Muhammad Salah – The Prophet During the Best 10 – Light Upon Light
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The importance of fasting during the first ten days of the month of Dhul granted is discussed, as it is considered the busiest time of the year. The holy month is considered the largest day of the year and often referred to as the holy month. Visitors can use references to the Prophet's actions during those days and recite leagues and practicing the Bible. Costs for clothing are discussed, and individuals can improve their lives by giving clothing to those in need. The importance of fasting during quarantine is also emphasized.
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May the almighty Allah enable us to witness
this Eid while all of us are in
the best health and Iman.
Allahumma ameen.
The Ummah is approaching once again another wonderful
opportunity, the best time of the entire year
and the best time in the entire life
as well, which is the first ten days
of the month of Dhul Hijjah, the blessed
days in a blessed month, Shahr al-Haram,
which Allah SWT swore to them in Surat
al-Fajr.
In its beginning, He says Bismillah ar-Rahman
ar-Rahim, I swear to the dawn, al
-Fajr, I swear to the first ten nights
according to Abdullah ibn Abbas of the month
of Dhul Hijjah, wa layalin ashr, wa layalin
ashr, ashr means ten, wa al-shaf'i
wa al-watr.
So those days are so blessed to the
extent that in the sound hadith, the Prophet
SAW said, ma min ayyamin al-amalu as
-salihu fiha ahabbu ila Allahi minha fi hadhi
al-ayyan, which means that there is no
other days during which you can do any
better deeds with better reward than those ten
days of the month of Dhul Hijjah.
To the extent that the companions of the
Prophet SAW said, Ya Rasulullah, nothing is better
than that, including jihad, like observing jihad on
the battlefield for the sake of Allah.
He said, well, only if a person happens
to sacrifice all his wealth and himself and
he dies for the sake of Allah.
Otherwise, no better deed can be done in
any time better than the first ten days
of the month of Dhul Hijjah.
Ma min ayyamin al-amalu as-salihu fiha
khayrun minha fi hadhi al-ashr.
So the same deed, giving charity or fasting,
voluntary fasting or offering the mandatory prayer or
the infatig or non-infatig sunan or praying
at night or whatever, you know, these are
good deeds that we do and Muslims do
throughout the year, throughout the life.
But whenever they do any of these good
days during the first ten days of the
month of Dhul Hijjah, their work cannot be
matched.
Anas ibn Malik said that they used to
consider each day, each day of the first
ten days of the month of Dhul Hijjah
is equivalent to one year.
And then Yawmu Arafah or Yawmu al-Eid
is better than ten years, ten years of
doing good deeds.
This is their understanding and perspective of how
great the first ten days of the month
of Dhul Hijjah.
Let me begin by explaining one thing.
When we say the first ten days and
the fasting of the first ten days, we're
talking about the fasting of the first nine
days.
Because fasting on the tenth day, the fasting
on the Eid day, and the following three
days which are known as Ayam al-Tashriq.
And by the way, they are blessed days
as well.
So with regards to what can we do
and what would the Prophet ﷺ used to
do during those ten days and ten nights
as well?
We begin by the act of worship of
fasting.
Is it sunnah?
Is it recommended or is it permissible to
fast on the first nine days of the
month of Dhul Hijjah?
There are some ahadith, even authenticated by Shaykh
al-Bani and others, that the Prophet ﷺ
used to fast on the first nine days
of the month of Dhul Hijjah.
So that becomes a sunnah and prescribed.
But the conflict is with another hadith that
is narrated by Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha r
.a. who said that, I have never seen
the Prophet ﷺ fasting on those days.
So the commentators of the ahadith and the
Muslim jurists, they said whenever we have a
reference that confirms the action, and another reference
that says that there was no action, so
what would be given precedence is a reference
which says the Prophet ﷺ used to do
this, confirming the action.
Also Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha r.a., may
Allah be pleased with her, has narrated in
Sahih Bukhari that the Messenger of Allah, peace
be upon himself, sometimes would cease and quit
doing some good deeds out of fear that
his companions might perceive them as obligatory.
So maybe that sometimes the Prophet ﷺ in
the presence of Aisha or whenever it was
her turn, would skip that day of fasting,
so that the Sahaba would understand that fasting
the first nine days of the month of
Dhul Hijjah is not obligatory, it's only recommended.
