File photo: pilgrims on arafatThe Saudi Arabia has announced that August 10, 2019 will be the Arafat Day while the following day, August 11 will be Eid-el-Kabir, otherwise known as big Sallah.
In a statement today, August 1st, the Saudi authorites said that the first day of Zul-Hijja, the Islamic month, begins tomorrow, August 2nd.
Arafat Day falls on the 9th day of Zul-Hijja of the lunar Islamic Calendar. It is the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage and the day after is the first day of the major Islamic holiday of Eid-el-Kabir of Eid-el-Adha. At dawn of this day, Muslim pilgrims will make their way from Mina to a nearby hillside and plain called Mount Arafat and the Plain of Arafah. It was from this site that Prophet Muhammad gave one of his last famous sermons in the final year of his life. Muslims hold that part of the Qur’anic verse announcing that the religion of Islam had been perfected was revealed on this day.
