عشرہ ذی الحجہ

It is narrated from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No deed is as beloved and magnificent to Allah as a deed done in these ten days (the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah). So during them recite abundantly tahlil, takbir and tahmid, that is: 'There is no god but Allah, Allah is the Greatest, and all praise belongs to Allah' (there is no deity besides Allah, Allah is the greatest, and all praise is His alone)."

In earlier times people's life-spans were much longer, and their righteous ones had more opportunities for worship. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned this to his Companions, they felt regret and said: "O Messenger of Allah, our lives are much shorter than theirs; how can we match them in good deeds and worship?" So Allah, out of His special grace, granted the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) the Night of Power, one night's worship in which is better than the worship of a thousand months; a whole surah of the Qur'an, Surah al-Qadr, was revealed about the merit of this night. Allah says: "The Night of Power is better than a thousand months." (Al-Qadr 97:3) According to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the lifespans of this Ummah are between sixty and seventy. (Reported by Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

Likewise Allah granted the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, about which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Worship by a servant on any day is not as beloved to Allah as it is in the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah (that is, worship in these days is more beloved to Allah than in all other days); fasting on each day of these ten equals a year's fasting, and standing in each of their nights equals the voluntary prayers of the Night of Power." (Tirmidhi)

The fortunate pilgrims perform the rites of Hajj and Umrah during the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, and the lanes, markets and rooftops of Makkah echo with takbir, tahlil, tasbih, tahmid and the talbiyah. The spiritual delight and rapture of the days of Hajj — especially the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah — that is the special portion of the pilgrims cannot be captured in words; no manner of speech or measure suffices to express these states, by which Muslims of every colour, race, nation and tongue across the Muslim world are blessed together in the two Sacred Precincts during the Hajj season.

But Allah has also made it easy for the Muslims of the wider world to gather the blessings of these days: those who lack the means to reach the Sacred Precincts for Hajj can, remaining in their own places, still attain much during the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah — even if not what fills the lap of the visitor to the Sacred House. The God who bestows special lights and blessings upon His servants in the two Sanctuaries is the same God who is Lord of every part of the earth, and His skirt of mercy is spread wide for all. So if you could not attain the blessing of Hajj, fill your lap with these blessings of the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah which Allah has made available to all in these days.

The scholars, on the question of which is more excellent — the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah or the last ten of Ramadan — have held that the last ten nights of Ramadan are the most excellent nights, because they contain the most chosen and sacred night, the Night of Power; while the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah are the most excellent days of the year, because they contain the most beloved, magnificent and meritorious day, the Day of Arafah, and the rites of Hajj also take place in these days.