The Ruling on Delaying Ihram Until the Morning of the Day of 'Arafah

Issue: If one delays entering the state of ihram and does not enter it until the morning of the Day of 'Arafah, and then heads directly to 'Arafah, this is permissible. However, the person has deprived himself of those hours that have passed without him being engaged in worship. Some people are truly deprived; you find them in Mina having set up camp with nothing to do.But he says: [Saying] "I will enter ihram on the Day of 'Arafah" is part of Satan's deception. If one enters ihram on the eighth day, he has approximately twenty-four hours to take advantage of for worship of Allah the Exalted and Majestic, and he deprives himself of that. This is an error. But if a person does this and does not enter ihram until the Day of 'Arafah and goes directly to 'Arafah, the Hajj is valid and he owes nothing. The evidence for this is the hadith of 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he met the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) during the Fajr prayer in Muzdalifah. He informed him that he had come from a great distance from Jabal Tay, and that he had exhausted himself and his mount, and that he had not passed a mountain without stopping at it.So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: (Whoever witnesses our prayer with us and stands with us until we depart, and has stood at 'Arafah before that, whether at night or during the day, has completed his Hajj and fulfilled his obligation).