IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL
BEING THE FOURTH KHUTBAH FOR THE MONTH OF D. QA’DAH, DATED 27TH D.QA’DAH 1444AH (16TH JUNE, 2023CE)
TITLED: THE VIRTUES AND DUTIES OF THE TEN DAYS OF DHUL-HIJJAH
THE FIRST SERMON
All Praises belong to Allah, who honored the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah with the Day of Arafah, and bestowed goodness and benevolence on those who are sincere in it for the sake of Allah and do righteous good deeds. He, may He be exalted says in His Glorious Book: “And by the dawn (1) and the ten nights (2) and the even and the odd (3) and the night when it passes (4) Is there not in all this a sufficient oath for those who have sense? (Al-Fajr: 1-5). We praise Him, may He be glorified and exalted, and give thanks to Him, and believe in Him, and put our trust in Him. We seek refuge in Him from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds. Indeed, whoever Allah guides is the one that is rightly guided, and none can misguide him, and whoever he lets go astray, you will not find a protector and guide for him. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone. He has no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, who says in his noble hadith: “There are no days that are more important in the sight of Allah, and deeds in them are more beloved to Him than these ten days. So, increase in them the saying of Tahleel, Takbeer and Tahmeed.” (Narrated by Ahmad. Its chain of narrators was authenticated by Ahmad Shaakir.) His Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, sent him with the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religions, even if the unbelievers hate it. O Allah, bless and grant peace and blessings be upon him, his family, his companions, who raced to outdo one another in the special times of good deeds, and upon all those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment.
Thereafter…
O servants of Allah! I enjoin you and myself to fear Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, as this is the desired goal of all acts of worship prescribed in Islaam, in consonance with the Almighty’s saying: “O people! Fear your Lord Who created you from a single soul and out of it created its mate; and out of the two spread many men and women.1 Fear Allah in Whose name you plead for rights, and heed the ties of kinship. Surely, Allah is ever watchful over you.” (An-Nisa’: 1).
Brothers in faith! This is the fourth and final sermon in the month of Dhul-Qa’adah, the second month of the well-known months for the performance of Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islaam. The topic of our sermon today focuses on: the virtues of the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah and their recommended activities.
This is the Bounty of Allah. He gives it to whomever He wills, and Allah is the Owner of great bounty:
Dear Muslims! We give praises to Allah who creates whatever He wills and distinguishes whatever He wills. He created gardens of Jannah and distinguishes Paradise from it. He created humans and distinguished believers from among them, and He chose from among the believers the Prophets and Messengers, and He distinguished from among them, those of great strong will (Ul-‘Azm), and He made our prophet Muhammad their leader. He created the earth and distinguished from it the honourable city of Makkah. He created the days and distinguished from its months the month of Ramadhaan, and among its days, the day of Jumu’ah (Friday), and among its nights, he distinguished Laylat-al-Qadr, and among its hours, the hour on Friday and from the tens, the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, which will come upon us in a few days, and it is the most blessed of times, as it has a great status in the sight of Allah Ta’alaa.
Virtues of the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah:
Brothers in Faith! In the hadith narrated by al-Tabaraani, the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “In the days of your life, your Lord has winds of benevolence, so avail yourselves of them, so that one of you may get a whiff of it, after which he will never be miserable.”
The ten days of Dhul-Hijjah are among the special times of goodness in which the Muslim avail themselves of the fragrances of Allah’s Mercy, the Mighty and Majestic, by doing a lot of righteous deeds in these days, such as fasting, standing in prayer, reading the Qur’an, glorifying Allah, saying La-ilaa-illa-LLah and seeking forgiveness.
