Is there any particular virtue if ‘Arafah falls on a Friday?

 

Is it true that if ‘Arafah falls on a Friday when Jumu’ah prayer is held, it is equivalent to seven Hajjs?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: 

We do not know of any hadeeth which says that if ‘Arafah
falls on a Friday then Hajj in that year is equivalent to seven Hajjs,
rather what is narrated is “seventy Hajjs” or “seventy-two Hajjs”, but
neither of them is saheeh anyway. 

The former was narrated in a hadeeth, but it is false and is
not saheeh. As for the latter, we could not find any isnaad or matn (text)
for it, so it has no basis. 

The text of the hadeeth that has been narrated is:  

“The best of days is the day of ‘Arafah, if it falls on a
Friday, and it is better than seventy Hajjs on a day other than Friday.” 

The imams judged this hadeeth to be false and not saheeh: 

1.    
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: 

As for that which is commonly spoken of among the common
folk, that it is equivalent to seventy-two Hajjs, this is false and there is
no basis for it (in any report) from the Messenger of Allaah or from
any of the Sahaabah or Taabi’een, and Allaah knows best. 

Zaad al-Ma’aad (1/65). 

2.    
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (207) –
after ruling that the hadeeth is false and has no basis- : 

As for the view of al-Zayla’i – according to what it says in
Haashiyat Ibn ‘Aabideen (2/348): It was narrated by Razeen ibn
Mu’aawiyah in Tajreed al-Sihaah – it should be noted that this book
of Razeen’s is a compilation of the six books of Sunnah – al-Saheehayn,
the Muwatta’ of Maalik, Sunan Abi Dawood, al-Nasaa’i and al-Tirmidhi –
similar to the book of Ibn al-Atheer entitled Jaami’ al-Usool min
Ahaadeeth al-Rasool, but in al-Tajreed there are many ahaadeeth
for which there is no basis in any of these sources. That is also known from
what the scholars have narrated from him, such as al-Mundhiri in
al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, and this hadeeth is of that type; there is no
basis for it in these books, or in any other well known book of hadeeth. In
fact, the great scholar Ibn al-Qayyim stated in al-Zaad (1/17) that
it is false.   After discussing the merit of ‘Arafah coinciding with Friday
in ten ways that he mentioned, he said: As for that which is commonly spoken
of among the common folk, that it is equivalent to seventy-two Hajjs, this
is false and there is no basis for it (in any report) from the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or from any of the
Sahaabah or Taabi’een.  

This was supported by al-Manaawi in Fayd al-Qadeer
(2/28), then by Ibn ‘Aabideen in al-Haashiyah. End quote. 

In al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (1193) it says: 

Al-Sakhaawi said in al-Fataawa al-Haeethiyyah
(2/105): 

This was mentioned by Razeen in his Jaami’ and attributed to
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but he did not
mention the Sahaabi who narrated it or anyone who transmitted it. End
quote. 

In al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah (3144) it says: 

Al-Haafiz said in al-Fath (8/204), after quoting it
from Razeen in al-Jaami’ and noting that he attributed it to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): I do not know
whether it is valid or not, because he did not mention the Sahaabi who
narrated it or anyone who transmitted it. 

Al-Haafiz ibn Naasir al-Deen al-Dimashqi said in Fadl Yawm
‘Arafah: 

The hadeeth “If the day of ‘Arafah falls on a Friday, it is
equivalent to seventy-two Hajjs” is a false hadeeth and is not saheeh.
Similarly the report narrated from Zurr ibn Hubaysh, that it is better than
seventy Hajjs on a day other than Friday” is not proven. End quote. 

3.    
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih
al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Is there anything
narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
about the virtue of Hajj being on a Friday? 

He replied: 

There is nothing narrated from the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) about there being any special virtue in the
Day of ‘Arafah falling on a Friday, but the scholars said that if it happens
to fall on a Friday, that is a good thing. 

Firstly – because it means that the Hajj is like the Hajj of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as the
Prophet’s standing in ‘Arafah happened to be on a Friday. 

Secondly – because on Friday there is a hour when no Muslim
slave stands to pray and asks his Lord for something but He will grant it to
him, so that is more likely to be answered. 

Thirdly – The Day of ‘Arafah is an Eid and Friday is an Eid,
so if the two Eids come together, that is a good thing. 

As for the commonly-held view that Hajj on a Friday is
equivalent to seventy Hajjs, that is not correct. 

Al-Liqa’ al-Shahriyyah,
34/question no. 18. 

4.    
The scholars of the Standing
Committee were asked: 

Some people say that if the Day of ‘Arafah happens to fall on
a Friday, as it does this year, it will be like doing seven Hajjs. Is there
any evidence from the Sunnah for that? 

They replied: 

There is no saheeh evidence for that. Some people claim that
it is equivalent to seventy Hajjs, or seventy-two, but that is not correct
either.  

