Mount Arafat

Mount Arafat, also called Jabal al-Rahmah, the Mount of Mercy, rises from the Plain of Arafat about 20 kilometres southeast of Makkah in Saudi Arabia. It is a granodiorite hill about 70 metres high, with its summit at about 454 metres above sea level.

On the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah, pilgrims gather on the plain of Arafat from noon until sunset for the wuquf, the standing in prayer and remembrance. This standing is the central rite of Hajj, and the pilgrimage is not valid without it. The Prophet Muhammad gave his Farewell Sermon here in 632.

A white pillar marks the top of the hill, and stairs lead up its slope. Masjid Namirah, at the western edge of the plain, holds the sermon and combined prayers on the Day of Arafah. The plain has cooling sprays, shade trees, tents and water points for the millions of pilgrims.

Arafat lies inside the area restricted to Muslims. During Hajj, an official permit is needed. Outside the Hajj season, Muslim visitors on Umrah often visit the hill as part of a tour of the holy sites.

Muslim tradition gives the hill a second meaning. Many believe it is where Adam and Eve met again on earth after leaving paradise and were forgiven, which is the origin of the name Jabal al-Rahmah. The pillar on the summit marks the spot where this is believed to have happened, and pilgrims climb the steps to pray beside it.

The rite at Arafat is older than Islam. Before his prophethood, Muhammad broke with the custom of his tribe, the Quraysh, who did not leave the sacred precinct, by standing at Arafat with the other Arabs, to the surprise of his fellow Qurayshi Jubayr ibn Mutim.

On the Day of Arafah pilgrims leave Mina for the plain in the morning, hear the sermon and pray the noon and afternoon prayers together, then spend the rest of the day in supplication. At sunset they move on to Muzdalifah for the evening prayers and a short rest. On foot the route from Makkah is about 21 kilometres, and since late 2010 a metro line has carried pilgrims between Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat during Hajj.

The hill itself is geologically young. A 2012 study classified it as granodiorite, mostly feldspar, quartz and muscovite, with a fission track age of about 9 million years, and found that its natural radioactivity poses no health risk to visitors.