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:
The Day of Arafah is not necessarily the same everywhere, as it depends on when pilgrims perform wuquf at Arafat during Hajj in Makkah. Most scholars agree that Muslims around the world should observe fasting on the same day the pilgrims are on Arafat, even if local calendars differ.
In responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
It is highly recommended for those outside the Hajj to fast the Day of Arafah. The day of Arafah is the day when the pilgrims perform the rite of wuquf (staying) in the plains of Arafat Mountain. In the past, people did not have the comfort of knowing the day of Arafah in advance.
Nowadays, however, they know it and even watch it as it unfolds from their own living rooms on Televisions or the Internet.
So, it is only common sense that we fast the same day as the day of wuquf (i.e. when they perform the ritual of standing on Arafat).
Detailed rulings are available in the following fatwas:
- Mistakes at Arafah
- Significance of Day of Arafah: Key Islamic Virtues
- Do Pilgrims Have to Climb Mount Arafah?
- Should Pilgrims Fast on the Day of Arafah?
- Etiquette of Standing and Supplication on 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?
- Can You Single Saturday for Arafah Fasting?
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.