The Virtues And Blessings Of The Ten Days Of Dhul Hijjah

The Blessed Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Peace and blessings be upon the most honored of the Prophets and Messengers, and upon his family and companions.

Allah Almighty said in His Glorious Book, after we seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan:

By the dawn and by the ten nights.

And Allah Almighty said in another place:

And the sky with towers, and the promised day, and a witness and a witnessed.

And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 969)

What is the work in the ten days? It is better than work done in any other days. They said: And Jihad? He said: And Jihad — only a man who goes out risking his life and wealth and does not return with anything.

Allah Almighty has spoken the truth, and His Messenger, the Noble Prophet, has spoken the truth. And we are among those who bear witness and are grateful. And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

We Are Living in a Blessed Season

We must understand that in this current moment, we are living in an honored period, in a blessed season. Right now, the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah are upon us as we speak — and in fact, they're almost halfway over. Little do we know that these days are the blessed days. And it is the best time for us to gain nearness to Allah.

This is the best time for us to engage in righteousness, in performing ibadat that are pleasing to Allah. And the reality is that when the believer reflects on the virtues of something — when he recognizes something, when he understands the value of something, like the value and the virtues of these ten days — it reinvigorates his heart. His heart and soul become inclined towards the obedience of Allah. We end up worshipping Allah in the best way possible, in the best fashion, when we understand what Allah has in store for us in these ten days.

So inshallah, we'll go through some of the virtues of these ten days of Dhul Hijjah.

Virtues of the Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah

1. The Best Days of the Entire Year

Amongst the first virtues of Dhul Hijjah is that Allah had hand-selected, hand-picked these days as the best days of the entire year — not the entire month, the entire year. These ten days are known as the best days, as it comes in many authentic narrations. Just as we have the last ten nights of Ramadan, the best ten days are the ten days of Dhul Hijjah.

And some of the scholars have mentioned that these ten days of Dhul Hijjah exceed in reward even the last ten days of Ramadan. And they say: why? What is their proof? Well, they say that in the Qur'an, Allah addresses these days and takes an oath by these days. And one thing to note is that whenever Allah takes an oath by something, it means that thing is very important. What He's taking an oath by carries great weight.

For example, when He talks about وَالْعَصْرِ, He takes an oath by time, as time is a very important thing. So similarly, in Surah Al-Fajr, Allah says:

By the dawn and by the ten nights. Now, even though the ten days of Dhul Hijjah are not explicitly mentioned here, the Mufassirun, including Ibn Abbas, mentioned that وَالْفَجْرِ وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ is referring to the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah.

By the even and the odd — referring to the ninth, which is an odd day, and the tenth, which is an even day. الشَّفْعُ is the even day, which is the tenth of Dhul Hijjah, and الْوَتْرُ is the odd day, which is the ninth of Dhul Hijjah. This is why the scholars have mentioned that Allah is taking an oath by these days, hence it should be considered even greater than the last ten days of Ramadan.

2. The Best Time for Good Deeds

As I mentioned, this is the best time to perform any sort of good deed — and this is not my words, this is the words of our beloved Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him. Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, mentions:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 969)

That there are no ten days during which righteous actions are more beloved to Allah than the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. There is no better time to do any sort of good action than these first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. And then the Sahaba, may Allah be pleased with them, asked: what about Jihad, what about going in the path of Allah? Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: not even going out in the path of Allah — unless a man leaves with his wealth and his health and comes back with neither, meaning he gives up his entire wealth in the path of Allah and ends up losing his life as well. Perhaps that might be more rewarding — but other than that, nothing can come close to, nothing can top, these ten days.

3. A Unique Convergence of Acts of Worship

Another interesting fact about these ten days is that a wide range of ibadats come together in a unique combination. One may engage in prayer, one may engage in fasting, one may engage in the remembrance of Allah, in charity — and one may also engage in Hajj. Right now, Dhul Hijjah is the month of Hajj as well. We may know our brothers and sisters — at least one person — who is currently over there right now, in Hajj, in the blessed lands. And another thing is Udhiyah. These unique things all come together in this blessed period.

In Ramadan, yes, also is a season in which many different actions come together. But again, Hajj is very unique and limited to Dhul Hijjah. So this creates a unique opportunity to draw closer to Allah through multiple forms of obedience.

