The Spirituality of Hajj: ‘Arafah

Spahic Omer

After the sunrise of the 9th of Dhul Hijjah pilgrims depart for ‘Arafah where they remain until
sunset. ‘Arafah is a large plain to the south-east of Makkah with its legal boundaries clearly
defined, and of the three: ‘Arafah, Muzdalifah and Mina, ‘Arafah is the farthest point from
Makkah. There pilgrims pray the Zuhr (noon) and ‘Asr (afternoon) prayers in congregation,
shortening and combining them during the time of the former. After the prayers, imam gives
khutbah (sermon), which is supposed be listened to by pilgrims.
That is basically all a pilgrim is expected to do while at ‘Arafah. His main job is just
to be there, and to stand (remain) until the end. Hence, this part of Hajj is called “al-wuquf bi
‘Arafah” (standing at ‘Arafah). Sometimes it is referred to as the day of ‘Arafah (yawm
‘arafah), reminding of the time and place that outline and distinguish the rite.
It seems to be little and simple, but ‘Arafah is the most important aspect of Hajj. It is
its focal point and its nucleus. It is its microcosm. So much so that the validity of the rest of
Hajj rites depends on the validity of what goes on at ‘Arafah.
The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Hajj is ‘Arafah, Hajj is ‘Arafah, Hajj is ‘Arafah.” 1 He also
said that all of ‘Arafah is the place of standing (mawqif, that is, the place of wuquf). 2 This
means that a person who does not come to and stand at ‘Arafah even for a little while, misses
Hajj, irrespective of what he does afterwards and elsewhere. Missing ‘Arafah cannot be
expiated, nor its boons compensated.
The night after standing at ‘Arafah - called the night of Muzdalifah, because people
move to Muzdalifah at that time – is additionally offered as part of concession. The Prophet
(pbuh) said: “Hajj is ‘Arafah. Whoever catches up with the night of ‘Arafah before dawn
comes on the night of Muzdalifah his Hajj is complete.” 3 If a person does not accomplish
even that, he misses Hajj.
‘Arafah (also ‘Arafat) as a geographical location and ‘Arafah as a Hajj rite are derived
from the root word “‘arafa” which means “to come to know”, “to learn”, “to acquaint oneself
with”, “to become aware of by information or from observation” and “to familiarize oneself
with”. Thus, ‘Arafah is a place, process and experience of learning, being acquainted and
aware, on the basis of which a person develops new practices and new behavioural norms.
Scholars differ as to the reasons ‘Arafah is so called. By and large, it is held that
‘Arafah got its name because at it, droves of people get to know each other and from each
other; because Ibrahim was on a tour of the holy places with the angel Gabriel (Jibril), who
taught him the manasik (rituals) of Hajj, and was asked by the latter on a regular basis: Do
you know (now), do you know (a’arafta, a’arafta?), to which Ibrahim would reply: I know, I
know (‘araftu, ‘araftu); and because Prophet Adam and his wife Hawwa’, after they had been

1
Al-Tirmidhi, Jami’ al-Tirmidhi, Book 47, Hadith No 27.
2
Al-Nasa’i, Sunan al-Nasa’i, Book 24, Hadith 398.
3
Ibid., Book 24, Hadith No. 399.
sent from Paradise to different earthly locations, met at ‘Arafah, so it was there that he found
and knew her (‘arafaha) and she found and knew him (‘arafathu).
Some say that when Ibrahim reached ‘Arafah, as part of his learning tour with the
angel Gabriel (Jibril), he said: ‘araftu (I know this place) - because he had come to that area
before. And so, the place was called ‘Arafah.
However, the authenticity of the accounts involving Prophets Adam and Ibrahim,
which are perhaps most prevalent possibilities, are seriously questioned. Neither the Qur’an
nor the trustworthy Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) says anything about the matter.
There are several hadiths of the Prophet (pbuh) that touch on the issue at hand, but they are
very weak hadiths, either in relation to their contents or the chains of narrators.
“The only saheeh reports about this matter are the words of some of the salaf, most of
which are taken from the knowledge of the people of the Book which were transmitted during
their time. Such reports cannot be relied upon or trusted, and it is not permissible to believe in
what they mention of things concerning which our religion is silent. Rather they may be
narrated for the purpose of story-telling only.”4
At any rate, all indications are that the main ontological rationale for ‘Arafah is
connected with the field of learning, scholarship and quality culture (ma’rifah) – besides its
spiritual abundance. It is noteworthy that ‘Arafah is not about knowledge per se (‘ilm) and
wisdom (hikmah); these are different domains which nevertheless stem from the former.
