10 Days to Change Your Life | Dhul Hijjah

The Greatest 10 Days of the Year

We started to think Ramadan is more important. No, these 10 days are greater and more important in the sight of Allah than Ramadan. But everybody is sleeping when it comes to these 10 days. Because we lost the perspective.

Alhamdulillah, first apologies for being slightly late. And secondly, السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ.

We are on the cusp of the best 10 days of the year. The 10 days which the Prophet ﷺ described and he said:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 5446)

There are no days on earth where good deeds are more beloved to Allah than these 10 days. So when you reach these 10 days, you should frequently praise Allah and thank Him and say takbir and say la ilaha illallah.

Why Dhul-Hijjah Is Special: Four Reasons

Before Islam, in pre-Islamic Arabia, one of the most favourite hobbies of the Arabs was war. Someone comes to your tribe, they steal your horse — you send a whole army in to give a nice response. And so one of the agreements between the people of Arabia was: there are four months in the year we are not going to have any war. Just like even married couples — they fight all year, but in Ramadan they say, you know what, we are not going to argue with each other.

So there are four sacred months in the calendar before Islam in which they would not fight, blood would not be spilled. Dhul-Qi'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram — these three come one after the other. And there is one month separate from them: Rajab. The Prophet ﷺ says Rajab is on its own, a loner. The other three are in a row.

These four months, Allah said something about them in the Qur'an:

Indeed, the number of months in the sight of Allah is twelve months — in the decree of Allah from the day He created the heavens and the earth. Amongst them, four are sacred. Fala tazlimu feehinna anfusakum — do not wrong yourself in these four months.

Do you know what that means? The Prophet ﷺ informed us: in these four months, your sins are multiplied. If you commit sins in these four months, Allah magnifies your sins. He does not do that any other time of the year. Just like if somebody kills someone in the Haram — is that the same as killing someone here on Old Hole Lane? No, because he killed someone in a holy, sacred place. So the sin there is multiplied. Similarly, just as there are sacred places, there are also sacred times.

Reason 1: The Month of Hajj

Dhul-Hijjah is the month of Hajj.

Reason 2: A Sacred Month — Sins and Good Deeds Are Multiplied

It is a sacred month in which sins are multiplied and good deeds are also multiplied. It is like a sale on good deeds.

Reason 3: The End of the Islamic Year

Dhul-Hijjah is the last month of the Islamic calendar. It is the end of a year and the start of a new page. Dhul-Hijjah is the month we have to sit and think: in the last 12 months, what did I do with my life? Am I the same person as I was last year? This is our new year.

Reason 4: Yawm al-Nahar — The Day of Sacrifice

The day of sacrifice, which we call Qurbani — Allah made this a day of celebration not just for the Muslims, but for the Jews and Christians as well before us. The Jews celebrate Yom Kippur, a day of sacrifice. The Christians also, before their religion was edited and subtracted from, would celebrate a day of sacrifice.

These four things are the reason why these 10 days are greater than Ramadan. The scholars conclude: the greatest nights of the year are the last 10 nights of Ramadan — because Allah swears by the 10 nights, not the daytime. But the greatest days of the year — the daytime — are these 10 days. Allah says: remember Allah in the ten well-known days.

Before Ramadan starts, everybody is looking at the moon. Before Dhul-Hijjah, nobody knows when it starts, nobody cares. Because we have lost perspective. We are not going according to what Allah tells us — we are going according to culture. One of the greatest ways to worship Allah is when other people are sleeping, for you to wake up. When other people do not appreciate these 10 days, for you to work hard in these 10 days.

What Is Hajj About?

Most of us, if you are still here, that means you are not going on Hajj. So why does Allah want from us in the days of Hajj? Because if we cannot go on Hajj physically, then we should go on Hajj with our heart.

Hajj starts with the Miqat — there are five specific locations where you make your intention for Hajj. It is not about changing clothes; it is about your intention starting from there. From the time you start from the Miqat until you reach the Ka'bah, what do you say?

When we say Labbayk, we are saying: I am answering your call, O Allah. I am on my way. I am not going to disappoint you. Whether you are going for Hajj or not, you have to get into this mood — O Allah, I was distracted, but now I have received your call. I am going to press the green button. I am on my way.

