How To Get Your Dua's Accepted In Dhul Hijjah ?

The Greatest Ten Days of the Year

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. We are not going according to what Allah tells us. We are going according to culture.

Everybody thinks Ramadan is important. Yeah, Ramadan is very important for me too. But the best 10 days of the year — the 10 days which the Prophet ﷺ described — 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.

Just as there are sacred places, there are also sacred times.

Four Reasons Why Dhul Hijjah Is Special

The first reason Dhul Hijjah is special is that it is the month of Hajj.

The second reason is that it is a sacred month — one in which sins are multiplied and good deeds are also multiplied. It's like a sail on good deeds. Your good deeds are multiplied, your sins are also multiplied.

The third thing about Dhul Hijjah is that it is the last month of the Islamic calendar. Dhul Hijjah is our end of the year. It is the end of a year and the start of a new page. This 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.

And the fourth thing that makes this month special is Yawm al-Nahr — 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 the Christians as well before us. The Jews celebrate Yom Kippur, the day of sacrifice. The Christians also, before their religion was edited and subtracted from, would celebrate a day of sacrifice. This is what makes these 10 days very special.

So — four things: number one, Hajj. Number two, sacred month. Number three, the end of the year. Number four, the Day of Sacrifice. These four things are the reason why these 10 days are greater than Ramadan.

The way the scholars conclude these two points: the greatest nights of the year are the last 10 nights of Ramadan — because Allah swears by the 10 nights, not the daytime. Nobody sleeps in the last 10 nights because those are the best 10 nights of the year. But what are the greatest days of the year? The daytime — these 10 days.

Before Ramadan starts, everybody is looking at the moon. Everybody is wondering what day it starts. Before Dhul Hijjah, nobody knows when it begins — nobody cares — because we have lost perspective. We started to think Ramadan is more important.

One of the greatest ways to worship Allah is when other people are sleeping, for you to wake up. When other people don't appreciate these 10 days, for you to work hard in these 10 days.

What Is Hajj Really About?

Most of us, if you're still here, that means you're not going on Hajj. What 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 what? Before you make your intention for Hajj, you have to go to the Miqat — a specific place, one of five locations. You go there and make your intention for Hajj. It's not about changing clothes. It's about the intention starting from there.

From the time you start from the Miqat, until you reach the Ka'bah, what do you say? Labbayk. When we say Labbayk, we are saying: I'm coming, oh Ibrahim alayhis salam. Oh Allah, I'm going to answer your call. I have responded to your call.

Whether you are going for Hajj or not, you have to get into this mood. Oh Allah, I was distracted, but now I received your call. I'm going to press the green button. I'm coming to you. I'm on my way to the destination. I'm not going to disappoint you, oh Allah.

The Importance of Intention

The journey to Allah starts with the intention. You have to make the firm intention. These 10 days, I'm going to change my life. You have to first make a clear intention — one thing you're going to leave in these 10 days, and one thing you're going to start doing. You have to intend. Without the intention, does your Hajj count? No — you can pack your bags and go back home. Everything you did was just exercise. You got sweat, and that's it.

Hajj Is a Practice for the Day of Judgment

The first step in Hajj is Tawaf — going around the House of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ spent five days in the tents of Mina. In Mina, you go, you sleep in a tent, you wait. The Prophet ﷺ spent half a day doing the sha'a'ir of Hajj — going to Muzdalifah, throwing the stones at Jamarat. And then he spent half a day between Dhuhr and Maghrib in a special place: Arafah.

Of all of these things, the most important act in Hajj — if you don't do it, your Hajj doesn't count — is Arafah. The Prophet ﷺ spent six hours there. He said:

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 1949; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 889)

Al-Hajju Arafah — all of Hajj is this six hours. The most important thing in Hajj is Arafah. Which day of Dhul Hijjah is Arafah? The ninth day.

I want you to zoom into this day. What did the Prophet ﷺ do? He made du'a. Hundreds of thousands of people standing on the mountain of Arafah, in the heat, all wearing the same clothes — just standing and begging Allah. What does this scene remind you of? Hundreds of thousands of people, standing under the heat, begging Allah. Where is this going to happen again? The Day of Judgment.

Hajj is a practice for the Day of Judgment. Before you do your driving test, your instructor takes you on a practice run. Before your GCSE exam, your teachers make you do a mock exam. Hajj is the mock exam for the Day of Judgment.

What is the evidence — the daleel? The first ayah of Surah al-Hajj tells you exactly what Hajj is about:

Oh people, fear your Master. Because the earthquake of the Day of Judgment is something scary. When you see that earthquake, every nursing mother will throw her child. And if somebody is pregnant, they will forget what is in their womb. You will see people drunk, confused — but they are not drunk. The punishment of Allah is that scary.

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 practicing exactly what will happen on the Day of Judgment. The sun will be brought close to you. Your sweat will be up to 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. Oh Allah, please send me back. Send me back to this dunya. I'll go back. I'll do good deeds. I promise. Allah, please, please, please send me back."