Knowledge and wisdom may be beyond the reach of many people, and may yet be the items
of exclusive clubs, but learning, awareness and familiarity are inclusive fields and their
membership and involvement are open to each and every individual. In consequence, a
person may not be knowledgeable (in the scholarly or academic sense of the word) and wise,
but should be sufficiently learned, educated, informed, skilled and cultured. The former is the
collective duty in Islam, but the latter is the duty of each member of the Muslim ummah
(community).
‘Arafah is a symbol of entirety and all-inclusiveness. Everybody must be there at the
same time and at the same place, looking the same, doing the same things and seeking to
obtain the same goals. ‘Arafah, it follows, is an image of existence at large and its
providential make-up. It is a miniature copy of humanity and its kismet. Yet it is the small-
scale version of the Muslim ummah and its venerable place in the universe, which
nevertheless exists in a regulated moment of time and a controlled chunk of space.
Therefore, ‘Arafah is about that which concerns everybody and which is within
everybody’s grasp. Everybody can experience ‘Arafah – and by extension whole Hajj.
Although people’s experiences and appreciations will definitely vary, they are all sound and
applicable nonetheless. What is required is to be sincere, faithful and dedicated; which is to
say, to be there physically, spiritually and emotionally. Not being there with the total being
and in the total life form is the problem. If a person’s physical absence from ‘Arafah
invalidates his Hajj, so do his emotional and spiritual states affect the outcome. They may not

4
Nothing has Been Proven about the Place where Adam Came down to Earth,
https://islamqa.info/en/answers/141280/nothing-has-been-proven-about-the-place-where-adam-came-down-to-
earth, accessed on February 2, 2022.
nullify his plain physical exertions easily, but, certainly, can have a big say in the final
assessments.
That is why the period of ‘Arafah is strongly recommended to be filled with the
relentless remembrance of God, supplications, reciting talbiyah, reading the Qur’an and
meditation (the Qur’anic concepts of tafakkur and tadabbur). Pilgrims can carry out these
activities while in any postures. They can be awake, asleep, sitting, standing, lying down,
walking, riding, etc. They are further recommended to face the qiblah (the direction of the
Ka’bah as the Muslim spiritual axis) and to be in the state of purity as much as possible, even
though these are not prerequisites.
Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali said that the best thing to use as supplications and dhikr are
the prescriptions transmitted from the Prophet (pbuh) and his immediate successors. After
that, a pilgrim should supplicate for whatever occurs to him, and asks forgiveness for himself,
his parents and all believers, male and female. “Let him then importune in supplications and
enlarge his request, for God does not consider anything as too great. Mutarrif bin Abdullah
said once while at ‘Arafah: “O God, do not refuse the whole gathering because of me”; and
Bakr al-Muzami said: “A man said, When I looked on the people of ‘Arafah, I thought that
they might all have been forgiven were it not for my being among them?”5
Pilgrims are advised against engaging in some rigid and unfamiliar chanting formulas,
against performing supererogatory prayers, and against fasting on the day of ‘Arafah –
despite the fact that fasting on that day is the best form of voluntary fasting for those who do
not perform Hajj. These stipulations underline the true import of ‘Arafah as well.
The lesson entailed therein is that the sheer physical activities are to be kept at the
minimum, lest they get in the way of the performances of the mind and soul. If a maxim goes
that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body, then, in like manner, it can be said that a
weakened mind and soul reside in an exhausted and worn-out body. As for example, an
overly tired pilgrim is bound to be susceptible to lethargy, sleep and falling ill, inhibiting
thereby the states and functions of his spirituality and intelligence.
‘Arafah pertains both to the religious fulfilment and learning uplifting, but in a very
gradual order starting at the bottom and progressively ascending upwards. Every pilgrim has
his own capacities as determine his forethoughts and horizons. He rises and grows as high as
his abilities can propel him. Sameness is anything but the matter of course.
