The 'Arafah Sermon by Ali Hasan al-Halabi.

Al-Halabi : He delivers the sermon. All praise is due to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own souls and the badness of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides is not to be led astray, and whoever He leaves astray is not to be guided. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. As for what follows: The most truthful speech is the speech of Allah the Exalted, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The worst of matters are their innovations, every innovation is a religious innovation (bid'ah), every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire. As for what follows: We are in this great day, the Day of 'Arafah, where we sit in this place for the sermon in obedience to the general Prophetic command that came and is authentic from the chosen Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). That is his saying (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him): This day, O my brothers in Allah, is a day of remembrance, a day of supplication, a day of humility, a day of prostration, and a day of abasement before Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). It is a great day. It is a day in which Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) boasts to the inhabitants of His heaven about the people of 'Arafah, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And this great day, because of the obedience to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) contained in it, because of the supplication to the Great Allah (Exalted is He) contained in it, and because of the turning to and asking of the Great Allah (Mighty and Majestic) contained in it, Satan becomes small and diminished, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Also, this is a day in which Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) descends to the lowest heaven and forgives a number of people from 'Arafah greater than the number of the wool of the Kalb tribe, which is a tribe of the Arabs known for the abundance of its sheep, an indication of the abundance of what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) forgives. This great day is a day in which its times must be seized and its hours grasped, so that they are not wasted in sleep, play, or speech that has no benefit or utility. Rather, all Muslims should remind one another to increase in the remembrance of Allah, and to increase in the glorification, the declaration of Allah's greatness, and the magnification of Allah, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This day is one of the greatest days of Hajj, for which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) named it and described it as Hajj, saying: This is an explanation from him (peace and blessings be upon him) of the greatness of this day, the greatness of this standing, and the greatness of what the pilgrim does in this standing. The pilgrim remains on this day until the sun sets, between remembrance, glorification, asking, and obedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). After the sermon, we stand and we pray Zuhr and 'Asr combined and shortened. And so, between remembrance, glorification, and obedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), until the sun sets. Then we set out to Muzdalifah, where we pray Maghrib and 'Isha' combined as well. If it is reached in Maghrib, it is combined by advancing; and if it is reached in 'Isha', it is combined by delaying. And so, the Muslim in these days asks his Lord (Mighty and Majestic) for the good of this world and the Hereafter, erases the grudges in hearts, erases the darkness of souls, and opens a new page with his Lord (Mighty and Majestic). In this hadith that we mentioned, . I say in this hadith there is an indication from the chosen Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to the greatness of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), to the greatness of the oneness of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). It is the goal for which Allah created the creation, as He (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: . Also, as in the hadith of Mu'adh and others, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him to Yemen, he said: . And also in the hadith of Mu'adh when he was riding behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said to him: . Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Allah and His Messenger know best." Then he repeated it the second and third time, saying in each instance, "Allah and His Messenger know best," until the Messenger of Islam (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: . In this hadith and in this day, in which Muslims increase in the glorification of Allah and the remembrance of the word of tawhid, "La ilaha illa Allah," there is an indication and explanation of renewing the covenant with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and binding the souls, hearts, and minds to continuity in the call to tawhid in oneself and in others, as He (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: . This is what we should discuss and say, and our tongues should be busy with it, and our hearts should be stirred by it, in this great day. We remind one another and alert one another, acting in accordance with the like of His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): . And so, we spend the night in Muzdalifah until Fajr. This is a matter in which many people are lax, and sometimes they do not pray Fajr in Muzdalifah. This is a matter that may expose their Hajj to invalidity, may Allah the Exalted protect us from that. Muslims must adhere to the prayer of Fajr in Muzdalifah, because this is a pillar of the pillars of Hajj, as is the view of some scholars. The Muslim must, at the very least, be cautious with his religion with this blessed prayer in that blessed place, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated, through his action and practice, the importance of prayer there. And so, the Muslim does all these actions, adhering to the command of Allah and standing upon the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). We alert you to a very important matter in which many people also err. When one of them looks, he follows a companion or a fellow traveler who is not from the people of knowledge and not from the students of knowledge. If he goes, he goes; if he sits, he sits. The correct thing in this, especially in this great rite, in this great pillar of the pillars of Islam, is for the Muslim to ask the people of knowledge, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . And as the Lord of the Worlds said in His clear Book: . We ask Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) to make this day a beginning of good for us and for you and for the Muslim community, and to make guidance in our hearts, our minds, and our deeds, so that we are then implementers of knowledge and action, word and application. The sound word for which the heavens and the earth were established, "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." When we say "La ilaha illa Allah," we do not say it as a word devoid of its meanings and empty of its implications. Rather, we say it as a word with its great meanings and its large implications, which means in a concise and brief word: "That there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah." That there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah. It should be that supplication is for Allah, vows are for Allah, and oaths are by Allah. And we see, with great regret, some pilgrims from some countries swearing by other than Allah in these days and in this standing. In this great standing, we see them swearing by their honor, or by their fathers, or by their ancestors. And all of this is contrary to the word of tawhid, contrary to "La ilaha illa Allah," as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . And in a narration: . And so, the second word without which the slave's Islam is not complete, "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." Just as "La ilaha illa Allah" means that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, so "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" means that there is no one to be followed in truth but the Messenger of Allah. The one to be followed in truth is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as He (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: . And also, as He (Blessed and Exalted is He) said, clarifying the title of love and clarifying the key to true obedience to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says in His noble Book: . So following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and prioritizing his saying over opinion, over desire, over what the soul desires, over what the mind is accustomed to, and over what people are accustomed to, is the sign of true love for Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) and for His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). I ask Allah the Great to make us and you among those who listen to the statement and then follow the best of it. And now we call for the prayer, then we establish it, so call to prayer.
The call to prayer is made in the season of Hajj. And now the prayer is established.

The Shaykh : You pray with them.
Al-Halabi : Be upright, be straight, and do not differ, lest your hearts differ. Shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot. Whoever straightens a row, Allah will straighten him, and whoever breaks a row, Allah will break him. Align your shoulders and feet, and straighten the rows. Each person should look to the one on his right. O my brothers, if some of the worshippers expose their shoulders, let them cover them. Whoever exposes his shoulder or his back, let him cover it, for this exposure is only in the tawaf, in the arrival tawaf. As for what people do, it is contrary to the Sunnah. Be straight and do not differ. Step back a little.