First 10 Days of Zul-Hijjah

VIRTUES OF FIRST 10 DAYS

Among the Special seasons of Worship are the first 10 Days of Zul-Hijjah, which Allah has preferred over all the other Days of the Year.

Ibn Abbas (RA) reported that the Prophet (Peace & Blessings of Allah upon Him) said: "There are no Days in which Righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these 10 days." The people asked, "Not even jihad for the sake of Allah?" He said, "Not even jihad for the sake of Allah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with nothing." (Al-Bukhari-2/457)

Allah swears an oath by them (first 10 Days of Zul-Hijjah) and swearing an oath by something is indicative of its Importance and Great Benefit. Allah says: "By the dawn; by the 10 Nights" [Quran-89:1-2]

The Prophet (Peace & Blessings of Allah upon Him) commanded us to recite a lot of

- Tasbih ("Subhan-Allah")

- Tahmid ("Al-hamdu Lillah")

- Takbir ("Allahu akbar")

- Tahlil ("La ilaha ill-Allah")

These 10 Days include Yawm-e-Arafah (the Day of Arafah), on which Allah perfected His Religion.

Fasting on Yawm-e-Arafah (9th Zul-Hijjah) will expiate for the Sins of 2 Years.

These Days also include Yawm al-Nahar (the Day of Sacrifice), the Greatest Day of the entire Year and the Greatest Day of Hajj, which combines acts of worship in a way unlike any other day.

THINGS TO AVOID

The Sunnah indicates that the one who wants to offer a Sacrifice must stop cutting his Hair and Nails from the beginning of the 10 Days until after he has offered his Sacrifice. (Sahih Muslim-13/146)

THINGS TO DO

It is the Muslim’s duty to appreciate this Blessing and make the most of the opportunity, by devoting these 10 Days to paying more attention to striving hard in worship.

Among the Good Deeds are:

1. Fasting - It is Sunnah to fast on the 9th Day of Zul-Hijjah, because the Prophet (Peace & Blessings of Allah upon Him) urged us to do good deeds during this time, and fasting is one of the best of deeds.

("Allah says: ‘All the deeds of the Son of Adam are for him, except for fasting, which is for Me and I am the One Who will reward him for it.’") (Al-Bukhari-1805)

2. Takbir - It is Sunnah to say Takbir ("Allahu Akbar"), Tahmid ("Al-hamdu Lillah"), Tahlil ("La ilaha ill-Allah") and Tasbih ("Subhan Allah") during the first 10 Days of Zul-Hijjah.

Note: Men should recite these phrases out loud and women should recite them quietly.

The Takbir may include the words "Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha ill-Allah; wa Allahu akbar wa Lillaahi’l-hamd" (Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, there is no god but Allah; Allah is Most Great and to Allah be praise).

Takbir at this time is an aspect of the Sunnah that has been forgotten, so much so that one hardly ever hears Takbir, except from a few people. This Takbir should be pronounced loudly, in order to revive the Sunnah and as a reminder to the negligent.

Ibn ‘Umar and Abu Hurayrah (RA) used to go out in the marketplace during the first 10 Days of Zul-Hijjah, reciting Takbir and the people would recite Takbir when they heard them.

Note: Reviving aspects of the Sunnah that have been virtually forgotten is a deed that will bring an immense Reward, as is indicated by the words of the Prophet (Peace & Blessings of Allah upon Him): "Whoever revives an aspect of My Sunnah that is forgotten after My death, he will have a reward equivalent to that of the people who follow him, without it detracting in the least from their reward." (Al-Tirmidhi-7/443)

3. Performing Hajj - One of the best deeds that one can do during these 10 days is to perform Hajj to the Sacred House of Allah. ("An accepted Hajj brings no less a reward than Paradise.")

4. Doing more Good Deeds in general, because good deeds are beloved by Allah and will bring a great reward from Him.

- Praying (Salah)

- Reading Quran

- Doing Zikr

- Making Supplication (Dua)

- Giving Charity

- Honoring his/her Parents

- Upholding the ties of Kinship

- Enjoining what is good

- Forbidding what is evil

5. Sacrifice - One of the Good deeds that will bring a person closer to Allah during these 10 days is offering a Sacrifice, by choosing a high-quality Animal.

6. Sincere Repentance - One of the most important things to do during these 10 days is to repent sincerely to Allah and to give up all kinds of disobedience and sin.

Note: Repentance means coming back to Allah and foregoing all the deeds, open and secret, that He dislikes, out of regret for what has passed, giving it up immediately and being determined never to return to it.

If a Muslim commits a sin, he must hasten to repent at once, without delay, firstly because he does not know when he will die, and secondly because one evil deed leads to another.

Note: Allah says: "But as for him who Repented, Believed and did Righteous deeds, then he will be among those who are Successful." [Quran-28:67]

Let us hasten to make the Most of these Great days.

وَمَا تَوْفِيْقِيْٓ اِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ ۗعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَاِلَيْهِ اُنِيْبُ

(My success comes only through Allah. In Him I trust and to Him I turn)

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