Top 10 Deeds to Do in the BEST 10 Days | Jumuah Khutbah | Ustadh Mohamad Baajour
By Ustadh Mohamad Baajour | 2026-05-26T16:11:08.101377+00:00 | Topic: Khutbah
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
I ask Allah Azza wa Jal who gathered us in this masjid to gather us Yawm al-Qiyamah with Sayyid al-Mursaleen Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. Ameen Ya Rabbal Alameen.
I am extremely, extremely grateful to Allah سبحانه وتعالى. And I'm so pleased that Allah Azza wa Jal is using me to deliver this khutbah about reminding myself and reminding all of us about the importance of the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah that are coming up.
The Words of the Best Man
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, maybe because we get used to it a lot, hearing qala Rasulullah, qala Rasulullah, Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, said. But keep in mind that every time you hear a hadith, that this hadith is taught to us by the best man that ever walked this earth. So the words are the most eloquent. The truth, there's no doubt about it.
So Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said when it came to these days, I will quote few hadith in Arabic and then I will translate.
First Hadith - Sahih al-Bukhari
First is in Bukhari, from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. He said, Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
"What are the days in which the righteous deeds are dearer to Allah than these days," meaning the 10 days. They said, "O Rasulullah, not even jihad in the way of Allah?" Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Not even jihad in the way of Allah, except for a man who went out with his own self and his wealth, and did not return with anything of that."
Second Hadith
"There is no deed that is purer to Allah, nor is there a greater reward than a good deed done in the 10 days."
Third Hadith
"The most superior days of this world are the days of the ten (Dhul Hijjah)."
The Beautiful Words Used by the Best Man
Allahu Akbar! Listen to the words used by the best man: أَفْضَلُ، أَعْظَمُ، أَزْكَى، أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ - Most superior, the greatest, the most precious, the most beloved to Allah. One of them is sufficient. All four are used to describe the virtues of the أَعْمَال الصَّالِحَة, the righteous deeds, in these 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah. All these beautiful words.
The Wisdom of the Sahaba's Question
And immediately, the mind of the sahaba went to the best thing in Islam: الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ. Immediately. By the way, if you notice here, they did not ask him, "Are the a'mal better in Ramadan?" No, they went to a deed, not to a period of time. Because he's talking about a period of time. So you should answer, "Is it better in this time?" No, they asked immediately, وَلَا الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ? "Ya Rasulullah, not even fighting fi sabili Allah?"
Not even jihad in other days, in other than these 10 days, is better than my 2 rak'ah, than my 10 dollars donation, than my qira'ah of the Qur'an in these 10 days. وَلَا الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ - Not even jihad fi sabili Allah.
The One Exception
And he made, عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ, one exception. I'm gonna say this exception in a way that we all can understand and be motivated. He said one exception: A man - and I'm paraphrasing - sold his house, sold his car, sold his business, sold everything that he owns, took all that money, spent it in jihad فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ, and went out for jihad, and he never came back. He died and all the money is gone, spent فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ. That is the only exception.
This man sold his house, sold everything, and went for jihad, and came back paralyzed, blind, handicapped - the deeds in the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah are better than his jihad! Are you comprehending what kind of days are we about to witness? One condition: he has to leave with all his money - not save just himself, all his money - and he never comes back. That is the only guy whose action is better than the action done in these 10 days. Allahu Akbar!
Allah Swore by These Days
And on top of all that, Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ swore by these 10 days when He said:
Allah swore by them. And somebody might say, "But it says here لَيَالٍ, nights." In the Arabic language, the word لَيَالٍ is used for the whole day, and the word يَوْم is also used for the whole day.
10 Deeds for the 10 Days
Okay, now we know the virtues. I'm gonna mention, because of the time, 10 أَعْمَال, actions, that inshallah ta'ala we should do in these 10 days, hoping that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى and begging that He accepts.
Number One: Gratitude for Being Alive
First and foremost, as you have heard the announcement, so many of our brothers and sisters passed and did not witness these days. So the first thing: be extremely grateful to Allah if He kept you alive to witness these 10 days. They will start Monday or Tuesday, according to the moon sighting. We will find out inshallah.
If Allah kept me alive, kept you alive to witness these 10 days, the first thing: "Ya Rabb, I am so grateful that You kept me alive to witness the best 10 days of the year." Imagine you get an invitation - exclusive invitation for certain people done by a human being. You will feel very special, like you are a VIP. How about if Allah kept me alive to witness the best?
Are they better than the days of Ramadan? Absolutely! Except the last 10 nights of Ramadan are better because they have Laylatul Qadr. So I'm so grateful: "Ya Allah, Ya Allah, I beg You to help me do as much as I can in these 10 days." Number one.
