The Amazing Days of Dhul Hijjah – 5 Things to Do This Year
Khawlah bint Yahya
22 July, 2020
The amazing month of Dhul Hijjah is upon us! It is the month of pilgrimage, the Month of Hajj, the last Islamic month (12th) of the year and it’s one of the four sacred months in which fighting is forbidden.
You might have read about the great virtues of the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah, such as:
There are no days on which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days… (Al-Bukhari)
Is It Permissible to Combine Missed Ramadan Fasts with Dhul-Hijjah Fasts?
But do you feel like you don’t know what to do? You might not be able to read the Quran in Arabic, or even know many Prophetic supplications. Here are some easy, highly rewarding tips on how to benefit to the max in these first ten blessed days of Dhul Hijjah!
Your Mindset is Key!
A good and positive mindset is half the work. See these ten days as a blessed gift, a fresh opportunity to erase your sins and cleanse yourself. It is also a second chance, for those who felt Ramadan slip through their fingers.
Now, imagine it was raining money, you’d run outside, raise your hands and collect as much as you could, you wouldn’t take a break, you wouldn’t first finish your favorite tv-program, you would be out there!
These days are like the ultimate jackpot, but not with money but with enormous rewards up for grabs. Key is to make the best of your time, doing what you are able to do without worrying about what you can’t do!
1. Thank Allah
Start by taking a moment to connect and truly thank Allah, the Most High, from the bottom of your heart, in whatever language, for giving you these blessed days to repent, do good deeds, and be saved from the Fire!
How can you thank Allah?
By doing those deeds He loves in the most beautiful, beloved, respectful and humble way. This is what ibaadah (worship) is.
Pondering the Best Deeds of Dhul-Hijjah
2. Ask for Help to Put Your Obligations First
Before talking about any voluntary actions (and bonuses), remind yourself to take care of all your obligations which can be hard in itself and that’s ok. Just make sure you ask Allah, the Most High, to help you!
Action Points:
– Focus on your five daily prayers (salat); pray them on time, do your best to concentrate and perfect them as well as you can.
– Supplicate to Allah to help you fulfil your obligations in the best way, use the beautiful dua’ the Prophet Muhammad said at the end of prayer:
Allahumma a’innee ‘alaa dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni ‘ibadatika (O Allah! Assist me in remembering You, in thanking You, and in worshipping You in the best of manners.) (Ahmad, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i)
3. Live by Your Dhikr (Remembrance)
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
There are no days during which good deeds are greater or more beloved to Allah than these 10 days. So recite more often the Tahleel (Laa Ilaaha Illallah), Takbeer (Allahu Akbar), Tahmeed (Alhamdulillah). (Ahmad)
Action Points:
– Put a note on the wall (or car windscreen) to constantly remind yourself to recite them (at home or on the go).
– Feel their meaning in your daily life. Use these trigger points:
Allah is greater than anything (Allahu akbar); put Him first.
He gave you everything you have (Alhamdulillah); complain less.
There is only One God (laa ilaaha ill-Allah); truly turn to Him for help and comfort.
Glorified is Allah (SubhanAllah); know this world is imperfect and our true happiness is with Him, in Paradise!
Tip:
dhul-hijjah
Why Extra Worship in the First 10 Days of Dhul-Hijjah?
Teach the children and play this takbeer audio in your home or car: https://youtu.be/UnmzTfUfVkM and feel how great Allah is, how happy you should be to be Muslim and how grateful you should be for all He gave you.
4. Go for the ‘100x Dhikr!’
Ten days are 14 400 minutes and 864 000 seconds. On those moments too busy to perform other good deeds, revive the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad and say 100x each day:
– SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi, subhanAllahil-Ádheem
– Astaghfirullah wa atoobu ilayh
– Laa ilaaha illal-laahu wahdahu laa shareeka lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu wa huwa ‘alaa kulli shay-in qadeer.
Tip:
Seek forgiveness for the entire Ummah and you’ll get reward for each one of them by Allah’s will, say: Allahumma‘ghfir lil mu’mineena wal mu’minaat.
5. Master the Master of Seeking Forgiveness!
Learn to pronounce below best supplication for seeking forgiveness (Syed-ul-Istighfar or the master of seeking forgiveness), and use it every day and night with conviction!
