Arafah on Hajj

The essentials

What it is

The greatest pillar of Hajj. Without it there is no Hajj, and it cannot be made up with a sacrifice.

When

From midday (when the sun passes its zenith) on 9 Dhul Hijjah until dawn on the 10th. The Hanbali school counts it from dawn on the 9th.

Where

Anywhere inside the boundary signs of Arafat. You do not need to see or climb Jabal ar-Rahmah. Wadi ʿUranah, at the western edge, is outside.

How long

Any moment counts. If you are there in the daytime, stay until sunset: most scholars count that as required.

Your day, step by step

1. 8 Dhul HijjahDay of Tarwiyah, in Mina. Enter ihram for Hajj if you are not already in it, go to Mina, and pray Dhuhr, ʿAsr, Maghrib, ʿIsha and Fajr there, shortening the four-rakʿah prayers without combining them.
2. After sunrise on the 9thMove to Arafat, saying the talbiyah and takbir. Today most groups move by bus or train, often during the night, to manage the crowds. Your scholar will tell you if that changes anything for you.
3. Before middaySettle into your camp. Learn your camp number, the nearest landmark and the way to the toilets, water and the medical point. Rest.
4. MiddayThe sermon is given at Masjid Namirah and broadcast to the camps. Listen in your tent.
5. At Dhuhr timePray Dhuhr and ʿAsr together, two rakʿahs each, with one adhan and two iqamahs, and no prayer between them. This is what the Prophet ﷺ did.
6. Until sunsetThe standing. Du'a, dhikr, talbiyah, Qur'an, and seeking forgiveness, facing the qiblah with your hands raised. This is the time you came for.
7. After sunsetLeave for Muzdalifah calmly. Do not pray Maghrib at Arafat; you will pray it with ʿIsha at Muzdalifah.
8. At MuzdalifahPray Maghrib and ʿIsha together (three and two rakʿahs), sleep, pray Fajr, and make du'a until it is light. Collect your pebbles.

How the Prophet ﷺ spent the day

Jabir ibn ʿAbdullah's account in Sahih Muslim is the main source for the day. In summary:

• He left Mina after sunrise and found a tent of hair set up for him at Namirah. He stayed there until the sun passed its zenith.
• He rode his camel, al-Qaswaʾ, to the bottom of the valley (ʿUranah) and gave his sermon. Read the Farewell Sermon.
• Bilal called the adhan, then the iqamah, and he led Dhuhr; then another iqamah and he led ʿAsr. He prayed nothing between them.
• He rode to the place of standing at the rocks at the foot of Jabal ar-Rahmah, faced the qiblah, and stood there in du'a until the sun had set and its yellow light had faded a little.
• Then he left for Muzdalifah, holding his camel's rein tight and signalling to the people with his right hand to go calmly.

Rulings of the standing

You do not have to stand

“Standing” (wuqūf) means being present. Sitting, lying down, riding, sleeping or being carried in an ambulance all count. Every year the Saudi health authorities drive pilgrims who are in hospital to Arafat so their Hajj is complete.

No purity is required

You do not need wudu, and a woman on her period stands like everyone else. The Prophet ﷺ told ʿAʾishah, who had her period, to do everything a pilgrim does except the circling of the Kaʿbah (Sahih al-Bukhari 305).

Arriving late

If your arrival is delayed, any moment inside Arafat before dawn on the 10th still counts. ʿUrwah ibn Mudarris arrived exhausted at Muzdalifah, and the Prophet ﷺ told him that whoever had stood at Arafat before, by night or by day, had completed his Hajj (Sunan Abi Dawud 1950).

Leaving before sunset

The Hanafi and Hanbali schools say staying until sunset is required, and a pilgrim who leaves before it without returning owes a sacrifice. In the Shafiʿi school staying until sunset is a sunnah. In the Maliki school, being there for part of the night is the pillar itself. All agree that the Sunnah is to stay until sunset, so do not let a bus timetable or a crowd rush you out.

Ihram rules still apply

No perfume or scented soap, no cutting hair or nails, no intimacy. Men do not cover their heads with anything that touches them, but an umbrella or tent is fine. Women do not wear a niqab or gloves, but may lower a cloth over the face when men are near.

Do not fast

Using the hours of standing

This afternoon may be the only one like it in your life. Plan it.

• Keep your phone away. Make one call home to ask for people's du'a requests the day before, then switch it off or to flight mode.
• Don't spend the standing chatting or taking photos. Gather with your group for a short reminder, then each person turns to Allah alone.
• Bring your list: the names and requests of everyone who asked you for du'a, and your own.
• Say the talbiyah often. It continues until you stone Jamrat al-ʿAqabah on the 10th.

Use the last-hour plan and the du'a collection to give the afternoon a shape.

Heat and safety

• Stay in the shade between late morning and late afternoon. There is no extra reward in exposing yourself to harm.
• Drink before you are thirsty: small amounts often. Add oral rehydration salts if you are sweating a lot.
• Use a light-coloured umbrella whenever you are outside, and wet a cloth for your neck. Unscented sunscreen is allowed in ihram by many scholars; ask your group.
• Do not climb Jabal ar-Rahmah. It is not part of the Hajj, it is crowded and hot, and the Prophet ﷺ stood at its foot.
• Watch for heat stroke: confusion, a very high temperature, hot skin, fainting, or stopping sweating. Move the person to shade, cool them with water and get medical help at once.
• Emergency numbers: 911 is the unified emergency number in the Makkah region, and 997 reaches the Saudi Red Crescent ambulance service.

Practical tips

• Keep your Nusuk card and your group's wristband or ID on you all day.
• Take a photo of your camp number and the nearest street sign. Agree a meeting point with your group.
• Pack a small bag: water, dates, oral rehydration salts, umbrella, any medicine, a small prayer mat, a printed du'a list, and a power bank.
• Elderly pilgrims and pilgrims with disabilities can do the whole standing seated in the tent. Their Hajj is complete.
• When you leave at sunset, go calmly. Pushing in the departure crowd is dangerous and against the Sunnah.
• If Muzdalifah is so delayed that you fear ʿIsha's time will run out before midnight, pray Maghrib and ʿIsha wherever you are.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Standing outside the boundaries, for example in Wadi ʿUranah, and leaving without entering Arafat proper. Look for the boundary signs.
• Believing you must reach or climb Jabal ar-Rahmah, or facing the mountain instead of the qiblah for du'a.
• Spending the afternoon talking, shopping or filming, and starting du'a only minutes before sunset.
• Leaving before sunset to beat the traffic.
• Fasting, and being too weak to make du'a.
• Praying Maghrib at Arafat before leaving, when the Sunnah is to delay it to Muzdalifah.

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