Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
No, pilgrims do not have to climb Mount Arafah. Climbing Jabal Ar-Rahmah is neither a requirement nor a Sunnah. Pilgrims may stay anywhere within the boundaries of Arafah, except the valley of Urnah.
In his well-known book, Fiqh As-Sunnah, the late Azharite scholar Sheikh Sayyed Sabiq states the following:
Where Should Pilgrims Stay on the Day of Arafah?
A pilgrim may spend the Day of Arafah anywhere within the bounds of Arafah, for all of it is equally good for encamping (on this particular day) except the bottom of the valley called Urnah to the west of Arafah.
What Is the Ruling on Staying at Urnah?
There is a consensus that spending the Day of Arafah at Urnah is not sufficient to fulfill the condition of staying at Arafah. Spending time near the rocks or as close to them as possible is commended.
The Sunnah of the Prophet at Arafah
The Prophet (peace be upon him) stopped at this place and said, “I have stopped here, but the whole of Arafah is a stopping place (for the Day of Arafah).”(Ahmad, Muslim, and Abu Dawud from Jabir)
Climbing the Mountain of Ar-Rahmah or the belief that standing on it is better than standing in any other place is wrong, nor does doing so represent a Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
See the fatwas below for expanded discussion:
- Significance of Day of Arafah: Key Islamic Virtues
- Should Pilgrims Fast on the Day of Arafah?
- When Should Pilgrims Return from Arafah?
- Is Hajj Invalidated If I Fainted at Mount Arafah?
- Can You Fast `Arafah If You Have Days to Make Up?
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.