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah
(11/210, 211). 

See also: Fath al-Baari (8/271); Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi
(4/27) 

Secondly: 

Perhaps the reason why this view is so widely held among
people is because it is mentioned in the books of the Hanafis and
Shaafa’is. 

The Hanafis said:

If ‘Arafah falls on a Friday it has the virtue of seventy
Hajjs and all the people will be forgiven with no intermediary. 

And they said: 

The best of days is the day of ‘Arafah, if it falls on a
Friday, and it is better than seventy Hajjs on a day other than Friday. 

Radd al-Muhtaar ‘ala al-Durr al-Mukhtaar,
2/621 

And the Shaafa’is said: 

It was said that if the Day of ‘Arafah falls on a Friday,
Allaah will forgive all the people in the place of standing, with no
intermediary, and on a day other than Friday they will be forgiven with an
intermediary i.e., it will be granted to the sinners because of the doers of
good.

Mughni al-Muhtaaj (1/497). 

Thirdly: 

The fact that this hadeeth is false does not mean that there
is no special merit in the Day of ‘Arafah falling on a Friday, rather Ibn
al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) mentioned ten special merits
thereof, which we will quote here because they are of great benefit. 

He (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:  

The correct view is that Friday is the best day of the week
and the day of ‘Arafah and the day of Sacrifice are the best days of the
year, as are Laylat al-Qadr and the night before Friday. Hence if the day of
‘Arafah falls on a Friday, it is superior to all the other days in several
ways: 

1-   
Coincidence of two days that
are the best of days.

2-   
It is a day in which there is
an hour when prayers are answered. Most (scholars) are of the view that it
is the last hour after ‘Asr, and the people in the place of standing are all
there to offer du’aa’ and beseech Allaah.

3-   
It falls on the same day that
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did
Hajj.

4-   
People all over the world
gather there to listen to the khutbah and pray Jumu’ah, and that coincides
with the gathering of the people of ‘Arafah on the day of ‘Arafah in
‘Arafah, So the Muslims’ gathering in their mosques and their standing to
offer du’aa’ and beseech Allaah coincide in a way that does not happen on
any other day.

5-   
Friday is an Eid, and the day
of ‘Arafah is an Eid for the people in ‘Arafah, hence it is makrooh for
those who are in ‘Arafah to fast on this day.

Our Shaykh – i.e., Ibn Taymiyah – said: The day of ‘Arafah is
only an Eid for those who are in ‘Arafah because they are gathered there,
unlike the people in other regions, who only gather on the Day of Sacrifice.
So it is an Eid for them. What is meant is that if the day of ‘Arafah falls
on a Friday, it is two Eids in one.

6-   
It coincides with the day when
Allaah perfected His religion for His believing slaves and completed His
favour upon them, as it is proven in Saheeh al-Bukhaari that Taariq
ibn Shihaab said: A Jew came to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab and said: O Ameer
al-Mu’mineen, there is averse which you read in your Book; if it had been
revealed to us Jews and we knew the day on which it was revealed, we would
have taken it as a festival. He said: Which verse is that? He said: “This
day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you,
and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” [al-Maa'idah 5:3]. ‘Umar
ibn al-Khattaab said: I know the day which it was revealed, and the place in
which it was revealed. It was revealed to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in ‘Arafah, on a Friday, when we
were standing with him in ‘Arafah.

7-   
It coincides with the day of
the greatest gathering and the great standing of the Day of Resurrection,
for the Day of Resurrection will take place on a Friday as the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best day on which the
sun rises is Friday. On it Adam was created, on it he was admitted to
Paradise, on it he was expelled therefrom, and on it the Hour will begin. On
that day there is an hour when no Muslim slave asks Allaah for something
good but He will grant it to him.”

8-   
An act of worship or obedience
done by the Muslims on Friday or the night before Friday are more than those
done on other days, because even evildoers respect Friday and the night
before it, and they think that if a person dares to commit sin at that time,
Allaah will hasten his punishment and will not give him respite. This is
something that is well established in their minds and they know it by
experience, because of the great honour that this day has before Allaah, and
because He chose it out of all other days, and undoubtedly standing in
‘Arafah on this day is better than on any other day.

9-   
It coincides with the day when
Allaah gives people more in Paradise, which is a Friday. So if ‘Arafah falls
on that day, it is extra special and enjoys a virtue that is not shared by
any other day.

10-                      
The Lord, may He be blessed and
exalted, draws close to the people in the place of standing in the afternoon
of the day of ‘Arafah, then He boasts of them before the angels.

For these reasons and others, Friday is superior to other
days. 

But as for that which is commonly spoken of among the common
folk, that it is equivalent to seventy-two Hajjs, this is false and there is
no basis for it (in any report) from the Messenger of Allaah or from
any of the Sahaabah or Taabi’een. And Allaah knows best. 

Zaad al-Ma’aad (1/60-65) 

And Allaah knows best.