This article is about the mountain. For the Islamic day of fasting prior to Eid-al-Adha, see Day of Arafah.
Not to be confused with Mount Ararat.
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Mount Arafat (Arabic: جَبَل عَرَفَات, romanized: Jabal ʿArafāt), also known by its Arabic name Jabal Arafat, and by its other Arabic name, Jabal ar-Rahmah (Arabic: جبل الرحمة, lit. 'mountain of mercy'),[1] is a granodioritehill[2] about 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Mecca in the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia.[3] The mountain is approximately 70 m (230 ft) in height. Its highest point sits at an elevation of 454 m (1,490 feet).
According to some Islamic traditions, the hill is the place where the ProphetMuhammad stood and delivered the Farewell Sermon, also known as the Khutbat al-Wada',[4] to his companions (sahaba) who had accompanied him for the Hajj towards the end of his life. Some Muslims also believe that Mount Arafat is the place where Adam and Eve (Hawa) reunited on Earth after falling from Heaven, believing the mountain to be the place where they were forgiven, hence giving it the name Jabal ar-Rahmah, 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 of Dhu al-Hijjah, also known as the Day of 'Arafah after the mountain itself, being the day when Hajj pilgrims leave Mina for Arafat; this day is considered to be the most important day of the Hajj. The khutbah (sermon) is delivered and Zuhr and Asr prayers are prayed together in the valley. The pilgrims spend the whole day on the mountain invoking Allah to forgive their sins.[5]
A 2012 study classified Mount Arafat as a granodiorite rock which mainly consists of feldspar, quartz and 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 radionuclides.[2]
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 seems to have altered the original age of the Arafat granodiorite under study to 9.13 ± 1.05 Ma. Measured radioactivity concentrations due to 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were found to not pose any radiological health hazard to the general public.[2]
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. Failure to be present in the plain of Arafat on the required day invalidates the pilgrimage.[7]
Since late 2010, this place is served by Mecca Metro. On a normal Hajj, it would be around 21 km (13 mi) to walk.[citation needed]
^ Jump up to: abcQureshi, A. A.; Sultan, A.; Rashid, A.; Ali, M.; Waheed, A.; Manzoor, S.; Baloch, M. A.; Matiullah; Batool, S.; Khan, H. A. (September 2012). "Geological and radiological studies of the Mount Arafat, Mekkah, Saudi Arabia". Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry. 293 (3): 955–963. doi:10.1007/s10967-012-1776-0. ISSN0236-5731. S2CID95942060.
^Peters, F.E., 1996. The Hajj: The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and the holy places. Princeton University Press.
^Omar, W. (1952), "The Mecca Pilgrimage: Its Epidemiological Significance and Control", Postgraduate Medical Journal, 28 (319): 269–74, doi:10.1136/pgmj.28.319.269, PMC2530829, PMID14929743
Note: Mountains are sorted in alphabetical order, unless where it concerns ranges. The highest confirmed mountains in each country are indicated with 'HP', and those with the highest peak are indicated with 'HP', bearing in mind that in the UAE, the highest mountain and the mountain with the highest peak are different. Outcrops are indicated with 'OC', and outliers with 'OL', and anticlines with 'AC'. Volcanoes are indicated with 'V', volcanic craters with 'VC', lava fields with 'LF', and volcanic fields with 'VF'.
Saudi Arabia
Media related to Mount Arafat at Wikimedia Commons
