The Most Auspicious Days: Virtues of Dhul Hijjah's First Ten

The Blessed Days of Dhul Hijjah

In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers and upon his family and his companions, the pious and the pure, and whoever obeys them with good and calls upon them with his supplication, and abides by his Sunnah and follows his guidance until the Day of Recompense.

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, peace and blessings be upon you. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has brought the blessed days of Dhul Hijjah upon us, which will be beginning insha'Allah after the Maghrib Salah for the setting of the moon.

These are those days and nights that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made auspicious and sacred in the calendar of the year. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — he is the creator of time and space.

He selects and grants special honor and significance and sacredness to certain times over other times and certain places over other places. No one else has the authority or the jurisdiction to declare any day as sacred or any place as sacred. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has declared these days to be sacred.

Just like in the places, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has selected Mecca and Medina and made them sacred. Likewise, in the months, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made the month of Ramadan sacred, the month of Ashhur al-Hajj sacred.

The Most Auspicious Days and Nights

As far as the days and the nights are concerned: the most auspicious nights of the year are the last 10 nights of Ramadan. But the most auspicious days in the year are the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah. The all-time most auspicious night is going to be one of the last 10 nights — that is the night of Laylatul Qadr, which is one of the last 10 nights. Those 10 nights being the most auspicious 10 nights, and from them, Laylatul Qadr being the most auspicious of them all. And from the 10 days, the first to the 10th of Dhul Hijjah being the most auspicious days.

The overall number one most auspicious day of the year is one of these 10, which is Yawm al-Arafah, the 9th day. Concerning which Rasulullah ﷺ said that whoever fasts on this day, it will become a means of kaffarah and forgiveness of all the sins of the previous year and the succeeding year — the year before and the year after.

The Virtue of Good Deeds in These Ten Days

Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned that there is no slave of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who does an action that is more beloved to Allah, that can bring him closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, than the one who does good deeds in the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 969)

When such a great virtue was mentioned, the Sahaba رِضْوَانُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِمْ أَجْمَعِين asked, "Ya Rasulullah, will the one who does good deeds in these 10 days surpass anyone who does anything outside?" They were so surprised by this, so excited by the opportunity, by the potential to earn rewards. They said, "Will they beat everyone? Is there anyone outside who can gain as much reward as the one who does ibadah during these 10 days?"

So Rasulullah ﷺ said: yes, they will surpass every single person who does any action outside the 10 days — with the exception of the person who takes his entire wealth and all his assets and his life, and he goes out in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and he strives to defend the deen of Allah, and he returns back with nothing. The one who gives his life, gives his wealth — perhaps that is the only one who can surpass the one who does ibadah in these 10 days.

This shows us how beloved these days are to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And if we love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then we have to love the selection of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is a very simple thing. If there is absolutely no change in our schedule, no change in our behavior, no change in our daily practices during these 10 days versus other days of the year, then even though we may not be uttering these words with our tongue that we do not care about the selection of Allah, what we are demonstrating with our actions is pretty much just that. May Allah protect us.

So if we love someone, then we respect their choices. If a spouse loves their spouse and knows what they like to eat, they go out of their way to make that — because this is something that you enjoy, I am making this for you. Or your spouse loves a particular color of dress, you buy the same color and say, "I know what you like, this is your favorite color, so I am buying that dress for you." This shows the muhabbah, this shows the attachment. That you know what your beloved loves, you know what their likes are, and you take that into consideration. And if you completely don't care — this is a sign, a symptom of not having that qalbi ta'alluq, that attachment from the heart.

Now Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying that I have selected these days, I have given honor to these days, and I want you to increase in your ibadah in these days — whether it is fasting during the day or other acts of worship.

The Jumu'ah Khutbah: Its Rules and Etiquette

Silence During the Khutbah is Wajib

Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 934; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 851)

Whoever tells his brother, "Be quiet, the khutbah is going on," he has committed a sin too. So just saying "be quiet" is also prohibited. And when the imam leaves the saf and goes to give the khutbah, then there is no speech and no voluntary prayer at that time. It is wajib to remain silent during the khutbah. The two khutbahs take the place of the two rakat of the Zuhr.

In the past, when they did not have microphones and speakers, and the masajid were so gigantic — huge masajids with huge courtyards — there were some elements within the architecture, with the mihrab and the dome, to try to create an acoustic system where, as much as possible, the voice would be reverberating. But at the end of the day, you can imagine, if there are 50,000 or 60,000 or 100,000 musallis, how far would the voice reach? So they would have the mukabbir, who would relay the takbir when the imam is going from qiyam to ruku and from ruku back up.

