The Blessed 1st Ten Days of Zil-hajjah ‎ -

The Blessed 1st Ten Days of Zil-hajjah ‎ -

A golden  opportunity to bag rewards for those not performing Hajj

THOSE WHO COULD NOT PERFORM HAJJ HAVE A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO BAG THE BLESSINGS STAYING HOME,--  FIAZ FAZILI

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Praise be to Allah the creator of universe Who has created time and has made some times better than others, when rewards are multiplied many times, as a mercy towards His slaves. Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.(quran –Az-zumar.) This encourages believers to do more righteous deeds during an  opportune time and makes them more eager to worship Him, so that the Muslim renews his efforts to gain a greater share of reward, prepare himself for the Day of Judgment.
The month of  Zil-hajjah  holds a great significance in the Islamic calendar, as one of the important pillars of  Islamic faith ,Hajj is performed in this month. Undoubtedly  one of the best deeds that one could  do during these ten days is to perform Hajj to the Sacred House of Allah. Prophet (saw): said , “An accepted Hajj brings no less a reward than Paradise.” But all of us are not fortunate enough to be chosen amongst those performing Hajj this year. Whoever is not able to go to Hajj should engage  himself/herself   at this blessed time  with  good deeds recommended for these days ;
Allah ST)swears an oath by these days  and swearing an oath by the Creator of Universe Himself  is indicative of its importance and great benefits. [Quran al-Fajr) Ibn ‘Abbas (RA ) reported that the Prophet (saw) said: “There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah (ST)than these ten days.( Bukhari). The companions of the Holy Prophet (saw) and their first generation followers used to spend this month in extra prayers and supplications, particularly during the first ten days.These days  include  the 9th of  zil-Hajah  the day of Arafat. It is this auspicious day when the pilgrims gather on the mountain plain of Arafat, praying and supplicating to their Lord, hoping for the mercy from the Lord of universe. Syedna Aishah (RA)mother of believers  reported that the Messenger (Saw) said: "There is no day on which Allah (ST) frees people from the fire as He does on the Day of 'Arafah. For the non pilgrims it is recommended to fast on the day of Arafah ,9^th  zil-hajjah .Abu Qatadah reported that the Messenger (S) said: "Fasting the Day of 'Arafah expiates the sins of two years: past one and coming one." [Muslim,) 

While those not performing Hajj  some scholars recommend  fasting for  first nine days or part of it but fasting especially on the ninth of Zilhajjah ,(the day of Arafat) is most virtuous .Since these  days are counted amongst  the most blessed ones; therefore every Muslim should make much from this opportunity. Sadly even for the greatest day of the entire year and the greatest day of Hajj, Day Of Arafat ,which combines acts of worship in a way unlike any other day. In fact, today we continue to witness unacceptable differences in the start of the Islamic months from one country to another, sometimes within the same country too, with newspapers carrying different Islamic calendar dates on a given day.(+please ask local mufti which day is the 9th Zil Hujjah so that one can fast without any hesiatancy).The other  righteous deeds to be performed  these days  is remembering Allah repeatedly  by reciting : Tasbeeh; Tahmeed; Takbeer- ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (RA) reported that the Prophet (saw)commanded us to recite a lot of Tasbeeh (“Subhan-Allah”), Tahmeed (“Al-hamdu Lillah”) and Takbeer (“Allahu akbar”) during this time.(Ahmad,7/224): It includes glorifying Allah (ST)From the day of Arafat until the Asr prayer of the 13th day of Zil--hajjah, one should make Takbeer after every obligatory Salaat. Ibn Abee Shaybah relates that Alee (RA) used to make the Takbeer beginning after the Fajr prayer on the day of Arafat, until after the Asr prayer on the last day of at-Tashreeq.” [(Saheeh) by Shaikh al-Albanee in al-Irwa.].“Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha ill-Allah; wa Allahu akbar wa Lillahi’l-hamd (Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, there is no god but Allah; Allah is Most Great and to Allah be praise). Other good deeds are offering abundantly supererogatory prayers (Nawafal), reciting  Qur’an;making supplication, giving charity, upholding the ties of kinship, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and other such acts of worship  are highly rewarded at this blessed period .A small  act of worship performed during this period earns more  reward than acts which carry more value and reward at other normal period. One of the good deeds that will bring a person closer to Allah during these ten days is offering a sacrifice for the sake of Allah. Imam Muslim and others narrated from Umm Salamah that the Prophet(saw) said,” when you see the moon of the month of zil-hajjah if any one among you intends to sacrifice an animal ,he should restrain from pulling or cutting his hair and nails till the Udhiyah (Sacrifice )is done. This restriction appears to apply only to the one who is offering the sacrifice, not to his wife and children, unless any of them is offering a sacrifice in his or her own right, because the Prophet (saw) used to sacrifice “on behalf of the family of Muhammad,” but there are no reports that say he forbade them to cut their hair or nails at that time.(Sheikh Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid). These special ten days of worship brings many benefits, such as the opportunity to correct one’s faults and make up for any shortcomings one would need to turn to Allah so that his deeds would attract mercy and forgiveness from Him. Repentance is obligatory at all times, but when the Muslim combines sincere repentance with good deeds during the days of most virtue,it yields better results. Allah the almighty says: “But as for him who repented, believed and did righteous deeds, then he will be among those who are successful.” [Al-Qasas 28:67].

There is much to be gained during these invaluable ten days. Hasten to do good deeds, Let not Satan  deceive you  till 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.O, you whose  heart is full of despair, and disobedience isn’t it  time to expose yourself to the gentle breeze of your Lord’s mercy during these ten days, for Allah will cause this breeze to touch whomever He wills, and whoever is touched by it will be happy on the Day of Judgment. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad (SAW)and all his Family and companions?
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