The Days of Dhul Hijjah
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In the Quraan-e-Kareem Allah Ta'ala takes qasm (an oath) of some of His creations. These oaths are taken to point out the great importance of these things.
Amongst the things Allah Ta'ala takes an oath of is the time of Fajr,
وَالْفَجْرِ
By the oath of dawn
Allah Ta'ala has kept tremendous blessings and goodness in the time of Fajr. These blessings apply to our Deen, Dunya and Aakhirah. The time between Subh Saadiq (dawn) and sunrise contribute tremendously to the progress of wealth and health of a person. One should therefore be punctual with his Fajr Salaah, especially during these ten days of Dhul Hijjah.
The recitation of the Quraan Sharif at the time of Fajr also holds extra value as it is witnessed by the angels. Allah Ta'ala says,
إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا
Verily the Quraan recited at Fajr is witnessed by the angels
Similarly the Duas and Zikrullah of the time of Fajr are extremely valuable. Thereafter Allah Ta'ala takes an oath of the ten nights.
The ten days and nights of Dhul Hijjah
وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ
And by the ten nights
These ten nights refer to the ten nights of Dhul Hijjah. Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam is reported to have said,
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ أَنَّ النَّبِىَّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- قَالَ :« مَا الْعَمَلُ فِى أَيَّامٍ أَفْضَلَ مِنْهُ فِى عَشْرِ ذِى الْحِجَّةِ ». قَالُوا : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلاَ الْجِهَادُ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ. قَالَ :« وَلاَ الْجِهَادُ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ. إِلاَّ رَجُلٌ خَرَجَ بِنَفْسِهِ وَمَالِهِ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ، ثُمَّ لاَ يَرْجِعُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ بِشَىْءٍ
No actions are more virtuous during the days (of the year) than the good deeds carried out in the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. The Sahaaba enquired, “O messenger of Allah! Not even jihaad in the path of Allah?” Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam replied, “Neither is jihaad more virtuous (than the good deeds carried out during these ten days) except a man leaves home physically and with his wealth then does not return with anything (i.e. his is martyred in the path of Allah).
What Ibaadah should one carry out during these ten days?
During these ten days one should recite the fourth kalimah excessively which is as follows,
لاَ إلٰهَ إلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهُ ، لَهُ اْلمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ يُحْيِيْ وَيُمِيْتُ بِيَدِهِ الْخَيْرُ وَهُوَ عَلىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ
There is no diety except Allah alone, He has no partner, to Him belongs kingdom and to Him belongs all praises, He gives life and causes death, all goodness is in his hands and he has power over everything.
This was the Waazifa of all the ambiyaa and the leaders of all ambiyaa Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam. We had learnt this Kalimah in Madrasah but without the spirit and reality of it. Tasawwuf is to return to these basics once again and make them part of our life. Another great Ibaadat for these days is the recitation of the third kalimah which is,
سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ وَلَا إلٰهَ إلَّا اللهُ وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوّةَ إلاَّ بِاللهِ الْعَلِىِّ اْلعَظِيْمِ
When Nabie Moosa Alaihis Salaam asked Allah Ta'ala for a Waazifa that would be specially prescribed for him, he was given the Kalimah-e-Tauheed which is
لا إله إلا الله
There is no diety except Allah
However these Kalimah will only be weighty on the scale of deeds if they are recited with Ikhlaas and concentration. Allah Ta'ala does not look at numbers but rather at the quality of the actions.
Not quantity but quality is required in Aamaal
Allah Ta'ala mentions,
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا
He has created death and life to test which of you carry out the best of acts
In this verse Allah Ta’ala did not say that He has created life and death to test which of you carry out the most amount of actions, thus the quality is of utmost importance. Imaam Shafi R.A used to say that a person should have some Nafil actions or Mustahab actions which no person is aware of except the one carrying it out and Allah Ta'ala, meaning that it should be done with total Ikhlaas and sincerity. These internal qualities are of importance in the court of Allah c. Therefore the fourth Kalimah should also be recited with Ikhlaas during these days.
When a person recites with the reality then the words have an effect. To explain this point Hadrat Maulana Umar Saheb Palanpuri r used to say that a person had heard of the devastating effects of a hydrogen bomb. He starts uttering the words “hydrogen bomb” repeatedly but it has no effect whatsoever. The words cannot even kill a fly. The hydrogen bomb will have to be used using the correct procedures then it will produce the required results. Similarly, if the various Wazaaif are recited correctly it will have an effect as mentioned in Ahadith.
Wazaaif
Many people go onto either extremes in Wazaaif. Some people don’t recite their Wazaaif which is the one extreme whilst others only recite their Wazaaif but there is no concern of the Faraaidh. There are many that are merely concerned of Karaamat (super natural acts carried out by the pious) such as flying in the air and walking on water. We should not be concerned and worried of such Karaamaat and acquiring powerful Taweez etc.