We still hear that in the Haram, even though we hear both the imam and the mukabbir — but it is a backup, a traditional system. With the exception of when the imam says:

The imam will say سَمِعَ اللَّهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ, and the mukabbir will say رَبَّنَا لَكَ الْحَمْدُ. Otherwise, he would repeat the takbir. But what about the khutbah — are you going to have mukabbirs relaying the entire khutbah? No. And that is why we have this in our fiqh books:

The one who is so far away that he cannot even hear a single word of the khutbah — it is still wajib upon him to remain silent, just like the one who is sitting in front of the imam. SubhanAllah.

The Angels Recording Attendance at Jumu'ah

There are mala'ikah sent by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who are recording the attendance at Jumu'ah time. They are noticing who is here — which human beings, which mala'ikah, which jinn. They are taking the attendance. And when they take the attendance, they write down:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 929; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 850)

Whoever comes in the first group will get the reward of sacrificing a cow. The second group will get the reward of sacrificing a camel, then a cow, then a goat, SubhanAllah, then a chicken, then an egg.

And when the imam starts the khutbah, حَضَرَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الذِّكْرَ — the angels close the book and sit down. After that, those who are completely tardy — those who come after the khutbah starts — they do not even record their name. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us.

The Pre-Khutbah Talk: Is It Permissible?

There is an example from the salaf of giving duroos, lectures, and reminders before the Arabic khutbah. Sometimes people ask: "Are you doing three khutbahs? The Sunnah is two khutbahs — where did this third one come from?" There are a number of responses to that.

First: which one is the actual khutbah? The actual khutbah is between the adhan and the salah — the second adhan for this prayer, which has not yet been called. So between that adhan and the salah is what is called the khutbah. What is given before that is not the khutbah. And to create that distinction, the khutbah is given on the mimbar. The placement — the geography of where you are speaking from — is significant too. That is why the pre-khutbah talk is delivered from the podium.

We also have the example from the era of the khilafah of Umar radiyallahu anhu, that Abu Huraira radiyallahu anhu was assigned by Umar radiyallahu anhu to give a lecture educating the public in Masjid al-Nabawi before the Arabic khutbah. Abu Huraira radiyallahu anhu was the top graduate from the madrasah of Rasulullah ﷺ. He would give a lecture advising the ummah. Then Umar radiyallahu anhu would come and give the khutbah before the salah. So there are examples from the salaf of having a dars right before the Jumu'ah.

Moon Sighting, Eid, and the Unity of the Ummah

The Nature of Time and Ibadat Across the Globe

All of these days and nights — in short, the moments of virtue and reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — are all dependent upon location. Just as on the day of Jumu'ah, between the two khutbahs there is a sa'ah, a moment where whatever du'a we make is accepted by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. On the day of Jumu'ah — a weekly event, let alone the yearly events of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha — the entire globe is not performing Jumu'ah salah at the same time.

Some people are praying Fajr, some are praying Dhuhr, some Asr, some Maghrib, some Isha, some Jumu'ah — depending on their location. Sometimes we forget that the earth is not flat. It does not have one sunrise, one sunset. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made the earth a globe. So at any given moment, there is Jumu'ah happening; at any given moment there is Fajr, there is Isha, there is Tahajjud. All the prayer times exist at every single moment throughout the world, across all the time zones — starting from the Prime Meridian, the Greenwich Mean Time that goes through the UK, all the way to the opposite side, the International Date Line in the middle of the Pacific and back. As we cross the longitudes, we go through the different time zones of the 24 hours of the day.

So right now, at any single given moment on planet Earth, there are always two calendar dates simultaneously. These ibadat, these virtuous days and nights, are per every zone, every area. There may be certain places in the world where it is fard to fast, and certain places where it is haram to fast — depending on whether it is Eid or whether it is Ramadan. This is all the hikmah and wisdom of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The more we get educated about it, the more we understand, the easier it will be insha'Allah to appreciate the differences of opinion and the different approaches.

Respecting Differences of Opinion on Moon Sighting

We do not blame anyone; we do not attack anyone's intentions. Everyone is — we believe insha'Allah — sincere in fulfilling the ibadah and doing what they believe to be right. Those who are following local sighting, those who are following Saudi sighting — we do not blame or attack anyone's intentions. Insha'Allah there is khair in the ikhtilaf of the ummah.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for those who are performing Eid on Sunday and those who are performing Eid on Monday. Both are valid opinions — whether you follow the sighting in Saudi or you go with your local sighting. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is looking at the intentions of the hearts. I firmly believe that those who are following Saudi are not doing so with the intention of destroying the Sharia, abandoning the Sunnah, or creating dissension in the ummah. These intentions are not there. They are trying to do what they believe to be best.

