Wukuf in the plain of Arafat & celebrating Eid al- Adhaa....

Muslims performing Hajj will be in Arafat on Tuesday, 9 Dhul-Hijjah 1428(December 18), and shall be celebrating ‘Eid al-Adhaa' on Wednesday, 10 Dhul-Hijjah 1428(December 19).

The annual hajj is obligatory on every muslim adult at least once in a lifetime if he/she has the resources to go to Mecca. The days appointed are the 8th,9th and 10th of Zulhijjah and two days after that. During these days the muslim devote themselves totally to the rememberance of Allah. Till the 10th of Zulhijjah they are dressed in a simple unstitched body sheet and give up all bodily care of themselves and concentrate on Allah.On the 10th day,Eidul Adha,animals are sacrificed in the name of Allah,in memory of the total submission of Abraham and Ismail to the will of Allah.
The most important ritual of Hajj takes place in the plain of Arafat, 10 miles/16km from the Kaaba in Makkah. This is Wukuf, when the pilgrims spend the best part of a night and a day standing in prayer on the Arafat plain. Here they also meditate and hear sermons, according to the command of the Prophet. The 'standing' at Arafat (Wukuf) is the focal point of the Hajj. The Prophet ordered that all Muslims must journey there in an orderly and peaceful manner, to assemble by noon. Between midday and sunset the massed pilgrims stand at Arafat in joint prayer and meditation before walking from Arafat to the hill of Muzdalifah at sunset. At Muzdalifah, the pilgrims join in the evening prayers, before gathering the pebbles with which they will ritually stone the 'satans' at Mina on the following day.

The tenth day of Dhul Hijjah-is the 'Day of Sacrifice'. Sacrifices begin after the Eid prayers in the morning. After the sacrifice, pilgrims perform Tawaf Ifada, the ceremonial hair-cutting or head shaving. The pilgrim then emerges from the consecrated state of ihram which he entered on reaching miqat at the outset of his pilgrimage. On this day Muslims around the world share the happiness the pilgrims feel and join them by performing identical, individual sacrifices in a worldwide celebration of Aidil-Adha. Two or three more days -the Ayyam at-tashriq- will be required for the pilgrim to complete his Jamarat, and once this rite has been completed the pilgrim returns to Makkah to perform a farewell Tawaf of the Kaabah.

Dan (ingatkanlah peristiwa) ketika Kami tentukan bagi Nabi Ibrahim tempat Kaabah (untuk membinanya, lalu Kami berfirman kepadanya): Janganlah engkau sekutukan sesuatu pun denganKu dan bersihkanlah rumahKu (Kaabah ini) bagi orang-orang yang tawaf dan orang-orang yang berdiri dan yang rukuk serta yang sujud (mengerjakan sembahyang). (26) Dan serukanlah umat manusia untuk mengerjakan ibadat Haji, nescaya mereka akan datang ke (rumah Tuhanmu) dengan berjalan kaki dan dengan menunggang berjenis-jenis unta yang kurus yang datangnya dari berbagai jalan (dan ceruk rantau) yang jauh. (27) Supaya mereka menyaksikan berbagai perkara yang mendatangkan faedah kepada mereka serta memperingati dan menyebut nama Allah, pada hari-hari yang tertentu, kerana pengurniaanNya kepada mereka dengan binatang-binatang ternak (untuk dijadikan korban); dengan yang demikian makanlah kamu dari (daging) binatang-binatang korban itu dan berilah makan kepada orang yang susah, yang fakir miskin. (28) Kemudian hendaklah mereka membersihkan dirinya dan hendaklah mereka menyempurnakan nazar-nazarnya dan hendaklah mereka tawaf akan Baitullah (Kaabah) yang tua sejarahnya itu. (29) - Surah Al-Hajj,26-29

Salam Aidil Adha.........

cheers.