4. The Distinguished Days Within These Ten Days

Allah chose Hajj to be a part of this month, Dhul Hijjah. And within the days of Hajj, Allah has handpicked and distinguished even more days within these ten days already.

For example, the eighth day of Dhul Hijjah is Yawm al-Tarwiyah. On this day, the pilgrims in Mecca go to Mina and they say:

That is the eighth day of Dhul Hijjah, called Yawm al-Tarwiyah. During these ten days is also the best day — the day of Arafah. This is the ninth of Dhul Hijjah. This is the best day on which the sun rises.

And for those who are not performing Hajj, this is a great opportunity for us to gain closeness to Allah. Just because we're not in Arafah on the ninth, it does not mean we won't have access to the reward of Allah. During the time of Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, he said that there is no one with us today — if he has a mustard seed of Iman — except that he will be forgiven. Even if he has a mustard seed of Iman, he will be forgiven. And somebody asked him: O Rasulullah, is this limited just to the people of Arafah, or is this for everyone? Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: this reward is for everyone, for the entire Ummah. So just because the actual location of Arafah is miles away from us, the reward of Allah is everywhere. The reward of Allah descends upon us all.

Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, also mentions the reward of fasting on Arafah. He says:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1162)

He says that fasting on the day of Arafah — I hope to Allah it will be an expiation for the sins of the previous year and the next year. Meaning that if you were to fast on this one day of Arafah, it will be equivalent to two years of fasting.

So we talked about يَوْمُ التَّرْوِيَةِ — the 8th; we talked about يَوْمُ عَرَفَةَ — the 9th; and then there is the 10th day, which is the day of the sacrifice, in which we perform Qurbani. Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1765)

That the greatest day in the sight of Allah is the day of sacrifice.

These Days vs. Laylatul Qadr

Now, there is no doubt we understand that these days are very great and extremely virtuous. But before we move on, I want to mention one important point — the difference between this time and the time of Laylatul Qadr.

We know that it is generally understood that the other very blessed time in the entire year is Laylatul Qadr. Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, tells us to look for Laylatul Qadr in the last ten days of Ramadan. We generally assume that it is the 27th night. We generally assume it falls on odd nights. But in reality, we do not truly know when Laylatul Qadr is.

But these ten days of Dhul Hijjah — we know exactly when they are. We know exactly when the day of Arafah is. We know exactly when the day of sacrifice is. Allah has given us the exam and He has given us the answers.

So the question is: what are we willing to put forth on these days? What will be the condition of our hearts? What are we willing to present to Allah on these days? Are we willing to bring any sort of improvement for the sake of Allah? Are we willing to let go of any bad habits, any sins that we are accustomed to — for the sake of Allah? We have to ask this.

The Analogy of the Businessman

In this dunya, we see businessmen — when they see an opportunity to profit, when they see a profitable opportunity, they will never let that pass by. For example, if a businessman knows that during a certain occasion their supplier is giving them their product for one-tenth of the cost, not only will they buy that product immediately, they'll bulk up and buy as much as possible. Why? Because even though they're getting their merchandise, their supplies for one-tenth of the cost, they know they can profit so much more and sell it at whatever price they want.

Let me give another example. Back in the day, before online shopping, what would people do? Throughout the year, they would see what items they need for their household — a new microwave, a new laptop, XYZ, whatever it is. Why? Because they knew that during Black Friday, they could stock up on all these things. People back in those days would even camp overnight to make sure that as soon as those doors opened, they could run inside and grab the best deals. And they would fight over these deals.

But when the doors of Dhul Hijjah opened up — where were we? Did we plan? Did we make a list of those things we need from Allah? Did we make a list of those things we need to ask from Allah? Allah is ready to give, but are we ready to grab? Allah is ready to give, but are we ready to access what He's giving? Are we ready to take what He's giving? Unlike Black Friday, where the supply is limited, Allah's supply is absolutely unlimited.

The Day of Arafah and Shaytan's Humiliation

Another point is that the day of Arafah is known to be the most humiliating day, the most embarrassing day, the most depressing day for Shaytan. Why? Because the day of Arafah is known as the day of forgiveness. As we all know, Shaytan's entire goal — his entire job, his duty — is to derail as many people from the path of Allah as possible. His goal: even if one person leaves the path of Allah, that makes him incredibly happy.

