The most spiritual days of the year are the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, when Allah (swt) bestows opportunity on His Ummah to boost their benefits through His boundless compassion. These days are so sacred that Allah swears an oath by them:‘By the dawn; by the ten nights’ [The Noble Qur’an, 89:1-2].
And Allah also reminds us: ‘Remember Allah during the appointed days’. [The Noble Qur’an, 2:203]
Therefore, we should increase our acts of worship during this sacred time. The Prophet (saw) said, ‘There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than in these (ten) days’. [Abu Dawud]
Here are nine Sunnah actions you should follow to seek Allah’s forgiveness and maximise your reward during the best ten days of the year:
Dhikr
Let's start with a modest but significant action: raising your dhikr. Every pilgrim in Makkah will be reciting the Talbiyah day and night, and during these ten days, those who are at home are likewise required to continuously glorify Allah.
All three of these criteria are met by the Eid takbeer: tahleel, takbeer, and tahmeed..
After your five daily prayers—SubhanAllah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times, and Allahu Akbar 34 times—you can also perform dhikr.
Sins, no matter how massive, can be erased by reciting SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi (Glory be to Allah and laud Him) one hundred times a day.
By taking these easy steps, you may be sure that you are remembering Allah all day long and reaping the rewards of Dhul-Hijjah.
Fast the first nine days
It is Sunnah to fast on the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah, because fasting is one of the best of deeds. In a hadith Qudsi, Allah says, ‘All the deeds of the son of Adam are for him, except fasting, which is for Me and I shall reward for it’. [Bukhari]
If you are unable to fast for the whole nine days, try to fast on just the Day of ’Arafah, the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah. Just as Laylat al-Qadr is the most blessed night of the year, ’Arafah is the most blessed day of the year. The Prophet (saw) said, ’There is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than on the day of ‘Arafah’. (Muslim)
We should use this day to ask for forgiveness and take advantage of Allah's amazing mercy, just like Laylat al-Qadr. Non-pilgrims can fast on this day and burn their sins from the previous two years! "It (fasting on the Day of 'Arafah) expiates the sins of the past year and the coming year," declared the prophet (saw). [Muslim]Say the Qur'an.
One of the best acts of worship we can do to become closer to Allah and seek his pleasure is to recite the Qur'an. "Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah will have a reward," declared the Prophet (saw).
SubhanAllah, imagine the rewards you will earn from reading each letter during these blessed days when Allah has promised to multiply your reward!
Remember loved ones
Many of us are tempted to make a du'a for loved ones on our own behalf Hajj or attempt a Hajj expressly for a loved one who has passed away in the hopes that Allah would pardon and show mercy to them on the Day of Judgement.
On these auspicious days, you can still show your loved one respect even if you are unable to complete their Hajj by offering Sadaqah Jariyah in their honor. "When a person dies, his deeds end except for three: Sadaqah Jariyah, knowledge from which benefit is gained, or a righteous child who prays for him," stated the Prophet Muhammad (saw). [Muslim]
Pray Tahajjud
It’s been one month since the last ten nights of Ramadan, and many of us are missing the ‘spiritual high’ of seeking out Laylat al-Qadr through our nightly worship. But did you know that praying at night for the first ten nights of Dhul-Hijjah is equivalent to praying on Laylat al-Qadr?
Give Sadaqah
Many of us maximise our Sadaqah during the last ten nights of Ramadan, but the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah are just as valuable and present the perfect opportunity to earn extra rewards for simple good deeds!
Hasan al-Basri (rh) said, ‘Going to fulfil the need of your brother is better for you than performing Hajj after Hajj’.
Helping our brothers and sisters in need is one of the acts most beloved to Allah and we have the perfect tool to help you maximise your rewards over the blessed days of Dhul-Hijjah. The Best 10 Days allows you to automate your donations to five emergency locations, including Yemen and Syria, providing food, clean water and medical supplies to suffering families.
Repent
The Hajj is the most significant act of worship Muslims may do to pay for their sins and ask Allah for forgiveness, yet most of us are fortunate if we can make it there even once in our lives. For this reason, even if we are not on a pilgrimage, Dhul-Hijjah is the ideal gift from Allah, enabling us to turn from our misdeeds and ask for forgiveness.
Repentance purifies our souls and draws us nearer to Allah. Allah says:
Seek forgiveness of your Lord and repent to Him, [and] He will let you enjoy a good provision for a specified term and give every doer of favour his favour’. [The Noble Qur’an, 11:3]
Pray Eid Salah
Eid Salah is one of the ways we show our Islamic identity as a community and is therefore a very important act of worship for all Muslims to partake in. The Prophet (saw) always attended Eid Salah, as did his companions after he had passed away. He encouraged everyone to attend, even menstruating women - who are unable to perform the prayer itself but can still share in the blessings of this gathering.
Give a Prophetic Qurbani
Abu Talhah (ra) reported, ‘The Prophet (saw) sacrificed for the one who could not sacrifice from his Ummah, one who bore witness to the Oneness of Allah and [his] Prophethood’. [Tabarani and Ahmad]
During Eid, the Prophet (saw) would offer an additional sacrifice on behalf of someone in his Ummah that could not afford to. Allah says, ‘There has come to you a Messenger of Allah from among yourselves, who is distressed by the losses you sustain, who is ardently desirous of your welfare and is tender and merciful to those that believe’. [The Noble Qur’an, 9:128]
SubhanAllah, this generous act of our beloved Messenger of Allah is an incredible example of His mercy to His Ummah that Allah refers to in the above ayah, to sacrifice for his Ummah and cover them till the Day of Judgement.
You too may enhance your benefit on Dhul-Hijjah by adhering to this lovely Sunnah and performing an additional Qurbani. Not only will you be bringing back to life a Sunnah that has been forgotten, but you will also double your effect by providing even more families with a meat-based dinner on Eid-al-Adha days.
In sha Allah, these nine tips will help you make the most of the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. From everyone at Muslim Hands, we’d like to wish you a blessed month full of good deeds, forgiveness and closeness to Allah.
