The Best Supplication is on the Day of ‘Arafa
Since 2012-11-11
Hajj is ‘Arafa. There is no day when Allah sets free more servants from Hellfire than on the Day of ‘Arafa. He draws near, and then praises them to the angels, saying, “What do these seek?”
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and prayer and peace be on the best of Prophets and the leader of Messengers.
Hajj is ‘Arafa. There is no day when Allah sets free more servants from Hellfire than on the Day of ‘Arafa. He draws near, and then praises them to the angels, saying, “What do these seek?”
The best supplication is supplication on the Day of ‘Arafa, and the best thing that was said by the Prophet and the Prophets before him was, “There is no God except Allah alone, He has no partners.” [Declared good by Al-Albani]
«أفضل الدعاء دعاء يوم عرفة، و أفضل ما قلت أنا و النبيون من قبلي: لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له»حسنه الألباني
Transliteration: La Ilah Ila Allah, Wahdahu La Sharieka Lah, Lahu-l- Mulk, Wa Lahu-l-Hamd Wa Huwa ‘Ala Kuli shay`in Qadeer
The Day of ‘Arafa is the main day of Hajj. It witnesses the greatest congregation in the world on annual basis. There, tears are pouring down, the ones who have stumbled are raised, hopes are cherished and sins are forgiven.
By Allah, it is such a magnificent scene; tongues fall short of describing it. They are truly fortunate those who witness this graceful occurrence. The burdensome weight of their sins is granted forgiveness, and their good deeds are raised up to be shown to Allah.
That being said, the Muslim must not let go of these priceless moments and should utilize them for striving hard in worship, showing keenness in acts of obedience, much supplication, remembrance of Allah’s name, asking for Allah’s forgiveness, wholehearted imploration, repeating Talbiya “The supplication recited on hajj days: Here I am at your service, oh Lord, here I am . Here I am; there is no partner do you have, here I am. Truly, praise and favor are yours, and dominion. No partner do you have”,
«لبيك اللهم لبيك، لبيك لا شريك لك لبيك، إن الحمد والنعمة لك والملك، لا شريك لك»
Transliteration: Labayk Allâhuma Labayk, Labayk Lâ shareeka Laka Labyk, Ina Alhamda Wani’mata Laka wal Mulk La shareeka Lak
Reading the Qur’an and invoking Allah’s Prayer and peace upon the Prophet, prayer and peace of Allah be upon him, as this is the task of the day, which occupies most of ritual of Hajj, as Hajj is ‘Arafa.
It is essential for the pilgrim to guard himself from slackening in worship on that great day. It only lasts for a few hours. If he succeeds in benefiting from it, he has surely prospered. How many a slave will be set free from hellfire on that splendid event! What would a servant have left to worry about after this? All good has come to him and all evil is warded off from him. The oblivious ones will suffer a huge loss if they leave this day unheeded.
The Muslim should remember Allah much on the Day of ‘Arafa so that he wins precedence over others. The Prophet, prayer and peace of Allah be upon him, said that “the Mufarradun have truly gone ahead.” [Reported by Muslim]
«سبق المفردون» رواه مسلم
The Mufarradun are, {the men and the women who remember Allah much with their hearts and tongues (while sitting, standing, lying, etc. for more than 300 times extra over the remembrance of Allah during the five compulsory congregational prayers, or praying extra additional nawafil prayers of night in the last part of night, etc.)} [Surat al-Ahzâb 33:35]
{وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيراً وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ} الأحزاب: 35
Transliteration: Wa Adh-Dhākirīna Al-Laha Kathīrāan Wa Adh-Dhākirāti
And let him repeat much, “Glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is no God except Allah, Allah is Great, and there is no power and no strength except in Allah, the Exalted, the Almighty.”
«سبحان الله، والحمد لله، ولا إله إلا الله، والله أكبر»
Transliteration: Subhana Allah, Wal-Hamdu Lilah, Wa La Ilaha Ila Allah, Wa Allahu Akbar
These lauds are better than all that upon which the sun rises. They shake off sins as a tree shakes off its withered leaves. These lauds are the seedlings of Jannah; for every utterance of them the Muslim is rewarded with a tree planted for him in Paradise. They bring salvation. They are al-baqueyat ul-salehat “the good righteous deeds that remain.”
Let the Muslim be on his guard against unlawful food, drink, clothing and mounts, etc. Let him keep away from quarrels, swearing, discord, and foul language. The prophet, peace be upon him, said, “I guarantee a house in the surroundings of Jannah for a man who avoids quarreling even if he were right, a house in the middle of Jannah for a man who avoids lying even if he were joking, and a house in the upper part of Jannah for a man who refined his manners.” [Declared good by Al-Albani]
«أنا زعيم ببيت في ربض الجنة لمن ترك المراء وإن كان محقا، وببيت في وسط الجنة لمن ترك الكذب وإن كان مازحا، وببيت في أعلى الجنة لمن حسن خلقه» حسنه الألباني
The Muslim must be careful not to look scornfully upon those whom he finds slackening in doing their duties or shabby in appearance. Many a people are dusty with disheveled hair and clad in a couple of rags, who if they swear an oath to Allah, He will fulfill it. In addition, the Muslim should refrain from chiding the ones who asks from people.
