Ali Albarghouthi – Virtues of Dhul Hijjah
AI: Summary ©
The importance of fasting during the Shaitan period is emphasized, along with the importance of not repeating words that cause harm. The importance of fasting during Easter, specifically during the day of forgiveness, is also emphasized. The speaker encourages individuals to pray and stay away from surrounding areas until the slaughter is complete. It is also emphasized that forgiveness is achieved through fasting and praying to Allah Azzawawa.
AI: Summary ©
Allah
Alayhi
Wa
Salaam
He said Alaihi Salatu Wasallam that there are
no
days
where a deed is better
with Allah
then the days of the 10, meaning the
10 of Dhul Hijjah.
And another narration it says,
to explain what better is.
They're more rewarding
and better with Allah azza wa Jal
than deeds that are done during
the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.
And because of the Sahaba radiAllahu anhu,
it was firmly planted in their minds that
the best of deeds is jihad.
So they asked him Alayhi Salatu Wasallam, oh
Prophet of Allah. Even if jihad,
even we're talking about jihad and he says,
even
jihad
except for one case when someone goes out
striving and fighting for Allah's sake with his
money and his soul and he loses both
of them. So here,
Rasulullahi
alaihis salatu wassalam was pointing and in that
he was urging
and explaining
to the believers
the excellence of those days
so that they could take advantage of them.
And it could be
an exhortation for
the righteous
but it's also
a reminder for the sinful.
As for the righteous,
they're constantly seeking ways that they can come
close to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
They're always looking.
It's almost an obsession
and we will not understand that obsession unless
we're on that path but think of people
in the dunya
who are constantly
thinking about making profit.
Whenever they find that opportunity, they jump on
it
because that's the most important thing in their
life.
Or someone who is worried about his children
so every opportunity
to protect them and enhance their lives, he
seizes
because that's his ultimate aim.
And if someone's ultimate aim is Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, he always wonders how can I
get closer to him?
So, he
is informed by the Prophet of
this way.
And some of us on our march towards
Allah, as Sawajal, we reach
a ceiling and we stop. We stagnate.
We reach a roadblock.
We don't know how to break through
it. So we do this and we do
that but we failed to enhance it,
And it's either because we have lacked motivation,
lacked the intention, or we have both of
them but we simply do not know how
to overcome
that block in our lives.
Okay. I pray, I fast, I give sadaqah,
I try to read the Quran, but I
seem to fail to enhance my iman. How
do I break through? And so this time
is also a time where the Prophet
is telling you, you take advantage of it
to come closer
further and to Allah azza wa jal.
So this is a reminder for the righteous.
Yes.
But it's not only for them.
The sinful among us and who among us
is not.
We need these days to be forgiven and
we need these days to be protected and
we need these days to be saved from
ourselves and to be saved from the Shaitan.
So no matter how far we stray and
how awful we do,
these days and similar days are the dark,
are the harbor where you
stop
and refuel,
and ask for directions,
and rest, and regenerate,
and move closer to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
if you were lost.
So He's telling us alayhi salatu wassalam
that these are the best of days.
So even if you do a little in
them
that is better than a lot after them
cause he said alaihis salatu wa sallam what
you do is better than jihad and jihad
is the top d.
He says if you worship Allah during these
days,
2 short rakas
during them
is better than a lot of salas after.
A little bit of money that you donate
during them is a lot better than a
lot of money after them.
The dua,
the dhikr in them,
even if it is little
is better than a lot of dua and
a lot of dhikr after.
So anyone who wants to be saved, anyone
who wants to love Allah and to be
loved by Allah,
anyone who wants to save himself and his
family,
anyone who is perplexed
and they need guidance,
anyone who's troubled
by an illness,
physical
or spiritual and psychological,
anyone who is perturbed,
anyone
who wants anything from Allah
the Prophet alaihis salatu wa sallam tells you
this
is your day.
So if you want something,
rush to those days.
And he said, Alaihi Salatu Wasallam,
in another hadith,
meaning these are the best days.
So say a lot of dhikr in them
and he specified
Allahu Akbar
La ilaha illallah
walhamdulillah
And this zikr reflects an attitude is not
simply
words that we repeat
but it's words that we repeat to bring
on emotions that connect us to Allah
When you say, la ilaha illallah,
that is your devotion and iqlas to Allah
azza wa jal.
I do for Allah and no one else
and I seek from Allah and no one
else.
So when you say, illaha illallah, you are
dedicating your Ibadah and through that your life
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Allah,
first and foremost,
when you say Allahu Akbar, you glorify Allah
above everything else in your life because we
forget that Allah is Akbar
and we put other things ahead of him
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala ourselves,
our children,
our property,
life in general.
So when you say Allahu Akbar and you
keep repeating it,
remember Allah is Akbar
and is bigger than my life, is bigger
than my desire, is bigger than my children,
and is bigger than my money, and is
bigger than my insecurity, and is bigger than
any difficulty,
and is bigger than any other human being.
