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Articles Distinctive Sections Practice Da’wah The 5 Most & Best... Discussion Forum Your Account New To Islam? Flash for those who just said the shahadah! Live help (online) Click here for more detailsSite Rules Recommend Us Who Are We? Contact Us IslamWay.net Random Headlines [ Fiqh Issues ] · Misconceptions regarding Al-Mawlid · Du’aa on the Day of Arafah · Celebrating Valentine’s Day · Christmas and Islam · Islamic Ruling regarding Certain Usernames · Mother’s Day · A Look at Anasheeds · ‘Aashooraa’ · Accepting a Gift from a Kaafir on the Day of his Festival The Ten Meritorious Days of Dhul Hijjah Posted by administrator on Saturday, October 05 @ 22:46:47 +03 (481 reads) by Muhammad Ibrahim Al-Sabr Translated by Abu Maryam Bilal All Praise is for Allah, Who bestowed seasons of blessings upon his slaves, to forgive their sins and bless them abundantly. I praise and thank Him, the Exalted. He made whomever He willed from His slaves to make the most of these blessed seasons by obeying and fearing Him I bear witness that there is no god except Allah Who made the religion perfect for us, completed His favor upon us and has chosen for us Islam as our religion. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. May Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon His Prophet, his family, Companions and sincere followers until the Day of Judgment. It is a great favor and blessing from Allah that He made these blessed seasons and meritorious available for His slaves, so that those who are obedient to Him may make the most of these opportunities and compete with each other in this regard. The greatest of these blessed seasons is the one which the Prophet (peace be upon him) told us consist of the best days in the world: The First Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah (the last month of the Islamic calendar). Virtues of these Ten Days: It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “ There are no days on which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days.” They said: “Not even Jihad for the sake of Allah?” He said: “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. ” [Recorded by Al-Bukhari, Ahmad and Abu Dawud] They truly are blessed days, so much so that Allah swore by these ten days. Allah’s taking of an oath by something is a proof of that thing’s importance and great value. Allah said in the Qur’an: “ By the dawn; by the ten nights, and by the even and the odd, and by the night when it departs. There is indeed in them (the above oaths) sufficient proofs for men of understanding. ” [Al-Fajr: 1-5] Ibn ‘Abbas and many other scholars from the earliest and latter generations said that the ten days mentioned in the verses above are those of Dhul Hijjah. [Tafsir Ibn Kathir] The Prophet (peace be upon him) encouraged us to perform good deeds in these days due to their superiority and great benefit. These days are superior in terms of time for all Muslims and in time and place both for those who are doing the Hajj pilgrimage which is prescribed in these days. An added superiority is that the ‘Arafah Day (9th Dhul Hijjah) and Sacrifice Day (10th Dhul Hijjah, when sacrificial animals are slaughtered) also fall within this period. Hafidh Ibn Hajar said in his explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari, “Apparently, the ten days of Dhul Hijjah are distinguished because the main acts of worship, i.e. prayers (salah), fasting (Saum), charity (sadaqah) and Hajj (obligatory pilgrimage) are carried out therein, which cannot be combined in any other period of time. ” [Fath Al-Bari] Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiah, may Allah have Mercy on Him, was asked which period was better: the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah or the last ten days of Ramadan? He replied, “The daytimes of the ten days of Dhul Hijjah are superior to the daytimes of the ten days of Ramadan, but the nights of the (last) ten days of Ramadan are superior to the nights of the (first) ten days of Dhul Hijjah.” Hence, it is not surprising that the pious scholars of the earliest generations of Muslims were so keen to make the best of them by doing more and more good deeds. For example, Sa’eed Bin Jubair, the narrator of the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas above, himself used to toil so much in worship in these ten days of Dhul Hijjah that it was said of him: “Whenever the ten days came, he used to do (acts of worship) so much and so diligently that they became almost impossible for him to do.” [Narrated by Al-Darimi with a good (hasan) chain]. So, dear Muslims, the arrival of these blessed days is a great blessing that is fully realized by the pious and diligent worshippers. A Muslim should understand the greatness and merit of this blessing and avail this opportunity by being even more diligent in doing good deeds and struggling more than usual to be obedient to Allah. Abu ‘Uthman Al-Nahdi said about the salaf (the earliest generations of pious Muslims), “They used to greatly value three ten-day periods: the last ten days of Ramadan, the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah and the first ten days of Muharram.” It is a great favor from Allah on His slaves that He has created numerous ways of doing good and being obedient to Him, so that a Muslim remains active in His worship and continues to be obedient to His Lords. ( Read More... | 23631 bytes more | comments? | Score: 0) Tarbiyah – Correct Upbringing Posted by administrator on Wednesday, October 02 @ 21:29:44 +03 (539 reads) I have tried my best, but I always feel that I could do better. I suspect this is the case with most parents – they are never satisfied at the job they are doing. Now that I am at home full time with the children for the next few months on maternity leave, I had planned to focus on a few habits the children have picked up and review where I had been doing a decent job and where I could improve. There are a few habits which have been concerning me, some swearing that has crept in and Little Lady’s bad temper being two. This week my mum said to me that now that I am home, I need to focus on the children’s manners – she said that she didn’t feel that the children had particularly great “tarbiyah” or upbringing and that I needed to rectify this. At first I felt a little hurt and defensive – after all it is not for lack of trying and there is nothing that is more important to get right, so I could not stomach the idea of doing a bad job. Then I thought about what she had said. I believe in taking criticism on board and thinking through what might have prompted it, even if I don’t agree with it. When it comes from my mum, I am minded even more to reflect on what has been said. ( Read More... | 8458 bytes more | comments? | Score: 4) Women’s attendance at Eid prayers Posted by administrator on Wednesday, August 07 @ 14:20:39 +03 (564 reads) Hafsah said: “We used to prevent prepubescent girls from attending Eid prayers. Then a woman came and stayed at the fort of Banu Khalaf, and told us about her sister. Her sister’s husband had taken part in twelve campaigns with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and [she said], ‘my sister was with him on six of them. She said, “We used to treat the wounded and take care of the sick. My sister asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) whether there was anything wrong with her not going out [on Eid] if she did not have a jilbaab. He said, ‘Let her friend give her one of her jilbaabs so that she may witness the blessings of Eid and see the Muslims gathering.’” ’ When Um ‘Atiyah came, I asked her, ‘Did you hear the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) [say this]?’ She said, ‘May my father be sacrificed for him’ – and she never mentioned him without saying ‘may my father be sacrificed for him’ – ‘ I heard him saying that we should bring out the young girls and those who were secluded, or the young girls who were secluded, and the...