Al-Hajj Al-Mabroor

It was said to the Arab that they well choose the names of their
slaves by calling them, ‘Sa‘îd’ (i.e., Happy), ‘Sa‘d’ (i.e., Good
Fortune) and ‘Fadl’ (i.e., Grace) but choose improper names for
their sons calling them ‘Sakhr’ (i.e., Rock) and ‘Kalb’ (i.e., Dog), and
they answered, ‘Yes, because we name our sons for our enemies
and name our slaves for ourselves!’
Reason of naming
‘Arafah now became a proper noun but the reason of being named
thus has more than a story. It was narrated that when Âdam and
Hawwâ’ (Adam and Eve, may Allah be pleased with them)
descended from Paradise in obedience to the Command of Allah,
Âdam (may Allah be pleased with him) descended in a place and
Hawwâ’ (may Allah be pleased with her) in another.
Each of them descended in a separate place and both kept looking
for the other until they met at that place, therefore it was named
‘Arafah (Forgathering).
Discussing Âdam and Hawwâ’ and their forgathering in ‘Arafah
demands an explanation. Just try to imagine the state of Âdam
descending in a wide strange world all by himself, looking around
him and finding no human. If he were to see a human, he would
surely meet him with strong longing. For that purpose Allah set
apart Âdam and Hawwâ’ so that each of them would look for the
other longingly and when they meet each would hold on to the
other, never to let go. Another narration tells that the angels said to
Âdam after he came down to earth at that place, ‘Confess your sins
and turn in repentance to your Lord.’ So he said as the Noble
Qur’an relates to us (what means):
www.islambasics.com 49