al-Hajj Arafah

al-Hajj Arafah ("The Hajj is Arafah") is a jurisprudential treatise on the legal rulings, spatial boundaries, timing, and common misconceptions surrounding the standing at Arafat, authored by Muhammad Aman al-Jami (d. 1415 AH / 1996 CE), Dean of the College of Hadith and Islamic Studies at the Islamic University of Madinah al-Hajj Arafah+1.

Purpose and Scope

The treatise focuses on the standing (wuquf) on the afternoon of the ninth of Dhu al-Hijjah as an indispensable rite of the pilgrimage al-Hajj Arafah. Al-Jami was prompted to write the work after observing common pilgrims engaging in practices that resembled pre-Islamic customs (jahiliyyah), such as ascending the Mount of Arafat, rubbing and kissing its stones for blessings (tabarruk), and performing non-prescribed prayers at various small prayer niches and structures around the mountain al-Hajj Arafah+1.

Contents and Structure

Boundaries of the Standing Area

Al-Jami outlines the approximate geographical boundaries of Arafat, noting that it is bordered to the east by the high mountain north of Jabal al-Rahmah, to the south by the facing mountains, and to the north and west by the basin of Wadi Uranah al-Hajj Arafah. He clarifies that both Namirah and Wadi Uranah lie outside Arafat proper al-Hajj Arafah. Drawing on the Prophetic precedent, he explains that although the Prophet ﷺ stood near the boulders at the foot of Jabal al-Rahmah facing the qiblah, he explicitly declared that all of Arafat is a valid standing place, leaving pilgrims free to stand anywhere within its borders without restricting themselves to a specific location al-Hajj Arafah+1.

The Mount of Arafat

The text records several historical and colloquial names for the mount at Arafat:

• Jabal al-Rahmah ("Mount of Mercy"), which the author considers the most famous and likely the newest name al-Hajj Arafah.
• Jabal al-Du'a ("Mount of Supplication") al-Hajj Arafah.
• Al-Qurayn, used by some commoners al-Hajj Arafah.
• Ilal, its ancient name al-Hajj Arafah.

Al-Jami argues that the name Jabal al-Rahmah inadvertently led common pilgrims to believe that divine mercy is confined to the mountain itself, driving crowds to climb it al-Hajj Arafah+1. He notes that this misconception was further reinforced by the erection of a white pillar on its summit and the spread of small mosques and prayer niches around it al-Hajj Arafah. Recalling his own pilgrimage in 1369 AH—prior to 1370 AH—when security forces strictly barred pilgrims from ascending the mountain, he advocates reinstating such measures to protect pilgrims' time and preserve their creed from superstitious attachment to stones and structures al-Hajj Arafah+1.

Timing of the Standing

Al-Jami harmonizes scholarly opinions by dividing the time for standing into two categories:

1. Optional time (zaman ikhtiyari): Applies to those with capacity and ease, beginning from the sun's decline at midday (zawal) on the ninth of Dhu al-Hijjah and extending until sunset, requiring the pilgrim to combine both day and night at Arafat before departing for Muzdalifah al-Hajj Arafah+1.
2. Time of necessity (zaman idtirari): Derived from the hadiths of Abd al-Rahman ibn Ya'mar and Urwah ibn Mudarris, under which a brief presence at Arafat prior to the dawn of the tenth of Dhu al-Hijjah suffices for pilgrims facing ignorance, hardship, or compelling necessity, without the obligation to combine day and night al-Hajj Arafah+1.

Summary of Legal Rulings

The treatise concludes by enumerating seven jurisprudential rulings:

1. Standing at Arafat is an agreed-upon pillar (rukn) of Hajj; whoever misses it invalidates their pilgrimage, must exit ritual consecration via Umrah rites, and must perform Hajj the following year al-Hajj Arafah.
2. The recommended sequence involves leaving Mina after sunrise, halting at Namirah until midday, praying combined Zuhr and Asr at the mosque, and remaining in Arafat until sunset al-Hajj Arafah.
3. Combining day and night is obligatory in standard circumstances; departing before nightfall incurs a sacrificial penalty (dam) according to the majority of scholars, whereas Malik held that it invalidates the Hajj if the pilgrim does not return al-Hajj Arafah.
4. Pilgrims are not bound to stand at Jabal al-Rahmah or any specific spot al-Hajj Arafah.
5. Standing requires sanity and a valid intention (niyyah) al-Hajj Arafah.
6. Ritual purity—major or minor—is not a condition for the validity of standing, as evidenced by Aisha standing while menstruating during the Farewell Pilgrimage al-Hajj Arafah.
7. Authorities bear an obligation to remove objects that encourage illicit devotion to created things, citing Umar ibn al-Khattab's felling of the tree of the Pledge of Ridwan at Hudaybiyyah al-Hajj Arafah.