But it comes in a narration that there is no other day in which Allah takes and frees the necks of the people who are destined for hellfire more than the day of Arafah. So when Allah is forgiving all these people, Shaytan sees his effort going into vain. His efforts become useless because his job is to take away so many people from the path of Allah — but Allah is forgiving and forgiving and forgiving. This is why Shaytan despises this day.

So these days are definitely not something we want to just let go. These days are an opportunity for us to maximize the reward.

It Is Not Too Late — We Are Halfway Through

The question is: we're already halfway into Dhul Hijjah. Five days have already passed. Is it too late for me now? Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, tells us:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6607)

Indeed, our actions are judged by their endings. The first ten days of Dhul Hijjah are not over yet. We still have an opportunity to maximize that reward.

Goals for the Remaining Days

I'll quickly go over some goals that we all can have, inshallah, during the remainder of these days.

1. Engage in the Dhikr of Allah Abundantly

The first thing is that we should engage in the dhikr of Allah — remember Allah abundantly. Allah says:

Remember the name of Allah in the known days. And the Mufassirun have mentioned that these known days are referring to the days of Dhul Hijjah. So whenever we're driving, whenever we're cooking, whenever we're walking — whatever we're doing — we should try to engage in the dhikr of Allah. Let us try to keep our tongues moist with the dhikr of Allah.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, told us so many different rewards that are equal to Hajj. We're not in Hajj, but we can do so many different things that can provide a similar reward. For example, Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, says that whoever prays Fajr in congregation, and then sits remembering Allah — does dhikr of Allah — and then at sunrise performs two rak'ah nafl, then Allah will grant him a reward of Hajj and Umrah in full. And he says "in full" three times, to make sure that most definitely a person who does this will get that reward.

2. Fast — Especially on the Day of Arafah

The second thing that we should do is make sure to fast. As I mentioned earlier, Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, told us that if we fast this one day of Arafah with sincerity, Allah will grant us the reward of two years of fasting. Some scholars also mention that even if you fast one day that is not Arafah — any one of these days of Dhul Hijjah — this one day of fasting can be equivalent to one year. Now imagine meeting Allah with two years of extra fasting when we only made an effort for one day with sincerity.

3. Increase in Prayer and Nawafil

Another thing that we should do is engage in prayer and in nawafil. Yes, part of a Muslim's routine is that we engage in prayer — it's part of our daily routine. But this is the time that we exert ourselves and put more attention and more focus into our prayers. We should make it a goal that we pray all of our salah — our fardh salah — in the masjid. We should make it a goal that no sunnah salahs are missed. It comes in a narration that Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, said that if you were to pray all the sunnahs of salah, a house will be built for you in Jannah. We should make a point to try to pray tahajjud a few minutes before Fajr salah. And inshallah, stick to our prayers and try to pray them as best as possible.

4. Give in Charity

We should try to give some sort of charity in these days. Allah says that indeed those men and women who give in charity and lend to Allah a good loan, Allah will multiply that charity exponentially. And in these blessed days, every act of charity counts — no matter how small, it will be multiplied in the sight of Allah. So give secretly, give publicly, give consistently, feed someone. And charity doesn't only have to be to other people — it can be to your own family as well. It doesn't have to be just money. Reducing someone's burden is also considered a charity. Even smiling to another believer is considered charity as well.

5. Leave Bad Habits and Let Go

We should also make it a goal to leave our bad habits. These days are not just about doing good — these days are also about letting go. Letting go of those things that distract us from the goal, which is the pleasure of Allah. The most meaningful acts in these days might be the ones that nobody sees. For example, when we have a chance to complain, if we choose silence, if we choose sabr, that is a means of reward.

6. Remove Grudges and Mend Relationships

And speaking of removing bad habits, another very important thing is that we should look in our hearts and see — do we have any grudges, any sort of animosity, any sort of malice for one another? There is a very powerful narration that Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, mentions about this — that Allah, on the Day of Judgment, will forgive everyone as long as they do not associate partners with Allah, as long as they do not commit shirk — except the one who has hatred for his brother. Allah will tell them: leave them be until they figure it out, until they reconcile.

