Mount Arafat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mount Arafat (sometimes known as Mount Arafah) (Arabic: جبل عرفات; transliterated: Jabal 'Arafat) is a granite hill east of Mecca. It is also known as Jabal ar-Rahmah or the Mountain of Mercy. The hill is the place the Prophet Muhammad delivered The Farewell Sermon to the Muslims who had accompanied him for the Hajj towards the end of his life. It reaches about 70 meters in height.
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 are required to spend the afternoon there on the 9th day of Dhu al-Hijjah. Failure to be present in the plain of Arafat on the required day invalidates the pilgrimage.
Muslims believe the Prophet Adam and his wife Eve were reunited on the hill and forgiven by Allah after 200 years of separation on account of their disobedience in deference to the suggestion of Satan.
Today, this is place from where a khutba, addressed to the entire Muslim world, is delivered.
The former Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat was named after this hill.
Mount Arafat is not to be confused with Mount Ararat.
