“I have stood here, and the whole plain of ʿArafah is a standing place.” Mālik adds in his al-Muwaṭṭaʾ (1): “…and keep away from the bottom of the valley of ʿUrana.”

Section: The supplications preserved from the Prophet ﷺ while he stood at ʿArafah

It has already been mentioned that the Prophet ﷺ broke his fast on the Day of ʿArafah. This shows that eating rather than fasting on that day for those present at ʿArafah is preferable, because it provides strength for supplication, which is the chief purpose there. For this reason he ﷺ remained at the place of standing, mounted on his camel, from the moment the sun declined until it set.

Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī (4) relates in his Musnad, through Hushab ibn ʿAqīl, from Mahdī al-Hajrī, from ʿIkrimah, from Abū Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade fasting on the Day of ʿArafah for those who are at ʿArafah.

Imām Aḥmad (5) said: “ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī narrated to us; Hushab ibn ʿAqīl narrated to us; Mahdī al-Muḥāribī informed me; ʿIkrimah, the freedman of Ibn ʿAbbās, informed me. He said: ‘I entered Abū Hurayrah’s house and asked him about fasting on the Day of ʿArafah while at ʿArafāt. He replied, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade fasting on the Day of ʿArafah while at ʿArafāt.”’” ʿAbd al-Raḥmān also reported it once through Mahdī al-ʿAbdī.

Aḥmad likewise transmitted it through Wakīʿ, from Hushab, from Mahdī al-ʿAbdī. Abū Dāwūd (8) narrated it from Sulaymān ibn Ḥarb, from Hushab; al-Nasāʾī (9) from Sulaymān ibn Maʿbad (10), from Sulaymān ibn Ḥarb—with the same chain—and from al-Fallās, from Ibn Mahdī, with the same content. Ibn Mājah (11) recorded it from Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah and ʿAlī ibn