzi reported: “I asked Sufyan bin ‘Uyainah, ‘What is the best supplication for the Day of Arafah?’ He said,
‘La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lahu………’
I said, ‘But this is glorification of Allah and His praise, and it is not a supplication.’ Thereupon Sufyan said, ‘Don’t you know the hadith of Malik bin Al-Harith which explains it.’ ? I said to him, ‘Tell me about it.’ He said, ‘Mansur narrated from Malik bin Al-Harith that he said “Allah, the Almighty, and the Exalted One, says: ‘If a servant of Mine occupies himself in extolling and praising Me instead of asking Me for his needs I give him better than what I give to those who ask for their needs.”‘
Then he added, ‘This explains the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him).’ He continued and said, “Haven’t you heard what Ummaya bin Abi Al-Salt said to Abdullah bin Jad’an when he sought the hand of Na’ilah in marriage?” I said, “No.” At this he said, “Ummaya recited (these lines of poetry) to Abdullah bin Jad’an:
البحر: الوافر
أَأَذكُرُ حاجَتي أَم قَد كَفانيِ #
حَياؤُكَ إِنَّ شيمَتَكَ الحَياءُ
وَعِلمُكَ بِالأُمورِ وَأَنتَ قَرمُ#
لَكَ الحَسَبُ المُهَذَّبُ وَالسَناءُ
إِذا أَثنى عَلَيكَ المَرءُ يَوماً#
كَفاهُ مِن تَعَرُّضِهِ الثَناءُ
Do I have to tell you my need, or your modesty is enough (to plead my case)?
For modesty is your disposition,
You are conversant with rights (and obligations)
and come of a family polite and respectable,
When someone praises you, his praising of you is enough for his request!
Then Sufyan added, “O Hussain, you see how the humans are pleased with praise and are ready to grant request without even asking. What about their Creator then?” [Narrated by Bayhaqi].
SECOND REASON:
NO ONE LOVES PRAISES THAN ALLAH
روى البخاري (4634) ، ومسلم (2760) عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بن مسعود رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ( لَيْسَ أَحَدٌ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ الْمَدْحُ مِنَ اللهِ ، مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ مَدَحَ نَفْسَهُ )
Al-Bukhaari (4631) and Muslim (2760) narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There is no one more fond of praise than Allah, and because of that He praised Himself.”
Conclusion: So, let no one surpasses you in chanting the best supplication of the day of ‘Arafah since it is full of praises.
What to be wary of on the day of ‘Arafah.
Alhamdulillah, the awareness about the excellence of the day of Arafah increases tremendously with the help of social media.
Meanwhile, the following are some of the shortfalls one has to be careful of.
- Not practicing what you post: It is not a good thing in Islam to remind people of goodness while the person who does this is falling short of performing those good acts.
Allah says:
Surah Al-Baqara, Verse 44:
أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ
What! do you enjoin men to be good and neglect your own souls while you read the Book; have you then no sense?
Allah also says:
Surah As-Saff, Verse 3:
كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِندَ اللَّهِ أَن تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ
It is most hateful to Allah that you should say that which you do not do.
2. Too busy to have time for Ibaadah
Amr bn Ward reported, “If you can seclude yourself for Ibaadah in the evening (Asr to Maghrib) of the day Arafah, then do that”. [Reported by Abdullah bn Imam in Az-Zuhd page 305].
This shows the importance of how the Salaf prepared towards doing Ibaadah on this day. *But, many times we get too busy on the day of Arafah because of preparation for eid so much that we end up doing little or no Ibaadah.* The businessmen, travellers and social media addicts top the list here. Brethren, let us have a target, gets our tongues busy since many of the great ibaadat of Arafah is associated with it, and also strategise to do other acts of worship.
Surah An-Noor, Verse 37:
رِجَالٌ لَّا تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَلَا بَيْعٌ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ يَخَافُونَ يَوْمًا تَتَقَلَّبُ فِيهِ الْقُلُوبُ وَالْأَبْصَارُ
Men whom neither trade nor sale diverts them from the Remembrance of Allah (with heart and tongue), nor from performing As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), nor from giving the Zakat. They fear a Day when hearts and eyes will be overturned (from the horror of the torment of the Day of Resurrection).
3. Losing hope in the mercy of Allah.
This is caused by excessive sins so much that Shaytan will establish Waswaas (whispering) in heart of a slave that Allah can never forgive him or his supplication and strivings cannot be accepted. Hence, the slave falls short in performing acts of Ibaadah or even gets more involved in committing sins. He will always whisper to his mind to discourage him calling him with the name of the sins he has committed saying, “O you king of Zina! O you porno watcher! Do you think Allah will accept your deeds?”. The slave then gets depressed and distracted to perform good deeds. He either perform the ibaadah woefully or totally abandon it. This scenario will also play out on a very hopeful day like the day of Arafah.
Allah says;
Surah Az-Zumar, Verse 53:
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Say: “O ‘Ibadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
He also said on the tongue of Ibrahim
Surah Al-Hijr, Verse 56:
قَالَ وَمَن يَقْنَطُ مِن رَّحْمَةِ رَبِّهِ إِلَّا الضَّالُّونَ
[He (Abraham)] said: “And who despairs of the Mercy of his Lord except those who are astray?”
Oh, Allah! Make us maximise the reward of these days and preserve our lives upon goodness.