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The best supplication for seeking forgiveness is to say: Allahumma Anta Rabbi, la ilaha illa Anta, khalaqtanî wa ana ‘abduka, wa ana ‘ala ‘ahdika wa wa’dika mastata’tu, a’udhu bika min sharri mâ sana’tu, abu’u laka bini’maktika ‘alayya, wa abu’u bidhanbi, faghfir li, fa innahu la yaghfirudh-dhunuba illa Anta.
(O Allah! You are my Rabb. There is no true god except You. You have created me, and I am Your slave, and I hold to Your Covenant as far as I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge the favours that You have bestowed upon me, and I confess my sins. Pardon me, for none but You has the power to pardon.)
Whoever makes this dua’ during the day with firm belief in it and dies on the same day (before the evening) he will be one of the dwellers of Jannah (Paradise); and whoever makes this dua’ during the night with firm belief in it and dies before the morning, he will be one of the dwellers of Jannah (Paradise). (Al-Bukhari)
With Pilgrims Day by Day - Dhul-Hijjah 8
Nothing less than Jannah!
Note on the Takbeer (Allahu Akbar)
A way of saying takbeer is to say: Allahu akbar Allahu akbar Allahu akbar, laa ilaaha ill-Allah, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar wa lillaahil hamd. There are two types of takbeer these days.
1. Takbeer first 10 days & days of tashreeq.
It is Sunnah to recite takbeer at any time during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah and all the days of Tashreeq (11,12, 13th). This takbeer is prescribed until the end of the days of al-Tashreeq, which is when the sun sets on the thirteenth day of Dhul-Hijjah.
2. Special takbeer to be said after each obligatory prayer!
There’s also a specific time to say this takbeer, which is from fajr on the day of ‘Arafah until the sun sets on the last day of the days of Tashreeq, in addition to the takbeer that may be recited at any time.
– So you say the tasleem (salaam) at the end of the obligatory prayer
– You should pray for forgiveness (by saying: Astaghfir-Allah 3 times, and say, “Allaahumma antas-salaam wa minkas-salaam, tabaarakta yaa dhaa’l-jalaali wa’l-ikraam (O Allah, You are al-Salaam and from You is all peace, blessed are You O Possessor of majesty and honor)
– Then start the takbeer (like above one).
Tip:
Check this article for super-effective worship tools to use: intention reminder strips, dhikr cards, daily worship schedule and the ultimate dua’ list! https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/living-islam/top-6-tips-to-beat-ramadan-overwhelm/
Imagine in these first ten days you can finish Personal Lessons from the whole Quran in just ten minutes a day, see www.dailylifeknowledge.co.uk for an e-book, packed with daily life action points based on the verses of the Quran, suitable for all levels.
Now quickly make dua’ that Allah, the Most High, will give you the tawfeeq (ability) to make these days your best: give it your all!
8 Tips for Dhul-Hijjah Days… #7 Is Really Easy
Muhammad Fathi
21 July, 2020
Have you missed some of the precious time of the previous Ramadan?
Do you feel you could have done more in that blessed month? Are you disappointed with your performance during the last ten days of Ramadan and feel an overwhelming yearning for the spirituality of Laylat Al-Qadr?
Well, you have another chance!
It is out of Allah’s mercy that He bestows upon us blessed times in which rewards are multiplied. These seasons of goodness recur time after time, so that we can recharge our spiritual batteries and keep our hearts alive. Nowadays, we are witnessing one of them — the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah.
You certainly must have read or heard about the greatness of these days and the indescribable amount of forgiveness and mercy that Allah bestows upon people during them.
Now that these days are almost here, it is time for deeds, not words.
The intelligent person is one who takes full advantage of every minute and every second, and this is not so difficult. There are many ways to achieve goodness, and with little effort you can get much reward.
1. Hajj: The Fifth Pillar of Islam
Sadly, over 99% of Muslims will not be able to observe Hajj this year due to the Hajj Ban.
But if you are one of the few lucky Muslims who are going to observe it this year, then try your best to gain as much reward as possible. This is your real chance to become wholly absolved of your sins and have your record wiped clean.
So spare no effort in perfecting your rituals, and keep away from anything that may blemish your Hajj. During the journey, make use of your time through constant supplication, remembrance of Allah, and recitation of the Qur’an. Who knows, this may be your last journey to the Sacred House.
