The ninth day of Zulhijjah is the day of 'Arafah. It is the day pilgrims stand on the plain of ' Arafah to pray. On this day, Muslims all over the world who do not witness the annual Hajj should spend the day fasting in preparation for the three days of festivity following `Eidul Adha.
Abu Hafsah (raa) said the Prophet (saas) said: "Fasting on the day of Arafah absolves the sins for two years: the previous year and the coming years, and fasting on 'Ashura, (the tenth day) of Muharram atones for the sins of previous years." (Reported by Jama'ah except for Bukhari and Tirmidhi)
In another hadith, the Prophet's wife Hafsah (raa) said: "Four things the Messenger of Allah never neglected: Observing fast on the day of ' Ashura, (on the tenth of Muharram), three days every month, and offering Fajr sunnah prayers early in the morning." (Muslim)
These ahadith are proof that was fasting on the ninth of Zulhijjah, the day before `Eidul Adha was a lifelong practice of the Prophet (saas) as his wife reported.
There are some reports that fasting is prohibited on the day of 'Arafah. However, it must be understood that this refers to a person performing Hajj. If a person is on Hajj, there is no fast for him or her on the day of 'Arafah. That is undoubtedly a blessing for him because of the hardships of the pilgrimage. In a hadith reported by Umm al-Fadl (raa) she said: "The companions doubted whether the Prophet was fasting on 'Arafah or not. She decided to prove to them that he was not, so she said, 'I sent to him milk, which he drank while he was delivering the Khutbah on 'Arafah.'" (Bukhari)
Prohibiting the pilgrim from fasting on these days is a great mercy for him, for fasting will exert undue hardship on the person performing the Hajj, while he is concerned with his pilgrimage. Above all, the pilgrim would not be fasting anyway because he is traveling.
