Friday, May 22, 2020

Things to do in the first 10 days of Dhul Hajj

The month of the Dhul Hajj is one of the most important months in Islam. This is the month of Eid al-Adha and the month of Hajj. Dhul Hajj is the last month of Islamic calendar which reminds us of the sacrifice of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) and His son Hazrat Ismail (AS). In this holy month, Muslims go to Saudi Arabia for performing Hajj and also celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing animals for the sake of Allah Almighty. With the start of holy month Dhul Hajj, Muslims from all over the world have embarked on a journey of a lifetime that is for Hajj.

Those who can’t go for Hajj can do some special deeds in the first 10 days of Dhul Hajj. These 10 days are the best in the whole year, and it’s so important that we take advantage of them if we are not able to perform pilgrimage this time. We have no guarantee that we’ll live to see the next Dhul Hajj so make the most of the days while performing some special deeds. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: There is no deed that is better in the sight of Allah or more greatly rewarded than a good deed done in the (first) ten days of Al-Adha”. It was asked, “Not even Jihad for the sake of Allah?” The Prophet (PBUH) replied, “Not even Jihad for the sake of Allah unless a man goes out himself for Jihad taking his wealth with him and does not come back with anything.” (Bukhari)

Things to do in the first 10 days of Dhul Hajj

Following are some deeds or the acts of worship that one should perform in the first blessed 10 days of Dhul Hajj surely they will help to gain the pleasure of Almighty Allah.

  • Perform Hajj and Umrah: No doubt, the best thing one can do on these blessed days is to perform Umrah and Hajj. Abu Hurairah (RA) reported that: “The Prophet (SAW) was asked which deed is best. He said, “Belief in Allah and His Messenger.” He was asked, then what? He said, “Jihaad for the sake of Allah.” He was asked, then what? He said, “An accepted Hajj.” (Muslim)
  • Fasting: The first nine days of Dhul Hajj are a really good time to fast. We should try to fast on all nine days up until the day of Eid al-Adha as fasting on the day of Eid is not permitted. If one should not fast in all nine days fast on the ninth day of Dhul Hajj, because the Prophet (SAW) recommended us to do good deeds during this time, and fasting is one of the best of deeds one could do. “The Prophet (PBUH) used to fast on the ninth of Dhul Hajj, on the day of `Ashurah, on three days of each month, and on the first two Mondays and Thursdays of each month.” (An-Nisa’i)
  • Give Charity: There are extra blessings in this holy month of Dhul Hajj so, take this opportunity and give charity. It does not matter how much we are going to donate always remember that whoever gives in the cause of Allah, He multiplies it when He returns it to you. Use this month to get into the habit of giving charity, no matter how small it is.
  • Recite Tahleel, Takbeer, and Tahmeed: It is Sunnah to recite Takbeer (Allahu Akbar), Tahmeed (Alhamdulillah) and Tahleel (Laa Ilaaha ill-Allah) during the first blessed ten days of Dhul Hajj. These words should be recited abundantly in the Masjid, homes, streets and every place where it is permissible to remember Allah Almighty. In Holy Quran Allah Almighty says: “That they may witness things that are of benefit to them (reward of Hajj in the Hereafter and also some worldly gain from trade), and mention the Name of Allah on appointed days, over the beast of cattle that He has provided for them (for sacrifice).”(Quran, 22:28)
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speak fair to the people

When it comes to forbidding of evil, a Muslim is allowed to make the speech but in making that speech as well a Muslim must pay heed to the fact that the speech should be directed towards the evil and not the people performing it. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did the same all His life, but the way He forbade is different from what the people of today do in the name of freedom of speech and righteousness. He spoke with people kindly and presented to them the view of Islam in the best manner possible.

