The best days of the year

Khutbah Opening

All praises due to Allah, we seek His guidance and His forgiveness and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and the whispering of our desires. Whom Allah guides, no one can misguide and whom He allows to be misled, no one can guide. And I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah alone having no partners and that Muhammad ﷺ is His slave and His messenger and His perfect worshipper.

Allah says: O you who believe, fear Allah as He deserves to be feared and do not die except in a state of Islam.

And Allah says: O mankind, fear your Lord who created you from a single soul and produced from that soul its mate and made from their combination many men and women, so fear your Lord whom you ask each other by and by the ties of kinship. Verily Allah is ever watchful over you.

And Allah says: O you who believe, fear Allah and say that which is correct — He will correct for you your deeds and forgive you your sins, and whoever obeys Allah and His messenger then they are indeed victorious.

The Season After Ramadan

To proceed — I want you to think back to how it seems like just a few days ago that we were anxiously awaiting the month of Ramadan, and then in the blink of an eye the month of Ramadan passed. We might have had goals this past Ramadan, and we might have accomplished them, or perhaps we bid farewell to the month while hoping and asking Allah for another chance next year to make up what we weren't able to achieve in Ramadan.

The beauty is that there is a season of goodness that comes after Ramadan, and as popular and as well known as Ramadan is, this season of goodness is less known. And that is the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.

The Most Beloved Days to Allah

In fact, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 969)

"There are no days in which good deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days." The ten days that begin this last month of the Islamic calendar — the month of Dhul Hijjah that we are now in.

The Sahaba wanted to test the limits. They said:

"Not even jihad in the path of Allah, O Messenger of Allah?" And he said: "Not even jihad in the path of Allah — except for a person who goes out with their wealth and with their self and comes back with neither." That is, a person who goes and acquires martyrdom. Other than that, there are no days in which good deeds are more beloved than these days.

And so we are in an incredibly unique circumstance. For those of us who wanted another chance at Ramadan, we have something that Allah gifted us.

Dhul Hijjah vs. Ramadan: A Comparison

Ramadan for us is the apex of our worship. It's the yardstick for our energy and our commitment. We try harder than we try at any other time of the year. We give more than we give at any other time of the year. We strive more than we strive at any other time of the year. That is when we go the hardest. And yet there are no days in which good deeds are more beloved to Allah than these 10 days.

Ramadan is 30 days and it's long. We see every year our community comes together, the masajid are filled on the first couple of days, but it's 30 days — it's a really long time. Commitments begin to wane, people begin to falter after the first week and the next two weeks, and then it comes back hard in the last 10 days.

Allah shortened the duration of this experience. It isn't 30 days but it is only 10 days. It's not a marathon like Ramadan — it's a sprint. Every single day is special. And it concludes on the 10th day with the day of Eid.

Allah swears by the Fajr and by the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah — according to the majority of the Mufassireen — because of their greatness and how much Allah loves them. And so your reading of the Qur'an during these 10 days is more beloved to Allah than your reading at any other point in time.

Sheikh Ibn 'Uthaymeen mentions: a dinar that a person gives in Ramadan versus a dinar — a dollar, say — that a person spends in the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah. Which one is more beloved to Allah? For us it would be hard-pressed to say anything other than Ramadan — this is all of our experience. And yet he says: "Between us and you is the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger." And the Prophet ﷺ said that the most beloved actions to Allah — there are no more beloved actions than those done in these 10 days. I am emphasizing this because it requires a little bit of reframing to really appreciate the value of these 10 days that we are experiencing.

Actions to Focus on in These Blessed Ten Days

When the Prophet ﷺ left it as absolute — all actions of good deeds — what that teaches us is that Allah has allowed you to drive whatever vehicle you want to drive. There are some people whose vehicle of choice is Siyam. There are some people whose vehicle of choice in traversing As-Sirat Al-Mustaqeem is Salah. There are some people whose vehicle of choice is Silat al-Rahim — maintaining and connecting the ties of kinship. For some people it's charity. For some people it's studying and learning the deen. For some people it's teaching the deen. Everybody has different acts of worship that have been made easy for them, that have been made beloved for them. So zone in on those acts of worship in these 10 days because all of them are more beloved to Allah than at any other time of the year.

But I wanted to share with you, inshallah, just a few acts of worship specific to this time of year — these 10 days.

1. Hajj

The first of course is Hajj itself. Hajj begins on the 8th day of Dhul Hijjah, the great day of Hajj — the day of Arafah — is on the 9th, and on the 10th day is Yawm al-Hajj al-Akbar, the day of an-Nahr, the day of the sacrifice, where the hujjaj go through so many of the rites of Hajj. This is the most unique act that is done, and it is only done at this period of time in the year.

One of the things that we should do is intend to go for Hajj. A lot of times, especially with people who have built up the capital, they don't entertain the idea of going to Hajj. I know so many people who ended up going to Hajj only because someone told them, "Why don't you go for Hajj?" It's not that they didn't have the capacity, it's not that they couldn't have made it happen — simply because the thought hadn't entered their mind, the seed hadn't been planted in their heart. And so they didn't see the opportunities in front of them because they weren't looking for them.

