Friday, October 28, 2011

Dhul Hijjah, blessed upcoming days

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“By the ten nights.” [89:2]
The “ten nights” which Allah is swearing by here, are the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah. [I
bn ‘Abbas, Ibn az-Zubayr, Mujahid and others of the earlier and later generations said that this refers to the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. Ibn Kathîr said: “This is the correct opinion.” (Tafsîr ibn Kathir, 8/413)] Allah swears an oath by them, and swearing an oath by something is indicative of its importance and great benefit.

Ibn Abbas narrated that Prophet (saws) said: “There is no deed more precious in the sight of Allah, or greater in reward, than a good deed done during the ten days of Sacrifice.” He was asked: “Not even jihad for the sake of Allah?” He said: “Not even jihad for the sake of Allah, 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.” [Sahih Bukhari]

So, let us take note of the following:
-Have the intention to spread this important information.
-It is a great chance to collect uncountable hasanat (rewards).
-It is a great chance to renew your relation with Allah.
-Prepare now so you can start from the first night/day of the month. You don’t want to miss a moment of the best days in the sight of Allah.
-Since the Prophet (saws)
referred to the 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah as: “…no days better than these days in the sight of Allah.” [Ahmad, 7/224 – Ahmad Shakir stated that it is sahîh], the scholars have said that these are better than Ramadaan. Therefore, be very vigilant and don’t waste these precious moments. Ask Allah to help you to benefit from this period of His special Grace.

Ask yourself these questions:
-Did you intend to benefit from these days?
-What have you done to prepare for these 10 days?
-Did you prepare a program?
-What is your plan of action?


Here is a brief guide to help you to prepare for the best days of the year:

Recite the Qur’an: 
Plan to complete the reading of the Qur’an within this period.
If you read three juzz (parts) a day, it can be accomplished. It is not difficult. Ask Allah to make it easy for you. We know reciting one letter is equal to ten hasanat. If you read three juzz everyday, it translates to thousands of millions of hasanat.
SubhanAllah! And this calculation is just based on the 1=10 ratio. These are special days of His Grace. Therefore, don’t even think about how much Allah can/will increase & add it for you. You cannot fathom it. He is Kareem. He knows that you have ikhlaas; He will not count it as 1=10. He could raise it to 1=700 or even more. And this is what you can earn every day of these special days.
Keep in mind that reciting the Qur’an is a good deed and Allah specially loves the good deeds done in these days: “And if He loves the good deeds, He will love the doer of those good deeds.” If Allah loves someone, e will not punish them. Remember this concept so that the deeds you do come from your heart - don’t be like a machine!

Increase in Nawafil Prayers/ Increase your supererogatory prayers.
Ask yourself these questions and make sure that your heart gives you sincere answers:
-Do you have an aim?
-Do you really want to be closer to Allah?
-Do you live with this craving?
-Do you really love Allah and seek His closeness?

If, you want this, then know that Allah teaches you the means to gaining His qurb (closeness).
Allah says: “Fall prostrate and draw near to Allah!” [96:19]
This is the way! Prostrate in sujood to Him and you will be closer to Him. The Prophet (saws)
said: “The closest that a person is to his Lord is when he is prostrating, so say a great deal of Dua'a then.” [Sahih Muslim]
He (saws)
is commanding us to make a lot of Dua'a while in sujood. Are we obeying his order? Yes? We need to do more. For he (saws) said to: “…make lots of Dua'a.” Remember, the Prophet (saws)  loved us and he knew that we have a lot of needs from Allah. This is why he taught us the way to get those needs fulfilled. Therefore, if you have needs, then you cannot leave sujood. Any sajdah without khushu’ and without Dua'a - like your forehead is touching the ground and your mind is in the kitchen or the office - is a big khasara (regretful loss). Let us not be losers from now on.
When the Prophet
(saws) instructed us to do a lot of sujood, it means to perform a lot of Salaah. “With each sajdah for Allah, He will raise you a level with it. And cancel a sin with it.” So, the more you increase in your sujood, the closer you are to being a winner.

