The word · Worship
عَرَفَة
Arafah
The open plain east of Makkah where pilgrims gather on the ninth of Dhul Hijjah.
Also written · Arafat · Arafa · Mount Arafat · Jabal ar-Rahmah · day of Arafah · Yawm Arafah · Arefe · Arafaat
The meaning
What Arafah means in Islam
The small hill within it is called Jabal ar-Rahmah, the mount of mercy, and the farewell sermon was delivered nearby. Its day is the climax of the hajj. For Muslims not on hajj, fasting the day of Arafah is a strongly recommended sunnah described as expiating the year before and the year after; pilgrims themselves do not fast it.
Evidence · Sunnah · Established in the authentic Sunnah
Read beside it
Rooms that name it
- No days are better for good work than these tenA Light · Ibn Abbas · the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah
- Surah Al-Ma'idahSurah 5 · The Table Spread
- Umar was told which verse deserved a festivalA Light · Umar ibn al-Khattab · Arafah, 632 CE
Words that sit beside it
- WuqufStanding at Arafah on the ninth of Dhul Hijjah, the one rite without which there is no hajj.الوُقوفُ بِعَرَفَة
- HajjThe pilgrimage to Makkah in Dhul Hijjah, obligatory once in a lifetime on those who are able.حَجّ
- MuzdalifahThe open ground between Arafah and Mina where pilgrims spend the night of the tenth.مُزْدَلِفَة
- SawmFasting: abstaining from food, drink and intimacy from true dawn until sunset, with intention.صَوْم
More from Worship
- AdhanThe call announcing that a prayer time has entered, given aloud before each obligatory prayer.أَذان
- HaydMenstruation, during which prayer and fasting are lifted and intimacy is paused.حَيْض
- Khushu'Stillness of the body and attention of the heart during prayer.خُشوع
- QiblahThe direction of the Kaaba in Makkah, which Muslims face when they pray.قِبْلَة
- SiwakA twig used to clean the teeth, recommended before prayer, wudu, and on waking.سِواك
- TaqsirTrimming the hair rather than shaving it, the alternative way to leave ihram.تَقْصير