In either case, even if we don't have
any reference, we have the seventh hadith which
is collected by Abu Dawood, narrated by Abdullah
ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him,
when he said that the Messenger of Allah
said, مَا مِنْ أَيَّامٍ الْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ فِيهَا خَيْرٌ
مِّنْهَا فِي هَذِي الْعَشْرِ So al-Aman al
-Salih includes fasting, citation of Quran, offering the
mandatory and the supererogatory acts of worship, of
the prayers, of giving in a charity, of
reading Quran, of upholding the ties of kinship,
obviously of adhikr because there are specific references
in the Quran in this respect which we'll
tackle shortly inshallah.
So the first eight days of the month
of Dhul Hijjah, we say it is mashru
'a to fast on all of them, and
according to the other hadith it's even recommended,
but when it comes to the ninth day
which is the greatest day of the entire
year, the day of Arafah, that's a very
special day, this day the Prophet sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam stated explicitly, clearly, fasting on the
day of Arafah, I anticipate that Allah will
forgive my fasting this day, the sins of
the past year and a year to come,
اَحْتَسِبُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ يُكَفِّرُوا بِهُمُ بَسَنَتَيْنَ So fasting
on the day of Arafah, brothers and sisters,
will excipate the sins of two years, we're
talking about the minor sins obviously, and that
is the only deen which excipates the sins
in advance, because the sins before they take
place, it forgives the sins of the entire
past year and the sins of the year
to come, that is in the seventh hadith.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam also said
on that day, مَا مِنْ يَوْمٍ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ
أَنْ يُعْتِقَ فِيهِ اللَّهُ عِبَادَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ مِنْ
يَوْمِ عَارَفَةٍ There is no other day during
which Allah forgives and pardons more people and
releases them from hellfire more than on the
day of Arafah, that's a very special day.
Shaykh Maryam said, Allah says وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٌ And
you've been talking about the verses of the
first ten days, and you said the fasting
of the ten days, and our colleagues who
spoke before me and those who will speak
after me, they're talking about the ten days.
But meanwhile you say that there are only
nine days, because the Arab used to refer
in a figure to the closest bigger number.
So actually there are nine days as far
as fasting, but we call them ten because
it is closer to the bigger figure which
is Al-Ashr, but there is no fasting
on the Eid, which is forbidden to fast
on either Eid al-Adha or Eid al
-Fitr, and even the following days of Eid
al-Adha.
Four days, the first day, second, third, and
fourth, which is the 13th.
This is as far as fasting as an
act of worship, we covered that.
The second most important act of worship which
everyone can afford, even women during their menstruation
will keep calling and say that, you know,
unfortunately I cannot fast, or I was able
only to fast for one day, I even
skipped the day of Arafah.
Let me tell you that.
In Surah Al-Hajj, Ayah number 28, chapter
number 22, the Almighty Allah says لِيَشْهَدُوا مَنَافِعَ
لَهُمْ وَيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَعْلُومَاتٍ So
Allah prescribed Hajj so that people would come
on foot, on every camel, from every distant
mountain on highway, and this whole purpose so
that the witness benefits for them.
وَيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَعْلُومَاتٍ And to
remember the name of Allah and to mention
the name of Allah via the different means
of dhikr, whether saying Alhamdulillah, or Subhanallah, or
Allahu Akbar, and the greatest form of dhikr
is to say the kalima, لا إله إلا
الله, during known days.
Those known days are from the first day
of the month of Dhul Hijjah throughout the
13th day, which is the last day of
Eid Al-Adha.
So we're talking about 13 days, not only
10 days.
And dhikr during those days are one of
two types, brothers and sisters.
One which is, we call it Mutlaq al
-Dhikr.
From day one, you walk in the streets,
you're reclining on your couch, you're sitting on
your sofa, you're making dhikr, and you're raising
your voice saying, Subhanallah, والحمد لله, ولا إله
إلا الله, والله أكبر, ولا حول ولا قوة
إلا بالله And each one of these words
has great verses.
And those are the words which Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala referred to them in Surah
Al-Kahf when he said, وَالْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ خَيْرٌ
عِندَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابًا وَخَيْرٌ آمَلًا He named them,
he referred to them as Al-Baqiyat Al
-Saliha, the everlasting, the most beneficial.
These are the words of dhikr.
And each one of them has specific verses,
Alhamdulillah.
So as dhikr from day one until the
13th, obviously we all agree that Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala said in the Quran, أُذْكُرُوا
اللَّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَعَصِيلًا O who
you believe, remember Allah, much of remembrance and
glorify His praise in the morning and in
the evening 24-7.
