In short
- Arafat is named once, in al-Baqarah 2:198
- Al-Maʾidah 5:3 was revealed on the Day of Arafah
- “The witnessed day” (85:3) is the Day of Arafah
- “Ten nights” (89:2) are the first ten of Dhul Hijjah
The only verse that names Arafat
فَإِذَا أَفَضْتُم مِّنْ عَرَفَاتٍ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ عِندَ الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ ۖ وَاذْكُرُوهُ كَمَا هَدَاكُمْ وَإِن كُنتُم مِّن قَبْلِهِ لَمِنَ الضَّالِّينَ
When you pour down from Arafat, remember Allah at the Sacred Monument. Remember Him as He has guided you, for before this you were among those who were astray.
The verse is part of the passage on Hajj in Surah al-Baqarah. “Pour down” (afaḍtum) pictures the crowd streaming out of Arafat at sunset like water. The “Sacred Monument” (al-Mashʿar al-Ḥarām) is at Muzdalifah, where the pilgrims spend the night. The verse ties the leaving of Arafat to remembering Allah and thanking Him for guidance.
Standing with all the people
ثُمَّ أَفِيضُوا مِنْ حَيْثُ أَفَاضَ النَّاسُ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Then pour down from where the people pour down, and ask Allah for forgiveness. Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
ʿAʾishah explained that Quraysh used to stop at Muzdalifah and would not go out to Arafat with the other Arabs. This verse commanded the Prophet ﷺ to go to Arafat with everyone and leave from there (Sahih al-Bukhari 4520). It makes the standing a place where tribe and status count for nothing.
The religion completed
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and chosen Islam as your way of life.
This is the verse revealed on the Day of Arafah during the Farewell Hajj (Sahih al-Bukhari 45). The Prophet ﷺ died about eighty days later. Ibn Kathir wrote that it is the greatest blessing Allah gave this nation: a complete religion that needs nothing added to it.
The witness and the witnessed
وَالْيَوْمِ الْمَوْعُودِ وَشَاهِدٍ وَمَشْهُودٍ
By the Promised Day, and by the witness and the witnessed.
الْيَوْمُ الْمَوْعُودُ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَالْيَوْمُ الْمَشْهُودُ يَوْمُ عَرَفَةَ، وَالشَّاهِدُ يَوْمُ الْجُمُعَةِ
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “The Promised Day is the Day of Resurrection, the Witnessed Day is the Day of Arafah, and the Witness is Friday.”
By the dawn and ten nights
وَالْفَجْرِ وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ وَالشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ
By the dawn, and by ten nights, and by the even and the odd.
Allah only swears by what is great. The “ten nights” are the first ten nights of Dhul Hijjah according to Ibn ʿAbbas and most of the early commentators. Some explained “the odd” as the Day of Arafah (the 9th) and “the even” as the Day of Sacrifice (the 10th).
The known days
وَأَذِّن فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَىٰ كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَأْتِينَ مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ لِّيَشْهَدُوا مَنَافِعَ لَهُمْ وَيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْلُومَاتٍ
Call the people to Hajj. They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, from every distant pass, to witness benefits for themselves and to mention the name of Allah on known days.
Ibn ʿAbbas said the “known days” are the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah (reported by al-Bukhari in the chapter before Sahih al-Bukhari 969). The command to mention Allah's name in them is why the takbir is so emphasised in these days.
The counted days
وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْدُودَاتٍ
And remember Allah during the counted days.
Ibn ʿAbbas said the “counted days” are the days of Tashriq, the 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhul Hijjah. The takbir continues through them, until ʿAsr on the 13th. See the takbir of Dhul Hijjah.
The covenant
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِي آدَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَا
And when your Lord took from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants, and made them testify about themselves: “Am I not your Lord?” They said: “Yes, we testify.”
A report from Ibn ʿAbbas in Musnad Ahmad (2455) places this covenant at Naʿman, beside Arafah. Scholars differ on whether it is the Prophet's ﷺ own words or Ibn ʿAbbas's explanation. Either way, it adds meaning to the standing: people return to the place where, according to this report, humanity first affirmed its Lord.
The duty of Hajj
وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا
Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to Allah by everyone who is able to find a way there.
Hajj is a pillar of Islam, due once in a lifetime on everyone who can manage it physically and financially. Because the Hajj is Arafah, this verse is also, in effect, a command to stand there once in your life if you are able.
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