Fadl Yawm Arafah li Ibn Asakir
- Author died
- 571 AH
- Editions
- Dar Ibn Hazm [printed within a collection containing several parts by Ibn 'Asakir]
Fadl Yawm Arafah (Arabic: فضل يوم عرفة, lit. 'The Virtue of the Day of Arafah') is a specialized Hadith treatise compiled by the Syrian Shafi'i scholar and historian Abu al-Qasim Ibn Asakir (499–571 AH / 1105–1176 CE), collecting prophetic traditions and reports on the merits, devotions, and supplications associated with the Day of Arafah.
Composition and Transmission
The work originated as an oral dictation session (imla') delivered by Ibn Asakir on a Thursday in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah 556 AH at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, under its central dome (tahta nisrih). It was preserved and transmitted by his nephew, the judge Abu al-Barakat al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan Ibn Asakir (known as Zayn al-Umana'), who re-dictated the text to students on Thursday, 6 Dhu al-Hijjah 621 AH at the same location within the Umayyad Mosque.
Content and Themes
The text contains seventeen narrations transmitted with their complete chains of transmission (isnad), including reports traced to Companions such as Umar ibn al-Khattab, Abu Qatadah, Aisha, Abu Hurayrah, Anas ibn Malik, al-Abbas ibn Mirdas, Abdullah ibn Umar, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, and Abdullah ibn Abbas.
The material focuses on several central themes regarding the Day of Arafah:
- The revelation of the Quran: Opening with the narration of Umar ibn al-Khattab regarding the revelation of the verse الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا ("This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion") on the evening of Arafah.
- Fasting: The virtues of fasting on the Day of Arafah for non-pilgrims, stating that it expiates the sins of the preceding year and the following year.
- Divine grace and forgiveness: Hadiths detailing God's boasting of the pilgrims assembled at Arafat to the angels, the granting of widespread forgiveness, and the emancipation of souls from the Hellfire.
- Supplication and remembrance: Recommended invocations for the day and eve of Arafah, highlighting the declaration of God's oneness ( لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له له الملك وله الحمد ) as the best supplication uttered by the Prophet ﷺ and preceding prophets.
- Conduct and restraint: Traditions emphasizing the necessity of guarding one's sight, hearing, and speech from sin while observing the day.
The text concludes with five lines of poetry reiterating the expiation earned through fasting on Arafah and admonishing the believer to protect the eyes and avoid improper conduct.
Publication
The work was edited by Mish'al ibn Bani al-Jibrin al-Mutayri and published by Dar Ibn Hazm in Beirut (first edition, 1422 AH / 2001 CE). It was published as part of a single-volume collection (majmu') containing five short treatises by Ibn Asakir: al-Tawbah, Hadith Ahl Hardan, Dhamm Dhi al-Wajhayn wa-al-Lisanayn, Fadl Shahr Ramadan, and Fadl Yawm Arafah.
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