So Rasulullah ﷺ told us: when a person of ijtihad makes ijtihad:

If he reaches the right conclusion, he will get double the reward. And if he makes a mistake in his ijtihad, he will still get one reward. Worst case scenario is a single reward; best case scenario is double the reward. So all of these scholars are mujtahidun. Some fuqaha believe you should follow Saudi, some say you should follow the global sighting, some local, some calculation. But everyone is trying their best to reach what they believe is the correct answer. So we hold our opinion, but we believe insha'Allah that those who hold other opinions are sincere in that. May Allah reward them. We do not preach enmity or harbor resentment or attack one another based on these differing opinions.

The Importance of Unity and Its Deeper Challenge

Of course, we make du'a, and in our hearts we believe the ummah — at least at a local level — should not be divided. But I must be clear: while we should appreciate the diversity and be accepting of differing opinions and not fight — should we be excited that there are two Eids in one community? No. Should that be the case? Absolutely not. Should not the leaders of the masajid coordinate and at least have Eid on the same day in one city, one state, or one country? Absolutely that should be the case.

There are so many things we wish would happen but are not happening — and this is one of them. We need the leaders of the Muslim community to get together. We can raise our voices and try our best. But what happens is that this is actually not the problem itself — it is a symptom of a deeper problem. The deeper problem is a lack of a central authority when it comes to Islamic affairs. Everyone is completely independent. When you have an Islamic country, you have Wizarat al-Awqaf, you have an Islamic ministry, you have a minister appointed for that department — and whatever he decides, all of the fuqaha with all of their academic opinions set that aside.

Because this is one of the qawa'id al-fiqh — one of the principles of jurisprudence: when there is an Ameer al-Mu'mineen who appoints a qadi, then whatever decision the qadi makes among the acceptable opinions — and on a communal matter that affects the entire community, unlike your individual salah where you may or may not do rafa' al-yadayn — the qadi's decision squashes all debate on the matter among the academics. Whatever faqih or jurist has his specific opinion, he keeps it to himself, because the qadi appointed by the Ameer al-Mu'mineen made a decision that is binding upon one and all. This principle — that the qadi's opinion is binding on everyone — is accepted by the academics themselves, and they themselves have articulated it for the sake of unity.

But since there is no Ameer al-Mu'mineen and no Qadi al-Qudah, everyone is doing their own thing. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide all of us and make it easy for us to be united. Unity is the ideal we make du'a for and make effort for. And if it is not there currently, then we do not harbor resentment or hatred towards anyone — we just respect their opinion and make du'a for unity. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide us all.

Announcements

Please pass the donation boxes and donate generously — it wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

We have a graduation ceremony for the Tahfeedh program — Qira'at 7 and Qira'at 10. All our students will be graduating tomorrow, Saturday, June 8th. Everyone is requested to join and support the graduating students of knowledge, men's side and women's side.

Eid ul-Adha prayer: We have a first prayer after Fajr iqamah at 4:45 AM. The Takbirat will continue and the Eid address will start shortly afterwards. At 5:00 AM the early Eid prayer, after sunrise at 5:30 AM. The second prayer will be at 9:00 AM insha'Allah, with the Eid prayer at 9:30 AM.

Summer programs: There is the Tamheed Summer Intensive for young adults, older brothers and sisters, 14 and above. And there is a younger children's program. The Quran, Islamic Studies, and Sports Camp for kids — boys and girls ages 6 to 13. Therapy for Tots — boys and girls ages 4 to 5. And the Media Muslims program for young children ages 0 to 5. Please see our website for more details.

Weekly programs: Team Fajr on Saturdays — tomorrow insha'Allah, Fajr iqamah at 4:45 AM. Tuesday Tafsir after Maghrib Salah — Surah Ghafir is continuing. Weekly Salawat and Dhikr every Thursday after Maghrib Salah.

Masjid Isa in Addison is hosting an open house for Hifz and Islamic leadership programs followed by lunch. You may take a flyer on your way out.

Please continue to make du'a for those who are sick and those who have passed away. And especially, we continue to make du'a for our brothers and sisters in Palestine. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant them sabr. May Allah open up Fath al-Qarib for them. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept their shuhada. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide the leaders of the world to stand up for what is right, to defend them. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant them victory over their enemies.