The religious and learning developments – which often amount to personal reforms,
and revolutions as well, and which are set in motion at ‘Arafah (Hajj) and continue to flourish
ever afterwards – begin with the mere religious ceremonies, but eventually morph into
religious comprehensive excellence, and with empirical knowledge (obtained through
experience or perception of the real world either through experimentation or observation) and
experiential, together with practical, intelligence, but eventually develop into enlightenment
and wisdom. Alternatively stated, the religious and learning developments move from
particulars to universals, from phenomena to noumena, and from mundanity to
transcendence.

5
Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali, The Book on the Secrets of Pilgrimage, http://ghazali.org/books/hajj-text.htm,
accessed on January 30, 2022.
 That is to say, in the religious context, islam (submission) acquires iman (faith,
certainty), and then together they acquire ihsan or itqan (excellence). Similarly, in the
epistemological context, the processes of learning and studying, which are associated with
education, lead to ma’rifah – which the meanings of ‘Arafah are redolent of. Ma’rifah then
leads to knowledge (‘ilm), and the final phase in the evolution, resulting from a fusion of
ma’rifah and ‘ilm, is wisdom (hikmah).
Irrespective of whether the mentioned accounts about Prophets Adam and Ibrahim -
with regard to the linguistic origins of ‘Arafah - are correct or not, ‘Arafah is still about
learning, discovery and awareness. The linguistic significations stand for one proof only. The
other proofs can be found in the authentic Islamic wisdom and the trustworthy chapters of
human and Islamic history.
To begin with, it has been reported that a Jew said to ‘Umar bin al-Khattab: “O Chief
of the Believers, if this Qur’anic verse: ‘This day I have perfected your religion for you,
completed My favours upon you, and have chosen for you, Islam as your religion’ (al-
Ma’idah, 3), had been revealed upon us, we would have taken that day as an `Id (festival)
day.” `Umar said: “I know definitely on what day this verse was revealed; it was revealed on
the day of ‘Arafah, on a Friday.”6
Moreover, Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas reported that God made the covenant from Adam’s
back in Na‘man, i.e. ‘Arafah, and brought forth from his loins all his offspring whom He
created and scattered before Him. He then spoke to them face to face saying: “Am I not your
Lord?” They replied: “Yes, we testify this.” (It was) lest you should say on the day of
resurrection: “We were neglectful of this,” or should say, “Our fathers were polytheists
before us and we were an offspring after them. Wilt You destroy us for what the workers of
vanity did?”7
Also, during his farewell Hajj and at ‘Arafah, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) delivered
the most powerful and most important sermon in the history of man. The sermon contained a
blueprint for personal, family and social relations as well as developments. Similarly, it
encompassed not only a conceptual, but also practical framework for society-, culture- and
civilization-building. In short, the sermon was a world-shattering document from the point of
view of ingenuity and educational excellence, and was presented to the world as a road map
for achieving success and actual happiness.
Finally, concerning the biggest lessons of ‘Arafah which people constantly learn and
try to internalize, the Prophet (pbuh) said: “There is no day on which Allah ransoms more
slaves from the Fire than the day of ‘Arafah. He draws closer and closer, then He boasts
about them before the angels and says: ‘What do these people want?’”8
In another hadith the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Verily Allah boasts of the people of
‘Arafah before the people of heaven (the angels), saying: 'Look at my servants who have
come to Me dishevelled and dusty.”9
6
Al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 96, Hadith No. 1.
7
Hadith is narrated by Ahmad bin Hanbal in his Musnad. See: Al-Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih, Book 1, Hadith
No. 114.
8
Ibn Majah, Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 25, Hadith No. 133.
9
Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani, Rites of Hajj and ‘Umrah from the Qur’an, Sunnah and Narrations from
the Pious Predecessors, www.islamhouse.com, 2010, accessed on January 31, 2022.
 Even Satan learns his own lesson. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Satan is not considered
more abased or more cast out or more contemptible or angrier on any day than on the day of
‘Arafah. That is only because he sees the descent of the mercy and Allah's disregard for great
wrong actions.”10
What can be garnered from the above traditions is that learning in relation to ‘Arafah,
and to everything that goes on there during Hajj, is so comprehensive and so universal that
lessons transcend the boundaries of time, space and history. The same goes to those who are
affected by those lessons and who are from humans, the jinn and angels. Like so, the notion
and spectacle of ‘Arafah function as an institution of educational awareness and an
inexhaustible source of learning.
