๐ *DREAM DA'WAH NETWORK* ๐
Presents : *The Ten Golden Days*
Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu
*Praise be to Allaah Who has created Time and has made some times better than others, some months and days and nights better than others, when rewards are multiplied many times, as a mercy towards His slaves.*
*This encourages them to do more righteous deeds 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 death and supply himself in readiness for the Day of Judgement.*
*This season of worship brings many benefits, such as the opportunity to correct one’s faults and make up for any shortcomings or anything that one might have missed.*
*Every one of these special occasions involves some kind of worship through which the slaves may draw closer to Allaah, and some kind of blessing though which Allaah bestows His favour and mercy upon whomsoever He will.*
The topic is *The Ten Golden Days*
Among the Seasons of worship are the *First ten days of Dhul-Hijja* and this is what I referred to as *The Ten Golden days* in the topic.
We would never say a day is so special unless we have evidence from the Authentic sources of Shari'ah which is mainly the Qur'an and Ahadeeth of our Beloved prophet (peace be upon him).
These first ten days of Dhul Hijja are days which Allah has preferred all over other days of the year.
*Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allaah than these ten days." The people asked, "Not even jihaad for the sake of Allaah?" He said, "Not even jihaad for the sake of Allaah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with nothing." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 2/457)*
The above hadith and other evidences which will be given soon indicates that these ten days are better than the other days of the year. But the last ten nights of Ramadaan are better, because they include Laylat al-Qadr ("the Night of Power"), which is better than a thousand months.
*Allaah swears an oath by them, and swearing an oath by something is indicative of its importance and great benefit. Allaah says : *"By the dawn; by the ten nights" [al-Fajr 89:1-2].*
Ibn ‘Abbaas, Ibn al-Zubayr, Mujaahid and others of the earlier and later generations said that this refers to the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah. Ibn Katheer said: "This is the correct opinion." (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 8/413)
These ten days are so powerful so much so that the prophet (Peace be Upon him) to praise Allah a great deal and never for once stop praising Allah.
‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: *"There are no days greater in the sight of Allaah and in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Him than these ten days, so during this time recite a great deal of Tahleel ("La ilaaha ill-Allaah"),Takbeer and Tahmeed." (Reported by Ahmad, 7/224)*
*These ten days includes the day of 'Arafah, on which Allaah perfected His Religion. Fasting on this day will expiate for the sins of two years. These days also include Yawm al-Nahar (the Day of Sacrifice), the greatest day of the entire year and the greatest day of Hajj, which combines acts of worship in a way unlike any other day.*
*The Sunnah indicates that the one who wants to offer a sacrifice must stop cutting his hair and nails and removing anything from his skin, from the beginning of the ten days until after he has offered his sacrifice, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When you see the new moon of Dhu’l-Hijjah, if any one of you wants to offer a sacrifice, then he should stop cutting his hair and nails until he has offered his sacrifice." According to another report he said: "He should not remove (literally, touch) anything from his hair or skin." (reported by Muslim with four isnaads, 13/146)*
Therefore in other to take advantage of these Golden ten days, we should engage ourselves in acts of worship which will earn us rewards from Allah. A good deed on these ten days is rewarded in multi-fold, now imagine if you were to sin on such a day, won't your sins be recorded in multi-fold too?
*Among the good deeds which we should strive for on these Golden days are* :
- *Fasting* : It is Sunnah to fast on the Ninth day of Dhul Hijja (The day of 'Arafah), also one can also fast on the first Nine days for the prophet himself did it. This is in reference to the Hadith narrated from Hunaydah bn Khalid.
*It was narrated from Hunaydah ibn Khaalid from his wife, that one of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to fast on the first nine days of Dhu’l-Hijjah and the day of ‘Ashoora’, and three days each month, the first Monday of the month and two Thursdays. Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 4/205 and by Abu Dawood; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani*
- *Praising Allah a great deal* : We've cited an hadith above which encourages us to praise Allah on these days for it is highly rewarding.
- Seeking Allah's forgiveness and Making Repentance : *If a Muslim commits a sin, he must hasten to repent at once, without delay, firstly because he does not know when he will die, and secondly because one evil deed leads to another.*
*Repentance at special times is very important because in most cases people’s thoughts turn towards worship at these times, and they are keen to do good, which leads to them recognizing their sins and feeling regret for the past. Repentance is obligatory at all times, but when the Muslim combines sincere repentance with good deeds during the days of most virtue, this is a sign of success, in sha Allaah. Allaah 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]*
- *Reading and Pondering over the Qur'an* : Remembrance of Allah can be done through reading the qur'an and pondering over its meaning as it will enhance one's rewards on these golden days.
*Sacrifice* - It is also one of the things which earns one a great reward on these blessed days. This is can be done on the 10th day After leaving the 'Eid praying ground. It serves as a means of getting closer to Allah.
*Giving Charity*: We should also try and reach out to those who are poor among us and extend our hands of help to them for it will earn us a great reward. Smiling to a fellow Muslim is also am act of charity! What will you gain in frowning all the time? Smile amd relax your muscles! *It's Sunnah* ๐
*Conclusively, We should try as much as possible to distance ourselves from prohibited acts which might bring about Allah's wrath, these ten days are so sacred that one needs to spend it worshipping Allah rather than sinning against Allah.*
May Allah spare our lives till those days, May He grant us all goodness, May He forgive our Shortcomings and admit us among the righteous Ones. Aameen.
*I am just a student of Knowledge striving upon goodness, if any part of this article is found useful, it is from Allah and His messenger and If otherwise, it is from my evil self and shaytaan.*
*NOTE* : *Dhul-Hijjah will In Shaa Allah start on Friday or Saturday, we'll let you know as soon as it is confirmed!*
Until we meet again! *Wassalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabrakatuhu*
SPEAKER : *Shehu Abdus-Salam Aladodo (Abu-Ubaydah)*
References:
-The Noble Qur'an
-Sahih Al-Bukhari
-http://islamqa.info
CHANNEL : ๐ *DREAM DA'WAH NETWORK*