Step 1: Make the Intention

The journey to Allah starts with the intention. You have to make the firm intention. These 10 days, I am going to change my life. I have a smoking habit. I have an argumentation habit with my wife. I have a habit of playing too much Minecraft. These 10 days are going to be different. You have to first make a clear intention — one thing you are going to leave, and one thing you are going to do. Without the intention, does your Hajj count? No. You can pack your bags and go back home. Without making the intention, everything you did was just exercise.

Hajj as a Practice for the Day of Judgement

Of all the actions in Hajj, what is the most important? If you do not do it, your Hajj does not count. It is Arafah. The Prophet ﷺ spent half a day there — between Dhuhr and Maghrib. He said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 889; Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Hadith 1949)

All of Hajj is Arafah. The most important thing in Hajj is Arafah, which falls on the 9th day of Dhul-Hijjah.

Now imagine this scene: hundreds of thousands of people standing on the mountain of Arafah. It is hot. The whole day they are just standing. And all of them are wearing the same clothes. What does this remind you of? Hundreds of thousands of people standing under the heat, begging Allah. Where is this going to happen again? The Day of Judgement. Hajj is a practice for the Day of Judgement.

Before you do your driving test, your driving instructor will take you on a practice test. Before you do your GCSE exam, your teachers will make you do a mock exam. Hajj is the mock exam for the Day of Judgement. What is the evidence for this? The very first ayah of Surah Al-Hajj:

O people, fear your Master — because the earthquake of the Day of Judgement is something terrifying. When you see that earthquake, every nursing mother will throw her child, every pregnant woman will deliver her burden, and you will see people as though they are drunk — but they are not drunk. The punishment of Allah is severe.

This tells you what Hajj is about. Why when people go to Hajj their whole life changes — because they have done the Yawm al-Qiyamah mock exam. When you stand there sweating in the heat for the whole day begging Allah, you are practising exactly what will happen on the Day of Judgement. The sun will be brought close to you. Your sweat will reach here. You will not be wearing any clothes. And the only thing you will be doing is pleading with your Maker.

"Oh Allah, what did I do? I wasted my life."

"O Allah, please send me back to this dunya. I will go back. I will do good deeds. I promise, please send me back." This is what you will do on the Day of Judgement. All of us will be begging Allah. This is what you do on the Day of Arafah. And this is why Hajj is such an important pillar — because when you do it, you will never be the same person again.

The Three Symbols of Hajj

There are three main actions in Hajj: Tawaf — going around the Ka'bah; Sa'i — running between Safa and Marwa; and the Day of Arafah. And then the Qurbani. These three actions represent the stages of coming close to Allah.

Tawaf — Life Revolves Around Allah

Tawaf — you are going around in a circle. This life is like that. We are going round and round; our life revolves around Allah. From the moment we wake up till the moment we sleep, our life revolves around Allah. He provides, He looks after us, we worship Him, we ask Him. This is Tawaf.

Sa'i — Striving and Relying on Allah

Running between Safa and Marwa was done by a lady who had no food, no drink, and nobody — but she put her full effort into searching for something and relied upon Allah. This is the second step. After the initial Tawaf, the second step is Sa'i — you have to put in the effort, you have to run, you have to sweat for the sake of Allah.

Qurbani — The Greatest Proof of Closeness to Allah

The greatest step to prove your closeness to Allah is the Qurbani — to sacrifice for the sake of Allah. The sign of someone who is close to Allah is that they are willing to sacrifice for His sake. That is why Ibrahim, whose nickname is Khalilullah — the close friend of Allah — was willing to sacrifice the most beloved thing to him for the sake of Allah.

Are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of Allah? For a parent, they may be willing to give themselves up for Allah, but they are not willing to give their child up. A child is more beloved to a parent than their own self. How many parents would give their kidney for their child to live? And so Ibrahim teaches us that the greatest closeness to Allah is through Qurbani, through sacrifice.

This is the question of Hajj and the question of Eid al-Adha. You have to ask yourself: what did I sacrifice for the sake of Allah? Did I sacrifice my time? My wealth? My efforts? How often do we get a business opportunity or a friend at school encouraging us to jump in — but we know it goes against what Allah wants from us, and we jump in anyway. We are willing to sacrifice Allah's pleasure; we are not willing to sacrifice money or friends or opportunities. This is what Hajj is really about.