But during those days, it is highly recommended
to occupy yourself and keep your tongue busy
with the dhikr, the remembrance of Allah and
mentioning the name of Allah with the words
of praises as mentioned earlier.
Then there is a dhikr al-muqayyad, which
is prescribed at fixed time.
When Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah ibn Abbas
and many of the sahaba, Abdullah ibn Mas
'ud said that a dhikr al-muqayyad which
is restricted or prescribed at certain times, the
time begins at the dawn of the day
of Arafah.
The day of Arafah, the greatest day of
the year.
And it goes on after every prayer until
Asr prayer of the 13th day of the
month of Dhul Hijjah.
So Shaykh, you mean the day of Arafah
and the following 3 days?
No, the following 4 days, so 5 days.
9th, 10th is Za'id and the following
3 days.
5 days, this is the overlapping period between
a dhikr al-muqayyad which is prescribed to
recite takbir after every prayer.
You say Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha
illallah, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar wa lillahi alhamd.
Which we used to hear it with a
very melodious voice from the people in Mina,
those who are performing hajj.
So a dhikr is referred to it in
this ayah of surah al-hajj And a
dhikr al-muqayyad is referred to it in
surah al-Baqarah And remember Allah during certain
number of days, those are the days of
Tashreeq.
فَمَنْ تَعَجَّلَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَمَنْ
تَأَخَّرَ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ So the dhikr, the
Prophet s.a.w. said about a particular
dhikr during those days and most especially on
the day of Arafah.
He said, the best of supplication, أَفْضَلُ الدُّعَاءُ,
خَيْرُ الدُّعَاءُ is the dua'a on the
day of Arafah.
And he said, وَأَفْضَلُ مَا قُلْتُ أَنَا وَالنَّبِيُونَ
مِنْ قَبْلِي And the best remembrance, the best
celebration of the praise of Allah, remembrance of
Allah ever, I have ever said or any
of the Prophets before me is to say
لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له
له الملك وله الحمد يحيي ويميت وهو على
كل شيء قدير We all know the dhikr
because we are supposed to say it every
day 100 times where the messenger of Allah
peace be upon him said whoever says it
during the day 100 times Allah will grant
him the reward of 100 hasanah and will
erase from his sins 100 bad deeds كَانَتْ
لَهُ حِرْزًا مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ سَائِرَ يَوْمِكُ And he
will be divinely protected against all satans for
the rest of the day until the evening
حَتَّى يُمْسِي سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ
These are the words which are easy to
repeat, very light on the tongue the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has said yet they
are very heavy in the scale of the
good deeds and meanwhile they are very dear
to the most beneficent حَبِبَ تَنِي إِلَى الرَّحْمَنِ
أَبُو رَيْرَ رضي الله عنه and عَبْدُ اللَّهِ
ابْنَ عُمَر used to go to the marketplace
beginning from the first day of the month
of Dhul Hijjah and they would go to
the market, not intending to buy, not intending
to sell but in order to walk among
the people, the sellers and the buyers and
then they would raise their voices with the
takbir الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا
إله إلا الله and so on so the
audience would follow them people are buying and
selling they would be reminded and the voice
would be echoing throughout the market so encouraging
people to make takbir you're going up or
down in the elevator, make takbir remind people
to make takbir go online right away and
go live and say الله أكبر الله أكبر
الله أكبر and so on remind people of
the importance of zikr and the virtues of
certain avkar during those days from the first
day of the month of Dhul Hijjah throughout
the 13th day of the month of Dhul
Hijjah brothers and sisters upholding the ties of
kinship during those days is very important as
well not only fasting and the remembrance of
Allah and giving in charity being dutiful to
your parents, to your relatives, to your neighbors
والتوسيع على الأهل if you have some savings
make sure that your family have new clothes,
have good food show them some prosperity during
this time help those who are in need
like if there is any fundraise to help
people in Yemen, in Syria, in Kashmir, in
Burma be more generous during those days why?