In Quran Allah says:

“….speak fair to the people….” (2:83)

Furthermore, Allah Almighty said:

“Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth, best who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.” (16:125)

A Muslim believes that Islam is the true religion, but still Islam does not encourage demeaning or speaking foul about other religions, rather Allah tells Prophet (PBUH) to call people to the religion with wisdom and beautiful preaching and the arguments used in this regard should be full of graciousness. Therefore, a Muslim is not allowed to be harsh, full of hatred or condescending to people of other religion as a means of preaching the right religion. If this is what Islam says about the absolute truth, then one can easily get the idea that how a person is to use his or her right of speech when it comes to speaking about general truth and realities of life.

Conclusion:

In a nutshell, Muslim is to speak about good and refrain from evil speech. However, whenever speaking about good and forbidding evil a Muslim is to find the best and politest manner of speech otherwise it would be the same as what the Western people do at present where the freedom of speech is exploited by their hatred of Islam.

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Islam has a clear and different perspective

Islam has a clear and different perspective pertaining to freedom of speech compared to West. Islam realizes that whether a person is Muslim or a non-Muslim they all have feelings and those feelings are not to be hurt either in words or in any other form of expression. Pertaining to any speech that causes distress among people and hurts their feeling, Allah Almighty says in Quran:

“Allah loveth not the evil should be noised abroad in public speech, except where injustice hath been done; for Allah is He who heareth and knoweth all things.” (4:148)

In this ayah it is clear that Allah does not like the proclamation or the speech of evil in the public, until and unless it is done by someone who has been wronged. The thing that can be inferred (Allah knows Better) is that one is not to speak evil in public. Now the definition of evil no matter how relative and various it be, it will always come to something that is hurtful for a group of people or humanity. Therefore, any speech that is hurtful to humanity should be refrained to be spoken in public as it can cause coercion and division between people. Therefore, if there isn’t injustice against which the speech is made, one must refrain from any hurtful or evil speech that causes problem for people.

Pertaining to the kind of speech that one is allowed to make that is within his or her right and the speech from which one should refrain, despite having the power and ability of expressing it freely, in Quran Allah Almighty says:

“Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong; they are the ones to attain felicity.” (3:104)

From this ayah the message is clear and that is that those who wish to be successful and be among the ones loved by Allah, they need to invite people towards good and forbid evil. This is the clear criterion for a Muslim when it comes to differentiating between freedom of speech and its abuse. A Muslim is allowed to speak of things that are good, not just for the Muslim Ummah but the whole of humanity, whereas a Muslim is forbidden to speak evil or he or she is to detest evil whether it is against the Muslim Ummah or the whole of humanity.

Islam gives this right to Muslims that they should stand for what is good. It means that they have this duty of propagating what is good so that more people could benefit from that truth and the whole of humanity can better its plight and benefit from it. Now this good is not just limited to telling people about something good, rather it is also the duty of a Muslim to make sure that if there is injustice or evil in the society, the people should know about it as well so that the people could refrain from it and the humanity could survive in a better way.

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freedom of speech

In the present world, one of the major things for which the developed countries are known for is the freedom of speech. The notion is that it is one of the fundamental human rights to speak one’s mind and in every civilized society the individuals are free to have their own opinion and express their opinion the way they desire.

There is no denying the importance of freedom of speech, however like every other freedom there is a very thin line in keeping something a freedom and its exploitation. The act, which could be freedom of speech for one person at the same time it could be a hurtful expression for the other person, therefore, the differentiation between freedom of speech and its exploitation, is of grave importance.

One of the primary entities that have got effected from the freedom of speech in a negative way is religion. Throughout history, people have spoken against each other’s religion and this speech has caused great wars and devastation. At present Islam has suffered the most behind the smokescreen of freedom of speech. There have been numerous incidents in the past decade where the non-Muslims have spoken about Islam in a demeaning and belittling manner, which has hurt the feelings of Muslims and caused great distress among nations. The lines below discuss how the westerners have exploited the freedom of speech and what is the stand of Islam pertaining to freedom of speech and where should a Muslim draw the line.