What Should We Do in These 10 Days?

When Allah talks about Hajj in the Qur'an, there is one thing He keeps repeating — do this in Hajj, do this in Hajj, do this in Hajj. It is the remembrance of Allah.

Remember Allah in the well-known numbered days. The whole point of these 10 days is for you to keep remembering Allah frequently. When you are done with all the Hajj things you need to do, then what does He ask you to do? Again, remember Allah. Remember Allah more than you remember your own fathers. The whole idea of these 10 days of Hajj, the whole purpose of them, is for you to remember Allah frequently.

Abu Hurayrah and Umar ibn al-Khattab, in the 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah, would go to the market and do takbeer aloud. This is what they would do:

Why does Allah focus on Allahu akbar more than any other word of remembrance in these days? Because takbeer is said when you come to the end of something, when you complete something. When you finish Ramadan, what does Allah say in the Qur'an? At the end of Ramadan, you have to say takbeer on the day of Eid. When you say takbeer, you realise: whatever I did, it was so small. Allah is greater than this. Allah is more than this. Allah is magnified and everything in my life is minimised.

Make Du'a on the Day of Arafah

On the Day of Arafah, the most important thing to do is to make du'a to Allah. If you did not go to Hajj, make du'a to Allah as though you are standing on the Day of Judgement. The first rule I will advise all of you: make du'a in your own language. This is the sunnah of all the prophets. Speak to Allah in Urdu, in Bangla, in Sylheti, in Tamil, in English — it does not matter. Allah understands it all. Speak to Allah from your heart. For a du'a to be accepted, it has to come from the bottom of your heart.

The Du'a of Ibrahim — Keep Your Priorities Right

When you ask Allah, remember the legacy of Ibrahim alayhis salam. When Ibrahim left his family in the middle of the desert, what did he ask Allah?

"O Allah, I left my family in a place with nothing, next to Your future house." And see what Ibrahim asks for first — not protection, not food, not water. First: "O Allah, make them people who establish Salah." Then: "Make people love them and want to come and live next to them" — community. And third, bronze medal: "O Allah, give them food and drink."

See the priorities of Ibrahim. When we make du'a to Allah, we tend to ask: O Allah, my exam, my promotion, my rizq. We ask Allah for this dunya. But the first thing we should ask Allah for is the things that impact our Akhirah. Then you ask Allah for the things of this dunya. This is the lesson from Ibrahim — keep the priorities in check.

Whoever wants what the Akhirah has, We will give him more in this dunya. And if you just want this dunya, We will give it to you — and you will have nothing in the afterlife.

Make du'a for your children. Ibrahim was not just asking Allah for himself — he was asking, make my children people who establish Salah. Make du'a for your grandchildren, even if you have not seen them yet. Because you and I have very limited ability, but Allah is the one who guides.

Sacrifice: The Path to Closeness with Allah

Choose something in these 10 days that you are going to sacrifice for the sake of Allah. The path to becoming close to Allah and becoming from the Awliya is Qurbani. You have to sacrifice something.

You will never reach righteousness until you spend from the things that you love. So you have to ask yourself: what do you love the most in this dunya? Is it money? Give a thousand pounds for Allah this Dhul-Hijjah. Is it your time? Do one day of i'tikaf in the masjid — just give that one day to Allah. What do you love the most? Give it for the sake of Allah. This will push you to new heights in your closeness to Allah.

How did Allah test Ibrahim? Allah could have asked Ibrahim to take his own life — but is that the most beloved thing to him? He could do that. What is more beloved to him? The life of his son. How old was Ibrahim when he had his first child? In his 90s. Imagine waiting until age 90 to have a child — how much are you going to love that child?

Imagine this: a woman becomes pregnant, she waits eight and a half months to see the face of her child — and then the child dies in the womb. How upset is this lady? It will take her years to recover. Because she waited and waited and waited. Ibrahim waited a hundred years to see the face of this child. The child grows up just before becoming a man — and Allah says: finish, time is up. This is such a huge test. But Ibrahim straight away says: You order, I follow. No question.

This is where we need to reach. Do some sacrifice in these 10 days. The thing you love the most, the thing you have waited for the most — try to sacrifice it for the sake of Allah. And see what you will achieve in terms of your Iman.

Ameen.