taken from Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri's book Ghair Masnun Nafli Nawazain:
Note: Some people perform specific acts of worship on the Day of ʿArafah (9th Dhul-Ḥijjah), especially particular forms of prayer. However, these practices are not established from authentic sources. Below is a detailed analysis of some such narrations:
It is reported from Sayyidunā ʿAlī bin Abī Ṭālib and Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنهما that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من صلى يوم عرفة ركعتين يقرأ في كل ركعة بفاتحة الكتاب ثلاث مرات في كل مرة يبدأ ببسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ويختم آخرها ب(آمين) ثم يقرأ بقل يا أيها الكافرون ثلاث مرات وقل هو الله أحد مائة مرة يبدأ في كل مرة ببسم الله الرحمن الرحيم إلا قال الله عز وجل لملائكته: أشهدكم أني قد غفرت له
“Whoever prays two rakʿāt on the Day of ʿArafah, reciting Sūrah al-Fātiḥah three times in each rakʿah—starting each time with Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm and ending with Āmīn—then recites Sūrah al-Kāfirūn three times and Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ one hundred times (each time beginning with Bismillāh), then Allah ﷻ says to His angels: ‘Bear witness that I have forgiven him.’”
Kitāb al-Thawāb by Abū Shaykh Ibn Ḥayyān, as cited in al-Laʾālī al-Maṣnūʿah by al-Suyūṭī: 2/62; Muthīr al-ʿAzm al-Sākin by Ibn al-Jawzī: 1/268, ḥadīth no. 151
Very Weak (سخت ضعیف)
➤ The narrator ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin Ziyād bin Anʿam al-Ifriqī is weak.
❖ Imām Ibn al-Jawzī رحمه الله said:
“This ḥadīth is not authentic from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Ibn Anʿam has been declared weak by the scholars of ḥadīth.”
(al-Mawḍūʿāt 2/450)
❖ Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله labeled it:
Fabricated (من گھڑت)
(al-Fawāʾid al-Majmūʿah, p. 53, ḥadīth no. 112)
It is reported from Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من صلى يوم عرفة بين الظهر والعصر أربع ركعات، يقرأ في كل ركعة فاتحة الكتاب مرة، وقل هو الله أحد خمسين مرة، كتب الله تعالى له ألف ألف حسنة، ورفع له بكل حرف درجة في الجنة ما بين كل درجتين مسيرة خمسمائة عام، ويزوجه الله بكل حرف في القرآن حوراء مع كل حوراء سبعون ألف مائدة من الدر والياقوت
“Whoever prays four rakʿāt between Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr on the Day of ʿArafah, reciting Sūrah al-Fātiḥah once and Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ fifty times in each rakʿah, Allah will write for him a million rewards, raise his ranks in Paradise for every letter—a distance of five hundred years between each level—and will marry him to one ḥūr per letter, each accompanied by seventy thousand trays of pearls and rubies.”
al-Mawḍūʿāt by Ibn al-Jawzī: 2/447–449, ḥadīth no. 1017
Fabricated (جھوٹی روایت)
This narration includes multiple unreliable narrators:
① Nahās bin Qahm al-Qaysī Abū Khaṭṭāb – Declared weak by:
• Imām Yaḥyā bin Maʿīn
• Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī
• Imām al-Nasāʾī
• Imām Ibn ʿAdī
• Imām al-Dāraqutnī رحمهم الله
② Mūsā bin ʿImrān al-Balkhī – Biographical details are unavailable.
③ Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī bin Aḥmad al-Mamawiyyah al-Muʾaddib al-Ḥulwānī – Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī رحمه الله states:
“We were narrated from him by Hilāl bin Muḥammad al-Ḥaffār who narrated munkar (denounced) aḥādīth. Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbdullāh bin Ibrāhīm narrated fabricated narrations from him attributed to reliable teachers. I strongly believe that this is the fabrication of al-Ḥulwānī himself. And Allah knows best.”
(Tārīkh Baghdād: 13/226)
④ Masʿūd bin Wāṣil al-Azraq al-Baṣrī – Declared by Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar:
“Weak in ḥadīth.”
(Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: no. 6614)
⑤ Qatādah – Known for tadlīs (obfuscation in transmission); no affirmation of direct hearing.
A similar narration appears in Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī (758):
ما من أيام أحب إلى الله أن يتعبد له فيها من عشر ذي الحجة، يعدل صيام كل يوم منها بصيام سنة، وقيام كل ليلة منها بقيام ليلة القدر
“There are no days more beloved to Allah for worship than the ten days of Dhul-Ḥijjah. Fasting each of its days equals fasting a year, and standing in prayer at night equals standing on Laylat al-Qadr.”
Chain Status: Severely Weak (سند سخت ضعیف)
• Includes Nahās bin Qahm (weak)
• Qatādah (mudallis, without explicit hearing)
• Masʿūd bin Wāṣil (weak)
There is no authentic basis for performing specific voluntary prayers on the Day of ʿArafah in the form described in the aforementioned narrations. These reports are either severely weak or fabricated, and thus cannot be used as evidence in Shariʿah.
