Pilgrims began to arrive at the plains of Arafat on Saturday for the Hajj rituals of 2024, on the day known as the Day of Arafat, which is considered the "greatest pillar of Hajj." Below is a brief overview of it. According to a previous report by the Saudi Press Agency, Arafat is a name used by most scholars to refer to a site that is the only one of the pilgrimage sites located outside the sanctuary. It consists of a flat plain with Mount Arafat, also known as Mount of Mercy, which rises to a height of 30 meters, accessible by 91 steps. In its center stands a 4-meter-high pole, while Arafat is surrounded by a crescent of mountains, with Wadi Arafa at its base. It is located on the road between Mecca and Taif, about 15 kilometers east of Mecca, and 10 kilometers from Mina and 6 kilometers from Muzdalifah, covering an area of approximately 10.4 square kilometers.
The report noted: "The Lord of the worlds boasts about the people of Arafat to the inhabitants of the heavens, as mentioned in a hadith narrated by Abu Huraira: 'Indeed, Allah boasts about the people of Arafat to the people of heaven, saying to them: Look at My servants who have come to Me, disheveled and dusty.'"
The report highlighted: "The Day of Arafat has a great virtue as it was mentioned by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, that it is the best day in the sight of Allah. In a hadith narrated by Jabir, he stated: 'There is no day better in the sight of Allah than the Day of Arafat, when Allah descends to the lowest heaven and boasts about the inhabitants of the earth to the inhabitants of the heavens, saying: Look at My servants who have come to Me disheveled and dusty, coming from every deep valley seeking My mercy and having not seen My punishment. Never has there been a day on which more people are freed from the Fire than the Day of Arafat.' On Arafat, the verse was revealed to the Messenger, peace be upon him: 'Today, I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as religion.'"
The report also mentioned that when the pilgrims stand in Arafat, in front of them is the 'Namira' Mosque. Namira is the mountain where the Prophet, peace be upon him, pitched his tent on the Day of Arafat and delivered a sermon after the sun had passed its zenith. He prayed Dhuhr and Asr in shortened form and combined them ('combining before sunset'). After sunset, he moved from there to Muzdalifah. Then, during the early Abbasid Caliphate, in the middle of the 2nd century AH, two mosques were built at the site of the Prophet's sermon during the Farewell Pilgrimage, now known as the Namira Mosque. Over the course of history, it has undergone expansions, and its current area is 124,000 square meters, consisting of two floors equipped with a cooling system and sanitary facilities, accommodating more than 300,000 worshippers.