Number Two: Sincere Tawbah
Number two: Sincere tawbah. Real tawbah. Real tawbah. You want to enter these 10 days with a clean slate, clean heart. No matter what major sin you are committing - no matter what major sin you are committing, you know and Allah knows - stop it, please, for the sake of Allah. And in these 10 days, beg Allah to help you stop it.
Whatever that thing is - you're selling alcohol, you're dealing with riba, you're committing adultery, you're gambling, all these big sins, you're watching haram stuff - beg Allah Azza wa Jal to make you stop and stop them. Make tawbah: "Ya Allah, before these 10 days start, Ya Allah, I repent to You." تَوْبَة نَصُوح - a sincere tawbah. "Ya Allah, please help me. You know how much I'm struggling with that sin. Please, Ya Allah, I beg You to help me."
Beware of Secret Sins
And be careful of the sins in secret. The hadith of Thauban - very famous hadith. Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:
(Sunan Ibn Majah)
"I certainly know people who will come on the Day of Judgment with good deeds as big as the mountains of Tihamah. Huge mountains of good deeds. وَيَجْعَلُهَا اللَّهُ هَبَاءً مَنْثُورًا - And Allah will turn them into scattered dust."
Mountains! He came once to the mosque with mountains of good deeds. And Allah will make them into scattered dust. Not dust - maybe dust when it settles, there's something to it. Scattered. Put the dust in a windy day - scattered dust.
Thauban - and I would be the same and all of us would be - "Ya Rasulullah, جَلِّهُمْ لَنَا - describe them for us. We don't want to be among them." He said, "Who are these people?" He said:
"These are your brothers. They pray like you. They perform tahajjud like you. But what is their problem? إِذَا خَلَوْا بِمَحَارِمِ اللَّهِ انْتَهَكُوهَا - When they are alone with the sacred limits of Allah, they transgress." When there's nobody with them, they start doing the haram because they forgot that Allah is watching.
The Real You
The question is, كَيْفَ حَالَكَ وَأَنْتَ لَوْحَدَكَ؟ We all know كَيْفَ حَالَكَ وَأَنْتَ لَوْحَدَكَ؟ How are you when you're alone? That's you. This image here, gorgeous, beautiful. And may Allah keep it this way in public and in secret. But in secret is the real me. Is the real you. The way you treat your parents when nobody's seeing. The way you treat your spouse when nobody's seeing. The way you treat your children. How they treat their parents and their uncles and their family members when there's nobody seeing.
Third: Reach Out and Reconcile
Call. Or text. That cousin, that brother-in-law, that sister-in-law, that sister, that brother that you have grudge against. That you haven't spoken to for a while. Can you believe from all the things I mentioned, many people find this one the hardest. Qiyam, siyam, tahajjud, donation. This one, I can't Sheikh. Something's wrong. We just spoke about tawbah. Tawbah is not only from the major sins. Tawbah should be also from the أعمال القلوب The sins of the heart. Jealousy, envy, hatred, malice, arrogance, showing off. All these are diseases.
Whoever that person is. And I'm not telling you become best friends. Many people come and ask me after, Sheikh, you don't know what he did to me. Wallahi, some people do not deserve even a salam. But for the sake of Allah, I am ready to send this message. Because who's gonna stop me? Allah? No, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us:
The best reward is for the one who forgives and fixes. I'm doing it for Allah, not for him or her. And a simple message, السلام عليكم ورحمة الله I just heard the khutbah today that the best 10 days of the year are starting. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala keep me and you alive to witness them. السلام عليكم ورحمة الله Press send.
Every shaitan on earth is gonna come and tell you not to press send. Say, أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم and press it. What's the worst could ever happen? Please tell me. He's gonna curse you back, Allah akbar hasanat. He's not gonna reply, Allah akbar hasanat because you started the salam. He replies back, Allah akbar with good message. Everywhere you look at it, it's win-win for you. Win, three wins.
Why, why Sheikh you talking about this? Because I am going to strive and do so many things in these days. And I heard my Habibi Rasulallah ﷺ said that actions are presented to Allah Monday and Thursday. And everybody will be forgiven except two guys. One of them insha'Allah ta'ala, none of us is among that guy who is a mushrik. The second guy is a person who has a problem with his brother. A person who has a problem with his sister. Allah will say, ذَرُوهُمَا حَتَّى يَصْطَلِحَا Leave them, three times Rasulallah ﷺ repeated it, leave the a'mal on hold until they reconcile.
You tell me now, what that person have done to you for my salat and siyam and Qur'an and hajj will be on hold? Because I don't talk to a guy, he took five hundred dollars and never gave it to me. His wife had a fight with my wife because of our children. He never say salam to me. All these excuses. And we see, subhanAllah, we see people dying all day and all night and all the time. And I still have grudge about something that is so insignificant. And sometimes we say to ourselves, Ya Allah, I wish he comes back so I can say, please forgive me. It was not worth it. Too late. Today is their janazah.