Examples for increasing Nawafil Prayers:
a) Salaatul Dhuha: Also known as Ishraq may be offered as 2, 4, 6 or 8 Rakaat, prayed after the sun has risen and before the time for Dhuhr approaches.
b) 4 Rakaat before and 4 after Dhuhr: “Whoever regularly performs four Rakaat before Dhuhr and four after it, Allah will forbid him to the Fire.” [
At-Tirmidhî, 428 – classed as sahîh by al-Albanî in Sahîh al-Nasa’î]
c) 4 Rakaat before ‘Asr: The Prophet (saws)
said: “May Allah have mercy on those who pray four rakat before ‘Asr prayer.” [At-Tirmidhî, 395 – classed as hasan by al-Albanî in Sahîh al-Jami 3493]
d) Tahhiyatul masjid: Greet the masjid with two Rakaat: “If any one of you enters a mosque, he should pray two Rakaat before sitting.” [
Al-Bukharî and Muslim]
e) Salaat at-Tawbah: It could be any bad deed, any sin, you hear something bad, you see something bad, you feel your heart constricted because of something you have done and you didn’t mean it, etc, you can erase it immediately with your prayer of repentance. Make a good wudhu’ and offer two sincere Rakaat of repentance. Ask Allah to forgive you. If it’s from your heart, then know that Allah will cancel your sin.
f) Qiyam al-Layl: With this prayer, we hope that Allah will illuminate our graves; will bestow noor on our faces; will cancel our bad deeds. Pray at least 2 Rakaat. If you are able to follow the Sunnah, then pray all 11 Rakaat (including Witr).

Remember that in these special days and nights, Allah is sending His special mercy. Do you think that this special mercy will reach everybody? Do you think that it will reach the one who is in front of the TV watching a movie? Or listening to music? Or do you think it will reach the one who is making sujood, ruku’, tilawah, making istighfaar, etc.?
We have to show Allah that we want this special mercy. We need to make ourselves eligible for it.

Allah swears by the night (Surah Fajr). Therefore, take care of the nights. Don’t be among the losers. Write this in bold and make it your motivational factor for the special days: “We won’t be among the losers!” Remember: “Our Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, comes down to the lowest heaven every night when the last third of the night is left, and He says: ‘Who will call upon Me, that I may answer him? Who will ask of Me, that I may give him? Who will ask Me for forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’.”
[Al-Bukharî and Muslim]

If we were lazy before, we will be active and good from now on. We will not be among the losers. If these days and nights are a king who is distributing gifts of gold while announcing: “Come take these gold nuggets”, you will find people standing in long queues and hordes to collect them. SubhanAllah, Allah is spreading special mercy during these days. He is accepting supplications. He is offering unimaginably wonderful blessings that we don’t even know of. So will we not work to get in those lines to gather Allah gifts?

Makes lots of Dhikr:
Do a lot of Dhikr, especially in these days.
“There are no days greater in the sight of Allah…” [
Ahmad, 7/224]
So what did the Prophet (saws)
tell us to do in these days? That, we need to make the Dhikr of Tahlil, Tahmid and Takbir. [Tahlîl (“La ilaha ill-Allah”), Tahmîd (“Alhamdulillah”) and Takbîr ("Allahu Akbar"). See: Ahmad, 7/224] As soon as the announcement of Dhul-Hijjah is made, start your Dhikr!
Bukhari related that Ibn ‘Umar and Abu Hurayrah said that they used to go out in the streets making loud takbir. They did not think that this was riya. They were busy with declaring the signs of Allah. This practice has now become a forgotten Sunnah. Why do people feel shy to follow this Sunnah? These are the days of takbir, tahlil & tahmid with raised voices. Therefore revive this Sunnah by doing audible tasbih during all of the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.
For women, when you are in your homes, raise your voices. You will remind your children, husbands, brothers, etc. Make it like a habit so that you will find yourself doing Dhikr automatically. While walking, reclining, working, eating, just keep doing Dhikr.

Send a lot of blessings and Salaam upon the Prophet (saws)
consistently. Just one hadith should be enough for the believer who loves Prophet (saws). It is enough honor that when you send your Salaam to Prophet (saws), Allah returns his soul to him in order to answer you: “There is no one who sends Salaam upon me but Allah will restore to me my soul so that I may return his Salaam.” [Abu Dawud, 2041 – classed as hasan by al-Albanî] Therefore, send your Darood and Salaam from your heart. Feel that special honor in doing that deed.

Istighfar:
All kinds of Dhikr will make your relation with Allah stronger and stronger.
Just say ‘Astaghfirullah’ for yourself and for all the believers, from your heart. Allah is All-Forgiving and Alll-Generous.
On the Day of Judgement, when you will see your book, you will find the record of your sins in it and you will feel regret. But, SubhanAllah, you will find between these sins, Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah,
Astaghfirullah.
Luqman taught his sons to make istighfar. He said: “Oh my sons, istighfirullaha qaidun, istighfirullah qaimum, istghfirullaha raqibun (make istighfar when you are standing, sitting, reclining). For the mercy of Allah is descending.”

