"O you who believed! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except as Muslims.

"
[SuratulAali 'Imran 3:102]


[70] "O you who believed! Fear Allah, and (always) say a word directed to the truth.
[71] "That He may make your conduct whole and sound, and forgive you your sins: he that
obeys Allah and His Messenger, has then attained the highest Achievement."
[Suratu AlAhzaab 33: 70 71]

Today I will be discussing about the day of Arafat, the knowledge we get about this day from
prophet sawl and the importance of seeking forgiveness on this day.

When Satan sees the gathering of the Muslims on the day of Arafah and the mercy that
their Lord sends down upon them, he is bitter, enraged and feels humiliated.

Al-Abbaas Ibn Al-Midraas said, The Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam
supplicated abundantly for the forgiveness and mercy of his Ummah on the night of
Arafaat the next day he did the same in Muzdalifah. The Prophet sallallaahu alaihi
wa sallam smiled when he finished. Some of the Sahaabah asked: I sacrifice my father
and mother for your sake, you smiled at a time which you never smiled previously,
may Allaah always make you happy, what made you smile? he said, I smiled
because of the predicament of Satan, the enemy of Allaah. After Allaah
accepted my supplications for my Ummah and forgave those who
transgressed against themselves. Satan started pouring soil upon his head
and crying out for his own destruction, so I smiled at his grief (Ahmad).

The day of Arafah is the day in which the mercy of Allaah descends, but what do we
mean by mercy? Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam
said: Allaah has divided Mercy into one hundred parts, He kept ninety-
nine parts with Him and sent down one part to the earth, and because of
that one single part, His creatures are merciful to each other, so that even
the mare lifts up its hoof away from its baby animal, lest it should trample
on it (Bukhaari).

If one part of the mercy Allaah guided people to Islaam, the Quraan, Salaah and put
mercy into their hearts, then how would things be with the full hundred parts in The
Hereafter - the eternal dwelling place and the home of reward?

Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: Captives were brought
to the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam after a battle. Among them was a woman
desperately searching for something. When she laid her eyes on a baby she
immediately picked it up, clutched it to her breast and started feeding it. Thereupon,
the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam asked: Do you think this woman
would throw her baby into a fire? we said: Never! By Allaah! she would never
allow this to happen, the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam then said: Allaah is
more merciful to His slaves than this woman is to her baby (Muslim).

The mercy of Allaah is overwhelming and sins dont hinder it. To realise this, it is
enough to know that Allaah ordered His slaves to expose themselves to His mercy
regardless of the extent of sinfulness that they have reached. aoozubillah.









Say O My servants who have transgressed against themselves (by
sinning), do not despair of the mercy of Allaah. Indeed, Allaah forgives all
sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful (Az-Zumar: 53).



Bilaal, may Allaah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam said to him in the morning when people gathered (in Muzdalifah): O Bilaal!
Tell the people to be silent! then he said to them: Allaah blessed you in this
gathering and forgave the sinful among you due to the fact that you were
amid the pious - and He granted the pious what they asked for (Ibn
Maajah).

Ibn Al-Qayyim mentioned that the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam was described
in his Duaa, as having his hands in the same position that a needy person would have
when asking for food (i.e. outstretched and together whilst raising them up).

Haakim Ibn Hizaam, may Allaah be pleased with him, used to stand in Arafaat
bringing one hundred camels and one hundred slaves.He would then start freeing the
slaves for the sake of Allaah. The people would then start crying loudly with Duaa
saying: O Allaah! Your slave freed his slaves, and we too are Your slaves, so free us
(from the Hellfire).

Al-Fudhayl saw the supplications of people and their weeping on the night of Arafaat
and asked the crowds: If these people went to a man and asked him for a Daaniq (a
very small amount of money), would he refuse? The people said: No he said, Allaahs
forgiveness is even easier to obtain than that.

Ibn Al-Mubaarak said: I went to Sufyaan Ath-Thawri on the night of Arafaat and he
was kneeling down and crying, I asked him, Who is the worst person in this
gathering? he said:He who thinks Allaah will not forgive him.

A terrified man stood in Arafaat but he was too reluctant to supplicate, due to the
extent of sins he had committed. He was asked: Why dont you supplicate? he replied:
I feel I cannot due to my sins The people said to him: But it is the day of forgiveness,
so the man raised his hands and supplicated and continued to do so until he died in that
state.

These are just a few of the many wonderful stories that you hear from this blessed and
pure land. Here you will see people supplicate with humbleness, repentance and regret;
they will cry over their sins and shortcomings. Many are those who asked forgiveness
and were forgiven; who cried and pledged to refrain from sinning and had their sins
wiped out. Many come out of Arafaat sinless with joyful hearts and happy faces.

May Allah enable us to become part of the group of people who are forgiven on the day
of Arafaat and for those who are fasting, may accept your fast.





PAUSE





As for those who were unable to perform Hajj: Let he who missed standing in Arafaat
fulfil all the other rights of Allaah; he who could not spend the night in Muzdalifah, let
him pledge to obey Allaah in all other matters; he who could not slaughter his sacrifice,
let him give up his whims and desires and he who could not reach the house of Allaah
(Kabah), let him supplicate to Allaah - The One Who is nearerthan ones jugular vein.
For those who could not make it to Arafaat, Allaah legislated righteous acts instead,
such as fasting on that day. Abu Qataadah narrated that the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi
wa sallam said: Fasting it (i.e.Arafaat) expiates the sins of the previous and
the coming year (Muslim).

May Allah enable us to practice what is learned in todays khutba and forgive us on this special
day of Arafat.













Durud.

Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil 'akhirati hasanatan waqina 'adhaban-nar
rabbana la tuzigh quloobanaa baida iz hadayitana







IBADALLAH !








FAZ KU ROONI AZ KUR KUM WASh KU RU LI WA LA TAK FURUN
Wa aqimissalah