The Most Virtuous Days: Dhul Hijjah And The Day of Arafah

Jumu'ah Khutbah — Mawlana Farhan Shariff

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the most honored of the prophets and messengers, our master, our beloved, our intercessor, our master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and upon his family and all his companions, and upon those who followed them with goodness until the Day of Judgment.

Beloved brothers and sisters, youngsters and elders, esteemed and honorable guests of Allah, peace and blessings be upon you. All praise is due to Allah — we are so blessed. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, has mentioned:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2346)

That person who wakes up in the morning and his belongings are intact, and he is healthy — he doesn't have any sicknesses or ailments — and he has enough food and enough provision to last him throughout the day, then this individual has been blessed to such an extent it's as though he has received the entire world, lock, stock and barrel, and everything that it contains.

That is, subhanAllah, the blessing of just these few things. We are so fortunate that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has granted us life, and granted us another opportunity and another chance to witness one of those opportunities throughout the year where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's winds of mercy flow in abundance. This is a time in the year where, like we have certain times when a person goes to the store and there are many things available on clearance, similarly it is as though the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is on clearance — it is so easily attainable, it is right at our doorstep.

The First Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah

In fact, we've already entered — Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned with regards to the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah:

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 969)

That there are no other days throughout the year wherein doing good deeds is more beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than in these first ten days of Dhul Hijjah.

Continuing, Rasulullah ﷺ has also highlighted amongst these ten days one of them as it appears in a hadith in Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān on the authority of Jabir radhiallahu anhu — he has mentioned that Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān, Hadith 3853)

That the most virtuous day in the year is the day of Arafah. This day is also known as the 9th of Dhul Hijjah, and for us this year — may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us all the ability to benefit, may Allah grant us all life and grant us well-being so that we can maximize on that day — will inshallah be this coming Tuesday, the day right before Eid.

Why Yawm al-Arafah is So Significant

This day is known as one of the most virtuous days throughout the year, and it is so for many reasons.

1. Allah Took an Oath by It in the Qur'an

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala showed its importance and its significance by taking an oath by it in the Qur'an. We are taught as Muslims that it is impermissible for us to take oaths by anything other than Allah, because in doing so it is as though you are showing importance to something and giving it a rank and a position higher than that of Allah. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the one who legislates all of our deen. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the one who reigns supreme:

He is not questioned about what He does. We find throughout the Qur'an that there are certain times Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala takes oaths by things — by days, by times, by other things — to show their importance. For example, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala takes an oath by time so that we understand the significance and importance of time.

And one of these things that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala takes an oath by is the day of Arafah — to show how important and how revered it is, what significance it holds. We understand this through the tafasir of various different Sahabah radhiallahu anhum. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in Surah al-Fajr:

The Sahabah radhiallahu anhum mention that الْوَتْر refers to Ayyam al-Tashreeq and الشَّفْع refers to Yawm al-Arafah. And in another place in the Qur'an, in Surah al-Burūj, some of the Sahabah radhiallahu anhum mention that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala takes an oath by Yawm al-Arafah when He mentions:

Either the word shāhid or mashhūd — one of them refers to Yawm al-Jumu'ah and one of them refers to Yawm al-Arafah, or vice versa, depending on the different narrations. So one of the reasons it is very important and significant is because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Himself took an oath by it.

2. The Greatest Day of Forgiveness

Another reason why it is important is because there is no other day in the year that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgives so many individuals. It is mentioned in a narration:

(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Hadith 1348)

That there isn't a single day in the year wherein Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala frees more servants — more slaves of His — from the fire of Jahannam than on that day.

3. Fasting on Yawm al-Arafah

We are also taught in the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ that the significance of this day is such that the individual who fasts on it receives an immense reward. We fast because Rasulullah ﷺ spoke about it. If you look at the life of Rasulullah ﷺ and the way things were celebrated, there is a narration wherein Rasulullah ﷺ speaks about the day on which he was born and says that this is the day that he fasts on. Other individuals feast and have celebrations and parties, but if you look at the way that a believer celebrates, one of the ways is that he also engages in ibadah. We start off our days of celebration — the two days of Eid — with worship, and then afterwards we celebrate.

On the day of Arafah, one of the things we are taught to do in honour of this day, and also in seeking its reward and bounty, is to fast. Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned regarding Ṣiyāmu Yawmi Arafah:

(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Hadith 1162)

That such a person who fasts on the day of Arafah — the reward for that individual is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will forgive all of his sins one year prior and one year to come. One year of sins before, and one year of sins that are to come. Just because of fasting on this one particular day.

