*✨ The Virtue of Fasting on the Day of ʿArafah, and What Is Meant by “It Expiates the Coming Year” – Does It Expiate Major Sins or Only Minor Ones?* *✍️ Al-ʿAllāmah Ṣāleḥ al-Fawzān (may Allah preserve him) said:* This day holds tremendous virtue. When the Prophet (ﷺ) was asked about fasting on it, he said: “It expiates the sins of the previous year and the coming year.” Meaning the future year — it expiates two years. This indicates the great virtue of fasting on the Day of ʿArafah. It expiates the previous year — this is clear, because it expiates sins that already exist and have occurred. But as for it expiating the coming year when nothing has yet occurred — this raises a question: How can something be expiated before it happens? So they said: the meaning of “it expiates the coming year” *is that the person is granted success in avoiding sins during the following year, or if he does commit a sin, he is granted success in repenting from it.* This is the meaning of “expiates the coming year.” ❓ Question: Does this expiation apply to major and minor sins, or is it specific to minor ones? ➡️ Answer: The expiation is specific to minor sins. As for major sins, they are not expiated except through repentance, as Allah says: {If you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will expiate from you your [minor] sins} [Sūrah an-Nisāʾ, 4:31]. However, fasting on the Day of ʿArafah is only recommended for those not standing at ʿArafah. As for the one who is present at ʿArafah (performing Ḥajj), he should not fast on that day — following the example of the Prophet (ﷺ), who stood at ʿArafah while not fasting. 🔗 Tashīl al-Ilmām (3/241) 📱 WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaguHlo4o7qTg6y3cd2q ‎ا═•═🕌═•═ا *Masjid Daar Al-Hadeeth* 96B Lower Clapton Road, Hackney, E5 0QR