Best days ever!

Posted Nov 16, 2009 by Aboo Thaabit with 3 Comments

So you are not going to Hajj this year and you are stuck in your country like the rest of us, but want to be forgiven like the people that went for hajj? No need to dispair, the best 10 days of the entire year will soon be upon us and there are certain things a person can do to make the most of this blessed time, even if he or she cant go for hajj.

Ibn ‘Abbas reports that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said, “No good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these days [meaning the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah].” The companions asked, “O Messenger of Allaah, not even jihad in the way of Allaah?” He said, “Not even jihad, except for the man who puts his life and wealth in danger [for Allaah's sake] and returns with neither of them.”

From amongst the good things a person can do, as mentioned by Haafidh Ibn Rajab in his book al-Lataa-if al-Ma’aarif are:

• Fasting during the day of ‘Arafah [if your not doing hajj] as has been reported in the saheeh of Imaam Muslim ‘Fasting the day of ‘Arafah wipes away the sins of the past and coming year’
• Protecting your limbs from sin on that day [day of 'Arafah] it has been reported in the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad bin Hanbal that the Prophet said ‘This day whoever safeguards his hearing and sight and tongue will be forgiven’
• Increasing in saying the Kalimatu-at-Tawheed [i.e laa ilaaha illalAllah] with sincerity and truth. Because it is the essence of the religion of Islaam which Allah completed on the day of ‘Arafah.

Similarly there has been an on-going dispute between scholars, and that is regarding the question, are the ten first days of Dhul-Hijjah more superior then the ten last nights of Ramadan? And the best opinion regarding this is that, yes the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah are infact better then the last ten nights of Ramadan [except laylatul Qadr]. So as Muslims we should try our best to increase in good deeds, whatever they may be during these blessed ten days, to reap the maximum benefit and reward.