عرفات
ʿArafāt
Place
The plain near Mecca where pilgrims stand on the ninth of Dhu al-Hijja, the heart of the Hajj.
What it means
The Prophet said “Hajj is Arafat” (al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud). Pilgrims stand there from noon to sunset, praying and asking forgiveness, and without it the Hajj is not valid. The Quran says “when you pour forth from Arafat, remember God” (2:198). It was there that the Prophet gave his Farewell Sermon in the year 10 AH.
What the sources say
In that sermon, reported in Sahih Muslim, the Prophet declared the sanctity of life and property, the abolition of interest and of blood feuds, the rights of women over their husbands and husbands over wives, and that no Arab has merit over a non-Arab but in piety.