Question
What is the minimum time that a pilgrim must observe a vigil on the plain of `Arafah for the Hajj to be valid? We had to depart for an emergency soon after arriving on the plain and we are concerned. Also, how are the boundaries of the plain of `Arafah defined?
Answer
One’s presence in `Arafah fulfils the obligation of Hajj as long as one is present there at any time between sunrise on the ninth of Dhū al-Hijjah and the start of dawn on the tenth.
This is established by the hadīth where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever finds this prayer with us and arrives in `Arafah beforehand, whether at night or during the day, then his Hajj and its rites are fulfilled.” [|Sunan Abī Dāwūd (1950), Sunan al-Tirmidhī (891) Sunan al-Nasā’ī (3041), and Sunan Ibn Mājah (3016)]
Namrah is within the boundaries of `Arafah. The Plain of `Arafah is very large.
`Urnah also falls within its boundaries. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “`Urnah is a place of standing, all of it, that is, except for its interior.” [Musnad al-Hārith (384)]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Keep higher than the interior of `Urnah.” [Musnad Ahmad (16797) and Sunan Ibn Mājah (3012)]
The interior of `Urnah is a valley forming a low depression that the Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited as a place for observing the stay at `Arafah.
The Plain of `Arafah extends to the north roughly five kilometres. Its northern border used to be the date palms of Banū `Āmir, but they are no longer in existence.
It extends eastward to the range of high mountains and westward to a similar range of mountains. The southern border of the plain ends in a line of short, elongated mountains.
And Allah knows best.
-islamtoday.net
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