4. The Completion of the Deen

One of the greatest virtues recorded with regards to Yawm al-Arafah is the fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala completed our deen on the day of Arafah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions:

On one occasion, a Yahudi came to Umar radhiallahu anhu and told him: there is a specific day that you have within your history that is so honoured and significant — if we were to know about it, we would have taken that day as a celebration. Umar radhiallahu anhu, more or less in that hadith, mentions that we are very well aware of that day, we know exactly when it happened, we know exactly which month, which day, and also what time. And that was in honour of this very ayah that was revealed — that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions: Today I have perfected for you this religion, and I have in doing so completed My favour upon you, and I have selected for all of mankind Islam as that worldview and that religion.

This is something that we as Muslims — subhanAllah — this is everything. This is how we live such peaceful lives. Any Muslim who does not have this in their life, it's very difficult to live a peaceful life. Through the bounty of Islam, through the bounty of the deen of Islam, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has provided us a manual of exactly what is required from us at every given moment in time, in such a manner that we know how to live our life.

The Three Questions Every Soul Asks

I've mentioned before, and I'll mention again — a time comes in a person's life when they begin to think about three things. That may be earlier for some, that may be later for others. But a time comes when a person begins to wonder: Where did I come from? What am I doing here? What's the purpose of my life? Is it just a nine-to-five job? Do I just go to school, get a job, get married, have children, have a family, become a grandfather, enjoy a little bit, die? What's my goal? What is the purpose of life? And then lastly they tend to wonder: Where am I headed?

As a Muslim, through this bounty that Allah has blessed us with, we understand the answer very easily. A Muslim lives a very purposeful life. Alhamdulillah, the deen intensive is going on, and I asked these two teenagers — one of them, mashallah, maybe 12 or 13, maybe 14. He said, "Oh, I know the answer." What's the answer? "Allah." That's the answer to all three questions. Allah, Allah, Allah.

Where did I come from? I came from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala:

O mankind! We created you from male and female. Where did you come from? You came from Allah.

What is my purpose here? The answer to that is also Allah — to please Allah:

In Surah al-Dhāriyāt, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that your sole purpose of creation is so that you worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you recognise the greatness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Where am I going? Allah mentions:

Like we recite — many of us — every Friday in Surah al-Kahf, most definitely you are returning to us individually just as We created you the first time.

So if we understand that I am created from Allah, I am here for the sake of Allah, and I am going back to Allah, then my life should only be about pleasing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When we understand our life is about pleasing Allah and living a life in accordance to how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants — because we understand we came from Him, we are living here for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to worship Him, and we're going to be going back to Allah where we will be held accountable and asked about every single action of ours — then my life becomes very simple, very black and white. I am living a life now to please my Creator. That is how I need to live and that is how I have to die.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has provided us that manual, whereby He says الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ — whereby at every given moment in time, we know through the teachings of Rasulullah ﷺ, through the Qur'an, exactly what to do.

To this extent, even the most trivial things that we may take for granted as far as manners are concerned — like knocking on a door before entering — we are taught in school that before you enter anyone's room, your parent's room or even your sibling's room, you ought to knock on the door first, take permission and then enter. Or something as simple as the etiquettes of eating at someone's home, how long a person should stay after eating, when they are to leave. Many of us perhaps are not aware, but these things — which many people take as trivial, though they are not — are even mentioned in the Qur'an. The Qur'an itself explicitly makes mention of etiquettes such as knocking on the door before entering, how a person should conduct themselves when invited to someone's home, partaking of a meal, and so on and so forth, and much more in the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ as well. Every single aspect of our life has been addressed.

And some may wonder: well, what about advancements in technology — such things that were not addressed in the time of Rasulullah ﷺ? But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala took care of that as well, by enabling Rasulullah ﷺ and tasking him to teach the Sahabah radhiallahu anhum the various different principles whereby they can extract rulings from both the Qur'an and the hadith till the end of time. The fuqaha — as this knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation — the muftis today can tell you, looking at the ayat of Qur'an and the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ, that if I am in space, how am I supposed to pray my salah? If I am flying through the sky — and this was perhaps not even fathomable in the time of Rasulullah ﷺ — how am I supposed to conduct myself? How am I supposed to pray? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, through this system of Islam, has provided us with an objective way of life that is not going to change from time to time and place to place. It is upon us to follow it.

How to Honor Yawm al-Arafah

So this is the significance behind the day of Arafah — which is coming again this Tuesday. Once you have understood the significance of this day, then what are we supposed to do? This is a great and honourable day that we are so blessed to have, that we ought to honor and be proud of, just as Umar radhiallahu anhu and the other Sahabah radhiallahu anhum were proud of. How do we show our appreciation to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for this day?

1. Fast on Tuesday

Just as Rasulullah ﷺ would fast in appreciation of his birthday, and just as we also pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on various different occasions of celebration — when we celebrate and honor and revere this day, also in hopes of attaining the reward promised to us by Rasulullah ﷺ, we should ensure that we fast on Tuesday. This is Yawm al-Arafah. We should all do our absolute best to ensure that we fast on Tuesday.

