My Haj Diary: I have never experienced or witnessed anything like Arafat in my life

Imagine a vast expanse of land where millions of white-clad worshippers stand in the sweltering heat, their eyes and hands raised towards the sky, praying fervently. As temperatures soared to 48℃, pilgrims crowded the Mount Arafat on Tuesday to pray. Sweat and tears stream down their faces as the summer heat and the intensity of their prayers takes its toll. This is Arafat Day, the heart of the Haj pilgrimage.

According to a Hadith, Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) has highlighted the day's importance by saying, "The Haj is Arafat", meaning anyone who does not stay in Arafat on Zul Hijjah 9 has his Haj invalidated.

Over two million pilgrims - who remain in ihram (white clothing) - make their way to Arafat on Zul Hijjah 9 after staying at tents in Mina on Zul Hijjah 8. In their purified ihram state, men wear a two-piece plain cloth draped around their top and bottom halves. Women wear clothes covering all body parts except their faces and hands. Once they arrive in Arafat, most of them are accommodated in large tents of 300 or more.

The journey - Mina to Mount Arafat

The sunnah (the way the Prophet did it) is to leave Mina after early morning prayers. However, this is only possible for some of the over 2 million pilgrims who undertake Haj. A staggered entry method is in place to ensure everyone gets there on time. We started our journey at around 3 am on Tuesday for Mount Arafat. The approximately 18 kms drive took over two hours as the roads were packed with buses, as well as pilgrims who decided to walk from Mina to Arafat.

We were about 350 people in one tent. Once we settled in, everyone was advised to rest for a while to have enough energy for a long day and night of prayers. The pilgrims spent the morning napping, doing dhikr (remembering God) and reading the Holy Quran. Breakfast consisting of croissants, eggs, bread, and tea was served in large tents for the pilgrims. By midday, the six coolers in the tent were struggling to cope with the soaring temperatures, and the number of people.

Arafat Day

The day of Arafat begins with the Zuhr (midday) prayer. The scholar Sheikh Yusuf bin Muhammad bin Saeed gave a sermon at Nimra mosque- the only mosque in the area. This commemorates the final sermon delivered by Prophet Muhammad during the single Haj he performed during his lifetime. In his speech, he touched upon the topics of Tawheed (belief in a single God) and the importance of Muslims saying united.

Afterwards, pilgrims offered a shortened version of their prayers of Zuhr and Asr (afternoon prayer) together. This was to free up the time in the evening until sunset to indulge in prayers.

During these 6 hours, every worshipper poured their hearts out to Allah, begging for forgiveness and asking for the best in this world and hereafter. With tears rolling down their faces, they made their supplications loudly. This is a day of forgiveness, according to Muslims. A Hadith narrates that Aisha- wife of Prophet Mohammed- has said that "There is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than the Day of Arafat."

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