The Blessings of Dhul Hijjah - Shaykh Ahmed Looyan

The Blessings of Dhul Hijjah

All praise is due to Allah, the Most Great, the Most Beneficent, the Most Generous, the Most Merciful. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, there is no partner for Him. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. Peace and blessings be upon him and upon his family and companions.

The Prophet ﷺ said in the hadith that was reported by Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 969)

There are no days in which the righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى than these ten days. There is no deed that one can do that is more beloved to Allah than the deeds that one does in these ten days.

The Virtues of These Ten Days

The fourth virtue, إِخْوَانِي وَأَخَوَاتِي فِي اللَّهِ, is that these ten days gather in them أُمَّهَاتُ الطَّاعَاتِ — the mother of all obedience, the pillars of our religion, the pillars of Islam. The ṣalāh, the zakāh, the ṣiyām, the ḥajj — they are not gathered in any other days except for these days. The pillars of our religion stand on all of them, and they all take place in these days, and no other days do they all take place except these days.

And the fifth virtue pertains to what was just mentioned: that ḥajj occurs in these ten days. Allah تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى made the season for fulfilling the ḥajj, the pilgrimage to His house, in these ten days. And it is يَوْمُ التَّرْوِيَةِ — the eighth day — when the ḥujjāj leave Mecca to Mina, proclaiming and calling out to Allah تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى, coming with the تَلْبِيَةِ. And it is يَوْمُ عَرَفَةَ, in which the Prophet ﷺ said:

It is the best day in which the sun has risen. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3585)

And in these ten days is يَوْمُ النَّحْرِ:

And it is from amongst the greatest of days at the sight of Allah. (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1765)

And that is يَوْمُ الْعِيدِ — the Day of Eid.

Do Not Let These Days Pass By

Now, looking at these days and realizing the attributes that they have — how a slave cannot get closer to Allah in days more beloved to Him than these, that there are no actions more beloved to Allah than those done in these days, that these days are days that Allah تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى swore by, and that in them are the best days specifically — should our situation be like any other day? Should we allow these days to pass by and deal with them like any other day? Should we allow these days to come and go and not give them any extra attention? Should our hearts not move in these days with tawbah and repentance and running towards Allah تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى and rectifying our state? Or should we just be the same and let our hearts be still?

If not now, when?

The norm of the merchandisers, the businessmen, is that when the high seasons are approaching they get ready, they prepare, they ensure that those days don't come by except that they profit in them as much as they can. They make up for the days in which sales are low. As slaves knowing that we are on a journey towards Allah تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى, trying to attain the highest positions in paradise and the pleasure of Allah تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى, seizing this world as a field and trying to harvest and take as much as we can — as slaves whose vision is Al-Ākhirah — should we not seize these opportunities and make up for our fallbacks on the other days?

Make up for us falling short in our lives. And the reality of a slave is that a slave falls short. The Prophet ﷺ said:

Every son of Adam is a sinner, and the best of those sinners are those that repent to Allah. (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4251)

No doubt the intelligent one would say: I need to seize this opportunity and ensure that I cash in as much as I can, because surely my shortcomings are many and only Allah knows when my return is. The last thing I want is to go back with an empty suitcase.

Second Part of the Khutbah

الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ عَظِيمِ الْإِحْسَانِ وَاسِعِ الْفَضْلِ وَالْجُودِ وَالامْتِنَانِ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، صَلَّى اللَّهُ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ، أَمَّا بَعْدُ.

عِبَادَ اللَّهِ، اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَرَاقِبُوهُ جَلَّ فِي عُلَاهُ مُرَاقَبَةَ مَنْ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّ رَبَّهُ يَسْمَعُهُ وَيَرَاهُ.

The intelligent one from among the servants of Allah is he who takes account of himself and works for what is after death. And the incapable one is he who follows his desires and hopes for Allah's pardon without working for it. He who is truly intelligent is he who stirs his soul and works for what is after death. He who does not care has not protected himself and hopes for that which those who worked hard attain at the sight of Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

Verily, the merchandise of Allah is expensive. Verily, the merchandise of Allah is Al-Jannah. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2450)

And we need to work for it.

How to Seize These Blessed Days

Now, you may ask and say: I see the value in these days. How do I seize them? How do I ensure I benefit from them?

For a slave's heart to not move is because, one of the reasons is, the heart may be tainted — and that may be to different levels. And even if it may not be tainted that much, no doubt we all have shortcomings.

First: Repentance

So the first advice to myself and you is to rush back to Allah with repentance. To ask Allah to forgive us for our shortcomings. The reality is that we all sin. And the Prophet ﷺ said:

If you were not to sin, Allah would remove you and bring about a group of people that would sin and that would repent to Allah and He would forgive them. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2749)

So we all sin. So the first is to repent to Allah. And as it is said:

He who repents from his sin is like one who has never sinned. (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4250)

Wipe that slate clean.

Second: Remembrance of Allah

ثَانِيًا is to remember Allah:

To remember Allah in known days. Ibn Abbas says الْأَيَّامُ الْمَعْلُومَاتُ are the ten days of Dhul Hijjah. The Prophet ﷺ said:

The Mufarridun are foremost. They said: Who are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: Those men and women who remember Allah a lot. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2676)

So the second advice to myself and you is: Do not let your tongue become dry from the remembrance of Allah.

Third: Fasting

The third advice, إِخْوَانِي وَأَخَوَاتِي فِي اللَّهِ, is to look at the sīrah of those who came before us and to ask ourselves: what are from the greatest of deeds one can do? No doubt from the greatest of deeds one can do is to fast for the sake of Allah. And the Prophet ﷺ used to fast the ten days of Dhul Hijjah. When we say the ten days, obviously it does not contain the day of Eid, but rather the other nine days.

So follow in those footsteps and try to fast those nine days. And if you can't, don't let Yawm al-Arafah go by without you fasting. When one is not in Hajj, one should not let Yawm al-Arafah go by without fasting. As the Prophet ﷺ says, we expect Allah to forgive for us the past year and the coming year — i.e., those minor sins of ours. As for those major sins that one may commit, one needs to rush back to Allah in repentance.

Fourth: Reciting the Quran and Making Du'a

So the third is to fast. Busy yourselves with the Book of Allah and try, if you can, to finish it in these days. And if you can't finish it, try to read and busy your time with the recitation of the Book of Allah.

And also make a lot of du'a to Allah and ask Allah for the best of this world and the next.

Du'a and Closing

We ask Allah to make us of those who give these days their rights and who get closer to Allah in these days, whose sins are forgiven, who are raised in ranks, and whom Allah becomes pleased with. And not to make us of those who let seasons come by while their hearts are heedless.

May Allah be pleased with the rightful Caliphs, the Imams of guidance — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. May Allah be pleased with all the companions, the followers, and those who followed them with goodness until the Day of Recompense. And with us, with them, with Your favor, Your generosity, and Your kindness, O Most Generous of the generous.

Indeed, Allah commands justice, goodness, and giving of relatives. And forbids immorality, evil, and transgression. He warns you, so that you may remember. So remember Allah, the Great, the Glorious — He will remember you. And give thanks to Him for His blessings, which will increase you. And remember Allah more. And Allah knows what you do. And stand up for your prayer.