Virtues Of The First Ten Days Of The Month Of Hajj

In brief – What to do in the month of Hajj

Fasting – Keep fast on the 9th day of the month of Hajj

Glorification of Allah Almighty – From the Fajr prayer of 9th till the Asr prayer of 13th day of the month of Hajj, recite the following words 3 times after every fard prayer:
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,
La Ilaha Illallahu, Wallahu Akbar
Allahu Akbar wa lillahilhamd.

Sacrifice (Qurbani) – Offer sacrifice of a sheep, lamb or a share in a cow or camel on 10th, 11th or 12th of this month

The month of Hajj, Dhul-hijjah, is the last month of the Islamic calendar. The first ten days of Dhul-hijjah are among the most magnificent days in Islamic calendar.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has said: “There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days.” The people asked, “Not even jihaad for the sake of Allah?” He said, “Not even jihad for the sake of Allah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with nothing.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 2/457).

The virtue of these ten days is based on many things, including:
Allah swears an oath by them, and swearing an oath by something is indicative of its importance and great benefit. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “By the dawn; by the ten nights” [al-Fajr 89:1-2]. Many commentators of the Holy Qur’an have said that this verse of the Holy Qu’ran refers to the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) testified that these are the best days of this world, as has been noted above.

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded us to devote time to recite Tasbeeh (“Subhan-Allah”), Tahmeed (“Al-hamdu Lillah”) and Takbeer (“Allahu akbar”) during these ten days. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said: “There are no days greater in the sight of Allah 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.” (Reported by Ahmad, 7/224; Ahmad Shaakir stated that it is saheeh).

These ten days include Yawm ‘Arafaah (the Day on which the pilgrims stand in the plain of ‘Arafaah), on which Allah perfected His Religion. According to a hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) “Fasting on this day will expiate for the sins of two years”.
These days also include Yawm al-Nahar (the Day of Sacrifice).

Among the good deeds which a Muslim, who has not gone to perform Hajj, during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, should strive to do are:

Fasting
It is Sunnah to fast on the ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) urged us to do good deeds during this time, and fasting is one of the best of deeds. Allah has chosen fasting for Himself, as is stated in the hadeeth qudsi: “Allah says: ‘All the deeds of the son of Adam are for him, except for fasting, which is for Me and I am the One Who will reward him for it.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 1805).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to fast on the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah. It is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to fast on the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah, on the day of ‘Aashooraa’, on three days of each month, and on the first two Mondays and Thursdays of each month.” (Reported by al-Nisaa’i, 4/205 and by Abu Dawud; classified by al-Albaani as saheeh in Saheeh Abi Dawud, 2/462). According to a hadith, the fast on the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah becomes a cause, hopefully so, of forgiveness for sins committed in one year.

Takbir-ut-tashriq
It is Sunnah to say Takbeer (“Allaahu akbar”), Tahmeed (“Al-hamdu Lillaah”), Tahleel (“La ilaha ill-Allaah”) and Tasbeeh (“Subhaan Allaah”) during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. In particular, it is obligatory (wajib) on each Muslim to recite the Takbir of Tashriq after every fard prayer beginning from the Fajr of the 9th Zulhijjah (the month of Hajj) up to the ‘Asr prayer of the 13th Zulhijjah.

The words to be recited are as follows:
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,
La Ilaha Illallahu, Wallahu Akbar
Allahu Akbar wa lillahilhamd.

(Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, There is no god but Allah, and Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, and to Allah belongs all praise.)

According to authentic Islamic sources, it is wajib on each Muslim, to recite this Takbir after every fard salah, whether one is performing salah with Jama’ah (collectively) or on own (individually). Muslim brothers should recite it in a loud voice, while sisters should recite it in a low voice.

Sacrifice
One of the good deeds that will bring a Muslim closer to Allah during these ten days is offering a sacrifice, by choosing a healthy animal. Sacrifice (or Qurbani, as is known in Urdu) can only be performed during the three days of Eid-ul-Adha, namely the 10th, Ilth and 12th of Dhul-Hijjah. It is only in these days that slaughtering of an animal is recognized as an act of worship. Although sacrifice is permissible on each of the three aforesaid days, it is preferable to perform it on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah.

Repentance
Repentance means returning to Allah and foregoing all the deeds, open and secret, that He dislikes, out of regret for what has passed, giving it up immediately and being determined never to return to it. We must hasten to repent at once when we have committed a sin, in open or in secret.

A Muslim should ensure that he makes use of this golden opportunity provided by Allah. May Allah enable us to make use of this opportunity.

If a Muslim wants to offer a sacrifice, he/she should avoid the following things during first ten days of the month of Hajj:

It is a saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that: “When you see the new moon of Dhul-Hijjah, if anyone of you wants to offer a sacrifice, then he should stop cutting his hair and nails until he has offered his sacrifice.” According to another report he said: “He should not remove (literally, touch) anything from his hair or skin.” (reported by Muslim with four isnaads, 13/146)

The wisdom behind this prohibition mentioned by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is so that a Muslim who has not gone to perform Hajj may resemble those in ihram in some aspects of the rituals performed, and so that he may draw closer to Allah by offering the sacrifice. So he leaves his hair and nails alone until the time when he has offered his sacrifice.