Day of Arafah 2027: date, fasting and what to do

The date

The full list of key dates for 1448 and 1449 AH is on the Islamic calendar page, which reads today's Hijri date from the same calendar.

What the day is

Arafat is one of the three Holy Sites in Makkah, with Mina and Muzdalifah, where the Hajj rituals are performed from the 8th to the 13th of Dhul Hijjah. It lies about 10 km from Mina, 6 km from Muzdalifah and 20 km from the Grand Mosque, on the road towards Taif.

On 9 Dhul Hijjah the pilgrims gather there. It is the day of Hajj that everything else in the season is arranged around, and for Muslims everywhere else it is the day with the fast described below.

Fasting on the Day of Arafah

That is the whole of what our sources record as the practice of the day, and it is enough to be going on with.

Pilgrims at Arafah do not fast

This surprises people, and it is well established. Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith reported that people argued about whether the Prophet was fasting on the Day of Arafah. She sent a cup of milk to him while he was riding his camel at Arafa, and he drank it. The chapter heading on that hadith is explicit: it is recommended for the person performing Hajj at Arafat not to fast on the day of Arafah.

This does not arise for an Umrah pilgrim, because the Umrah visa is not active during the Hajj season, from 1 Dhul Qi'dah to 13 Dhul Hijjah. You cannot be standing at Arafah on an Umrah visa.

The day in Sri Lanka

Eid al-Adha follows the Day of Arafah. The Umm al-Qura calendar puts 10 Dhul Hijjah 1448 on Sunday 16 May 2027. Sri Lanka's gazetted 2027 holiday list gives Id-Ul-Allah, the Hadji Festival Day, as Monday 17 May 2027, a public and bank holiday under the Holidays Act No. 29 of 1971.

The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama has existed since 1924 and was incorporated by Parliament Act No. 51 of 2000. It has 163 branches across 24 districts and over 8,000 subscribed scholar-members, and runs a fatwa service on +94 117 490 420. That is the number to call about how to observe the day, rather than a travel company.

If you want to be there

Standing at Arafah on 9 Dhul Hijjah is part of Hajj, and Hajj for Sri Lankans is arranged through the government. hajjsrilanka.com is the official portal, operated by the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs, and pilgrims are told to register only through that system, not through operators, sub-agents or intermediaries.

Umrah and Hajj: what is different sets out the registration, the deposit and the approved-operator list.

Outside the Hajj days, Arafat is a quiet place an Umrah group can visit on Ziyarah. Ask your operator whether your itinerary includes it. What to expect on a first Umrah covers the Ziyarah sites in both cities.