His Eminence, Sheikh Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid – one of the scholars of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – says: One of the great seasons of obedience is the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, which Allah Ta’alaa preferred over all other days of the year. It has been narrated from Ibn Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, from the prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “There are no days during which the righteous action is so pleasing to Allah than these days (i.e., the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah).” He was asked: “O Messenger of Allah, not even Jihaad in the Cause of Allah!?” He (ﷺ) replied, “Not even Jihaad in the Cause of Allah, except in case one goes forth with his life and his property and does not return with either of it.” These texts and others indicate that these ten days are better than all other days of the year, without exception, even the last ten days of Ramadhaan. But the last ten nights of Ramadhaan are better because they include Laylat al-Qadr, which is better than a thousand months, and with this the proofs are reconciled. (See Tafseer Ibn Katheer 5/412).
And know – my Muslim brother – that the virtue of these ten days is derived from many issues, including:
1- That Allah Ta’alaa swears by it: Swearing by something is evidence of its importance and the greatness of its benefit. The Almighty said: “By the dawn and by the ten nights” (Al-Fajr 1- 2). Ibn Abbaas, Ibn Al-Zubayr, Mujaahid and more than one of the Salaf and the people after them said: “It is the tenth of Dhul-Hijjah.” Ibn Katheer said: “And it is the correct view.” (Tafseer Ibn Katheer vol.8, pg. 413).
2- The Prophet (ﷺ) testified that these are the best days in the world, as stated in the authentic hadith.
3- It is encouraged to do righteous deeds in it for the honour of the time (of Hajj) for the people of the cities (Makkah and Madeenah), and also for the honour of the place (Ka’abah) – and this is specific to the pilgrims to the Sacred House of Allah.
4- He commanded a lot of glorification, praises, and Takbeer, as it is narrated on the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, on the authority of the Prophet (ﷺ) that he said: “There are no days that are more important in the sight of Allah, and deeds in them are more beloved to Him than these ten days. So, increase in them the saying of Tahleel, Takbeer and Tahmeed.” (Narrated by Ahmad and its chain of narrators was authenticated by Ahmad Shaakir).
5- There is in the ten days,the Day of ‘Arafah, which is the Witnessed Day in which Allah perfected the religion, and fasting on the day expiates the sins of two years, and in the ten days is also the Day of Sacrifice, which is the greatest day of the year overall, and it is also the Great Day of Hajj, that combines all the acts of worship and obedience, which is not the case with any other day.
6- It includes the Sacrifice and the Hajj. This part of the duties expected in the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. Witnessing these ten days is a great blessing from the blessings of Allah Ta’alaa upon the servant and the righteous people recognize its worth and give it its worthy due. It is the duty of a muslim to feel and recognize this blessing and seize this opportunity, by distinguishing these ten days with more concern for worship, and by striving against himself to be able to engage in good deeds. And among the Grace of Allah Ta’alaa to His servants is the multiplicity of ways of doing good deeds, and the diversity of types of obedience, so that the Muslim is always engage in (different) activity lasts and he remains constantly in the worship of his Lord.
I say all these, I seek forgiveness from Allah the Greatest, for me and for you. Seek forgiveness from Him and repent to Him, for He is the Most-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful.
THE SECOND SERMON:
All Praises are due to Allah and may His blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, who said in his honorable hadith: ““There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allaah Ta’alah than the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. It was said, Oh Messenger of Allah, not even Jihaad in the cause of Allah?” He said, not even Jihaad in the cause of Allah, except a man who went out with him soul and his money and then did not return with anything.” (Bukhari: 2/457)
Thereafter,
Dear servants of Allah, it is necessary to mention some of the duties of these blessed days:
The duties of the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah:
Among the virtuous deeds that a Muslim should strive to do in the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah are:
1- Sincere repentance: Part of what is emphasized during these ten days is to turn in repentance to Allah, the Almighty and to abstain from disobedience and all sins. Repentance is to return to Allah, the Almighty and abandoning what Allah dislikes, outwardly and inwardly, regretting over the past sin, shunning the sin instantly, and resolving not to return and to be upright on the truth by doing what Allah Almighty loves. What is required of a Muslim, if he commits a sin, is to hasten to repent immediately, without any delay, because:
Firstly: He does not know the moment he will die and secondly: because bad deeds attract their likes.
