Assalamu alaikum,

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is His slave and Messenger. 

The Day of ‘Arafah is one of the greatest days in the sight of Allah, it is the day when Allah The Almighty revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) the Ayah: { This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.}[Quran 5:3], it is the day of forgiveness and freedom from the Fire.

Fasting on the day of ‘Arafah is an expiation for two years

It was reported from Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah. He said, “It expiates for the sins of the previous year and of the coming year.” Narrated by Muslim.

This (fasting) is Mustahab (desirable) for those who are not on Hajj. In the case of the one who is on Hajj, it is not Sunnah for him to fast on the Day of ‘Arafah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not fast on this day in ‘Arafah. It was narrated that he forbade fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah in ‘Arafah.

‘Arafah is the day of forgiveness:

It is also the day of forgiveness of sins, freedom from the Fire and pride in the people who are there: It was narrated that ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There is no day on which Allah ransoms more of His slaves from the Fire than the day of ‘Arafah. He draws close then He boasts about them before the angels and says, ‘What do these people want?’” Narrated by Muslim.

It was also narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah expresses His pride to His angels at the time of ‘Ishaa’ on the Day of ‘Arafah, about the people of ‘Arafah. He says, ‘Look at My slaves who have come unkempt and dusty.” Narrated by Ahmad and classed as saheeh by al-Albani.

 Du’aa’ on the day of ‘Arafah:

 It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The best of du’aa’ is du’aa’ on the day of ‘Arafah, and the best that I and the Prophets before me said is ‘Laa ilaaha ill-Allah wahdahu la shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer (There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner or associate; His is the dominion, to Him be praise, and He has power over all things).” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, classed as hasan by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Targheeb.

When Al-Fudhayl ibn ‘Iyaadh (may Allah have mercy upon him) stood at ‘Arafah and while other pilgrims invoking Allah The Almighty, he was crying like the bereaved [of a child] and could not even supplicate Allah The Almighty. It was almost sunset when he raised his sight to the sky and said, "O Allah, How ashamed I am of my sins before You, even if You have forgiven me!”.

Is du’aa’ on the day of ‘Arafah only for those who are on Hajj?

The scholars differed concerning this virtue of du’aa’ on the day of ‘Arafah, whether it applies only to those who are in ‘Arafah or it includes other places. The more correct view is that it is general and that the virtue is connected to the day, but undoubtedly those who are in ‘Arafah have combined the virtue of the place with the virtue of the time.

And Allah knows best.

Mohsen Shaker Bayoumy - Imam of Osaka Ibaraki Mosque.