“It was reported from Abu Qutaadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about fasting on the Day of Arafah. He said, ‘It expiates for the sins of the previous year and of the coming year.‘ Narrated by Muslim.”

Also, make a lot of du’aa, prayers, and send plenty of peace and blessings to the Prophet Muhammad [saw] on this day, because it is the last of the blessed 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.

Some awesome facts about the Day of Arafah:

1.It is the day on which the religion was perfected and Allah’s Favour was completed.

In Al-Saheehayn it was reported from Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) that a Jewish man said to him, ‘O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, there is an aayah in your Book which you recite; if it had come to us Jews, we would have taken that day as an Eid (festival).’ Umar said, ‘Which aayah?’ He said: ‘This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.’ [al-Maa'idah 5:3 interpretation of the meaning].

Umar said, ‘We know on which day and in which place that was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). It was when he was standing in Arafah on a Friday.’

2.It is a day of Eid for the people who are in that place.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Yawm Arafah (the day of Arafah), Yawm al-Nahr (the Day of Sacrifice) and Ayyaam al-Tashreeq (the 3 days following Yawm al-Nahr) are Eid (festival) for us, the people of Islam. These are days of eating and drinking. This was narrated by the authors of al-Sunan.

It was reported that Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: ‘It i.e., the aayah ‘This day I have perfected’ was revealed on a Friday, the Day of Arafah, both of which praise be to Allah are Eids for us.’

3.It is a day by which Allah swore an oath.

The Almighty cannot swear by anything except that which is mighty. Yawm Arafah is the ‘witnessed day’ mentioned in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

‘By the witnessing day [Friday] and by the witnessed day [the Day of Arafah].’ [al-Burooj 85:3].

It was reported from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘The promised day is the Day of Resurrection, the witnessed day is the Day of Arafah, and the witnessing day is Friday.’ Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.

It is the ‘odd’ [i.e., odd-numbered, Witr] by which Allah swore in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

‘And by the even and the odd’ [al-Fajr 89:3]. Ibn Abbaas said: ‘The even is the Day of al-Adhaa [i.e., 10th Dhul-Hijjah] and the odd is the Day of Arafah [i.e., 9th Dhul-Hijjah] This is also the view of Ikrimah and al-Dahhaak.

4.Fasting on this day is an expiation for two years.

It was reported from Abu Qutaadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about fasting on the Day of Arafah. He said, ‘It expiates for the sins of the previous year and of the coming year.’ Narrated by Muslim.

This (fasting) is mustahabb for those who are not on Hajj. In the case of the one who is on Hajj, it is not Sunnah for him to fast on the Day of Arafah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not fast on this day in Arafah. It was narrated that he forbade fasting on the Day of Arafah in Arafah.

5.It is the day on which Allah took the covenant from the progeny of Adam.

It was reported that Ibn Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Allah took the covenant from the …[offspring] of Adam in Na’maan, i.e., Arafah. He brought forth … all his offspring and spread them before Him, then He addressed them, and said: ‘Am I not your Lord? They said, ‘Yes, we testify,’ lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: ‘Verily, we have been unaware 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) descendents after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who practised Al-Baatil (i.e., ploytheism and committing crimes and sins, invoking and worshipping others besides Allah)?’ [al-A'raaf 7:172-173 interpretation of the meaning].’ Narrated by Ahmad and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani. And there is no greater day than this and no greater covenant than this.

6.It is the day of forgiveness of sins, freedom from the Fire and pride in the people who are there:

In Saheeh Muslim it was narrated from Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘There is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than the Day of Arafah. He comes close and expresses His pride to the angels, saying, ‘What do these people want?’

It was reported from Ibn Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Allah expresses His pride to His angels at the time of Ishaa on the Day of Arafah, about the people of Arafah. He says, ‘Look at My slaves who have come unkempt and dusty.’ Narrated by Ahmad and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.

[http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/7284]

“And fear the Day when you shall return to Allah, and every soul shall be compensated for what they earned, and none shall be dealt with unjustly.” 2:281

The day to be feared is awesome indeed. Believers’ hearts dread the events of that day when all will be made to stand in front of God to face the reckoning of their deeds. This verse serves as a fitting comment on a passage devoted to the liquidation of past unfair dealings.

This fear is the powerful ‘voice within’ which Islam kindles in the deepest recesses of people’s minds and hearts to act as a potent guiding force in life. Thus Islam proves yet again how vigorous, well-integrated, practical and merciful it is, and demonstrates that its overriding aim and objective is the happiness and well-being of man as an individual, and human society as a whole.

[In The Shade Of The Qur'an, volume 1, page 468]

“Those who love the life of this world more than the Hereafter, who hinder (humankind) from the Path of Allah, and seek therein something crooked: they are astray by a long distance.” 14:3

Giving preference to the life of this world puts a person in a position of conflict with the requirements of faith, and on a collision course with the “path of Allah.” The situation is reversed when preference is given to the life to come. For then, this life is set on the right course. People enjoy it with moderation, always keen to earn Allah’s pleasure.  Hence there is no conflict between their preference for the life to come and their enjoyment of this life with the pleasures that it offers.

Those who turn their minds towards ensuring a happy outcome in the hereafter do not lose the pleasures of this world, as some people with faulty concepts imagine. In Islam, a happy life in this world is a prelude to a happy future life. The fulfillment of man’s task as Allah’s vicegerent on earth requires building a happy life. In Islam, there is no denunciation or renunciation of any aspect of this life as people wait for the hereafter. What Islam requires is that life should prosper with truth, justice and sound behavior by people who seek Allah’s pleasure and a happy life in the hereafter – this it the Islamic outlook.

Those who choose the life of this world in preference to the hereafter cannot monopolize the resources of this world, exploiting, cheating and oppressing people to serve their own interests in a society where the light of faith shines and people follow Allah’s guidance. Hence they turn themselves and others away from Allah’s path and try to make it appear crooked, devoid of truth and justice. It is only when they have done this, and managed to lead themselves away from the straight path of Allah and justice that they resort to their oppressive ways, cheating people and persuading them to share in their corruption. It is only in this way that they can get what they want of self-aggrandisement, taking for themselves most of the resources Allah has placed on earth, and behaving arroganlty towards others. People then submit their authority without resistance.

The way of life advocated by Islam protects human life against the selfishness and greed of those who are preoccupied with the life of this world in preference to the life to come. Under this way of life no one person or group can monopolize the earth’s wealth and resources.

[In The Shade Of The Qur'an, Volume 10, p.240-241.]

There was no slideshow available at the masjid, so if you download it (post below) you can follow the talk via MP3 and scroll through the slides insha Allah.