This is what you will do on the Day of Judgment. All of us will be begging Allah. And this is what you do on the Day of Arafah. This is why Hajj is such an important pillar that every Muslim has to experience — because when you do it, you will never be the same person again. You have seen with your own eyes the Day of Judgment play out in front of you.

On the Day of Arafah, if you didn't go to Hajj, make du'a to Allah like you are standing on the Day of Judgment. This is the du'a you need to make.

The Three Core Actions of Hajj

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

Tawaf — The Centre of Your Life

Somebody decides: I want to come close to Allah. What do I do? This is the stage of Tawaf. In Tawaf you're going around in a circle. This life — that's how it is. 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 Him. He provides. He looks after us. We worship Him. We ask Him. This is Tawaf. This is the start of the journey.

Sa'i — Putting in the Effort

Then you have Sa'i — running between the mountains of Safa and Marwa. Who did this action? Hajar, alayhis salam. Running between Safa and Marwa was done by a lady who had no food, no drink, and nobody. But she put her full effort to search for something and relied completely upon Allah.

This is the second step: after the initial Tawaf, how can I come close to Allah? 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 Sign of Closeness to Allah

The greatest step to prove your closeness to Allah is the Qurbani — the sacrifice. The sign of somebody who is close to Allah is that they are willing to sacrifice for His sake.

Ibrahim alayhis salam — what is his nickname? Khalilullah, Khalilur Rahman — the close friend of Allah. What made him close to Allah is that he was willing to sacrifice the most beloved thing to him for the sake of Allah. This is the sign. Are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of Allah?

For a parent, they may be willing to give themselves for Allah, but they're not going to give their child up. The child is more beloved to them than themselves. How many parents would give their kidney for their child to live? They don't mind if they die. And so Ibrahim alayhis salam teaches us: the greatest closeness to Allah is the closeness 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? Did I sacrifice my blood? Did I sacrifice my efforts, my children? How often do we get a business opportunity, or a friend at school encouraging us — but we know it goes against what Allah wants from us, and we jump in anyway. We are willing to sacrifice Allah. We are not willing to sacrifice money, friends, or opportunities. This is what Hajj is about.

What Should We Do in These 10 Days?

Allah says — these days of Hajj, the whole point of these 10 days, is that you keep remembering Allah:

When you are done with all the Hajj things you need to do, then remember Allah — again and again — remember Allah like you remember your fathers, or even more than that. The whole purpose of these 10 days is for you to remember Allah frequently. So if you're not going to Hajj, what should you do? You should remember Allah.

The Takbir of Dhul Hijjah

The most important words to say in order to remember Allah in these 10 days — the ones the Prophet ﷺ and his Sahabah specifically encouraged — is the Takbir.

Abu Hurairah and Umar ibn al-Khattab would go to the market in the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah and make Takbir out loud, and the people would make Takbir with them.

Whether you're driving to work, studying in school or college, at cricket practice, in the kitchen cooking, at the pharmacy — everybody can remember Allah. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, keep this Takbir on your tongue throughout these blessed 10 days.

Why Allahu Akbar Above All Other Dhikr?

Why didn't Allah tell us in these days to say سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ? Why does He focus on اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ more than any other word of remembrance?

It is the time of sacrifice. You are disconnecting from everything else and realigning your focus on Allah. When you say Allahu Akbar — Allah is the Greatest — what does that mean about everything else? They become small. All the stress you have in your mind, your bills, the cost of living — it becomes small. All your problems with your spouse — small. All your stresses for your exams — small. All the pressures from school — small.

This is the purpose of اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ — to remind ourselves that everything in this world is minimized in the sight of Allah when we think about Allah.

How to Get Your Du'a Accepted

Make Du'a in Your Own Language

The first rule I'm going to advise all of you: make du'a in your own language. What language did Ibrahim alayhis salam use to make du'a to Allah? He spoke Aramaic. Did Musa alayhis salam speak Arabic? He spoke Aramaic. Did Isa alayhis salam speak Arabic? He spoke Syriac. They were still making du'a to Allah, and their du'a was still accepted.

We don't need to make du'a in Arabic. Allah understands every language. When you ask Allah in your native language versus a foreign language — what's the difference going to be? The du'a is going to come from the bottom of your heart. That's the difference.

When you're speaking to Allah in a foreign language, it's like speaking to your spouse in a language you don't share. This is why people communicate best — and express love most deeply — in their own language. When you communicate in your language, it comes from the heart. Just as you feel it, it comes out.

So when we speak to Allah, speak to Him in your language. In Urdu, in Bangla, in Sinaiti, in Tamil, in English, in Cockney, Scottish, Liverpool accent — it doesn't matter. Allah understands it all. This is the sunnah of all the prophets: speak to Allah in your language.

The most important thing is the du'a — and for it to be accepted, it has to come from the bottom of your heart.