2. Reward of Hajj in Your Homeland
Not a Pilgrim? Here Are 5 Things to Do in Dhul-Hijjah Days
You may be unable to do Hajj this year, and you may feel sad because you are deprived of the great reward of Hajj. But you can also achieve this reward in your country of residence. Just reflect on the following hadith:
Whoever prays Fajr Prayer in congregation, and then sits and remembers Allah until the sun rises, then (after a while) prays tworak`has, he will gain a reward equal to that of making perfect Hajj and `Umrah. [The Prophet repeated the word “perfect” thrice.] (At-Tirmidhi)
It’s so easy, isn’t it?
3. Back to the Qur’an
Revive Your Relation with the Quran (10 Hadiths)
These 10 Hadiths Will Revive Your Relation with Qur'an
It is time also to dust off your copy of the Qur’an and return to its refuge.
Make these 10 days the beginning of a systematic and strong relationship with it.
Reading one letter of the Qur’an earns you 10 rewards. In this way, reading Surat Al-Fatihah — which doesn’t take more than two minutes — will give you more than one thousand rewards. This is on ordinary days, so what about these great days! Certainly the reward will be far greater.
Furthermore, there are some surahs that have special merits. Reading Surat Al-Ikhlas (surah 112), for example, is equal to reading one third of the Qur’an (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
Regular recitation of Surat Al-Mulk (surah 67) intercedes for its reader (Abu Dawud), and reading Ayat Al-Kursi (Al-Baqarah 2:255) when going to sleep protects you from Satan for the whole night (Al-Bukhari).
4. Fasting: Evoking the Spirit of Ramadan
It is a good idea to evoke the spirituality of Ramadan by fasting during these blessed days. Remember that observing the voluntary fast for day keeps you away from Hell. In a hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,
Anyone who fasts for one day for Allah’s pleasure, Allah will keep his face away from the (Hell) fire for (a distance covered by a journey of) seventy years. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
This is during ordinary days. Of course there is even more reward during these blessed days.
5. Day of `Arafah
On the day of `Arafah, Allah showers His mercy on the pilgrims and forgives all their sins. If you are not a pilgrim, you still can have a share of this forgiveness. All you have to do is to fast on the Day of `Arafah, and by doing that, Allah will forgive your sins for two whole years — the past year and the coming one.
📚 Read Also: Pilgrim or Not, Here Is What to Do on the Day of Arafah
6. Night Vigil Prayer
You always hear about the virtues of spending night in prayer, and you have actually tasted its sweetness in Ramadan nights. Why not revive this beautiful act of worship during these nights?
You can add two or four extra rak`has after finishing `Isha’ Prayer and before Witr Prayer. In addition to that, there is another easy way to gain the reward of the night vigil prayer.
It is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who attends `Isha’ Prayer in congregation is as if he has performed salah for half of the night; and he who attends `Isha’ and Fajr prayers in congregation, is as if he has performed salah for the whole night. (At-Tirmidhi)
7. The Golden Words
This is one of the easiest ways to gain treasures of reward. You can make dhikr wherever you are, at all times.
You can make dhikr at your home, school, or workplace, and you can make it while you are driving, walking, traveling, and commuting. In addition, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us guidance for reciting certain formulas of dhikr that have special reward.
For example, Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who recites after every prayer:
Subhan Allah (Allah is free from imperfection) thirty-three times;
Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah) thirty-three times;
Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greatest) thirty-three times;
and completes the hundred with:
La ilaha illallahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa `ala kulli shai’in qadir (there is no true god except Allah. He is One and He has no partner. His is the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Omnipotent),
will have all his sins pardoned even if they may be as large as the foam on the surface of the sea. (Muslim)
10 Hadiths on Remembrance of Allah
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) also reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who says Subhan-Allahi wa bihamdihi (Allah is free from imperfection and His is the praise) one hundred times a day, his sins will be obliterated even if they are equal to the extent of the foam of the sea.(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who utters ten times La ilaha illallahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahulmulku wa lahulhamdu, wa Huwa `ala kulli sha’in qadir
(There is no true god except Allah. He is One and He has no partner. His is the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Omnipotent),
he will have a reward equal to that for freeing four slaves from the progeny of Prophet Isma`il. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
8. The Precious hours
In a wonderful hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that on the last third of every night, Allah Almighty calls to His servants:
Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to his invocation?
Anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request?
Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him? (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Why do we miss this golden opportunity?
Now is the right time to expose yourself to His divine generosity and mercy.
If you are going to fast during these days, you are most likely to wake up a little bit earlier than usual to have your sahur.
So, seize the opportunity and pray two rak`ahs, and ask Allah to forgive your sins and to grant you happiness in this world and in the hereafter. Do not forget your brothers and sisters who suffer in Palestine, Iraq, Myanmar, and other countries.
The doors of goodness are numerous and wide open. There are many ways to Paradise, and the more time and effort you give, the more reward and blessings you will get.
Dhul-Hijjah is fast approaching. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) told us that there are no good deeds that can be done that are more beloved to Allah than the good deeds that can be done in the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah. So what should we do during the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah?
1. Focus on perfecting the obligatory prayers or any obligation in general.
2. Focus on the Sunnah acts, sunnah prayers and reading the Quran.
3. Fasting, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) would fast during the 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah. The only day we can’t fast is the 10th day. We should try and fast on the 9th day. Day of Arafah. Fasting the day of Arafah forgives the sins from the year before and the year after when one fasts on the day of Arafah.
4. Make a lot of dhikr, the phrases are so light and easy that you can be doing it a lot on those first 10 days.
5. Sharing goodness. Share goodness to those who you love and others.
Why Dhul-Hijjah 10 Days Are Very Special
5 Reasons Why Dhul-Hijjah 10 Days Are Very Special
The first ten days and nights of Dhul-Hijjah are considered some of the blessed days in Islam.
Let us refer to the sources to discern what is unique about these days/nights:
1- Allah has made an oath by these nights in order to stress their significance. We read in Surat Al-Fajr: {By the dawn and the ten nights.} (Al-Fajr 89:1-2)
According to the vast majority of commentators of the Quran, the expression ‘last ten nights’ refers to the ten days and nights of Dhul-Hijjah.
2- The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said; “There are no other days good deeds are the most beloved in the sight of Allah than those done in the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah….” (Al-Bukhari)
Dhul-Hijjah: Auspicious Occasion for Excelling in Virtuous Deeds
First Ten Days of Dhul-Hijjah: What Should We Avoid and Do?
It is, therefore, important for us to consider these days as auspicious occasion for excelling in virtuous deeds, according to the best our abilities. To list some of these activities meriting great blessings and rewards:
1- Performing voluntary acts of worship; Allah Almighty says (in aqudsi Hadith): ‘My servant shall continue to come closer and closer to me by performing the supererogatory acts of worship until I love him and when I love him, I become his ears with which he hears, his eyes with which he sees…. then when he calls upon Me, I will answer his prayers…” (Al-Bukhari)
2- The optional acts of worship mentioned above can include any good including offering extra nawafilor optional prayers, charities, honoring and serving one’s parents, fostering ties of kinship, rendering acts of kindness to neighbors, fellow Muslims and fellow human beings, helping those in distress, visiting the sick, taking care of the orphans, and the poor, etc.
In fact, good deeds in Islam can embrace any and every act that is beneficial to human beings or the creation of Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The best of mankind is the one who is most helpful to God’s creatures.” (At-Tabarani)
3- Fasting in these days merits greater rewards; fasting on the day of Arafah is even more highly recommended. The Prophet said, “Fasting the day of Arafah, I sincerely, hope it would expiate the sins committed in the previous year as well as the one that follows it.” (Muslim)
4- Last but not least, this is the most auspicious time to seek repentance, make istighfarand establish constancy in dhikr.
📚 Read Also: Is There Any Evidence Supporting Fasting in Dhul-Hijjah?
In conclusion, it behooves every Muslim to come closer to Allah by utilizing the most auspicious occasion of these blessed days and nights.
I pray to Allah to bless us all in our efforts to strengthen our relationship with Him, amen.
Allah Almighty knows best.
The famous hadith in which the Prophet Muhammad mentions about the best good deeds is one that really gives us a time to reflect; and why the best good deeds are the ones that are performed in the ten days. Prophet Muhammad said:
First 10 Days of Dhul Hijjah - Allah's Most Beloved Days
“There is no deed more greatly rewarded deed in the sight of Allah than the good deed that is done in the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah.”