In control of the marvel are Almighty Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The
revelation with its characteristic of infallibility is the foundation and centroid. At ‘Arafah the
angels learn more about the purpose of creation in general and about the purpose of
appointing man as the vicegerent (khalifah) on earth in particular, notwithstanding the fact
that it is man who causes corruption on earth and sheds blood, and it is the angels,
conversely, who declare God’s praise and sanctify Him ceaselessly. When God informed the
angels about His divine plan and that He knows that which they do not, concerning the
subject of man’s appointment (al-Baqarah, 30), such was what could be described as mere
information and a form of conceptual knowledge for the angels. The other dimension was
forthcoming.
‘Arafah is of those occasions when Almighty God establishes the applied side of that
a priori knowledge of the angels – and God knows best. As if the knowledge and conviction
of the angels become complete thereby, albeit still within the context of the metaphysical
world. Thus, that is one of the reasons why at ‘Arafah God boasts about pilgrims before the
angels and asks them to observe them. God’s words: “What do these people want?” and
“Look at my servants who have come to Me dishevelled and dusty”, indicate His directing of
the angels to the methods by which their knowledge can be enriched and their convictions
validated.
It should be mentioned - as a small digression - that apart from ‘Arafah God uses
some other circumstances for the same purpose of boasting about His servants before the
angels. It was narrated that 'Abdullah bin 'Amr said: “We performed the Maghrib (prayer)
with the Messenger of Allah, then those who went back went back, and those who stayed,
stayed. Then the Messenger of Allah came back in a hurry, out of breath, with his garment
pulled up to his knees, and said: “Be of good cheer, for your Lord has opened one of the gates
of heaven and is boasting of you before the angels, saying: “Look at My slaves; they have
fulfilled one obligatory duty and are awaiting another.”11
On the day of ‘Arafah Satan also learns much about God, God’s servants and himself.
However, he does it the hard way inasmuch as he is a slow learner, just as he is a bad loser.
Since time immemorial Satan knew – had been duly informed and he could make his own
deductions - that God is All-Merciful towards His servants and that believers will always
enjoy the protection, love, compassion and forgiveness of their Creator and Master. Despite
his endless pretences, Satan will not be able to thwart God’s plans, and his efforts to
10
Malik bin Anas, al-Muwatta’, Book 20, Hadith No. 254.
11
Ibn Majah, Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 4, Hadith No. 67.
extinguish divine light will always fail. And perhaps most importantly, Satan knows that he
possesses but few strengths and many weaknesses, and when pitted against the true soldiers
of the truth, there is only one outcome: he displays trepidation and cowardice, and normally
runs away.
These verities are summed up in the words of the Qur’an: “Satan has overcome them
and made them forget the remembrance of Allah. Those are the party of Satan.
Unquestionably, the party of Satan - they will be the losers” (al-Mujadilah, 19). And: “Allah
is pleased with them (true believers), and they are pleased with Him - those are the party of
Allah. Unquestionably, the party of Allah - they are the successful” (al-Mujadilah, 22).
As the milieu of the eruption of devoutness and piety - which engulf the plains of
‘Arafah and the holy city of Makkah directly, and the entire world (earth) indirectly - the day
of ‘Arafah turns the spotlight on the truth regarding Satan. Since he is prone to unlearning, he
is compelled to re-learn the obvious. He learns yet again that he is nobody when juxtaposed
with the light of the truth and the virtue of its people, and that he is powerless to do anything
about it. He furthermore learns that he is a loser and his adversaries, the people of faith,
winners. Come what may, to Satan’s bitter disappointment, there will be no exchange of titles
and grades, nor will there be any alterations in the way of Allah.
But what Satan finds out is in vain. As usual, it avails him nothing. That is why on the
day of ‘Arafah Satan feels humiliated, rejected and defeated the most. Exposed and trapped,
he cannot escape, nor ignore, the power of what dawns upon and blows him away. Maybe he
can run and hide on other occasions (days), but not on this day, which is the spiritual feast
both on earth and in heaven. Satan therefore feels angrier and more miserable than ever, but
his condition further blinds him. He knows all too well that ‘Arafah is not a one-off
occurrence, but an annual one that will come back to haunt him until the Day of Judgment.
Eventually – when the ultimate decree of God is issued and the matter decided (Ibrahim, 22)
– Satan will acknowledge the truth and will come to regret who he was, for “indeed, for the
wrongdoers is a painful punishment” (Ibrahim, 22). One of Satan’s regrets - it stands to
reason – should be in a manner of why he never learned.
