Plain Of Arafat

PLAIN OF ARAFAT Arafat is the name of a dry mountain in Arabia. The wide valley that stretches from this mountain is also called Arafah or Arafat. The plain of Arafat is one of the important places of Hajj. The rituals of Hajj, which are performed over the course of about one week, involve all pilgrims passing through different areas around the sacred precincts—Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah, and others. On the 9th of Dhul Hijjah, all pilgrims enter the plain of Arafat after the sun has passed its peak and stay there until sunset, engaged in worship, remembrance, and supplication. They listen to the sermon of the imam, which is like a reminder of the famous sermon of the Prophet of Islam during the Farewell Pilgrimage, delivered at this very place. The importance of staying in Arafat is so great that the Prophet Muhammad said: Hajj is Arafat. Whoever stood there for even a moment, day or night, his Hajj is complete. (Nasb al-Rayah by Al-Zayla’i, Vol. 3, p. 93) Among all the rituals of Hajj—which are around a dozen,