‎‎‎‎‎Blessings of the First Ten Days of Thul-Hijjah‎‎‎‎‎


allaah the almighty has decreed upon himself mercy and distributed it among his slaves. allaah the almighty says (what means): ‎‎‎‎‎ ‎‎‎‎‎{but my mercy encompasses all things."} [quran 7:156]‎‎‎‎‎ ‎out of his mercy, allaah the almighty granted us seasons where good deeds are multiplied, ranks are elevated and one can regain what he may have missed in the past. thus, a happy person is the one who seizes such a chance, while the wretched one is the one who is oblivious of it. ‎

‎among these blessed days are the first ten days of thul-hijjah as these are the best days in the year. they are better than the days of ramadhaan, while the nights of ramadhaan are better than the nights of the first ten days of thul-hijjah.‎


 


‎proofs of the virtues of these days:‎


‎first,‎ ‎allaah the almighty swore by these days and he only swears by whatever is exalted and lofty in stature. ‎‎‎‎allaah the almighty says (what means):‎‎‎‎‎ {‎by the dawn and [by] ten nights}  [quran 89:1, 2] ‎‎‎‎


these nights are the ten nights of the first ten days of thul-hijjah as stated by scholars of tafseer (exegesis).


‎‎second,‎‎ ‎‎‎‎‎it was narrated on the authority of ibn ‘abbaas  may allaah be pleased with him that the prophet,  sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may allaah exalt his mention ), said:‎‎‎‎‎ ‎‎‎‎“no good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these days (meaning the first ten days of thul-hijjah).”then some companions of the prophet,  sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may allaah exalt his mention ), said, ”not even jihaad?” he replied: “not even jihaad, except that of a man who puts himself and his property in danger (for the sake of allaah) and does not return with any of those things.”[al-bukhaari and muslim]‎‎‎‎


‎‎‎‎in another hadeeth (narration), the prophet,  sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may allaah exalt his mention ), said:‎‎‎‎ ‎‎‎‎“there is no deed that is better before allaah or more greatly rewarded than a good deed done on the (first) ten days of al-adh-ha.”it was said, “not even jihaad for the sake of allaah?” he said:“not even jihaad for the sake of allaah, except for a man who goes out for jihaad taking himself and his wealth with him and does not come back with anything.”[saheeh at-targheeb wa at-tarheeb "1148"]


‎‎third,‎‎ ‎one of the virtues of these days is that acts of worship are combined during them, as these are days of perfection. these days contain the five obligatory prayers just like other days and one might pay zakaah (obligatory charity) if his property has reached the nisaab (limit) and one lunar year has passed. during these days one may fast optional fasts or if he could not slaughter a sacrifice, and people perform hajj during these days. moreover, these days entail thikr (remembrance of allaah), talbiyah and invocation which indicate tawheed (islamic monotheism). thus, the gathering of all these acts of worship is considered an honor that is peculiar to these days only.‎


‎‎fourth,‎‎ ‎these days have the day of ‘arafah, which is the ninth day of thul-hijjah.‎ ‎the day of ‘arafah is the day when sins are forgiven, people are saved from hell and allaah the almighty boasts about the people of ‘arafah. ‎‎‎it was narrated on the authority of ‘aa’ishah  may allaah be pleased with her that the prophet,  sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may allaah exalt his mention ), said:‎‎‎‎ ‎‎‎‎“there is no day when allaah sets free more slaves from hell than the day of ‘arafah." [muslim]‎‎‎‎


‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎“allaah boasts about the people of ‘arafah to the angels, saying, ‎‎‎‎ ‎‎‎‎‘just look at my slaves! they have come to me with disheveled hair and covered in dust, standing in the forenoon.’”‎‎‎‎it was narrated on the authority of jaabir  may allaah be pleased with him that the prophet,  sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may allaah exalt his mention ), said:‎‎‎‎‎‎ ‎‎‎‎“there is no better day in the sight of allaah than the day of ‘arafah. allaah the almighty descends [on that day] to the lowest heaven, and boasts about the people of the earth to the dwellers of heaven." [ibn hibbaan] the wording of another narration reads:‎‎‎‎


‎fifth,‎ ‎‎‎‎some of its virtues are:‎‎‎‎ ‎these days have the day of nahr (sacrifice) which is the tenth day of thul-hijjah. this is the best day as stated in the following hadeeth:‎ ‎‎‎‎"the best of days is the day of nahr." [ahmad, abu daawood: saheeh chain of narrators]‎‎‎‎


