Praise be to Allah.
If ‘Arafah falls on a Friday, is Hajj equivalent to 7 Hajjs?
We do not know of any hadith which says that if ‘Arafah falls on a Friday then Hajj in that year is equivalent to seven Hajjs, rather what is narrated is “seventy Hajjs” or “seventy-two Hajjs”, but neither of them is sahih anyway.
The former was narrated in a hadith, but it is false and is not sahih. As for the latter, we could not find any isnad or matn (text) for it, so it has no basis.
The text of the hadith that has been narrated is:
“The best of days is the day of ‘Arafah , if it falls on a Friday, and it is better than seventy Hajjs on a day other than Friday.”
The imams judged this hadith to be false and not sahih:
1. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“As for that which is commonly spoken of among the common folk, that it is equivalent to seventy-two Hajjs, this is false and there is no basis for it (in any report) from the Messenger of Allah or from any of the Sahabah or Tabi’in, and Allah knows best.” (Zad al-Ma’ad, 1/65)
2. Shaykh al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Silsilah al-Da’ifah (207) – after ruling that the hadith is false and has no basis-:
“As for the view of al-Zayla’i – according to what it says in Hashiyat Ibn 'Abidin (2/348): It was narrated by Razin ibn Mu’awiyah in Tajrid al-Sihah – it should be noted that this book of Razin’s is a compilation of the six books of Sunnah – al-Sahihayn, the Muwatta of Malik, Sunan Abi Dawud, al-Nasai and al-Tirmidhi – similar to the book of Ibn al-Athir entitled Jami’ al-Usul min Ahadith al-Rasul, but in al-Tajrid there are many ahadith for which there is no basis in any of these sources. That is also known from what the scholars have narrated from him, such as al-Mundhiri in al-Targhib wa’l-Tarhib, and this hadith is of that type; there is no basis for it in these books, or in any other well known book of hadith. In fact, the great scholar Ibn al-Qayyim stated in al-Zad (1/17) that it is false. After discussing the merit of ‘Arafah coinciding with Friday in ten ways that he mentioned, he said: As for that which is commonly spoken of among the common folk, that it is equivalent to seventy-two Hajjs, this is false and there is no basis for it (in any report) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or from any of the Sahabah or Tabi’in.
This was supported by al-Manawi in Fayd al-Qadir (2/28), then by Ibn ‘Aabidin in al-Hashiyah.”
In al-Silsilah al-Da’ifah (1193) it says:
Al-Sakhawi said in al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyyah (2/105):
“This was mentioned by Razin in his Jami’ and attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), but he did not mention the Sahabi who narrated it or anyone who transmitted it.”
In al-Silsilah al-Da’ifah (3144) it says:
“Al-Hafiz said in al-Fath (8/204), after quoting it from Razin in al-Jami’ and noting that he attributed it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): I do not know whether it is valid or not, because he did not mention the Sahabi who narrated it or anyone who transmitted it.”
Al-Hafiz ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi said in Fadl Yawm ‘Arafah:
“The hadith “If the day of ‘Arafah falls on a Friday, it is equivalent to seventy-two Hajjs” is a false hadith and is not sahih. Similarly the report narrated from Zurr ibn Hubaysh, that it is better than seventy Hajjs on a day other than Friday” is not proven.”
3. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Is there anything narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about the virtue of Hajj being on a Friday?
He replied:
“There is nothing narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about there being any special virtue in the Day of ‘Arafah falling on a Friday, but the scholars said that if it happens to fall on a Friday, that is a good thing.
Firstly – because it means that the Hajj is like the Hajj of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as the Prophet’s standing in ‘Arafah happened to be on a Friday.
Secondly – because on Friday there is an hour when no Muslim slave stands to pray and asks his Lord for something but He will grant it to him, so that is more likely to be answered.
Thirdly – The Day of ‘Arafah is an ‘Eid and Friday is an ‘Eid, so if the two ‘Eids come together, that is a good thing.
As for the commonly-held view that Hajj on a Friday is equivalent to seventy Hajjs, that is not correct.” (Al-Liqa al-Shahriyyah, 34/question no. 18)
4. The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:
Some people say that if the Day of ‘Arafah happens to fall on a Friday , as it does this year, it will be like doing seven Hajjs. Is there any evidence from the Sunnah for that?