So you know that he's the one who
can bring benefit
or deny it
and He is the one who can bring
harm or protect from it.
So you do not fear anyone except Allah
and you do not hold from anyone except
Allah. That is how Allah is Akbar.
And when you say Alhamdulillah,
you remember all the niyamas of Allah that
you have
visible and invisible.
And if you have lost sight of them
saying Alhamdulillah
while simultaneously
thinking about your namaz will help you appreciate,
and make the invisible visible.
And love Allah Azawajal for all the things
that He had given you, not be sour
for all the things that you do not
have.
So say, Alhamdulillah
and count the nirmas that you have. So
this is the dhikr
of Allah Azza wa Jal during those days.
And the advantage of dhikr is that it's
the easiest Ibadah
and it's protection from the Shaytan and it
strengthens you
to perform other acts of Ibadah.
So there is this dhikr mutlaq,
general dhikr.
Once the days of Dhul Hijjah start,
you populate, you saturate the days of Dhul
Hijjah until 13th
of Dhul Hijjah
with this general dhikr every time and everywhere.
And there is a specific dhikr that follows
the salah
and that begins with the fajr of the
day of Arafah.
So when you pray after
you they make Dhikru of Allah azza wa
Jal and you continue to do this
till 13th,
the Asr of 13th.
So these are days of dhikr of Allah
Azzawajal.
It doesn't matter
how weak we may feel at this moment
and it doesn't matter how far we may
be from Allah. Just simply start with remembering
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And there is no
limit to it.
It is said,
wallahu a'alam that Abu Hurayra RadiAllahu Anhu would
say, subhanAllah or subhanAllah wa bihamdih
12,000
times a day.
There is no limit.
Just keep saying it
and that is truly transformative.
Of the Ibadah
that should be
emphasized
is fasting.
And they said about the Prophet Alaihi Salatu
Wasallam,
He said, there are 4 things that the
Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam will never miss,
fasting on the day of Ashura
and fasting that 10 days of Dhul Hijjah,
of course excluding
the day of 8.
And fasting 3 days
from every month
and 2 rakas before the obligatory Fajr salah,
meaning the sunnah of Pajr.
So it is from his sunnah
alaihis salatu wa sallam to fast those 9
days and you can fast all of them,
you can fast some of them, you can
fast the Mondays and 30s and combine intention
of being the 10 days of their Hijjah
plus it's also a Monday, plus it's also
a Thursday.
And among
them
the best of days is the day of
Arafah, passing the day of Arafah,
That's the most emphasized.
And the Prophet alaihis salatu wa sallam
said,
He said, I believe,
I expect from Allah azza wa'l that fasting
that day, that single day will forgive
2 years
a previous and an incoming year.
So we plan ahead
that Insha'Allah at least I'll fast that day,
at least with that intention
that Allah will forgive the sins of the
past and the coming year
and the day of Arafah on its own
is an excellent day.
Meaning it's not just simply fasting, it's a
day of forgiveness,
It's a day where you should devote more
of your time to Allah Azza wa Jal.
He said, Alayhi Salatu Wasallam
For those who wanna be saved from Hellfire,
Prophet Alaihi Wasallahu Wa Salam told you
there is no
day where Allah Azza wa Jal saves people
from * fire, frees them from * fire
more than on the day of Arafah.
No other day.
It excel supersedes
all other days.
So if there is a chance, there's a
chance on that day. And then he continues,
It says, then He draws near, He comes
close befitting His Majesty
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, He comes close to those
who are worshiping Him.
And He praises them before the angels, boasts
about them and He says, why did they
come?
Look at them, why did they come?
With all of their sacrifice,
with all of their devotion,
with all of their Ikhlas.
Allah is pleased with them. He forgives them
and He frees them from * fire because
of it.
And those who may not have an opportunity
to be
in Mecca,
in the sacred lands on that day.
Al Arafah
still can't partake
of the forgiveness,
receive the forgiveness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
by
worshiping Allah on that day.
The
best of dua is the dua of the
day of Arafah.
So you prepare yourself for it
and you gradually upgrade your Iman
so that when you receive that day you
receive it
wanting the best from Allah Azzaawajal
and seeking His protection from the worst.
Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Salahi Wa Salahi
Wa Salaam.
Of course, these days house multiple good deeds.
The best of them of course is Hajj.
And when he was asked alaihis salatu wassalam,
what are the best of deeds? He said,
imanum billah
Then they said,
jihadum fee Sabillillah.
Then he said, Hajjul Mabruh.
Believe in Allah Azadulul having Iman
Jihad for Allah's sake and then a Righteous
Hajj.
And He also said Alaihi Salatu Wa Salam
Umrah followed by another. Umrah, forgive the sins
that are in between and a righteous Hajj,
and only will be rewarded with Jannah.
