In short
- Don't share: “each of the ten days equals a year of fasting”
- Don't share: “Arafah on a Friday equals 70 Hajjs”
- Don't share: the special reward for fasting the 8th
- Share the authentic virtues instead
Exaggerated rewards
“Fasting each of the ten days equals fasting a year, and each night equals Laylat al-Qadr”
Da'ifDarussalam; at-Tirmidhi himself called it gharib
This is Jami' at-Tirmidhi 758. Its chain has weak narrators, and at-Tirmidhi noted that he only knew it through that one chain.
What is authentic instead: “There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days” (Sahih al-Bukhari 969).
“Whoever fasts the Day of Tarwiyah, Allah forgives one year”
FabricatedIbn al-Jawzi and other hadith critics
This narration about fasting the 8th of Dhul Hijjah, often paired with a reward for Arafah, has a chain that includes a narrator accused of forgery. Fasting the 8th is good as one of the ten days, but it has no special reward of its own.
What is authentic instead: Fasting the 9th, the Day of Arafah, wipes out the sins of two years (Sahih Muslim 1162).
“Fasting the Day of Arafah is like fasting a thousand days”
Da'ifhadith scholars, al-Albani among them
This comes from a weak chain reported from ʿAʾishah. The authentic reward is already enormous and does not need inflating.
What is authentic instead: “I hope from Allah that it wipes out the sins of the year before it and the year after it” (Sahih Muslim 1162).
“A Hajj in which Arafah falls on a Friday equals seventy Hajjs”
FabricatedIbn al-Qayyim: false, with no basis from the Prophet ﷺ
Ibn al-Qayyim, in Zad al-Maʿad, listed the real merits of Arafah on a Friday, such as the Prophet's ﷺ own Hajj falling on one and the hour of answered du'a on Fridays, and then said that this “seventy Hajjs” saying has no basis. People also call such a year “Hajj Akbar”, but the Qur'an's “day of the greater Hajj” (9:3) refers to the Day of Sacrifice, as Ibn ʿUmar reported.
What is authentic instead: The Prophet's ﷺ own standing at Arafah was on a Friday (Sahih al-Bukhari 45). That is a real honour, without a number attached.
Sayings and stories
“Satan is never seen more humiliated, more driven away and more furious than on the Day of Arafah”
Da'ifmursal: its chain stops at a Successor
Malik reports this in the Muwatta from Talhah ibn ʿUbaydillah ibn Kariz, who was not a Companion, so the chain to the Prophet ﷺ is broken. Its meaning fits the authentic virtues of the day, but it should not be quoted as the words of the Prophet ﷺ.
What is authentic instead: “There is no day on which Allah frees more servants from the Fire than the Day of Arafah” (Sahih Muslim 1348).
“On Arafah Allah forgave the pilgrims everything, even the wrongs they did to one another”
Da'ifDarussalam; al-Albani
This is the hadith of ʿAbbas ibn Mirdas in Sunan Ibn Majah 3013. Its chain is weak. It is also dangerous if it makes people careless about the rights of others, which Islam says must be returned or forgiven by the people wronged.
What is authentic instead: Repent to Allah for your sins against Him, and put right your wrongs against people before the day comes when you cannot.
“Arafah is named after Adam and Hawwa recognising each other there”
Da'ifno authentic chain
This story is reported from early narrators and from earlier traditions, not from the Prophet ﷺ. It is one of several explanations for the name. See why it is called Arafah.
Practices with no basis
- Climbing Jabal ar-Rahmah as an act of worship, touching or wiping the pillar on top, writing names on it, or praying two rakʿahs on it. The Prophet ﷺ stood at the rocks at its foot. Imam an-Nawawi and others said climbing it has no special virtue.
- Special prayers or fixed counts for Arafah, such as a set number of rakʿahs with particular surahs, or reciting Surah al-Ikhlas a thousand times. No authentic narration sets any of these.
- Treating a gathering in the mosque on Arafah afternoon as a required rite. Some Companions, including Ibn ʿAbbas in Basra, gathered people for du'a and remembrance on the afternoon of Arafah, and Imam Ahmad allowed it, while others such as Imam Malik disliked it. Coming together to make du'a is fine; making it a ritual imitation of the standing is what the scholars warned against.
What to share instead
The virtues page collects every authentic narration about the day, each with its source and grade. Share those.
Last reviewed . How we check sources.