524 - Issue: He said: "It is not recommended for one who is at 'Arafah to fast, so that he may be strengthened for supplication."
Most scholars prefer breaking the fast on the Day of 'Arafah for one who is at 'Arafah. 'Aishah and Ibn al-Zubayr used to fast it. Qatadah said: There is no harm in it if it does not weaken one from supplication. 'Ata' said: I fast in winter but do not fast in summer, because the dislike of fasting on it is based on the reasoning of weakness in supplication; so if one has the strength for it, or is in the winter and does not grow weak, the dislike is removed. Our position is based on what was narrated from Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith, that some people differed in her presence on the Day of 'Arafah regarding the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Some said: He is fasting. Others said: He is not fasting. She sent him a cup of milk while he was standing on his camel at 'Arafat, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) drank it. This is Muttafaq 'alayh (agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim) (2). Ibn 'Umar said: I performed Hajj with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he did not fast it—meaning the Day of 'Arafah—and with Abu Bakr, and he did not fast it, and with 'Umar, and he did not fast it, and with 'Uthman, and he did not fast it; and I do not fast it, nor do I command it, nor do I forbid it. Recorded by al-Tirmidhi (3), who said: It is a Hasan hadith. Abu Dawud (4) narrated with his chain of transmission from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade fasting on the Day of 'Arafah while at 'Arafah.
(1) In copy M: "mu'allah" (having an underlying cause). (2) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on Standing on the Mount at 'Arafah, from the Book of Hajj; and in: The Chapter on Fasting the Day of 'Arafah, from the Book of Fasting; and in: The Chapter on Drinking from Cups, from the Book of Drinks. Sahih al-Bukhari 2/198, 3/55, 7/147. And by Muslim, in: The Chapter on the Recommendation to Break the Fast for the Pilgrim on the Day of 'Arafah, from the Book of Fasting. Sahih Muslim 2/791. It was also recorded by Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on Fasting the Day of 'Arafah while at 'Arafah, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/569. And by Imam Malik, in: The Chapter on Fasting the Day of 'Arafah, from the Book of Fasting. Al-Muwatta' 1/375. (3) In: The Chapter on the Dislike of Fasting the Day of 'Arafah while at 'Arafah, from the Chapters on Fasting. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 3/283. It was also recorded by al-Darimi, in: The Chapter on Fasting the Day of 'Arafah, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan al-Darimi 2/23. And by Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 2/73. (4) In: The Chapter on Fasting the Day of 'Arafah while at 'Arafah, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/568. It was also recorded by Ibn Majah, in: The Chapter on Fasting the Day of 'Arafah, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/551. And by Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 2/304, 446.
