The following is a list of the benefits that come with observing the Day of Arafah:

It is the day on which Allah’s favor was completed, as well as the day on which the religion was perfected.

It was reported in Al-Sahihayn from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that:

A Jewish man said to him, “O Amir al-Muminin, there is a verse in your Book which you recite; if it had come to us Jews, we would have taken that day as a ‘Eid (festival);” this was said in reference to a verse in the Qur’an. Umar responded by asking, “Which verse?” He said, “This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen Islam for you as your religion.” (This day I have completed your religion for you.) [al-Maidah 5:3].

Umar said, “We are aware of the day and the location at which that was revealed to the Prophet” (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). It was on Friday when he was standing in ‘Arafah when it happened.

For the people who live in that area, today is the first day of the Eid.

The day of ‘Arafah, The Day of Sacrifice, and Ayyam al-Tashriq (the three days following Yawm al-Nahr) are ‘Eid (festival) for us, the people of Islam,” said the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). These are the days for consuming food and drink.

It is the day on which Allah swore an oath to his followers.

The Almighty cannot make a solemn oath on any other thing besides what is powerful.

“By the day of bearing witness, which is Friday, and by the day of bearing witness, which is the Day of ‘Arafah.” [al-Buruj 85:3]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said,

“The promised day is the Day of Resurrection, the witnessed day is the Day of ‘Arafah, and the witnessing day is Friday.” This was relayed by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him),

Fasting on this day is an expiation for two years

A question was posed to the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) regarding the fasting that is required on the Day of ‘Arafah, and Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) related the answer. According to what he said,

It expiates for the sins of the previous year as well as the sins of the coming year.

This (the practice of fasting) is mustahabb for those who are not performing the Hajj. It is not Sunnah for someone who is performing Hajj to fast on the Day of ‘Arafah. This is due to the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not fast on this day while he was in ‘Arafah. It was related that he prohibited people in the city of Arafah from fasting on the Day of Arafah.

It is the day on which Allah separated the descendants of Adam from the covenant that they had previously shared

Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Allah took the covenant from the loins of Adam in Na’man, which is also known as ‘Arafah. He brought forth from his loins all of his progeny and spread them out before Him. After that, He addressed them and asked, “Am I not your Lord?” They responded with “Yes, we testify” so that you wouldn’t have the opportunity on the Day of Resurrection to say, “Verily, we have been ignorant of this.” Or lest you should say: “It was only our fathers aforetime who took others as partners in worship along with Allah, and we were (merely their) descendants after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who practiced Al-Batil (i.e., polytheism and committing crimes and sins, invoking and worshipping others besides Allah)?

Al-Araf 7:172-173

It is the day when people’s sins are forgiven, when they are released from the Fire, and when they can feel pride in themselves:

“There is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than the Day of ‘Arafah,” the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said, according to Sahih Muslim, which was narrated from ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). He draws near and reveals His majesty to the angels, declaring to them, “What do these people want?”

Ibn ‘Umar narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “At the time of ‘Isha on the Day of ‘Arafah, Allah expresses His pride to His angels about the people of ‘Arafah.” This was a statement that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made.

Allah expresses His pride to His angels at the time of ‘Isha on the Day of ‘Arafah, about the people of ‘Arafah. He says, ‘Look at My slaves who have come unkempt and dusty