The first 10 days of the month of Dhul Hijjah in the Islamic Calendar are upon us, a time which is rather important to the Muslim community because of the value of the deeds done during this time. It's incredible values is something that made me want to write about it for today, so let us begin!
What are these 10 days?
These 10 days are the first 10 days of the twelfth and final month of the Islamic Calendar: Dhul Hijjah. The pilgrimage of Hajj is performed during this time and is not performed at any other time of the year.
Also, when Musa (Moses) pbuh went into seclusion for 30 days to worship Allah before the Torah was revealed to him, he was given an extra 10 days to continue his worship after the first 30 in preparation for the revelation - these are those very 10 days.
The last 2 days of this period are also very special. Day 9 is the day of Arafah where pilgrims go and worship Allah on the plain of Mount Arafah for the whole day. It's on this very day, as a result of people seeking forgiveness, that some people are spared from entering the hellfire. In addition to that, fasting on this day causes all the bad deeds you've done in the past year to be forgiven. It is also on this day that Allah swt calls to the angels and tells them that He has forgiven His servants, allowing the angels to bear witness to these wins of ours.
The last day (day 10) is the day of Eid. This Eid is known as Eid ul-Adha and commemorates the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) pbuh when he was being tested by having to slaughter his son Isma'il (Ishmael). In the end, he didn't have to do so, but that will be discussed in our next post.
These 10 days are not only rich with history, but are holier than the month of Ramadan and every good (or bad) deed done during this time will be multiplied. Allah swt has also sworn by these days in the Holy Qur'an, further emphasising their importance like in the second verse of Surah Fajr where it states 'and the ten nights'.
As a result of the importance of these days, and the ability to be forgiven for all sorts of wrongs and the chance to earn loads more deeds, Muslims would increase the good they do during this time in hopes to win the hereafter.
So... what do Muslims do during this period to earn more?
There's a range of things Muslims can do during this time, often increasing the amount that they do to make the most of the 10 days:
Sticking to obligatory prayers is one method as Allah swt loves it when His servants perform their obligations correctly, allowing Muslims to easliy gain rewards.
Seeking forgiveness is also crucial as this is the time where more people will be forgiven and saved from the hellfire compared to any other time of the year.
Doing extra dhikr (rememberance of Allah) is a very simple way to earn deeds as it only requires you to repeat a few phrases, glorifying Allah. These phrases are short and easy to pronounce, but their benefits go along way.
Visiting and spending time with one's family sounds like a way to relax and waste time, but in reality this is also a way to earn good deeds. Helping your parents is another thing that you can do that can go a long way too!
Avoiding sins as much as possible. As mentioned earlier, it's not just the good deeds that are multiplied, but the sins too!
Reading the Quran as much as possible because it is the word of Allah Himself and with every letter, (yes, every letter, not word) one can earn a lot of deeds - imagine how many deeds that'll be after reading a line, let alone a page!
Teaching good things and passing on knowledge is known to be one of the best ways to earn good deeds, even after your death. If you teach something good, and a person learns from you, you get rewarded every time they do that good thing, or every time they benefit from that knowledge, or every time they teach it to someone else. With the aid of social media, this deed has only become too easy to earn, but be warned: if you have the wrong intention, that can disqualify your deeds; and if you teach something bad or negative, you will carry the burden of everyone who has followed your footsteps on the Day of Judgment, so make sure you only spread goodness.
Praying for others is also a good thing to do because what goes around comes around: whenever you pray for others, not only are you thinking of them and trying to help them, but the angels will come and say 'ameen' (amen) to your dua (a type of prayer) and will make dua that you get the same.
As mentioned earlier, Allah loves it when His servants stick to the obligations, so this time is the best time to carry out the 5 Pillars of Islam (Testimony of Faith, Prayers, Giving Zakat/Charity, Fasting, and Hajj). It is the only time where all 5 pillars can be performed, though for those who couldn't make the Hajj pilgrimage, there is no problem with that and they can do other good deeds.
Day 10: Eid ul-Adha
During this day, people would celebrate as it is a day of celebration. In the morning, everyone gathers for the Eid prayer and later would commemorate Prophet Abraham by following in his footsteps and sacrificing an animal which they'd then share amongst the poor, friends and family, and cook its meat for a meal later.
A Good Deed Multiplied
So there you are! You now know more about these 10 blessed days and their importance in Islam. Their value is incredibly important as not only are they rich in history, but they are also a time to be able to earn extra deeds for simple acts and achieve forgiveness from Allah and be able to enter Jannah (heaven).
That's all from me today. I'll see you in my next post. Make sure that you share this post so that more people can benefit and you can earn some good deeds! ;)
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