Supplication (Du'a) at Arafah
Al-du'a' bi-'Arafah (Du'a' yawm 'Arafah)
Overview
The standing at 'Arafah is spent in earnest supplication — facing the Qiblah, raising the hands, and persisting in du'a and remembrance. The Day of 'Arafah is among the year's most powerful occasions for du'a, when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) frees the most people from the Fire.
Du'a
The best du'a of the Day of 'Arafah
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
La ilaha illa Allah, wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu-l-mulku wa lahu-l-hamd, wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir
There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner; His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He is able to do all things.
Facing the qiblah with raised hands, persisting in this tahlil, dhikr and personal du'a through the afternoon until sunset. It does not exclude other supplications.
Source · Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3585
Grade · Hasan (al-Albani).
Qur'an
No ayah directly commands the du'a specifically at Arafah, so no primary Qur'anic daleel is claimed here. Contextually adjacent: Surah al-Baqarah addresses the pilgrims' remembrance of Allah once they have poured forth from Arafat and completed their rites —'فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُم مَّنَـٰسِكَكُمْ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ ءَابَآءَكُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْرًا'.Sahih International: 'And when you have completed your rites, remember Allah like your [previous] remembrance of your fathers or with [much] greater remembrance.' (Transliteration: 'fa-idha qadaytum manasikakum fa-dhkuru Allaha ka-dhikrikum aba'akum aw ashadda dhikra'.) This is general dhikr context, not a specific command to the Arafah du'a.
'فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُم مَّنَـٰسِكَكُمْ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ ءَابَآءَكُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْرًا'.Reference · Qur'an 2:200
Hadith
Primary (the Prophet's (ﷺ) practice) — the long hadith of Jabir ibn Abdullah (RA) describing the Farewell Hajj: the Prophet (ﷺ) came to the standing place (mawqif), turned the belly of his she-camel al-Qaswa toward the rocks, faced the qiblah, and remained standing in supplication until the sun set and the yellow light had gone. On raising the hands — narrated by Usamah ibn Zayd (RA) (reported by an-Nasa'i and Ahmad): 'I was riding behind the Prophet (ﷺ) at Arafah, and he raised his hands in supplication (to Allah).' On the virtue of the du'a — (Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As (RA), via 'Amr b. Shu'ayb from his father from his grandfather): 'The best of supplication is the supplication of the Day of Arafah, and the best of what I and the Prophets before me have said is: La ilaha illa Allah, wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu'l-mulk wa lahu'l-hamd, wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir.' Contextual (the primacy of this day) — 'Al-Hajju 'Arafah' ('Hajj is Arafah'), narrated by Abd al-Rahman ibn Ya'mar al-Dili (RA): (also an-Nasa'i).
References · Sahih Muslim 1218 · Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3585 · Jami' at-Tirmidhi 889 · Sunan Abi Dawud 1949 · Sunan Ibn Majah 3015
Grade · Sahih Muslim 1218: Sahih (Sahih Muslim), Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3585: Hasan (al-Albani; at-Tirmidhi indicated hasan), Jami' at-Tirmidhi 889: Sahih ('The Hajj is 'Arafah'; at-Tirmidhi: hasan sahih, al-Albani: sahih), Sunan Abi Dawud 1949: Sahih (a parallel narration of 'The Hajj is 'Arafah'), Sunan Ibn Majah 3015: Sahih (a parallel narration of 'The Hajj is 'Arafah')
Applies to
All three types of Hajj — Tamattu', Qiran and Ifrad — equally. There is no difference in count or manner of the wuquf and its du'a between the types.
If missed
No penalty (no dam, no fidyah) and Hajj remains valid; only the immense reward of supplication at this station is missed. Note the distinction: mere presence in Arafah within its time-window is the pillar — omitting that invalidates Hajj — but omitting or shortening the du'a itself carries no penalty.
Timing & place
The Day of Arafah, 9th Dhul-Hijjah. The Prophet's (ﷺ) du'a ran from after he combined and shortened Zuhr and Asr (jam' taqdim, after zawal/midday) and continued while standing until sunset (Maghrib); the most emphasised portion is the late afternoon up to sunset. The valid wuquf window within which this occurs extends, per the majority, from zawal of the 9th until the dawn (Fajr) of the 10th; Hanbalis allow the standing to begin from the dawn of the 9th.
Arafah (the plain of 'Arafat), east of Makkah. The Prophet (ﷺ) stood at the rocks at the foot of Jabal al-Rahmah (the Mount of Mercy) facing the qiblah. The entire plain of Arafah is a valid standing place ('I am standing here, and all of Arafah is a place of standing') except the valley of Batn 'Uranah, which is excluded.
Common mistakes
- •Departing Arafah before sunset (leaving early), which the majority hold obliges a dam if one does not return before sunset.
- •Believing one must climb, touch or face Jabal al-Rahmah — the sunnah is to face the qiblah, and any spot within Arafah suffices.
- •Standing outside Arafah's boundaries (e.g., in Batn 'Uranah, or on the approach roads before the boundary), which invalidates the wuquf.
- •Wasting the precious afternoon in idle talk, photographs, phone use or sleep instead of earnest du'a.
- •Assuming a fixed du'a text is obligatory — any sincere supplication is valid; the reported dhikr is recommended, not required.
Across the madhabs
No substantive divergence on the du'a itself: all four schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) agree that facing the qiblah and persisting in du'a/dhikr on the afternoon of Arafah is a recommended sunnah of the wuquf. They differ only on when the valid wuquf time begins (Hanbalis from the dawn of the 9th; the majority — Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali for the main entry, and Hanafi — emphasise from zawal/midday) and on whether leaving before sunset obliges a dam — not on the status of the du'a.
Notes
The Day of Arafah is among the most emphasised occasions for du'a in the entire year: 'There is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than the Day of Arafah' (Sahih Muslim 1348, Aisha (RA)). Combining and shortening Zuhr and Asr at Arafah (jam' taqdim) is itself a sunnah that precedes the standing/du'a. Divergence on the start of the wuquf time (Hanbali from Fajr of the 9th; the majority from zawal) affects when the standing may begin but not the du'a's recommended status. Batn 'Uranah is excluded from the valid standing area. The reported dhikr 'La ilaha illa Allah, wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu'l-mulk wa lahu'l-hamd, wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir' is the most emphasised formula but does not exclude other supplications.