2- Prayer: It is desirable to come early to the obligatory prayers, to hasten to be in the first row, and to perform a lot of supererogatory prayers, for that is part of the best form of deeds to earn closeness to Allah. On the authority of Thawban, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, saying: “You should engage in lots of sujud to Allah a lot, for you do not prostrate to Allah, except that Allah raise you by it in rank and cleanse for you a sin”. (Narrated by Muslim).
3- Fasting: It is Sunnah for a Muslim to fast the nine days of Dhul-Hijjah. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) enjoin good deeds during the ten days, and fasting is one of the best deeds. Allah, the Almighty have chosen it for Himself, as in the hadith Qudsi: “Allah says: Every deed of the children of Adam is for him, except fasting, for it is for Me and I shall reward for it.” {Al-Bukhari 1805}.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to fast the nine days of Dhul-Hijjah. On the authority of Hunaida bin Khalid, on the authority of his wife, on the authority of some of the wives of the Prophet, peace be upon him, she said: The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to fast the nine days of Dhul-Hijjah, the day of Ashura, and three days of every (lunar) month; the first Monday of the month and two Thursdays.” (Narrated by al-Nasaa’i 4/205 and Abu Dawood, and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood 2/462)
4- The takbeer: It is Sunnah to say takbeer, tahmeed, and other glorifications of Allah during the ten days. And to say it aloud in the mosques, homes, roads, and every place where it is permissible to mention the name of Allah aloud as an expression of worship, and a declaration of glorification of Allah the Almighty. Men utter it aloud while the women do it silently. Allah says: (لِيَشْهَدُوا مَنَافِعَ لَهُمْ وَيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْلُومَاتٍ عَلَى مَا رَزَقَهُم مِّن بَهِيمَةِ الْأَنْعَام) “so they may obtain the benefits ˹in store˺ for them,1 and pronounce the Name of Allah on appointed days over the sacrificial animals He has provided for them. “ (Al-hajj: 28)
The format of the Takbeer is: “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Lailaha illa Allahu, WAllahu Akbar Walillahil hamd.” Meaning: :Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, there is no god but Allah, Allah is the greatest, and praise be to Allah”. There are other formats of takbeer. Saying takeer in this period has become one of the abandoned Sunnahs, especially at the beginning of the ten days, such that you can hardly hear it except from a few, so it should be said out loud to revive the Sunnah and as a reminder to the heedless. It is established that Ibn Umar and Abu Hurairah will both go to the market place during the ten days and would be making the takbeer land people will join them in that takbeer”.
The revival of the Sunnahs that have been forgotten has a great reward, which is indicated by his saying, peace be upon him: “Whoever revives a Sunnah of my Sunnah which have been forgotten after me, he will have a reward like those who practice it without their rewards being diminished in the slightest.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi 7/443)
5- Performing Hajj and Umrah: One of the best things to do during these ten days is the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of Allah. Whoever is enabled by Allah Almighty to perform the pilgrimage to His house and performs its rituals as required, he will have a share – by Allah’s willing – from what the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “An accepted pilgrimage has no reward except Paradise.”
6- Doing more good deeds in general: Because good deeds are loved by Allah Almighty, and this necessitates the greatness of the reward before Allah the Almighty. Whoever is unable to perform Hajj, then he must fill these virtuous times by obeying Allah the Almighty, such as prayer, reading the Qur’an, dhikr, supplication, giving charity, honoring one’s parents, upholding ties of kinship, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and other ways of doing good and obedience.
7- The Udh-hiyyah (The Sacrifice animal): Among the good deeds during this ten days is to draw closer to Allah Almighty by slaughtering the sacrifice,
8- I’tikaf: Ya’la Ibn Umayyah said: “I stay in the mosque for an hour, and I didn’t stay for anything except for I’tikaf.”