Fourth: Order Good and Forbid Evil
Order good and forbid evil. Amr bil ma'ruf, wal nahi 'an al-munkar, according to your level. Oh, but I'm not a sheikh, I'm not a hafiz, I'm not a... Ya akhi, every single one of us in this room, he and she knows someone that is very dear to them that does not pray. Before the ten days, phone call. Ya sheikh, I spoke to them many times. Phone call. Text. I heard the khutbah today about the best ten days and we all know that the salat is the best pillar after shahadah. So please, come back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and start praying. Very soft, gentle, kind manner.
Your daughter, your wife does not wear the hijab. Very soft, kind, gentle manner. My wife, it's an obligation. Your brother sells alcohol. Your brother is dealing in haram business. In a very gentle, soft, wise manner. Please, for the sake of Allah, stop. Your and my job is not the nateejah, the fruit. If we see the fruit, Allahu akbar. But we're not responsible for the fruit. We are responsible for telling the people. We are never responsible. You gotta stay on top of that guy until he prays. You gotta stay on top of that guy until he stops selling haram. No, no, no. Our job is to give the message. Then, we leave it to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for guidance.
Fifth: Fix Your Salah
Fix your salat, ya akhi, in these days. Since we're talking about salat. Many of us, their salat is so fast. So fast. You don't know what kind of surah they recited after the fatiha. Even the fatiha. Ya akhi, for the sake of Allah, make an intention that in these days, I wanna fix my salat. Ya Allah, help me.
And, since we're talking about salat, try to do as many salat in jama'ah in these days. If you are from the people who miss constantly takbirat al-ihram, the first takbirah, now, in these 10 days, I'm gonna catch the first takbirah. If we are from the people who do not perform the sunnah before and after salawat al-fard, these 10 days, I'm gonna train myself for this beautiful habit.
Sixth: Qiyam - The Night Prayer
Just because of the time I'm rushing. Qiyam. Tahajjud. If tahajjud is the best salat after fard, Rasulallah ﷺ told us, the best salat after the obligation, is salat al-qiyam. How about in the best 10 days? Two rak'ah. Two rak'ah before fajr. Two rak'ah after isha'a.
Jibreel ﷺ came to Muhammad ﷺ, the best angel, came to the best man, and he said, Ya Muhammad:
Sharaf is the same in Urdu and Arabic. Sharaf al-mu'min qiyam al-layl. The honor, the sharaf of the believer, is him or her performing qiyam.
Seventh: Fasting
Fasting. If you can fast all nine days, Allahu Akbar. Here fasting comes under the amal salih, under the righteous deed. And it's the longest righteous deed. 12, 13, 14 hours. Long deed. And I know, I know, I know, the longest days of the year. But when I hear the reward, how can I let these days go? You can't fast all of them, one, two, three of them, but do not miss the day of Arafah. On the day of Arafah, Rasulullah ﷺ promised that it will expiate two years of sins. Allahu Akbar. Two years of sins.
Eighth: Remembrance of Allah
Remembrance of Allah Azza wa Jalla. All day long, thousands of breath, inhale and exhale. Why are they going out for free and coming back free? Why can't they be busy? Subhanallah wa alhamdulillah wa la ilaha illallah.
I'm going to give you a gift from Rasulullah ﷺ. Umm Hani, daughter of Abi Talib. She said, Ya Rasulullah, I got old and I got heavy and I got weak. Can you teach me something I can do while I'm sitting down? He said:
Say subhanallah 100 times. It is better for you or it's equivalent to freeing 100 slaves from the descendants of Ismail.
And say alhamdulillah 100 times. It is equal to preparing 100 horses saddled, going في سبيل الله in jihad.
And say allahu akbar 100 times. Equal to sacrificing camels, 100 camels في سبيل الله.
And say la ilaha illallah 100 times. تَمْلَأُ مَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ It will fill between the heavens and the earth in hasanat. How long does it take to say subhanallah 100 times? Two minutes. Look at the reward. Look at the kareem. (Hadith authenticated by Sheikh al-Albani rahimahullah)
Two minutes each one of them. Look at the reward. Wallahi, that's why sometimes we think about the reward. We are giving each other. That's why, are you kidding me? What is this? For two minutes? Habibi, you're dealing with the kareem. With akram al-akrameen.
One of the best form of dhikr is Qur'an. Make, dedicate every day. Challenge yourself. I'm gonna finish 10 juz' in these 10 days. Every letter is 10. Hasan, in regular days. I'm gonna finish the whole Qur'an. I know people here in this crowd, they can finish the whole Qur'an, 3 juz' a day. Whatever you can, 5 pages a day. The best dhikr is dhikr of the Qur'an.
