Mount Arafat
Mount Arafat
Jabal al-Rahmah in the mash'ar of Arafat, east of Makkah, about 372 m. Standing at Arafat on the 9th is the rukn of Hajj; the Farewell Khutbah belongs to the mash'ar, not to the summit alone.
Plan your visit
Practical information verified separately from the historical record.
Before you go: Check with the operator or a local guide before departure; field access details have not yet been verified.
Why visit?
The rukn, not an ornament. The card keeps mash'ar, hill and khutbah, and refuses a summit relic.
Arafat is the mash'ar east of Makkah; Jabal al-Rahmah is a rise within it, about 372 m. Hajj is Arafat: whoever makes the standing on the 9th, from after zawal to dawn of the 10th, has made Hajj. The hill is a mark inside the standing-ground, not its limit. Standing on the plain without climbing is complete Hajj.
In the Farewell Hajj, 10 AH, the Prophet preached at Arafat: the sanctity of blood and property, the laying down of Jahili blood and usury, the charge concerning women, and that time had come full circle. The khutbah belongs to the mash'ar, not to a kissed rock on the summit. His standing by the rocks at the foot is a sira notice, not a relic-hill.
The 1965 photograph records the mash'ar before later works. The modern view is the hill itself. Do not merge Arafat with Muzdalifah or Mina, and do not write it as a lookout on the day that is the rukn.