So how many of us know somebody that we may not like? How many of us see blood brothers that don't even talk to one another anymore? This is the time where we pick up the phone and call — and even though we may not agree with someone, even though a person may not agree with another person, at the very least they can remove that grudge and respectfully disagree. But the goal is to maintain those ties.

7. Make Du'a and Connect with Allah

And another very important point — try to connect with Allah and make as much du'a as possible. This is the time where we mend our relationship with Allah. All of our relationships with Allah are far from perfect. This is the time where we try to mend those relationships. Cry to Allah, beg Allah, confess to Allah. Every single person here — including myself — every person in this dunya has something in their life that is lacking. There is someone going through some sort of difficulty. There is someone who might be in need of something. The first person we have to ask is Allah.

Ask Allah from His bounty.

Closing Reminder

There are so many more points that we can go over. But due to the restricted time, I'll end with one final point. In the beginning I mentioned that there is no worst day for Shaytan than the day of Arafah. Why? Because Allah is forgiving and forgiving and forgiving and forgiving — Allah will forgive those who seek forgiveness. It would be a shame if we let these days pass by.

Imagine a person who knows that these ten days of Dhul Hijjah are an opportunity to gain closeness to Allah, but instead sticks to his old ways, sticks to his bad habits — and instead of making Shaytan depressed, this person becomes a means of bringing Shaytan joy. SubhanAllah. May Allah protect us from that.

So may Allah grant us tawfiq to act upon what has been said. And another final point is that even though it might be difficult to commit to these extra voluntary actions, these extra nawafil — at the very least, if we can focus on our fara'id, on our fardh salah, those things which are already necessary upon us, and try to do them as best as possible — and on top of that, if we try to leave all these sins, all those things that distract us from Allah — then inshallah, these ten days will be a means of success for us in this life and the hereafter.

May Allah give us tawfiq to act upon what has been said.

Announcements

There are a couple of announcements. Before we get to them, if we can please have the donation boxes passed around, and try to move up and fill up whatever gaps that we see, inshallah.

Janazah Announcement

We request all the brothers and sisters to join the Salatul Janazah of brother Nasser Salim Durani. The Salatul Janazah will be taking place immediately after the sunnah. Brothers need to proceed to the gymnasium, which is located in the seminary building across the courtyard. Sisters need to proceed to the banquet hall in the lower level. Please note that if you remain in the women's prayer hall where you just performed the salah, even though you may be able to hear the imam's voice leading the janazah, your Salatul Janazah will not be valid, as you will be praying ahead of the imam who will be leading from the gym.

Eid al-Adha Salah Schedule

For Eid al-Adha salah, there will be two jama'ahs, inshallah:

First Jama'ah:
Fajr iqamah: 4:45 AM
Eid address: 5:15 AM
Eid salah: 5:45 AM — led by Mufti Minhaj al-Din Ahmed

Second Jama'ah:
Eid salah gathering: 8:30 AM
Eid salah: 9:00 AM — led by Mawlana Yusuf Ghaus, inshallah

Special Programs

There will be a special program regarding the virtues of Arafah on Monday after Maghrib salah, inshallah. After that talk, there will be a workshop on how to make du'a. This will be led by Mawlana Yusuf Ghaus, inshallah. There will also be a du'a on Arafah day — Tuesday after Asr salah — led by Mawlana Yusuf Ghaus, inshallah.

Our Thursday night Urdu programs cover Imam Tirmidhi's Al-Shama'il al-Muhammadiyyah with Mawlana Abdul Basit. Join us for our weekly Saturday team Fajr — we are currently covering the lives of the companions, inshallah.

Sisters Part-Time Program

There is also a sisters part-time program. Programs are offered online with a variety of classes in Urdu and English taught by experienced female scholars. Please register at masjidds.org/seminary/sisters-part-time, inshallah.

Du'a Requests

There is a du'a request for sister Afifa Rahman, who passed away while giving birth to her second child. May Allah grant her maghfirah and elevate her status in the hereafter. May Allah elevate the child's status as well on the Day of Judgment, inshallah.

There is also a du'a for maghfirah for brother Naseem Durani — again, the brother whose janazah salah it is — and du'a for maghfirah for brother Nasir Mahmood, who has also passed away.

And inshallah, let us make du'a after salah for the entire Ummah as well. JazakAllah khair.