He should supplicate to Allah with every effort, remember Allah’s Name much whether standing or lying, sensing in his heart reverence of Allah, the Glorious, the Exalted. He will devotedly do dhikr, exert himself in it and peruse it steadily. At all times he will keep his tongue wet with the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted. Nothing is more capable of salvaging a human from the torment of the hereafter more than remembrance of Allah. It is of the best acts which raise the grades to the highest. It is better than spending gold and silver, and better than meeting the enemies in the battlefield where the righteous strike at their necks and they at theirs.
A Muslim will repeat as much as he can, “There is no God except Allah alone, He has no partners. Dominion and praise belong to Him, and He is, over everything, Omnipotent.” It is the good word. It is the steadfast word. It is the word that lasts, the urwah wuthkah “firmest handhold”, the word that will remain, the word of taqwa. It is the best of acts, the best thing that was said by the Prophets and the best word of dhikr “remembrance.”
The pilgrim must humble himself to his Lord in submission, while being fully aware of his weakness and need. The pilgrim has to cleanse his interior self and exterior limbs from blemish, think of the flaws of his soul, its ignorance and injustice. Let him ponder on the abounding favors of Allah, the abundant mercies and the benevolence He bestowed upon His servants.
This is the situation where the awe of the Lord should be at its climax, the tears rolling down the face, the soul trembling in fear of the Most High. The pilgrim will stand in meekness and submission before His Lord as if he has been shattered into pieces. He is sincere in his need for mercy and forgiveness from Allah; sincere in his fear of His punishment and wrath. He takes himself fully into account for his past sins and then renews his repentance toward Allah. The shed tears will be evidence of its truthfulness, and an inner shiver proof. His lowered gaze and sobbing heart are indicative of his deep shame over his previous transgressions. He is coming back to Allah.
On that day, as a helpless servant the pilgrim stands before his Lord, broke and poverty-stricken at soul. A rift has found its way across his being due to this state. He discloses his needs to Allah, expresses his insufficiency, admits his worthlessness, concedes his dependence on his Lord, the Gracious, the Exalted. He conveys to his Lord his awareness of that if He abandons him; he will be at ruin, at unrecompensed loss. He will only have one way out: that Allah turns back to him with His mercy.
Now that the heart is rid of its deficiencies, the limbs are purified of their wrong actions, determination is strengthened; now that hearts are coming together, expectations are becoming greater and the crowd is massive in number, repentance is apt to be accepted. All these are causes which if met, good and mercy will surely ensue. The tears one exerts himself to shed are a sign of acceptance and of a heard supplication. Rigidity of tears, on the other hand, is a sign of ill-being. If the tears do not fall voluntarily, the Muslim should provoke them through humbly imploring Allah. Allah, the Exalted, says, {And whosoever honors the symbols of Allah, then it is truly from the piety of the heart.} [Surat Al-Hajj 22:32]
{وَمَن يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّهَا مِن تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ} الحج: 32
Transliteration: Wa Man Yu`ažžim Sha`ā’ira Al-Lahi Fa’innahā Min Taqwa; Al-Qulūbi
Ubay ibn Kaa’b, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Adhere to the path and the Sunnah. If one who adheres to the path and the Sunnah remembers Allah so that his skin trembles in fear of Him, his sins will fall like dead dry leaves drop off a tree.”
If one who adheres to the path and the Sunnah remembers Allah while alone then his tears flow in fear of Allah, the Hellfire will never touch him. Commitment to the proved heritage of the path of the Sunnah is better than endeavoring to encompass issues which do not pertain to them.”
The Day of ‘Arafa is a day when supplications are heard. That is why the Muslim should not slacken in supplication. He should secretly and humbly supplicate to his Lord. Secrecy is more courteous when asking of Allah, more becoming to the glory of Allah, closer to sincerity and more encouraging of attaining a state of humble submission. This is the day when remembrance and supplication should be of highest precedence. Iblis has never been smaller, more despicable, more infuriated and more driven away in a day than he becomes on the afternoon of the Day of ‘Arafa. He becomes so due to the huge extent of mercies and forgiveness of sins which Allah bestows on His servants. They are enormous to such an extent that has never before been on another day except on the Day of Badr.
It is incumbent on the Muslim to bring out the best person he could be to Allah, degrade his enemy by doing much remembrance and supplication and by asking for Allah’s forgiveness of all his wrong doings.
The next step is to think well of Allah and grow more confident of Allah’s acceptance and forgiveness. Why not? For the Most Merciful of all those who have mercy, the Most Generous of all those who can show generosity, the Most Rich, the Absolver Who loves to absolve is Allah the Exalted.
Boredom might creep into one’s heart if he sticks to one fashion of worship only. That is why he should diversify the acts of worship he performs and move from one state to another. At times he is seen reading the Qur’an, at other times reciting the shahadah “Islamic testimony of faith”, some other times glorifying Allah, praising Him, asking Him for forgiveness, supplicating to Him, studying the Qur’an or any other pertinent branch of knowledge with his mates, or discussing the ahadith which concern mercy, hope, resurrection and reckoning. In short, he should be doing the various acts which soften the heart.
Meanwhile, he can have his share of sleep or other forms of relaxation. This is especially sought after if it will energize him. Every individual will be able to judge how to achieve this better. All the same, he should spend the end of day in supplication, giving it his undivided attention.
‘Atâ’ ibn abi-Muslim al-Khurasani said, “If you can isolate yourself that day, so do it.”
O Lord, Accept our deeds, You are the Hearing, the Knowing, and accept our repentance, You are the Acceptor of repentance, the Merciful.
May Allah send His prayer and peace upon Prophet Muhammad, and upon all of his family and companions.
Daar al-Qasim
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