because we studied the hadith that the Prophet
صلى الله عليه وسلم has said any deed
which you do during any other time when
you do it during the first 10 days
of the month of Dhul Hijjah there is
no comparison the reward of the same deed
which you do the first 10 days of
the month of Dhul Hijjah nothing can be
compared to it even though it is the
same deed but its reward is a lot
bigger a lot huger much bigger in volume
than the reward for the same deed before
or after those days of the month of
Dhul Hijjah not to forget brothers and sisters
to condole and console and assure those who
are supposed to go for Hajj this year
including myself and millions of other people who
have plans, booking and they paid deposits but
they are not able to go they were
stopped for a reason out of their control
to share with them the good news that
you got the reward تلكم الغنيمة الباردة you
got the full reward even though you did
not set a foot out of your house
so you may use this money to give
in a charity to help the poor the
reward for Hajj Alhamdulillah we have earned and
may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us
another opportunity to perform Hajj Inshallah الاضحية الاضحية
or you people like to call it قرباني
is an emphatic sunnah for the family father
to offer one قرباني per his family and
every person who is living under his roof
he can offer more so a sheep, a
ram, a goat with certain requirements the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to give the
اضحية for himself and one on behalf of
the ummah a large, may the peace and
blessings be upon him in Hajj he used
to give the Hajj we are not going
for Hajj so he gives the اضحية and
in the 7th hadith which is collected by
Imam Muslim Umm Salama radiallahu anha reminded us
of a very interesting practice that the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to do if
you are not going for Hajj and you
are planning to give an اضحية that the
Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said لا يمس
شعرا ولا ضفرا which means you are not
supposed to clip any nails you are not
supposed to shave or remove any hair this
is similar to Ihram yes indeed because even
though you are not performing Hajj but it
is similar to it in one sense of
the sanctuary of preparing your اضحية your قرباني
which is prescribed ever since Ibrahim alayhi salam
وَفَدَيْنَاهُ بِذَبْحٍ عَظِيمٍ so a family father who
have the means الحمد لله he can offer
one goat or one sheep the sheep at
least 6 months old or the ram and
the goat at least 1 year old and
then 7 people can participate in a cow
or in a camel if they want to
and if you don't have an access to
do it if you are living in the
west you can send your money so that
it will be done and distributed in any
of the poor localities in Syria, in Burma,
in Bangladesh in Kashmir, in Palestine Subhanallah so
if you do that Inshallah you will earn
a greater reward but if you intend to
do اضحية then Inshallah most likely the first
day of the month of Dhul Hijjah may
fall on the following of the coming Wednesday
so if this is the case stop clipping
nails or shaving any hair from your body
only the family father or the person who
is offering the اضحية if you offer the
اضحية at home يعني in your locality the
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم recommended that you
and your family members should witness its sacrifice
he said صلى الله عليه وسلم لعائشة may
Allah be pleased with her كُمِ فَشْهَدِ ذَبِي
حَتَكِ فَإِنَّهُ يُؤْفَرُ لَكِ بِأَوَّلِ قَطْرَةٍ مِّنْ دَمِهَا
Oh Aisha go and witness the sacrifice of
your ram of your sheep, of the Qurbani,
of the اضحية because once it is sacrificed
with the first drop of blood all your
sins will be forgiven Brothers and sisters we're
approaching the best time of the year the
best time in the entire life and this
is an opportunity not to be missed and
that's why we're working hard to alert everyone
and all the Muslim Ummah to take advantage
and to prepare in advance increase making istighfar
if you remember I said fasting on the
9th day which is the day of Arafah
according to the 7th hadith executes the sins
of the past year and the year to
come it could be more generous than that
but we need to help ourselves Allah wants
us to be forgiven, to enter paradise He
says وَاللَّهُ يُرِيدُ وَأَنْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ Allah loves
for you to repent He inspires you to
repent He wants to forgive you so what
you need to do is if fasting on
that day will execute all the minor sins
what it means for us is to repent
from the major sins and to make a
sincere intention to quit and to try our
best to make those days particularly the day
of Arafah a day of repentance and a
turning point in our lives look at the
generosity and the vast mercy the unlimited pardon
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He gives
us the month of Ramadan and once it
is finished a couple of months later He
gives us the first 10 days of the
month of Dhul Hijjah then afterward it will
be the 10th of Muharram and so on
He is distributing bonuses and beautiful opportunities for
His servants to be forgiven مصداقا لقوله عز
وجل والله يريد أن يتوب عليكم Allah wants
you to repent and He wants to accept
your repentance and He wants to grant you
forgiveness May the Almighty Allah enable us to
witness those beautiful days while doing the best
of the deeds while repenting while becoming pure
while becoming generous while becoming charitable while becoming
and getting closer and closer to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala May the Almighty Allah pardon
us and forgive us all our sins May
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us our
family members, our loved ones and the entire
Ummah May Allah liberate and free the weak
and the oppressed everywhere Ameen, Ameen, Ameen أقول
قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم وصلى الله
على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم تسليما
كثيرا