# Mount Arafat > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mount_Arafat > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mount_Arafat.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Arafat > Source revision: 1356280918 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Mountain and holy site in Saudi Arabia}} {{About|the mountain|the Islamic day of recommended fasting prior to Eid-al-Adha|Day of Arafah}} {{Distinguish|Mount Ararat|Mount Arayat}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Mount Arafat | native_name = {{native name list |tag1=ar |name1=جَبَل عَرَفَات |tag2=ar |name2=جَبَل ٱلرَّحْمَة |paren1=no}} | alternate_name = | image = Pilgrims cover Arafat's roads, plains and mountain - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg | image_caption = Pilgrims atop the mountain during the [Hajj](/source/Hajj) | elevation_m = | elevation_ref = | listing = [Mountains of Saudi Arabia](/source/List_of_mountains_in_Saudi_Arabia) | location = Near [Mecca](/source/Mecca) City, [Makkah Province](/source/Makkah_Province), the [Hejaz](/source/Hejaz), [Saudi Arabia](/source/Saudi_Arabia) | map = Saudi Arabia#Middle East#Asia | map_caption = Location of Mount Arafat within Saudi Arabia | map_size = 234 | coordinates = {{coord|21|21|17|N|39|59|02|E|type:landmark|display=it}} | coordinates_ref = | range = [Hijaz Mountains](/source/Hijaz_Mountains) | type = [Grandiorite](/source/Grandiorite) [hill](/source/hill) | age = 9.13 ± 1.05 [Mya](/source/Million_years_ago) | fetchwikidata = ALL }} '''Mount Arafat''' ({{langx|ar|جَبَل عَرَفَات|translit=Jabal ʿArafāt}}, or {{langx|ar|جَبَل ٱلرَّحْمَة|Jabal ar-Raḥmah|Mountain of Mercy|label=none}}){{Cite news|title=Saudi Arabia Hajj: Millions at Mount Arafat for ceremonies|work=BBC News |date=11 September 2016 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37331826|access-date=2019-04-14}} is a [granodiorite](/source/granodiorite) [hill](/source/hill){{Cite journal|last1=Qureshi|first1=A. A.|last2=Sultan|first2=A.|last3=Rashid|first3=A.|last4=Ali|first4=M.|last5=Waheed|first5=A.|last6=Manzoor|first6=S.|last7=Baloch|first7=M. A.|last8=Matiullah|last9=Batool|first9=S.|last10=Khan|first10=H. A.|date=September 2012|title=Geological and radiological studies of the Mount Arafat, Mekkah, Saudi Arabia|journal=Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry|language=en|volume=293|issue=3|pages=955–963|doi=10.1007/s10967-012-1776-0|bibcode=2012JRNC..293..955Q |s2cid=95942060|issn=0236-5731}} about {{cvt|20|km|mi}} southeast of [Mecca](/source/Mecca), in the [province of the same name](/source/Makkah_Province) in [Saudi Arabia](/source/Saudi_Arabia).{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com.sa/maps/dir/Mt+Arafat/Makkah/@21.3850184,39.8410552,12zdata=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x15e9fdbfebe918df:0x6cfad77937cbd28e!2m2!1d40.0027778!2d21.3666667!1m5!1m1!1s0x15c21b4ced818775:0x98ab2469cf70c9ce!2m2!1d39.8166667!2d21.4166667!3e0|title=خرائط Google}} It is approximately {{cvt|70|m|ft}} in height, with its highest point sitting at an elevation of {{convert|454|m|ft}}. The [Islamic](/source/Islamic) prophet [Muhammad](/source/Muhammad), before becoming a prophet, would break the tradition of his tribe, the [Quraysh](/source/Quraysh), by standing at Arafat with the other Arabs, much to the shock of his fellow Qurayshite [Jubayr ibn Muṭʽim](/source/Jubayr_ibn_Mu%E1%B9%AD%CA%BDim) who highlighted that he was a part of the Hums and questioning what business he had there.{{Cite web |title=Sahih al-Bukhari 1664 - Hajj (Pilgrimage) - كتاب الحج - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) |url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1664 |access-date=2025-08-01 |website=sunnah.com}}{{Cite web |title=Sahih Muslim 1220 - The Book of Pilgrimage - كتاب الحج - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) |url=https://sunnah.com/muslim:1220 |access-date=2025-08-01 |website=sunnah.com}} According to Islamic traditions, the hill is the place where Muhammad stood and delivered the [Farewell Sermon](/source/Farewell_Sermon) ({{transliteration|ar|Khuṭbat al-Wadāʿ}}){{cite book |last1=Burns |first1=William E. |title=Speeches in World History |date=25 June 2010 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-2680-7 |page=79 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-6ghsWDMTAC&dq=Farewell+Sermon+arafat&pg=PA79 |access-date=14 March 2024 |language=en}} to [his companions](/source/Companions_of_the_Prophet) ({{transliteration|ar|Ṣaḥābah}}) who had accompanied him for the [Hajj](/source/Hajj) towards the end of his life. Some Muslims also believe that Mount Arafat is the place where [Adam](/source/Adam_in_Islam) and [Eve](/source/Eve_in_Islam) reunited on [Earth](/source/Earth) after falling from [Heaven](/source/Jannah), believing the mountain to be the place where they were forgiven, hence giving it the name {{transliteration|ar|Jabal ar-Raḥmah}}, meaning 'Mountain of Mercy'. A pillar is erected on top of the mountain to show where this event is believed to have taken place. The mountain is especially important during the Hajj, with the 9th day of the [Islamic month](/source/Islamic_calendar) of [Dhu al-Hijjah](/source/Dhu_al-Hijjah), also known as the [Day of 'Arafah](/source/Day_of_Arafah) after the mountain itself, being the day when Hajj pilgrims leave [Mina](/source/Mina%2C_Saudi_Arabia) for Arafat; this day is considered to be the most important day of the Hajj. The {{transliteration|ar|[khuṭbah](/source/khu%E1%B9%ADbah)}} (sermon) is delivered and {{transliteration|ar|[ẓuhr](/source/Zuhr_prayer)}} and {{transliteration|ar|[ʿaṣr](/source/Asr_prayer)}} prayers are prayed together in the valley. The pilgrims spend the whole day on the mountain invoking [Allah](/source/Allah) to forgive their sins.