Arafah at home

Your Arafah checklist

Tick things off as you go. Your ticks are saved on this device only, and they reset for next year's Arafah.

The night before

Arafah starts at Maghrib on the 8th. Use the evening to get ready, so that tomorrow is spent on worship rather than logistics.

• Write your du'a list. It is hard to think of everything when you are tired and hungry at 6 pm. Use the du'a list on this site or a piece of paper.
• Clear your heart. Make peace with family members if you can, and forgive people. Allah forgives those who forgive.
• Sort out your sacrifice. If you intend to offer an udhiyah, you should not have cut your hair or nails since the 1st of Dhul Hijjah (Sahih Muslim 1977). Confirm your order with the charity or butcher.
• Plan your day. If you are working, decide now when you will take breaks and leave. See the hour-by-hour plan.

Fast

Everything about the fast, including which date to follow and what to do if your country differs from Saudi Arabia, is on the fasting page.

Make du'a, especially in the afternoon

There is no special prayer for Arafah, and there is no set du'a you must say. What the day asks of you is to turn to Allah and ask. Many scholars encourage people at home to give the afternoon, from ʿAsr to Maghrib, the most attention, because that is when the pilgrims and the Prophet ﷺ before them stood in du'a until the sun set.

Start with praise and blessings on the Prophet ﷺ, raise your hands, face the qiblah, and ask for this world and the next. The du'a collection has du'as from the Qur'an and Sunnah you can read from your phone.

Fill the day with dhikr

This is the dhikr the Prophet ﷺ named for the day. Say it while driving, cooking, walking or waiting. Add the four beloved words (subḥānallāh, al-ḥamdu lillāh, lā ilāha illallāh, Allāhu akbar), seeking forgiveness, and blessings on the Prophet ﷺ.

Say the takbir

From Fajr on the Day of Arafah until ʿAsr on the 13th, say the takbir after every obligatory prayer. This timing comes from ʿAli and Ibn Masʿud. You can also say it at any time of day throughout the first ten days.

Men say it aloud; women say it quietly when men who are not their relatives are around. More on the takbir page.

Other good deeds

• Qur'an. Set a goal you can finish, such as one juz, and read the meaning of what you recite.
• Charity. A good deed in the best ten days counts for more. Give before Maghrib.
• Family ties. Call your parents, grandparents and relatives you have not spoken to in a while.
• Guarding the tongue and eyes. Keep away from backbiting, arguments and endless scrolling. A fast that keeps you away from sin is the fast that changes you.
• Repentance. Name your sins to Allah privately, regret them, and resolve to leave them.

If you are working

Most people are at work or school on Arafah, and that is fine: your fast, your dhikr and your du'a go with you.

• Keep the dhikr going under your breath in quiet moments, on breaks and on your commute.
• Pray on time, and say the takbir after each prayer.
• Use your lunch break for du'a and Qur'an, since you are not eating.
• If you can, take the afternoon off or leave early. If not, make the commute home your du'a time, and give the last minutes before Maghrib your full attention.

With young children

• Explain the day in a sentence they can repeat: “Today Allah forgives lots and lots of people, so we ask Him for everything.”
• Make a du'a jar: each child writes or draws what they want to ask Allah for, and you read them together before Maghrib.
• Teach them the takbir and say it together after prayers and in the car.
• Older children can try a half-day or full fast if they are able, with lots of praise.
• Watch the pilgrims at Arafat together on the live broadcast from Makkah and talk about what they are doing.
• Your time spent caring for them is itself worship. Make du'a while you do it.

For women on their period

A woman on her period or after childbirth does not fast or pray, but nearly everything else that makes the day great is open to her. When ʿAʾishah got her period during the Hajj, the Prophet ﷺ told her to do everything the pilgrims do except the circling of the Kaʿbah (Sahih al-Bukhari 305), and she stood at Arafah with everyone.

• Make du'a all day, with special focus on the afternoon.
• Say the best dhikr, the takbir, seeking forgiveness and blessings on the Prophet ﷺ.
• Give charity, and help those who are fasting with their iftar.
• Listen to the Qur'an. Scholars differ on whether a woman on her period may recite it; many permit reciting from memory or from a phone without touching a printed mushaf.

If you are ill, elderly or travelling

Do what you are able to. If fasting would harm you, do not fast. You can still spend the day in du'a and dhikr from your bed or seat. The Prophet ﷺ said that when a person falls ill or travels, the deeds they used to do while healthy and at home are still written for them (Sahih al-Bukhari 2996).

If you are in Makkah but not on Hajj

Residents, workers and visitors in Makkah who do not have a Hajj permit are in the same position as Muslims at home. Fast, make du'a and say the takbir. Do not try to enter Arafat without a permit: the Saudi authorities enforce heavy fines and deportation, and the permit system exists to keep the pilgrims safe. The Masjid al-Haram is often much quieter on the Day of Arafah, which makes it a good place for du'a.

After sunset

Break your fast with dates and the iftar du'a, then keep saying the takbir: the night of Eid al-Adha has begun. Prepare for the Eid prayer and your sacrifice. See Eid al-Adha.

Last reviewed Wednesday, 4 November 2026. How we check sources.