Hadrat Maulana Shah Hakim Muhammad Akhtar Saheb R.A. used to say that my Tasawwuf is one hundred percent according to the teachings of Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam. We should simply follow these teachings of Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
Rewards of fasting during the ten days of Dhul Hijjah
عن أبى هريرة ، قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم " ما من أيام الدينا أيام ، أحب إلى الله سبحانه أن يتعبد له فيها ، من أيام العشر . وإن صيام يوم فيها ليعدل صيام سنة ، وليلة فيها بليلة القدر "
Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam is reported to have said, “the fast of every day during these (first ten days of Dhul Hijjah) is equivalent to fasting for a year and every night spent in Ibaadah is equivalent to spending Lailatul Qadr in Ibaadah.
Hadrat Thanwi R.A says that we should at least try and perform Esha and Fajr Salaah with Jamaat, and thereafter try and do a little extra Ibaadat. Try and perform two Rakaats of extra Nafil Salaah, recite a few pages extra of Quraan Sharif etc. One should try to perform Salaatut Tasbeeh, Ishraaq, Awaabeen etc. One will wake up for Sehri so one should perform a min of two rakaats of Tahajjud Salaah.
Removing hair and nails
(حديث أم سلمة أن النبي (ص) ، قال : (إذا دخل العشر ، وأراد أحدكم أن يضحي فلا يأخذ من شعره ولا من أظفاره شيئا حتى يضحي) . رواه مسلم
Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam is reported to have said, When the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah enter and any one of you intend doing Qurbani then he should not remove his hair nor should clip his nails until he slaughters his Qurbani animal.
This is an act that is Mustahab (preferable). What is the wisdom behind this? During this time of the year the Hujjaj (those intend performing Haj) have gathered in the holy land of Makkah Mukarrama. One of the requirements of performing Haj is that a person has to adorn the Ihraam. A person has to adhere to various rules whilst in Ihraam such as not being able to clip the nails, trim the hair, applying itr, wearing sewn clothing, etc. We were unable to undertake this journey of Haj so we are asked to resemble the Haji by not trimming our hair and clipping our nails. By doing so we will also attain the mercy of Allah Ta'ala that descends upon the Hujjaj even though we are at home. Imitating also holds great value in the court of Allah Ta'ala. Khawaja Azizul Hassan Saheb Mazjoob R.A used to say,
تیری محبوب کی یا رب شباہت لیکر آیا ہوں
حقیقت اسکو تو کردے میں صورت لیکر آیا ہوں
O Allah, I have come with the outward appearance of your beloved
You make it a reality, I have merely come with the outward form
Although we were unable to go for Haj, our hearts should be connected to Makkah Sharif and Madinah Sharif. A person that is not well cannot go personally to his shop due to health reasons. However, he will ensure that he calls and enquires if everything is in order and running well. He is physically not present but his heart is connected to the shop. We should also be connected to the holy lands.
Takbeeraat-e-Tashreeq
From the Fajr of the ninth of Dhul Hijjah till the Asr Salaah of the 13th of Dhul Hijjah we should recite the Takbeerat-e-Tashreeq after every Salaah in an audible tone. It should be recited softly. On the 9th of Dhul Hijjah the Hajis go to Arafaat and they recite the Talbya, so we resemble them by reciting the Takbeeraat-e-Tashreeq.
(Women should also recite it at home after every salaah but softly).
Obedience to the command of Allah
A haji is commanded to perform his Maghrib Salaah when he reaches Muzdalifa on the 9th of Dhul Hijjah even though it is Esha time. A person may be such that he was punctual with his Salaah with Takbeer-e-Ula throughout his life yet he performs Maghrib Salaah in Esha time. We learn that we will obey the command of Allah Ta'ala at all times even though it may contradict our logic and understanding. Also, our condition should not be such that we obey the commands of Allah Ta'ala when we in Makkah and Madinah yet we follow our desires the moment we return.
Qurbani
Qurbani refers to that action by which a person gains the closeness of Allah Ta'ala. A person that performs Taraweeh Salaah in the months of Ramdaan performs 40 Sajda by which a person gains the closeness of Allah Ta'ala. Similarly a person gains closeness by performing Qurbani. A person should therefore open his heart and make Qurbani as Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi wasallam has mentioned in the Hadith,
عن عائشة أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال ما عمل آدمي من عمل يوم النحر أحب إلى الله من إهراق الدم إنها لتأتي يوم القيامة بقرونها وأشعارها وأظلافها وأن الدم ليقع من الله بمكان قبل أن يقع من الأرض فطيبوا بها نفسا
No person carries out any action on the day of Qurbani that is more beloved to Allah Ta'ala than the flowing of blood. Verily the Qurbaani animal will come on the day of Qiyaamah with its horns, hair and hooves, and certainly the blood of the Qurbani animal is accepted by Allah Ta'ala before it reaches the ground therefore do the qurbani happily.