‎on the day of nahr, pligrims perform most of the rites, such as throwing the pebbles, shaving their heads, slaughtering the sacrifices, performing tawaaf (circumambulation), sa‘y (seven circuits between as-safa and al-marwah), performing the ‘eed prayer and slaughtering the udh-hiyah (sacrificial animal).


ibn ‘abbaas  may allaah be pleased with him and his father, reported that the prophet,  sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may allaah exalt his mention ) said: “there are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to allaah than these ten days.”the people asked, "not even jihaad for the sake of allaah?" he replied:“not even jihaad for the sake of allaah, except for the case of a man who went out to fight giving himself and his wealth up for the cause and returned with nothing.” [al-bukhaari]

the believer should take advantage of the first ten days of thul-hijjah by performing more good deeds. amongst the righteous deeds which were mentioned specifically for these days were:


 


·        hajj:“the reward for an ‘umrah trip is wiping all sins committed between it and previous ‘umrah. an accepted hajj brings no less a reward than paradise.”[al-bukhaari, muslim]


·        fasting the day of ‘arafah for those not performing hajj: abu qataadah  may allaah be pleased with him narrated that the prophet,  sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may allaah exalt his mention ), said: “fasting it (‘arafaat) expiates the sins of the previous and the coming year.”[muslim] how can a true believer waste such a great reward?


·        takbeer (saying, “allaahu akbar”): it is from the sunnah (prophetic tradition) to utter it loudly, except for women.


takbeer is two types:


ø general, which is not restricted to be done after each of the five obligatory prayers. a person can recite it at any time and in any place during the ten days plus the three days of slaughtering after the ten days.


the following are the evidences for this:


-      ‘abdullaah ibn ‘umar  may allaah be pleased with them both, reported that the prophet,  sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may allaah exalt his mention ) said: “there are no days greater in the sight of allaah and in which righteous deeds are more beloved to him than these ten days, so during this time recite a great deal of tahleel ("la ilaaha ill-allaah"), takbeer and tahmeed.” [ahmad]


-       ‘abdullaah ibn ‘umar ,  may allaah be pleased with them both, said, “the prophet  sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may allaah exalt his mention ) used to come out of his house on the day of ‘eed raising his voice uttering tahleel ("la ilaaha ill-allaah"), takbeer ...”[al-bayhaqi] 


-      naafi’, may allaah have mercy upon him said, ‘abdullaah ibn ‘umar  may allaah be pleased with them both, used to recite takbeer during the days while he was minaa (during hajj) after each prayer, on his sleeping mat and while he was walking all through these days’ (ibn al-munthir).


ø specific, which is recited after each of the five obligatory prayers. this type starts from fajr (dawn) prayer on the day of ‘arafah until ‘asr (late noon) on the last day of slaughtering (13th of thul-hijjah). shaqeeq ibn salamah, may allaah have mercy upon him said, “‘ali used to recite takbeer after fajr on the day of ‘arafah and would not stop until the imaam arrived on the last day of slaughtering at asr prayer.” [ibn al-munthir] the same was also reported of ibn ‘abbaas, may allaah be pleased with him.


 


ibn taymiyyah, may allaah have mercy upon him said, “the most authentic ruling regarding takbeer, which is the ruling of the majority of the scholars as well as the companions is that it starts on the day of ‘arafah fajr time and it lasts until the last day of slaughtering at ‘asr time, being recited after each of the obligatory prayers.”


the way to recite takbeer is the following, “allaahu akbar, allaahu akbar, la ilaaha ill-allaah, wa allaahu akbar, allaahu akbar wa lillaahi’l-hamd (allaah is most great… there is no god but allaah, allaah is most great, and to allaah be praise).” [ibn abu shaybah]


·        slaughtering: anas, may allaah be pleased with him said, “the prophet  sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may allaah exalt his mention ) slaughtered two goats with horns that he sacrificed with his own hands, while reciting 'bismillaah allaahu akbar' (in the name of allaah, allaah is the most great) while placing his foot on the animal’s neck.” [bukhaari & muslim] the sunnah is that one does his own slaughtering and eat a part from his sacrifice, but he may authorize any charitable organization to do this on his behalf, even if they do it in a different country, as jaabir,may allaah be pleased, with him said, “the prophet  sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may allaah exalt his mention ) slaughtered sixty three animals when he performed hajj, and authorized ‘ali to slaughter the rest.” [muslim]