One can imagine the extent of Satan’s plight. At ‘Arafah he witnesses the descent of
the mercy of Allah, Allah’s disregard for great wrong actions, and Allah’s freeing of
multitudes from the hellfire. At the same time, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) utilizes the
opportunity of ‘Arafah for educating people about Satan and his deceptive strategies, and for
teaching them how to confront them, highlighting in his farewell sermon: “O people, indeed
Satan despairs of ever being worshipped in this land of yours. He will be pleased, however, if
he is obeyed in a thing other than that, in matters you minimize. So beware of him in your
religion.”12 As per another version: “Beware of Satan for the safety of your religion. He has
lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following
him in small things.” This way, surely, Satan was dealt a double blow and the prospects of his
endeavours were rendered dim. As far as the true believers are concerned, his chances (fate)
were sealed, so to speak.
In addition to the recurring experience of Satan at ‘Arafah, he felt approximately the
same during the historic battle of Badr. On that day he felt as disgraced and fallen – that is, he
12
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990), vol. 9 p.
112.
learned his lesson in a painful way - so he had no choice but to take flight and dissociate
himself from his followers. Equating Badr with ‘Arafah, the Prophet (pbuh) said that Satan
felt terrified and fled the battlefield of Badr because he was shown the angel Gabriel (Jibril)
arranging the ranks of the angels (for the battle).
The Qur’an attests to this: “And (remember) when Satan made their deeds pleasing to
them and said: “No one can overcome you today from among the people, and indeed, I am
your protector.” But when the two armies sighted each other, he turned on his heels and said:
“Indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I see what you do not see; indeed I fear Allah.
And Allah is severe in penalty” (al-Anfal, 48).
And finally for pilgrims too, ‘Arafah centres on learning and knowing, as the twins of
faith. To live up to the essence of ‘Arafah, a pilgrim should appraise himself, asking how
much, what and why he knows. He should examine if he knows enough to become a better
Muslim and to be a more useful member of society and of the Muslim ummah taken as a
whole. He should ask how much he knows about himself, fellow Muslims, Islam, the Prophet
(pbuh), the Creator, and about life as the arena of his life mission. Encouraging answers
should stimulate him further, and discouraging ones should worry him, generating a call to
action.
Regardless of the answers, though, a pilgrim should lay out strategies for
improvements, right at ‘Arafah (during Hajj) or when he returns home with the honourable
title of “al-hajj”. ‘Arafah should teach him that there is no appropriate faith without
appropriate knowledge, and no appropriate knowledge without appropriate faith. Quality,
coupled with quantity, is needed.
The effects of ‘Arafah ought to lead a pilgrim to the improvement of his personal
learning culture and knowledge appreciation, and of the learning culture of his surroundings,
starting from home and leading up to the higher feasible levels. These efforts moreover
should be institutionalized. Hajj as a global Muslim conference should often adopt the
notions of Islamic education and knowledge as its central theme. The matter should be
discussed repeatedly as a pressing agenda of the ummah, producing and executing
comprehensive action plans. Just as the spiritual wellbeing of a person depends on proper
knowledge, so does the cultural and civilizational wellbeing of the ummah – as the outcome
of living Islam as a way of life - depend on it. The spirit of ‘Arafah must live on, and must
not stop delivering.
It is not a coincidence that God took the covenant from the progeny of Adam at
‘Arafah. What ‘Arafah means and is associated with, many individual and collective
covenants: agreements, pacts and promises, should issue from. Man cannot forget himself
and his covenant with the Creator. Battling his weaknesses, he must work towards
remembering who he is and what he was meant to be. His consciousness must be in
agreement with the terms of the covenant. He has to live it. And this is where ‘Arafah, in its
capacity as the home of the covenant and the place of learning and refining the
consciousness, comes in and proves its worth.
Additionally corroborating the matter, the root word of Hajj is also the root word of
“hujjah”, which means “clear proof”, “undeniable evidence” and “confirmation”. That in turn
signifies that Hajj – and ‘Arafah specifically – can serve as the provider of a clear proof and
an eye-opening evidence as to the heavenly covenant (i.e. man’s existential purpose and
destiny). Hence, Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali warned that Hajj and how people perform and
experience it can be a hujjah (proof) either for them or against them.