They asked:
“Not even striving in the path of God?”
He said:
Not even striving in the path of God unless someone goes out with themselves and their wealth and they don’t come back with anything of it. (Al-Bukhari)
Now let’s give some context to this. First of all, for those who are tuning in, jihad doesn’t mean terrorism; this doesn’t mean killing innocent people; this is referring to a noble struggle. The Prophet Muhammad is mentioning here a person that went out and lost everything, meaning they sacrificed their lives, wealth and everything.
Some of the scholars say that this hadith is referring to Mus’ab ibn Umayr who became Muslim; and as he became Muslim, he was persecuted in Makkah.
This was the richest and wealthiest man, the trendsetter of Makkah; a young man that everyone looked to, who had the most expensive smelling scents, who had the most expensive clothes…
And he was persecuted, run out of Makkah, migrated to Madinah with the Prophet Muhammad. In fact, he was the one that introduced Islam to the people of Madinah.
And then Mus’ab was killed in the battle of Uhud and they couldn’t even find enough cloth to cover his entire body.
This man, who literally sacrificed everything, is the manifestation of this.
The Best Good Deeds
Dhul-Hijjah: Is Fasting the First Nine Days Bidah?
What does this mean for us when we’re talking about the ten days of Dhul Hijjah?
Prophet Muhammad said that the good deeds that are done in these ten days are better than not just jihad, but they are the best form of jihad.
In this situation, Prophet Muhammad is saying that the good deeds of these ten days surpass the good deeds done in any other days of the year. So this is another interpretation of the hadith that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is saying:
Any good deed done in these days is better than a good deed done in any other ten days of the year.
And this is similar to the Prophet’s mentioning the superiority of dhikr to jihad in certain context narrations.
In another hadith when Prophet Muhammad was asked what is the best deeds, he mentioned to have faith in Allah; and then he was asked:
“Then what?”
He said:
Jihad in the cause of Allah.
Then he was asked:
“Then what?”
He said:
Hajj.
So the Prophet Muhammad is saying that there is a superiority of these good deeds. Any good deed that you do in these ten days would surpass even the best of good deeds even at the best of times.
What you start to see with the companions of Prophet Muhammad is that they took these ten days very, very seriously that they push themselves in ways that they would not typically push ourselves today.
The Way of the Companions
Why Extra Worship in the First 10 Days of Dhul-Hijjah?
Ramadan kind of creates this feeling where everyone is together, everyone is performing all types of things together, but in these ten days, you typically don’t see people exerting themselves the way that they would in Ramadan because there isn’t a community exertion.
However, you find from the companions, Sa’id ibn Jubayr, says that Ibn Abbas who narrates the hadith… that he used to disappear in these ten days; he was so busy with his good deeds in these ten days that no one could reach him in these ten days.
It is really beautiful that he’s the one who narrates the hadith from Prophet Muhammad about the virtues of these ten days and that he was the person that you couldn’t reach in these ten days because of how he would busy himself!
Why Are they So Special?
The question is, why? What makes these ten days so special? What makes good deeds in these ten days so special?
Scholars mentioned a few reasons. One of them is that Allah completed the religion in these ten days, where Allah says:
Today I have perfected your religion for you; and I have completed my favor upon you and chosen Islam for you as your religion. (5:3)
Because Allah perfected the religion within these ten days that in and of itself, signifies its virtue.
Ibn Hajar also said that:
“All of the good deeds are combined in these ten days in a way that they are not in any other time.”
In all of the five pillars of Islam, you have an element within these ten days: you have hajj, shahadah, the prayer obviously, fasting, charity…
So, all the good deeds have the manifestation within these ten days and you can’t find that in any other ten days of the year.
2 Things to Do
So what do we take from this in these ten days?
Imam Hassan Al Basri was asked:
“What is the best things that we can do in these ten days?”
He said:
“The first thing, don’t lose your obligations.”
Because these ten days celebrate the obligations of the pillars of Islam, so don’t lose your obligations.
And the second thing is increasing your good deeds because the good deeds that are done in these ten days are unlike the good deeds done at any other time.
We ask Allah to fulfill our obligations, avoid those forms of disobedience and to increase those good deeds.
