The
Month of Zil Hijjah
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Virtues of Fasting and doing other Good Deeds in the
First Ten Days of Zil Hijjah
Narrated Ibn Abbas: The Prophet said, “No good deeds
done on other days are superior to those done on these (first
ten days of Zil Hijjah).” Then some companions of
the Prophet said, “Not even Jihad?” He replied,
“Not even Jihad, except that of a man who does it
by putting himself and his property in danger (for Allah’s
sake) and does not return with any of those things.”
1.
Allah (swt) swears an oath by them, and swearing an oath
by something is indicative of its importance and great benefit.
2. The Prophet (pbuh) testified that these are the best
days of this world, and encouraged people to do righteous
deeds on these days.
Among
the good deeds which the Muslim should strive to do during
the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah are:
1. Fasting. It is Sunnah to fast on the ninth day of Zill-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.
2. Takbeer. It is Sunnah to say Takbeer (“Allahu akbar”),
Tahmeed (“Al-hamdu Lillaah”), Tahleel (“La
ilaha ill-Allah”) and Tasbeeh (“Subhaan Allah”)
during the first ten days of Zil-Hijjah, and to say it loudly
in the mosque, the home, the street and every place where
it is permitted to remember Allah and mention His name out
loud, as an act of worship and as a proclamation of the
greatness of Allah, may He be exalted. Men should recite
these phrases out loud, and women should recite them quietly.
3. Doing more good deeds in general, because good deeds
are loved by Allah and will bring a great reward from Him.
Whoever is not able to go to Hajj should occupy himself
at this blessed time by worshipping Allah, praying (salaat),
reading Qur’an, remembering Allah, making supplication
(du’aa’), giving charity, honouring his parents,
upholding the ties of kinship, enjoining what is good and
forbidding what is evil, and other good deeds and acts of
worship.
4. Sacrifice. One of the good deeds that will bring a person
closer to Allah during these ten days is offering a sacrifice,
by choosing a high-quality animal and fattening it, spending
money for the sake of Allah.
5. Sincere repentance. One of the most important things
to do during these ten days is to repent sincerely to Allah
and to give up all kinds of disobedience and sin.
Repentance
means coming back 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, but to adhere firmly to the Truth
by doing what Allah loves.
There
is much to be gained, so make the most of the opportunity
afforded by these invaluable and irreplaceable ten days.
Hasten to do good works, before death strikes, before one
can regret one’s negligence and failure to act, before
one is asked to return to a place where no prayers will
be answered, before death intervenes between the hopeful
one and the things he hopes for, before you are trapped
with your deeds in the grave.