Look at it this way – there are seasons of mercy during which Allah sends down abundant mercy (like during Ramadaan, like the days of Dhul-Hijjah, etc). Allah is always generous because that is one of His Attributes, but He says that He gives more during certain periods. Allah is Rahim always, but He says He has more mercy during a certain period. These days are like those special-rate promotions or sale season. Therefore, don’t leave or ignore this sale. Go and ask for more. Keep saying ‘
Astaghfirullah’, ‘Astaghfirullah’, Astaghfirullah’, keep insisting on it till Allah forgives you. Start from the beginning of Dhul-Hijjah.

“…nor will He punish them while they seek (Allah) forgiveness.” [8:33]
We are informed that there is no punishment from Allah on the yastaghfirun (i.e. those who seek forgiveness). Allah relieves all problems with istighfar. Those who are persistent in istighfar in their lives, disasters and calamities will be repelled from them. Mercy is like a cloud on the head of the mustaghfirîi (those who consistently seek forgiveness). How do we know this?
“Why seek you not the forgiveness of Allah, that you may receive mercy?” [27:46]
Allah is telling us to make istighfar to gain His mercy. Let your istighfar ascend to Him and His mercy will descend upon you.

Fasting:
Fast as much as you can during these blessed days. If you can fast all of these days, then do so. Even in any regular day, Allah has promised a great reward for the one who fasts: “Whoever fasts one day for the sake of Allah, Allah will keep his face seventy years distance away from the Fire because of it.” [Sahih Muslim] So what about these special days for which it is said: “There is no deed more precious in the sight of Allah, or greater in reward, than a good deed done during the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.”
Allah loves the good deeds in these days. Allah loves siyam. Put these two beloved things together. You are the doer of the things Allah loves.

Which ‘ibadah will you be able to do non-stop?
Siyam! From Fajr till Maghrib during the best days, you will be able to be in a continuous state of worship. So please grab this chance eagerly. Also don’t forget you have if Allah wills, at least one Dua'a guaranteed with each siyam – at the time of breaking the fast. So that is nine opportune moments during this period.

Charity:
Spending for the sake of Allah!
Only Allah knows how many trials and calamities have been pushed away from us, our family and loved ones as a result of our sadaqah. Allah knows how many times relief and ease has come to us due to the sadaqah we gave. Therefore, give in the way of Allah, as much as you can. Don’t leave any raised hands return empty. Show Allah that you love Him by spending from that which you love. Show Allah that all these things mean nothing besides gaining His ridha (pleasure).
Don’t look and remind yourself of what you have already spent in the past. If Allah wills, He has accepted and written it for you. Now, think of how you can outdo that sadaqah during these days. Spend from what you love and Allah will love you.

Preserve the Ties of Kinship:
Preserve the ties of kinship for: “No one who severs the ties of kinship will enter Paradise.” [
Sahîh Muslim] If it is difficult for you to call or meet every relative, then send them a message. But write with your heart and with the right intention. There is a man who connects with all of his near and far relatives. It is almost like a mission for him for the sake of Allah. He loves this ‘ibadaah. Even those who are far away, he calls and connects them to the rest of the family and brings them all together. And SubhanAllah, Allah has given him a lot of wealth and with such ease and has made his life easy, and as a result of his deeds. The Prophet (saws) promised this reward for the one who connects and maintains kinship: “Whoever would like his rizq (provision) to be increased and his life to be extended, should uphold the ties of kinship.” [Al-Bukharî and Muslim]

These were just a few of the wonderful things we can do during the forthcoming best days of Dhul-Hijjah. Therefore, if we want Allah’s help with these deeds and our schedule for them, we need to do a lot of Tawbah. The Salaf as-Salih used to say that they would feel prevented from qiyam al-layl due to their sins. They knew that when they want to do ‘ibadaah and they are unable to do it, it is due sins. So, what do we need to do? A lot of istighfar with Ttawbah, real Tawbah! Ask Allah for help.

Make the Dua'a:
“O Allah, help me to remember You, to give You thanks, and to perform Your worship in the best manner.” [
Sahîh Abu Dawud, 1/284]

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