They replied:
“There is no sahih evidence for that. Some people claim that it is equivalent to seventy Hajjs, or seventy-two, but that is not correct either.” (Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daimah, 11/210, 211) See also: Fath al-Bari (8/271); Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi (4/27)
Why some people think that if ‘Arafah falls on a Friday, Hajj is equivalent to 7 Hajjs
Perhaps the reason why this view is so widely held among people is because it is mentioned in the books of the Hanafis and Shaafi’is.
The Hanafis said:
“If ‘Arafah falls on a Friday it has the virtue of seventy Hajjs and all the people will be forgiven with no intermediary.”
And they said:
“The best of days is the day of ‘Arafah, if it falls on a Friday, and it is better than seventy Hajjs on a day other than Friday.” (Radd al-Muhtar ‘ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar, 2/621)
And the Shaafi’is said:
“It was said that if the Day of ‘Arafah falls on a Friday, Allah will forgive all the people in the place of standing, with no intermediary, and on a day other than Friday they will be forgiven with an intermediary i.e., it will be granted to the sinners because of the doers of good.” (Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/497)
Merit in the Day of ‘Arafah falling on a Friday
The fact that this hadith is false does not mean that there is no special merit in the Day of ‘Arafah falling on a Friday, rather Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned ten special merits thereof, which we will quote here because they are of great benefit.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The correct view is that Friday is the best day of the week and the day of ‘Arafah and the day of Sacrifice are the best days of the year, as are Laylat al-Qadr and the night before Friday. Hence if the day of ‘Arafah falls on a Friday, it is superior to all the other days in several ways:
1. Coincidence of two days that are the best of days.
2. It is a day in which there is an hour when prayers are answered. Most (scholars) are of the view that it is the last hour after ‘Asr, and the people in the place of standing are all there to offer du’a and beseech Allah.
3. It falls on the same day that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did Hajj.
4. People all over the world gather there to listen to the khutbah and pray Jumu’ah, and that coincides with the gathering of the people of ‘Arafah on the day of ‘Arafah in ‘Arafah, So the Muslims’ gathering in their mosques and their standing to offer du’a and beseech Allah coincide in a way that does not happen on any other day.
5. Friday is an ‘Eid, and the day of ‘Arafah is an ‘Eid for the people in ‘Arafah, hence it is makruh for those who are in ‘Arafah to fast on this day.
Our Shaykh – i.e., Ibn Taymiyah – said: The day of ‘Arafah is only an ‘Eid for those who are in ‘Arafah because they are gathered there, unlike the people in other regions, who only gather on the Day of Sacrifice. So it is an ‘Eid for them. What is meant is that if the day of ‘Arafah falls on a Friday, it is two ‘Eids in one.
6. It coincides with the day when Allah perfected His religion for His believing slaves and completed His favour upon them, as it is proven in Sahih al-Bukhari that Tariq ibn Shihab said: A Jew came to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab and said: O Amir al-Muminin, there is a verse which you read in your Book; if it had been revealed to us Jews and we knew the day on which it was revealed, we would have taken it as a festival. He said: Which verse is that? He said: “This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” [al-Maidah 5:3]. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab said: I know the day which it was revealed, and the place in which it was revealed. It was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in ‘Arafah, on a Friday, when we were standing with him in ‘Arafah.
7. It coincides with the day of the greatest gathering and the great standing of the Day of Resurrection, for the Day of Resurrection will take place on a Friday as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The best day on which the sun rises is Friday. On it Adam was created, on it he was admitted to Paradise, on it he was expelled therefrom, and on it the Hour will begin. On that day there is an hour when no Muslim slave asks Allah for something good but He will grant it to him.”
8. An act of worship or obedience done by the Muslims on Friday or the night before Friday are more than those done on other days, because even evildoers respect Friday and the night before it, and they think that if a person dares to commit sin at that time, Allah will hasten his punishment and will not give him respite. This is something that is well established in their minds and they know it by experience, because of the great honour that this day has before Allah, and because He chose it out of all other days, and undoubtedly standing in ‘Arafah on this day is better than on any other day.
9. It coincides with the day when Allah gives people more in Paradise, which is a Friday. So if ‘Arafah falls on that day, it is extra special and enjoys a virtue that is not shared by any other day.
10. The Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, draws close to the people in the place of standing in the afternoon of the day of ‘Arafah, then He boasts of them before the angels.
For these reasons and others, Friday is superior to other days.
But as for that which is commonly spoken of among the common folk, that it is equivalent to seventy-two Hajjs, this is false and there is no basis for it (in any report) from the Messenger of Allah or from any of the Sahabah or Tabi’in. And Allah knows best. (Zad al-Ma’ad, 1/60-65)
And Allah knows best
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