2. Protect Yourself from Sin

We should do our absolute best to protect ourselves from falling into sin. In a hadith it is mentioned — Rasulullah ﷺ said regarding the day of Arafah:

(Musnad Aḥmad, narrated with similar wording)

That individual who protects his eyes, his ears, and his tongue — such a person will surely be forgiven on that day.

On a normal day, when we open up YouTube or something on social media, we don't realise how much our eyes glance upon that we are not supposed to see — whether intentional or unintentional. On this day, let us make it a point to refrain from opening up such apps on our phones, to refrain from glancing over certain webpages where we know through experience there will be things we don't want to look at. Let us try to get our groceries on the weekend instead of Tuesday where music may unintentionally be played. None of us are listening intentionally when we go into different marketplaces, but if it is being played, it is very easy to avoid.

And we have to be very particular not only about our tongues — but as my teacher would say, nowadays you also have to be very particular about your thumbs as well, because we no longer just speak through our tongues but also through our thumbs, through texting and typing and the like.

3. Make Abundant Du'a

The last thing which I'll end with — we have to engage in as much du'a as possible, specifically asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for forgiveness. This is a day, as comes in many hadith, when there is no day on which Shaytan is more ashamed and more disgraced than on the day of Arafah. He has been trying for so long and so hard to mislead all of mankind, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, after all of his years and years of efforts, just forgives hundreds and thousands and millions of people. We have to do our absolute best to attain that mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Sometimes we feel: you don't know what I've done, I can't attain forgiveness. But that is absolute nonsense. That in fact is the ploy and the trickery of Shaytan. I often tell individuals and students — this is such a battle that you only lose when you refuse to get up. When you're in a boxing match against someone, either the rounds finish and you lose, or you get knocked out and cannot get back up. Similarly, in this fight against the nafs and Shaytan — so long as you choose to get back up and choose to repent, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will continuously forgive you. But if a time comes — until the time where either the rounds are over and our life is gone, may Allah grant us all wonderful and beautiful deaths — or may Allah forbid and protect all of us — a time comes where we refuse to get back up and refuse to fight, that is when we lose.

Shaytan is going to come and tell you: "What's the point? You sinned, you watched this, you did this, you constantly repent to Allah but you're so weak and you keep falling into it. You really think your Lord is going to forgive you? You really think you have any hope?" That is Shaytan itself. When you realise that, you have to tell yourself: no — regardless of the case, I need to get back up, I need to continuously repent and renew my connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Closing Du'a

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us all the ability to understand the virtue of Yawm al-Arafah and to act in accordance with what we have learned. May Allah grant us the ability to fast on Tuesday, inshallah, as well as to stay away to the best of our ability from all types of sins — intentional and unintentional. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us all the ability to make excessive du'a on that day for our forgiveness and the forgiveness of all the Muslims at large.

Jazakumullahu khayran wa ahsana jaza.

Announcements

After we stand up to perform our sunnahs, I kindly request all of the individuals to please fill up as many gaps as you see. There are many people waiting outside and many times we notice that there is a lot of space inside but it is not taken.

Please pass the donation boxes from left to right and donate generously. Sadaqah wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Nabi ﷺ has also mentioned that charity given on the day of Jumu'ah is greater than any other day. Also keep in mind that these are among the most virtuous days throughout the year, so giving sadaqah at this time will also be extremely beloved in the court of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Further, keep in mind that there is no curb parking. Please do not park on the curbs behind the seminary building or the Swift Highway. Alhamdulillah, we have additional parking spaces in the used car lot.

Join us for our weekly programs. Team Fajr will continue tomorrow. Tomorrow, Saturday, Fajr Iqamah will be at 4:45 a.m. Tafsir will also continue with Surah Hajj on Tuesday after Maghrib with Mufti Ali Muddin.

Registrations are now open for the following programs: a Tanweer Intensive Arabic Islamic Studies one-year program for boys and girls separately; and a Tadris Integrated High School Program — high school education in an Islamic environment. Classes begin from August 14th, 2023. For more information, visit masjidds.org.

Eid al-Adha will inshallah be on Wednesday, June 28th. Fajr Iqamah will be at 4:45 a.m. and the Takbirat will start at 5:00 a.m. There will be two different prayers: the first Eid Salah will begin at 5:15 a.m. with the prayer at 5:45 a.m.; the second will start at 10:00 a.m. with the prayer at 10:30 a.m.

There is a du'a request — a du'a of shifa — for Qazi Salim Sahib. He is currently in the ICU. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant him a speedy and complete recovery. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala cure all of those who are ill and all of the Muslims that are suffering throughout the world. May Allah heal the sick, grant peace to the Muslims, and have mercy on the dead.