In the past decade, there have been caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which are forbidden in Islam. In addition, on more than one occasion the Westerners have initiated talks and movements that were targeted against Islam and hateful speeches have been made. All of these hurt the feelings of Muslims across the globe, however, when Muslims recorded their protests against such acts, the only justification for the actions of their people, the Western nations came up with the cliché of freedom of speech. They regard all the actions of their members as freedom of speech and consider it to be their right to speak about anything in any way they want. On the flipside, when there are people who speak against the Western oppression of Muslim countries and the exploitation of people that takes place there, the Westerns regard it as propaganda. This is what is the dual and biased approach of the West and it in the true sense is exploiting the freedom to speech or expression notion. The line between freedom of expression and its exploitation has yet not been defined and the West continues on targeting Islam behind the banner of freedom of speech.

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Exploiting at the name of Freedom

the festival of the breaking of the fast’.

The new Islamic month starts from the sighting of the moon. The month of Shawwal is started after Ramadan in which Eid-al Fitr celebrated. Eid should be celebrated after the sighting of the moon of Shawwal. It is celebrated on 1st of Shawwal. And if the moon is not sighted, then thirty days of Ramadan should be completed to celebrate Eid-al Fitr. Eid al-Fitr translates from Arabic as, ‘the festival of the breaking of the fast’.

The celebration of Eid-al Fitr traditionally takes place over a three-day period. The festival of Eid holds great importance in Islam and for Muslims because it is a time to get together with loved ones and communities to come together. Eid-al Fitr traditionally starts with Eid prayer followed by a short sermon. After performing the Eid prayer, Muslims wish those around them a happy Eid. After that people visit relatives, friends and sometimes graveyards to pray for their dead ones.

Many people wear traditional clothes, give gifts or money to children known as Eidi, and also give charity to the poor and needy people so that they can also celebrate the festival of Eid. The days of the Eid are the days of joy and happiness, and these days are described for some acts of worship, special practices, and traditions.

The celebrations of Eid-al Fitr are a perfect occasion when being charitable can lead to others being happy and joyful. In this regard of spreading happiness to less fortunate, Islam gives the concept of Zakat-ul Fitr. Zakat-al Fitr is alms giving that have to pay before offering Eid-ul-Fitr prayer. The right time for paying this Zakat -al Fitr is between the Fajr and Eid-ul-Fitr prayer. However, the Zakat-al Fitr can also be offered during the month of Ramadan so that the less fortunate can have time to buy necessary things with which they can celebrate their Eid in a better way. Muslim must consider this Sadqah-tul-Fitr as an obligatory act related to the celebrations of Eid-ul-Fitr and offer it before the Eid prayer.

Eid-ul-Fitr is a time of abundance, not just abundant food but Gifts are often given, especially to children. Other than this Muslims celebrate this festival with friends and family by visiting them. Muslims greet each other by saying “Eid Mubarak” which means “Have a blessed Eid!” It is pretty common Eid greetings of Muslims. Eid greeting also varies depending on the country and language. Other variations of Happy Eid are “Mutlu Bayramlar” in Turkish, “Selamat Lebaran” in Indonesia and “Barka da Sallah” in Hausa, a Nigerian language, and many others.

May Almighty Allah accept our fasts and prayers of the Holy month of Ramadan and make this Eid the blessed one for all of us. Ameen!

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Exhibiting Good Manners:

Exhibiting Good Manners:

Perhaps no other religion emphasizes on mannerism the way Islam does. In Islam having good manners is one of the best virtuous deeds. Pertaining to having good manners, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in His hadith:

“There is none heavier in the scales of the Hereafter than good character.” (Tirmidhi)

Therefore, in order to send something that weighs the highest in the world hereafter, the best thing to do is to be good in manners and incorporate those attributes in your personality that offer good to all those who come in contact with you.

