Virtues of the Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah

How do the first ten days of the Month of Dhul Hijjah differ from other days of the year?

These are the days of virtue and righteous deeds

This season of worship brings many benefits, such as the opportunity to correct one's faults and make up for any shortcomings or anything that one might have missed.

Every one of these special occasions involves some kind of worship through which the slaves may draw closer to Allah, and some kind of blessing though which Allah bestows His favor and mercy upon whomsoever He will.

The happy person is the one who makes the most of these special months, days and hours and draws nearer to his Lord during these times through acts of worship; he will most likely be touched by the blessing of Allah and will feel the joy of knowing that he is safe from the flames of Hell. (Ibn Rajab, al-Lataa'if, p.8)

The Muslim must understand the value of his life, increase his worship of Allah and persist in doing good deeds until the moment of death.

Allah says, 'And worship your Lord until there comes unto you the certainty [death].' [al-Hijr 15:99]

Among the special seasons of worship are the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, which Allah has preferred over all the other days of the year.

Ibn 'Abbas [ra] reported that the Prophet [s] said: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten 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." [bukhari, 2/457).

These texts and others indicate that these ten days are better than all the other days of the year, with no exceptions, not even the last ten days of Ramadan.

But the last ten nights of Ramadan are better, because they include Laylat al-Qadr ("the Night of Power"), which is better than a thousand months. Thus the various reports may be reconciled. (See Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 5/412).

The virtue of these ten days is based on many things

Allah swears an oath by them, and swearing an oath by something is indicative of its importance and great benefit.

Allah says, "By the dawn; by the ten nights" [al-Fajr 89:1-2].

These ten days include the Day of Arafat [9th Dhul Hijjah], on which Allah perfected His Religion. Fasting on this day will expiate for the sins of two years. These days also include the Day of Sacrifice [10th Dhul Hijjah], 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.

The types of worship to be performed

Fasting

It is Sunnah to fast on the 9th of Dhul Hijjah [Arafat]. We've already discussed this before on RTF, we'll not go into it again.

Tasbih

Abdullah ibn 'Umar [ra] reported that the Prophet [s] said: "There are no days greater in the sight of Allah and in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Him than these ten days, so during this time recite a great deal of Tahleel ("La ilaaha ill-Allah"), Takbeer and Tahmeed." (Reported by Ahmad, 7/224; Ahmad Shaakir stated that it is saheeh).

It is Sunnah to say Takbeer 'AllaahuAkbar', Tahmeed ("Al-hamdu Lillaah"), Tahleel 'La ilaha ill-Allah' and Tasbeeh 'SubhanAllah' during the first ten days of Dhu'l-Hijjah, and to say it loudly in the mosque, the home, the street and every place where it is permitted to remember Allah and mention His name out loud, as an act of worship and as a proclamation of the greatness of Allah, may He be exalted.

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

Allah says, 'That they might witness things that are of benefit to them (i.e., reward of Hajj in the Hereafter, and also some worldly gain from trade, etc.), and mention the name of Allah on appointed days, over the beast of cattle that He has provided for them (for sacrifice)...' [al-Hajj 22:28]

Performing Hajj and 'Umrah.

One of the best deeds that one can do during these ten days is to perform Hajj to
the Sacred House of Allah.

The one whom Allah helps to go on Hajj to His House and to perform all the rituals properly is included in the words of the Prophet [s], 'An accepted Hajj brings no less a reward than Paradise.

Doing good deeds

Whoever is not able to go to Hajj should occupy himself at this blessed time by worshipping Allah, praying, reading Qur'an, remembering Allah, making supplication (du'a'), giving charity, honoring his parents, upholding the ties of kinship, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and other good deeds and acts of worship.

Sacrificing

One of the good deeds that will bring a person closer to Allah during these ten days is offering a sacrifice, by choosing a high-quality animal and fattening it, spending money for the sake of Allah.

Sincere repentance

One of the most important things to do during these ten days is to repent sincerely to Allah and to give up all kinds of disobedience and sin. 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, but to adhere firmly to the Truth by doing what Allah loves.

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.

The Muslim should make sure that he does not miss any of these important occasion, because time is passing quickly.

Let him prepare himself by doing good deeds which will bring him reward when he is most in need of it, for no matter how much reward he earns, he will find it is less than he needs; the time of departure is at hand, the journey is frightening, delusions are widespread, and the road is long, but Allah is ever watchful, and to Him will we return and render account.

Allah says, "So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it, And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it." [al-Zalzalah 99:7-8]

O you whose hard heart is as dark as the night, is it not time that your heart was filled with light and became soft?

Expose yourself to the gentle breeze of your Lord's mercy during these ten days, for Allah will cause this breeze to touch whomever He wills, and whoever is touched by it will be happy on the Day of Judgement. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad and all his Family and Companions

rukaiah (Posted to YahooGroups on Feb 18, 2001)

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