{{Cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/1359496/saudi-arabia|title=More than 2 million pilgrims complete journey to Mount Arafat for second day of Hajj|date=2018-08-20|website=Arab News|language=en|access-date=2019-04-14}} == Geology and radiology == A 2012 study classified Mount Arafat as a [granodiorite](/source/granodiorite) rock which mainly consists of [feldspar](/source/feldspar), [quartz](/source/quartz) and [muscovite](/source/muscovite), among other minerals, using petrographic, fission track dating and γ-spectrometric (HPGe) techniques in order to study the geology, thermal history and the radiological hazards due to the presence of [primordial radionuclide](/source/primordial_radionuclide)s. The study yielded fission track age of 9.13 ± 1.05 Ma of the Mount Arafat granodiorite. In addition, the study reported that rifting, magmatism, volcanism and seafloor spreading that resulted in the formation of [Red Sea](/source/Red_Sea) seems to have altered the original age of the Arafat granodiorite under study to 9.13 ± 1.05 Ma. Measured radioactivity concentrations due to [{{sup|226}}Ra](/source/Radium-226), [{{sup|232}}Th](/source/Thorium-232) and [{{sup|40}}K](/source/Potassium-40) were found to not pose any radiological health hazard to the general public. == Hajj == Arafat rituals end at sunset and pilgrims then move to [Muzdalifah](/source/Muzdalifah) for [Maghrib prayer](/source/Maghrib_prayer) and a shortened [Isha prayer](/source/Isha_prayer) and for a short rest.Peters, F.E., 1996. The Hajj: The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and the holy places. Princeton University Press. The level area surrounding the hill is called the Plain of Arafat. The term Mount Arafat is sometimes applied to this entire area. It is an important place in Islam because, during the Hajj, pilgrims spend the afternoon there on the ninth day of [Dhu al-Hijjah](/source/Dhu_al-Hijjah). Failure to be present in the plain of Arafat on the required day invalidates the pilgrimage.{{citation |last=Omar |first=W. |year=1952 |title=The Mecca Pilgrimage: Its Epidemiological Significance and Control |journal=Postgraduate Medical Journal |volume=28 |issue=319 |pages=269–74 |doi=10.1136/pgmj.28.319.269 |pmid=14929743 |pmc=2530829 }} Since late 2010, this place is served by [Mecca Metro](/source/Mecca_Metro). On a normal Hajj, it would be around {{cvt|13|mi|km|order=flip}} to walk.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} File:Arafat pilgrims.jpg|Pilgrims [supplicating](/source/Supplication) File:Masjid Namirah - panoramio.jpg|[Masjid al-Namirah](/source/Masjid_al-Namirah) File:Jabal-e-Rehmat (Mount Arafat).jpg|Pilgrims supplicating during Hajj File:Jabal-e-Rehmat (Mount of Mercy) Mount Arafat.jpg|Entrance of Jabal ar-Rahmah (Mount of the Mercy) File:Jabal-e-Rehmat (Mount of Mercy).jpg|Pilgrims File:Jabal-e-Rehmat Mount of Mercy Mount Arafat.jpg| File:Jabal-e-Rehmat.jpg| File:Jabal-e-Rehmat (Mount of Mercy Mount Arafat).jpg| == In literature == The hill is referenced in [James Joyce](/source/James_Joyce)'s novel ''[Finnegans Wake](/source/Finnegans_Wake)''{{Cite web|url=http://www.finwake.com/1024chapter1/prevod5.htm#ARAFAT|title=Finnegans Wake|website=www.finwake.com|access-date=2016-07-18}} and [Elias Canetti](/source/Elias_Canetti)'s ''[Crowds and Power](/source/Crowds_and_Power).'' == See also == {{Portal|Saudi Arabia}} * [Du'a Arafah](/source/Du'a_Arafah) * [Sarat Mountains](/source/Sarawat_Mountains) * [Al-Mash'ar al-Haram Mosque](/source/Al-Mash'ar_al-Haram_Mosque) == References == {{Reflist}} == External links == * {{Commons category-inline|Mount Arafat}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4GEKGi3QFk Muslim pilgrims gather at Mount Arafat for Hajj's key moment] ([YouTube](/source/YouTube)) * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AFrYMJH3ns Muslim pilgrims scale Mount Arafat for peak of hajj] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQbaKxHG8dg Millions Of Muslim Pilgrims Gather At Mount Arafat To Mark Pinnacle Of Hajj | TIME] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNfEtrgjjHA اكثر من 2 مليون حاج يصعدون إلى جبل عرفات 1433 هـ] (in Arabic) {{Characters and names in the Quran}} {{Hajj topics}} {{Mountains in the Arabian Peninsula}} {{Holiest sites in Shia Islam}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Arafat}} Category:Mountains of Saudi Arabia Category:Geography of Mecca Category:Hajj --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mount Arafat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Arafat) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Arafat?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.