9. Reciting Different Surahs Of Quran:

Although each word of Quran carries its reward, which in the month of Ramadan gets multiplied many times, however, there are different Surahs of Quran that offer greater reward and better benefits compared to other Surahs. In Tirmidhi, following are a few of the Surahs mentioned that carry heavy reward:

Surah Zilzilah brings reward equal to half the Quran

Surah al Kaafirun brings the reward equal to a quarter of Quran

Surah Ikhlas carries reward equal to recitation of one third of Quran

Therefore, during Ramadan, in addition to reading whole of the Quran, these Surahs should be recited with more emphasis. These surahs are included in the Last 20 Surahs of Holy Quran application that you can install in your smartphone to repeatedly recite and read even on the go.

10. Prepare for Eid and Prayers:

While you are strongly suggested to keep yourself busy in finding the Layla-tul-Qadar in the last ten days of Ramadan, do not overlook to get prepared for the Eid ul Fitr. Do Special  preparations to enjoy and rejoice this festive event that Allah gifted to Muslims in reward of keeping fast in the whole month of Ramadan. In addition, on the day of Eid, do not forget to offer Eid Prayers as well.

Ibn Rajab (Ra) narrated that the Companion Mikhnaf ibn Sulaym (Ra) said:

 “The reward for attending ‘Eid Al-Fitr prayer is equal to the reward of performing ‘Umrah and the reward for attending ‘Eid Al-Adh-ha Prayer is equal to that of performing Hajj.”

Therefore, in order to earn reward equivalent to the reward of Umrah, a Muslim must offer the Eid ul Fitr prayer at the end of the month of Ramadan to ensure that the auspicious occasion is celebrated with the name of Allah Almighty.

Conclusion:

In a nutshell, in the month of Ramadan a Muslim wants to earn as much reward as possible because no one knows whether a person will live in the coming year to welcome this month or not. Therefore, by following the aforementioned deeds increases the chances of making the most out of this Holy month by earning maximum reward possible.

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Offering Fajar And Isha Prayer In Congregation:

5. Offering Fajar And Isha Prayer In Congregation:

Once a group of Companions came to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and said:

“O Messenger of Allah, the wealthy people will have higher grades and will have permanent enjoyment and they pray like us and fast as we do. They have more money, which they give in charity.”

The Prophet (PBUH) replied:

“Has Allah not rendered for you the ‘Isha’ prayer in congregation equal to Hajj, and the Fajr prayer in congregation equal to ‘Umrah’?” (Muslim)

The significance of standing at night offering regular Isha prayer along with Taraweeh prayer cannot be overlooked. It is the best ibadah Muslims can perform in order to seek the blessings of Allah. Therefore, if you as a Muslim wish to earn reward equivalent to Hajj and Umrah, then the best and simplest way of doing so would be to offer Fajr and Isha prayer with congregation in Ramadan. This way, the reward associated with an obligatory prayer will rise to the level of Hajj and Umrah.

6. Observing Itikaf:

Observing Itikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan is one of the most renowned Sunnahs of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) pertinent to the month of Ramadan. Regarding the reward associated with observance of Itikaf in Ramadan, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in His hadith:

“He who observes the ten days Itikaf during Ramadan will obtain the reward of two Hajj and two Umrah.” (Bayhaqi)

Therefore, observing Itikaf is an excellent option for those who cant afford to go on Umrah or Hajj. By observing it, they not only earn the reward of Hajj and Umrah, but the reward is doubled as well.

7. Praying On Lylatul Qadr:

Another marvel of the month of Ramadan that is the best option for earning greatest possible reward is the praying on the night of Lyltatul Qadr. It is the night that resides in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan and any prayer made in this night is far and above the reward of the prayers made in any other night throughout the year. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said regarding Laylatul Qadr in the following way:

“Whosoever worshipped on Layltatul-Qadr, with faith and with a sincere intention, all of his previous sins are forgiven.” (Bukhari)

Therefore, to earn humongous reward a Muslim must try finding this blessed night and offer as much prayers as possible in this night.

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