Whether one who dies on day of ‘Arafah is regarded to have stood at it

25-8-2016 | IslamWeb

Question:

Our mother died suddenly on the night prior to the day of ‘Arafah, and it was Monday. She was not suffering from any disease. She was forty-seven years old and was of good health. She used to fast every Monday and Thursday and the three white days i.e. from the thirteenth to the fifteenth of every lunar month. She used to observe all her religious obligations, including the prayer and Zakaah. I was informed that if one died on the night prior to the day of ‘Arafah, he would be considered to have stood at it along with the pilgrims; and that if one died on Monday, i.e. the same day on which the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, died, he would be safe from the torment of the grave. What is your opinion?

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

We ask Allaah to have mercy upon your mother, accept her deeds, and make good your condolence. It should be known to the questioner that if her mother died on the tenth night of Thul-Hijjah after having stood at ‘Arafah on the ninth day of Thul-Hijjah, she would be regarded to have stood along with the pilgrims. However, if she died on the ninth night of Thul-Hijjah before standing at ‘Arafah, then she would not be considered, in reality, to have stood at ‘Arafah. Nevertheless, we expect that Allaah would accept Hajj from her and that on the Day of Resurrection, she would be raised up from death reciting Talbiyah, depending on the Hadeeth that reads, “He who intends to do a good deed and could not do it, it will be written by Allaah a full good deed for him.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

To the best of our knowledge, there is no evidence to support the superiority of death on Monday other than the wish of Abu Bakr  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him to die on it as well as the fact that the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, died on it. We have no knowledge of the claim that whoever dies on it will be safe from the torment of the grave.

Allaah Knows best.

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