A righteous Hajj
is only rewarded with Jannah.
The one who goes on Hajj,
and is not obscene, and is not sinful,
meaning he protects his Hajj,
comes back from his hajj like the day
he was born.
Sinless like the day he was born.
So that is the greatest Ibadah that can
be performed.
And if you're unable to pray to Allah
Azza wa Jal that He could facilitate this
because Allah Azza wa Jal is the remover
of obstacles,
the facilitator
of everything good in our lives. Pray and
ask Allah
for it. And let Allah know from your
intention that if you could go, you would
go.
Of the deeds that we should perform during
these days are all the good that we
used to do in Ramadan.
So Quran,
and sadaqah,
and du'a, and dhikr, and kindness,
and take care of taking care of our
families
and entering those days, receiving those days with
repentance,
avoiding sin.
Because if you wanna read 1 page of
Quran in those days,
that might be better than a lot of
other pages
after.
So push yourself to receive the maximum benefit
from this month.
And the more that you push and the
more that you ask Allah azza wa Jal,
the easier that you will find obedience to
be.
But if you let yourself to do what
it likes
then it will destroy you.
Of the Ibadah that is recommended then
is the sacrificial animal, Al Uhuhiya
And it is either according to some scholars
either an obligation if you can afford it
or it is a recommended
act.
Some people have said it's an obligation and
some said it's a recommended act.
But there is immense reward for it
and a person will slaughter it
on behalf of himself and his household
and you choose the best, not the cheapest
but the best.
And this is a sadaqa that you're giving
to Allah Azzawajal and don't consider that you
have incurred a loss
if you're giving that sadaqah.
Give it as a gift because Allah blesses
you in return and the more that you
give, the more that Allah blesses you. So
we shouldn't look at opportunities to give to
Allah
as inquiring loss,
or this is too expensive.
But in fact, opportunities
to cleanse ourselves and be elevated in Allah's
sight. Allah will look and He will say,
He favored me over His money,
not my money over me.
And Allah azzajal is the giver and He
can compensate you when you give Him.
And if you decide to do so,
the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said
that if you decide to do so and
the days of Dhul Hijjah they enter,
do not take,
do not cut your hair, and do not
cut your nails until the slaughter is complete.
And that is restricted to the person who
slaughters,
not the entire family.
And these are the only things that are
prohibited. You can still comb your hair, you
can still put on perfume if you are
male
outside your house or female inside her house.
You can comb your hair, there's nothing wrong
with that. You could be intimate with your
spouse, nothing wrong with that. You're not in
a state of ihram.
The only thing that is prohibited
is cutting your hair and cutting your nail
until the slaughter is complete.
And I was informed
that the slaughter, if you wish to participate
in it this year, bi idnillah azaujal, all
of it will be going to ghazah.
All of it will be going to Ghazah.
So when you are giving just consider as
the brother just mentioned, just consider
that you can eat meat anytime of the
day you wish, right?
Any time of the day you can wish.
You can meet eat multiple types of meat,
fancy types of dishes, whatever time you wish
but they cannot.
So part of thanking Allah and
part of standing in solidarity
with your brothers and sisters
is to give to them,
so they can eat part of what we
eat and feel some pleasure,
a miniscule amount of pleasure on that day
compared to what they are going through.
So let's not forget about them
in our du'a especially on those days.
We made du'a in Ramadan but maybe we
forgot after. So when these days come,
consider yourself again enlisted
for Allah's sake. We're not able to physically
do a thing
but at least we could be soldiers in
terms of dua. You're enlisted to make dua
for their sake and other Muslims who are
suffering.
So don't forget them
and the more righteous you are the better
that your dua will be and more accepted
it will be. So our individual
righteousness matters.
Our individual and collective righteousness matters because if
we matter in Allah's sight, things will change.
So ask Allah
to make us of those who are blessed
and forgiven in the days of Dhul Hijjah.
Allow us,
to fast on those days,
to remember You often on those days, to
stay away from haram and whatever You hate
on those days. Allah
be among the righteous,
among the accepted.
Save us from * fire.
Accept our du'a.
Save us from the wickedness in ourselves and
the temptations of the shaitan.
Regenerate iman in our hearts, Yeah.
And keep bringing us closer and closer to
You, You.
We ask You, You Allah, for jannah and
everything that brings us closest to it. And
we seek Your protection from hellfire
and everything that brings us closest to it.
We ask you, to save our brothers and
sisters in Palestine,
to save them in Gaza and
to save them
in to save them in Sudan and other
Muslim areas that we may know about or
we may not know about. We ask, You
Rabbi al Amin that You would clothe them,
and feed them, and shelter them, and protect
them. We ask, You Rabbi al Amin to
protect them from their enemy. You Allah protect
them and us from their enemy. You Allah
foil the plots of their enemies and disgrace
them on the face of this earth.