In short
- The 9th of Dhul Hijjah, the day before Eid al-Adha
- A plain about 20 km south-east of the Haram in Makkah
- Pilgrims must stand there, or their Hajj doesn't count
- The verse completing the religion (5:3) was revealed there
- Next: Saturday, 15 May 2027
The day: 9 Dhul Hijjah
Dhul Hijjah is the twelfth and last month of the Islamic calendar, and the month of Hajj. Its first ten days are the most virtuous days of the year, and the 9th, the Day of Arafah, is the peak of them. The next day, the 10th, is Eid al-Adha, the Day of Sacrifice.
Because the Islamic calendar follows the moon, Arafah moves about eleven days earlier each year on the Gregorian calendar. In 2026 it fell on 26 May; in 2027 it is expected on 15 May. See when Arafah falls for the coming years.
Like every Islamic day, it starts at sunset. The evening of the 8th is already the night of Arafah, and the day ends at sunset on the 9th, when the pilgrims leave Arafat for Muzdalifah.
The place: the plain of Arafat
Arafat (also written ʿArafāt) is a plain about 20 kilometres south-east of the Masjid al-Haram, beyond Mina and Muzdalifah. It lies outside the sacred precinct of Makkah, which is why its edges are marked with signs: the standing only counts inside them.
- Jabal ar-Rahmah
- The “Mount of Mercy”, a granite hill near the eastern side of the plain with a white pillar on its top. The Prophet ﷺ stood at the rocks at its foot, facing the qiblah.
- Masjid Namirah
- The large mosque on the western edge, built where the Prophet ﷺ gave his sermon and led the combined Dhuhr and ʿAsr prayers. Its front part is outside Arafah.
- Wadi ʿUranah
- The valley along the western edge. The Prophet ﷺ gave his sermon in it, but it is not part of Arafah, and a pilgrim who only stands there has not stood at Arafah.
- The tent city
- Today the plain is covered with camps, trees, misting fans and roads, and around two million pilgrims spend the day there.
وَقَفْتُ هَاهُنَا، وَعَرَفَةُ كُلُّهَا مَوْقِفٌ
Jabir reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “I have stood here, and all of Arafah is a place of standing.”
Why is it called Arafah?
The word comes from the Arabic root ʿa-ra-fa, “to know” or “to recognise”. Early scholars gave several explanations for the name, and none of them comes from an authentic hadith of the Prophet ﷺ:
- That Jibril taught Ibrahim the rites of Hajj and asked him there, “Do you know (ʿarafta)?”, and he replied, “I know (ʿaraftu).” This is reported from some Companions and their students.
- That Adam and Hawwa recognised each other there after they came down to earth. This is a story from earlier traditions and has no authentic chain.
- That people come to know their sins there and confess them to Allah.
The honest answer is that the name means a place of knowing or recognising, and the stories about it are possible explanations, not facts we can be sure of.
What happened at Arafah
The covenant of the children of Adam
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.”
Imam Ahmad reports from Ibn ʿAbbas that Allah took this covenant from the descendants of Adam at Naʿman, near Arafah (Musnad Ahmad 2455). Scholars differ on whether these words are the Prophet's ﷺ own or Ibn ʿAbbas's explanation, so we mention it as a report rather than a certainty.
The Farewell Hajj, 10 AH
In the tenth year after the Hijrah, the Prophet ﷺ made his only Hajj. On the 9th of Dhul Hijjah he rode from Mina to Namirah, gave the sermon now known as the Farewell Sermon, prayed Dhuhr and ʿAsr together, and then stood at the rocks below Jabal ar-Rahmah making du'a until the sun had set. His Companion Jabir described every step of it (Sahih Muslim 1218). Read the Farewell Sermon in its authentic wording.
The religion completed
A Jewish man said to ʿUmar: “There is a verse in your Book which, had it been revealed to us Jews, we would have taken that day as a festival.” ʿUmar asked which verse. He said: “Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and chosen Islam as your way of life.” ʿUmar said: “We know that day and the place where it was revealed to the Prophet ﷺ. He was standing at Arafah, on a Friday.”
Arafah before Islam
Before Islam, the tribe of Quraysh did not go out to Arafat with everyone else. They called themselves al-Hums and stopped at Muzdalifah, inside the sacred precinct. Islam ended this: the Prophet ﷺ was commanded to stand at Arafat with all the people, and the verse “then pour down from where the people pour down” was revealed about it (Sahih al-Bukhari 4520).
What Muslims do on the day
On Hajj, the standing at Arafah is the one rite that cannot be made up: a pilgrim who misses it has missed the Hajj. Everyone else spends the day in fasting, du'a, dhikr and takbir. Two guides cover the details:
Questions people ask
What is the Day of Arafah?
It is the 9th day of Dhul Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Pilgrims stand on the plain of Arafat outside Makkah from midday until sunset, and Muslims elsewhere fast and make du'a. The next day is Eid al-Adha.
Where is Arafat?
Arafat is a plain about 20 kilometres south-east of the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, beyond Mina and Muzdalifah. Its edges are marked with signs because the standing only counts inside them.
Is Arafah the same as Eid al-Adha?
No. Arafah is the 9th of Dhul Hijjah and Eid al-Adha is the 10th. Arafah is the day before Eid.
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