Is My Hajj Valid If I Enter in Arafah After Sunset? (Shafi’i)

Answered by Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan

Question: Assalam alaykum,

Is my Hajj valid if I enter in Arafah after sunset?

Answer: Wa alaykum al-Salam

Shukran for your question.

The allocated time for executing the obligation of standing on Arafah extends from zawal on the 9th till Fajr on the 10th. Whoever reaches and stands on Arafah, even for a short while, in this allocated time, has fulfilled this obligation. [al-Majmu’]

Accordingly, the one that reaches and stands on Arafah after Magrib, has fulfilled his obligation. That being said, the recommended time to be on Arafah is after the dhur prayer or dhur and asr prayers for those joining, up until after sunset. This was the practice of the Prophet sallaLlahu alayhi wasallam.

And Allah knows best

Wassalam
[Shaykh] Abdurragmaan Khan

Shaykh Abdurragmaan received ijazah ’ammah from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.