And so the first step in making the journey to Hajj — and may Allah grant us all the ability to visit His house — is to simply think and commit: "O Allah, whenever I have the ability to do so, I will not hesitate and I want to go on the journey to fulfill this obligation that You have placed on me."

2. Dhikr of Allah

The second act of worship specific to these days is the dhikr of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3377; also reported in Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3790)

"Shall I not tell you about the best of your actions, and the most pure in the sight of your Lord, and that which is better than you spending gold and silver, better than you giving in charity, and better than you fighting in the path of Allah?" They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "It is the dhikr of Allah."

The dhikr of Allah is that act of worship that Allah has made so easy, and yet He has made so beloved to Himself. Your tongue can literally go non-stop in the remembrance of Allah for the next nine days.

Of the beautiful things that the Sahaba used to do — it is reported of Abu Hurairah and of Abdullah ibn Umar — is that they used to go out into the marketplaces during the ten days of Dhul Hijjah and they used to make takbir, and people used to be inspired by their takbir and chant alongside with them.

So make it the soundtrack of your days and nights of Dhul Hijjah — with your family, in your car, wherever you go — reciting the takbirat:

…as well as the tahleel — لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ, الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ — all of the dhikr of Allah, increasing your remembrance of Allah during these ten days. And of course, the greatest dhikr of Allah is the recitation of the Qur'an. So dust off the Qur'an if you haven't been reading it recently, and have a personal goal for these ten days.

3. Fasting

Of the acts that a person can do in these days is fasting, because the Prophet ﷺ said any good deed is more beloved to Allah in these days. Fasting is legislated throughout the next week, but especially on the day of Arafah — the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah. The Prophet ﷺ said that fasting on the day of Arafah expiates two years worth of sins — the year before and the year after.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1162)

So take advantage of the day of Arafah and fast. Of the ten days, the only day you are not allowed to fast is the tenth day, because it is the day of Eid. But beyond that, every day is an open opportunity for you to fast — especially recommended is the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah.

4. Offering the Udhiyah (Qurbani)

The fourth is the offering of the Udhiyah — or the Qurbani. It is considered a sunnah mu'akkadah, an established sunnah, by the majority of scholars, and it is considered obligatory by a minority of scholars. For each household, if one is able to afford it, they should offer it. These are acts of worship that are incredibly beloved to Allah, so take advantage of feeding and giving in these days.

5. Giving in Charity

The fifth is giving in Sadaqah. Ibn al-Qayyim says specifically about the day of Jumu'ah: he says that the day of Jumu'ah compared to the rest of the days is like Ramadan compared to the rest of the months. And so giving in charity specifically on Friday — if a person wants to design it out and say, "Today is Friday, and next Jumu'ah will be the day of Arafah, so I want to make sure I give some sadaqah on that day, especially because I'll be breaking my fast" — all of these things, that is the strategy required for a person to be successful in taking advantage of any time period in their life, especially days like this that Allah has gifted us in this short sprint of the ten days of Dhul Hijjah.

6. Salah — On Time and in the Masjid

And of course, lastly, the sixth is Salah itself — increasing the quality and the quantity of our Salah. The Salah is a pillar of the deen, and in these days when actions are more beloved to Allah, we try to do that which is most beloved to Allah, in the way that is most beloved to Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ said that the most beloved prayer to Allah is the prayer at its earliest time.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 527; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 85)

So let me make the commitment that I pray earlier, that I don't delay Salat al-Dhuhr, that I don't delay Salat al-Asr, that I don't delay Salat al-Maghrib.

When people love, they are propelled by that love to race. You see people get in lines to get the latest iPhone, iPad, whatever technology — because they want to be the first to have it. And the Prophet ﷺ says that Allah and His angels praise the first row — and the Sahaba said, "Even the second row, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Allah and His angels praise the first row again." They said: "What about the second row, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Allah and His angels praise the first row three times." And then he said: "And the second row." Nobody even asked about the third row.

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 997; also reported in Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 664)

It is propelled by love. Musa alayhi as-salam said:

Musa even beat his people — he was walking with his people, he just couldn't wait to hurry to Allah, to meet Allah, to have that conversation with Allah — and he said: "I hastened to You, my Lord, that You may be pleased." It is a natural instinct. And so propel yourself by love — don't wait when it comes to the actions that Allah has obligated, especially an act like Salah.

Commit in these days that remain: I will pray every Salah on time. I will pray in the masjid if I have the ability. Let me commit to Fajr and Isha in the masjid. Let me commit to more than that — if I am near the masjid, let me swing by for Dhuhr, Asr, and Maghrib.

Conclusion

In conclusion — whatever acts of worship we can offer in these ten days, no matter what they are, increase them. Let's magnify them. We ask Allah to accept from us our actions, our charity, our recitation of the Qur'an, and our dhikr of Allah. And may Allah make us of those who experience the best of these days and protect us from the worst of these days.