Ninth: Charity
Number 9, charity. Don't give a thousand dollars in the first day. No, divide the thousand dollars, hundred dollars a day. So you can be giving charity in every single day of dhikr. And we all know that the person is under the shade. It's 90 something degrees and we feel it's hot. Can you imagine the day of judgment? The person is under his shade, under her shade. The shade of the sadaqah on the day of judgment.
Tenth: Du'a
Finally, dua. Dua. Dua, dua, dua all the time. And especially on the day of Arafah since I will not be with you next week. I'm going to hajj. I promise you I'll keep you all in my dua. And you make dua that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will get me there safe. Accept every dua I make and bring me back safe to you.
Dua all the time and especially on the day of Arafah where Rasulullah ﷺ said, The most day of the year where necks are saved from the hellfire. Ya Rabb, ya Allah, free my neck. Ya Allah, today is the most day you free people. Ya Allah, put this neck on the list. On the day of Arafah. Khayr al-dua, dua of Arafah. The best day to make dua is the day of Arafah.
What is the best dua, ya Rasulullah?
That's the best dua to make in Arafah.
The Most Important Du'a
But there is something I want to leave you with. Anas narrated this hadith, Umm Salama narrated this hadith. And Rasulullah ﷺ, Anas told him, Ya Rasulullah, and Umm Salama said the same thing. He said, Ya Rasulullah, how come your most dua:
O turner of the hearts, keep my heart steadfast on your deen. Who are we talking about? Habibullah, Khalilullah, the first person entering Jannah, the best man ever walked the earth, the man who get the best revelation, his most dua, ya Allah, keep me steadfast on your deen.
So Anas said, Ya Rasulullah, amanna bika wa bima ji'ta bih. We believed in you and we believed in the Qur'an. Fahal takhafu alayna? Are you worried about us? He said, yes. If Rasulullah ﷺ is worried about the best three generations, the sahaba, what would he say to us? He's worried about Anas. He said, yes, I'm worried about you. He said, why? He said, because the hearts of people are between two fingers of the Rahman. He turns them the way he does, he wishes.
So, this is the most dua of the man. The Jannah will not open to other than him. So what this faqir would say? Ya muqalliba al-quloob, ask Allah to keep your heart steadfast on your deen. Ask Allah to keep the heart of your spouse, your parents, your children on the deen.
What was the dua? Allah told us, what was the dua of ar-rasikhuna fil-ilm? Allah is telling us, what is the dua of the people, not who are scholars. No, no, no. Allah is using this word. The one who are anchored in knowledge. What was their dua?
The dua of the people who are anchored in knowledge is, Ya Allah, do not deviate my heart after you have guided it. Ya Allah, do not deviate my heart after you have guided it. Rabbana, la tuzigh quloobana ba'da idh hadaytana. And give us rahma from you, Ya Allah. You are the bestower.
Closing Du'a
Ya Allah, keep us alive to witness these days. Ya Allah, give us the energy to do our best in these ten days. Ya Allah, Ya Allah, protect our parents. Ya Allah, protect our children. Ya Allah, ya kareem, ya arham al-rahimeen.
And in the Hereafter good, and save us from the punishment of the Fire. Our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower. And may Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions all.
وَقُومُوا إِلَى صَلَاتِكُمْ - Stand up for your prayer.
There is no god but Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Come to prayer. Come to success. The prayer has ended. The prayer has ended.
Allah Akbar! Straighten your bodies, close the gaps. Sisters, do the same.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. The Merciful, the Compassionate. Master of the Day of Judgment. It is You we worship and You we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path. The path of those on whom You have bestowed Your blessings, not of those who have incurred Your wrath, nor of those who have gone astray. Ameen.
Say: He is Allah, the One! Allah, the Eternal, Absolute. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him.
Allah is the greatest. Allah has heard those who praise Him. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.
Janazah Prayer Instructions
Peace be upon you. I'm very sorry I took a little bit longer than usual. Let's try to bring the janazah so we can pray. The janazah, the burial will be in Parmaslam.
Salatul janazah is four takbirah. After the first takbirah, you recite Surah al-Fatiha. After the second takbirah, you will make salat for Rasulullah ﷺ like we do in the salat - اللهم صل على محمد all the way. And after the third takbirah, اللهم اغفر لهما. There are two people. اللهم اغفر لهما - O Allah, forgive both of them. So any du'a that you know about maghfirah, or about forgiveness, or about mercy, please make it for them. And after the fourth takbirah, we will make salam on both sides.
Please stand up like you are standing for the salat. Exactly please. Fix the rows.
The Janazah Prayer
اللهُ أَكْبَرُ
اللهم صل على محمد وعلى آل محمد
اللهُ أَكْبَرُ
اللهم اغفر لهما، اللهم ثبتهما عند السؤال
اللهُ أَكْبَرُ
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله
I request please the families to leave immediately to the cemetery because there are more janazahs today. And if you are late, they keep taking the people who come first.