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IRSYAD AL-HADITH SERIES 404: THE MEANING OF TARWIYAH DAY AND ITS ADVANTAGES

 IrsyadHadith 404

 

Question:

What is the meaning and advantages of tarwiyah day?

 

Answer:

Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.

We are still in the first 10 days of Zul al-Hijjah and the first ten days’ advantages is generally known for they are the most beloved days by Allah SWT for anyone who performs acts of worship on these days. This is according to a sahih hadith:

  • From Ibn Abbas R.Anhuma, the Prophet PBUH said:

مَا مِنْ أَيَّامٍ الْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ فِيهَا أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللهِ مِنْ هَذِهِ الأَيَّامِ يَعْنِي أَيَّامَ الْعَشْرِ ، قَالُوا : يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ ، وَلاَ الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ ؟ قَالَ : وَلاَ الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ ، إِلاَّ رَجُلٌ خَرَجَ بِنَفْسِهِ وَمَالِهِ ، فَلَمْ يَرْجِعْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ بِشَيْءٍ

“There is no virtue more to the liking of Allah in any day than in these days, that is, the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah. They (the Companions) asked: Messenger of Allah, not even the struggle in the path of Allah (Jihad) ? He said: (Yes), not even the struggle in the path of Allah, except a man who goes out (in the path of Allah) with his life and property, and does not return with any of them.”

Sunan Abu Daud (2982) [The sanad of the hadith is sahih according to Syeikh Syu’aib an-Arna’outh]

Furthermore, the eighth day of this month is also named as Tarwiyah day. Thus, in this series of Irsyad al-Hadith, we will discuss and explain the advantages of Tarwiyah day.

Imam Ibnu Qudamah explained that the day is named as Tarwiyah because of two reasons:

  • The hajj pilgrims in the state of ihram are headed to Mina to stay there overnight. The reason is the next day would head to Arafah. In Mina, these pilgrims would prepare water supply to be brought with them for the wukuf in Arafah. The water preparation is known as Yatarowwaun (يتروون).
  • Furthermore, it is also named as “Tarwiyah” because on the night of this day, for the first time, the Prophet Abraham AS dreamt of slaughtering his son the Prophet Ishmael through a dream revealed by Allah SWT. The following day, Prophet Abraham AS questioned himself for the whole day, uncertain as to whether the dream came from Allah SWT or the shaytan. Him wondering and questioning himself is terms as Yurowwi (يروي) and this is one of the reason why the 8th day of Zul al-Hijjah is known as the Tarwiyah day.

Thus, Tarwiyah day has two meanings according to Imam Ibn Qudamah, one is the day the hajj pilgrims prepare their water supply before heading towards the Arafah and second, the day when the Prophet Abraham AS dreamt about slaughtering his son Prophet Ishmael AS and this made him wonder and question himself.

As for matters related to this day, there is a hadith which state that fasting on this day would expiate a whole year of sins. While fasting on Arafah day would expiate two years of sins.

  • It is said that the Prophet PBUH said:

صَوْمُ يَوْمِ التَّرْوِيَةِ كَفَّارَةُ سَنَةٍ، وَصَوْمُ يَوْمِ عَرفَةَ كَفَّارَةُ سَنَتَيْنِ

“Fasting on Tarwiyah day is an expiation of sins for a year and fasting on Arafah day is an expiation of sins for two years.”

This hadith is narrated by Imam al-Dailami in his book Musnad al-Firdaus (2/248). Scholars have differing opinions in evaluating this hadith. Some of them state the hadith as dhaif (weak) as evaluated by Imam al-Busiri. Furthermore, there is narrator in its sanad who is known as a liar. And another narrator who is stated to be majhul (unknown). The reason is Imam Ibn al-Jauzi, Imam al-Syaukani and Imam Ibn ‘Arraq al-Kinani evaluated this hadith as fake.

Thus, we are inclined towards the opinion that state this hadith is not sahih for there are narrators of the hadith who is a liar and another who is majhul.

However, some scholars evaluate this hadith as dhaif (weak) and used this hadith to support there are specific advantages of fasting on Tarwiyah day. The reason is there are scholars who ruled it permissible for a person to practice a dhaif hadith in fadhail al-a’mal matters as long as it does not involve matters of aqidah or rulings.

Hence, there is no sahih hadith that mentions specific worship to be performed on Tarwiyah day except that this day is included under the general hadith which explains the advantages of good deeds performed in the first 10 days of Zul al-Hijjah and in the holy months. Fasting or other worships are included as acts of obedience and they are included in the general hadith.

Conclusion

To conclude, Tarwiyah day is the eight day of the month of Zul al-HIjjah and there is no mention of specific worship that should be performed on this particular day in any sahih hadiths. Lastly, may Allah SWT accept all our worships and good deeds in these beloved days of Allah SWT. Amin.

Wallhahua’lam.