❖ Voluntary Prayers on the Day of ʿArafah (Yawm al-ʿArafah)
Note: Some people perform specific acts of worship on the Day of ʿArafah (9th Dhul-Ḥijjah), especially particular forms of prayer. However, these practices are not established from authentic sources. Below is a detailed analysis of some such narrations:◈ Narration ①
It is reported from Sayyidunā ʿAlī bin Abī Ṭālib and Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنهما that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
Arabic Text:
من صلى يوم عرفة ركعتين يقرأ في كل ركعة بفاتحة الكتاب ثلاث مرات في كل مرة يبدأ ببسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ويختم آخرها ب(آمين) ثم يقرأ بقل يا أيها الكافرون ثلاث مرات وقل هو الله أحد مائة مرة يبدأ في كل مرة ببسم الله الرحمن الرحيم إلا قال الله عز وجل لملائكته: أشهدكم أني قد غفرت له
“Whoever prays two rakʿāt on the Day of ʿArafah, reciting Sūrah al-Fātiḥah three times in each rakʿah—starting each time with Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm and ending with Āmīn—then recites Sūrah al-Kāfirūn three times and Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ one hundred times (each time beginning with Bismillāh), then Allah ﷻ says to His angels: ‘Bear witness that I have forgiven him.’”
Kitāb al-Thawāb by Abū Shaykh Ibn Ḥayyān, as cited in al-Laʾālī al-Maṣnūʿah by al-Suyūṭī: 2/62; Muthīr al-ʿAzm al-Sākin by Ibn al-Jawzī: 1/268, ḥadīth no. 151Authenticity of the Narration:
Very Weak (سخت ضعیف)
➤ The narrator ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin Ziyād bin Anʿam al-Ifriqī is weak.
❖ Imām Ibn al-Jawzī رحمه الله said:
“This ḥadīth is not authentic from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Ibn Anʿam has been declared weak by the scholars of ḥadīth.”
(al-Mawḍūʿāt 2/450)❖ Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله labeled it:
Fabricated (من گھڑت)
(al-Fawāʾid al-Majmūʿah, p. 53, ḥadīth no. 112)◈ Narration ②
It is reported from Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
Arabic Text:
من صلى يوم عرفة بين الظهر والعصر أربع ركعات، يقرأ في كل ركعة فاتحة الكتاب مرة، وقل هو الله أحد خمسين مرة، كتب الله تعالى له ألف ألف حسنة، ورفع له بكل حرف درجة في الجنة ما بين كل درجتين مسيرة خمسمائة عام، ويزوجه الله بكل حرف في القرآن حوراء مع كل حوراء سبعون ألف مائدة من الدر والياقوت
“Whoever prays four rakʿāt between Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr on the Day of ʿArafah, reciting Sūrah al-Fātiḥah once and Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ fifty times in each rakʿah, Allah will write for him a million rewards, raise his ranks in Paradise for every letter—a distance of five hundred years between each level—and will marry him to one ḥūr per letter, each accompanied by seventy thousand trays of pearls and rubies.”
al-Mawḍūʿāt by Ibn al-Jawzī: 2/447–449, ḥadīth no. 1017Authenticity of the Narration:
Fabricated (جھوٹی روایت)
This narration includes multiple unreliable narrators:
① Nahās bin Qahm al-Qaysī Abū Khaṭṭāb – Declared weak by:
• Imām Yaḥyā bin Maʿīn
• Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī
• Imām al-Nasāʾī
• Imām Ibn ʿAdī
• Imām al-Dāraqutnī رحمهم الله
② Mūsā bin ʿImrān al-Balkhī – Biographical details are unavailable.
③ Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī bin Aḥmad al-Mamawiyyah al-Muʾaddib al-Ḥulwānī – Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī رحمه الله states:
“We were narrated from him by Hilāl bin Muḥammad al-Ḥaffār who narrated munkar (denounced) aḥādīth. Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbdullāh bin Ibrāhīm narrated fabricated narrations from him attributed to reliable teachers. I strongly believe that this is the fabrication of al-Ḥulwānī himself. And Allah knows best.”
(Tārīkh Baghdād: 13/226)④ Masʿūd bin Wāṣil al-Azraq al-Baṣrī – Declared by Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar:
“Weak in ḥadīth.”
(Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: no. 6614)⑤ Qatādah – Known for tadlīs (obfuscation in transmission); no affirmation of direct hearing.
❖ Additional Note:
A similar narration appears in Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī (758):
ما من أيام أحب إلى الله أن يتعبد له فيها من عشر ذي الحجة، يعدل صيام كل يوم منها بصيام سنة، وقيام كل ليلة منها بقيام ليلة القدر
“There are no days more beloved to Allah for worship than the ten days of Dhul-Ḥijjah. Fasting each of its days equals fasting a year, and standing in prayer at night equals standing on Laylat al-Qadr.”
Chain Status: Severely Weak (سند سخت ضعیف)
• Includes Nahās bin Qahm (weak)
• Qatādah (mudallis, without explicit hearing)
• Masʿūd bin Wāṣil (weak)
Conclusion:
There is no authentic basis for performing specific voluntary prayers on the Day of ʿArafah in the form described in the aforementioned narrations. These reports are either severely weak or fabricated, and thus cannot be used as evidence in Shariʿah.