Nor was it a coincidence that the Qur’anic verse on Allah’s perfecting of Islam, His
completing of His favours upon Muslims, and His choosing for them Islam as their religion –
was revealed at ‘Arafah. ‘Arafah, again, was selected as the scene of one of the most
spectacular chapters in history, which is the act of perfecting the final revelation. The
achievement represented the creation of a foundation based on which a great many spiritual,
socio-cultural, epistemological and civilizational transformations subsequently came to pass.
So much so that a Jew suggested to ‘Umar bin al-Khattab that the day when the verse in
question was revealed deserved to be an `Id (festival) day. When `Umar answered that the
day was the day of ‘Arafah and on a Friday, he implied that the event is doubly and so,
suitably, commemorated.
Thus if in certain ways ‘Arafah was associated with the first man and prophet, Adam,
and with the father of prophets, Ibrahim, and was later associated with the final prophet,
Muhammad (pbuh), and with the perfection of his final revelation and of Islam as the only
religion before Allah, the above Qur’anic verse signalled the fulfilling culmination of a
process and also the endorsement of its origins as well as evolution.
The stage was set from the dawn of creation and was authenticated several times at
the critical junctures of history. A pilgrim should be fascinated by this. He should be
enthused to recognize and acknowledge things as they are and to use them as the springboard
for recognizing and acknowledging his personal status and calling. Once actualized, this is
then expected to lead to recognizing and acknowledging the truth and his own relations
thereto. The process is very dynamic and multi-tiered, and is so noble and knowledge-centric.
The Prophet (pbuh) stated: “Recognize and acknowledge Allah (ta’arraf ila Allah) in
times of ease and prosperity, and He will remember and know you (ya’rifuka) in times of
adversity.”13 The key words used in this hadith pertain to the root word of ‘Arafah, i.e. ‘arafa
(to know). Which denotes that the universe of knowledge and consciousness is the key. It is
the way forward. Faith and religious ceremonies are fundamental, however it is their results
and impact on life that matter. Indeed, knowledge (learning) should be spiritual, and faith, in
equal measure, should be intellectual. With this relationship on-board, a person can get closer
to God either in the name of knowledge or spirituality. These are two sides of the same coin.
Here the importance and role of ‘Arafah are readily apparent too. ‘Arafah as much
spiritualizes pilgrims as it enlightens (educates) them. It generates a kind of ‘urf in them. The
word ‘urf, which is from the same root word as ‘Arafah, means “elevation” and “height”,
hence the Qur’anic chapter or surah al-A’raf (the Heights). In view of that, ‘urf is a new
vantage point, perspective and outlook from which a pilgrim observes, experiences and
studies things.
After ‘Arafah – and his entire Hajj experience – the life of a pilgrim is not the same
again. He resides at a higher level of consciousness and reality, and sees things differently.
He creates a new custom for himself, and lives accordingly, which is called ‘urf (custom or
habit) and is not by accident in terms of language related to ‘Arafah as well. In spite of
13
Al-Nawawi, Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi, Hadith No. 19.
‘Arafah being a large mostly flat plain, pilgrims build in their hearts personal elevations
(vantages). By means of them, they keep rising, and thus keep worshiping and learning. The
sky is the limit. If ‘Arafah has its physical boundaries, its heavenward expanse and potentials
are infinite.
There is only one small mountain at ‘Arafah. It is called Jabal ‘Arafah (hill or
mountain of ‘Arafah). Colloquially – and mistakenly – many people call it Jabal al-Rahmah
(mountain of mercy). However, the Prophet (pbuh) did not climb this mountain during his
stay (wuquf) at ‘Arafah, nor did he say anything about its virtues or the virtues of climbing it.
What he said about ‘Arafah in general applies to Jabal ‘Arafah too. As part of his wuquf, the
Prophet (pbuh) stood at the foot of the mountain only, where there were some large rocks.
Insisting that the mountain is special and that climbing it is a special virtue is uncalled-for. It
is a step towards forging a religious innovation (bid’ah).
In any case, this is an extra evidence that raising and climbing spiritual elevations
(higher vantage points and better attitudes) is the goal of ‘Arafah, in which case physical
altitudes come to light as irrelevant. Those who do not get to the bottom of the topic get
obsessed with climbing and conquering material heights, which, in spite of their potential
loftiness, still hinder. For all their tallness and vastness, physical altitudes can only close in
on and constrain a person whose muddled soul has already confined him. ‘Arafah is expected
to cure this condition, not exacerbate it.
(To be continued…)