#islamic knowledge

The Prophet that comes to mind when we think of Hajj is Ibrahim alayhi as-salaam, who left behind some of the greatest legacies and lessons we all benefit until today. One of those incredible life lessons was his lack of need of people’s validation.

🌺 ❛𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝘀𝗺𝗮’𝗶𝗹 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 [𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗮’𝗯𝗮𝗵, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴]: 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗮𝗯𝗯, 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 [𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲] 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘂𝘀. 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆, 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗹-𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗹-𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿.❜ 【𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗮𝗹-𝗕𝗮𝗾𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝟮:𝟭𝟮𝟳】

Prophet Ibrahim was so purely motivated by Allah’s Command that he never needed validation from anyone.

He didn’t need to see the numbers of people coming to the Ka’bah afterwards. Didn’t need someone patting him on the back.

His heart was pure — qalbun saleem.

And this is something that we need to check for ourselves. Riyaa (showing off), which is basically doing deeds for the sight of people rather than the Sight of Allah, is a spiritual disease. The opposite of riyaa is ikhlaas. And a person can start transitioning from ikhlaas to riyaa when he starts seeking people’s approval for actions that he did for Allah:

— that ‘maa shaa Allah, good job!’ — that ‘like’ on social media

So now when he starts doing good deeds, the first thing he’s conscious of is: “Who’s watching me, and who’s going to tell me I’m doing a good job.” Instead of: “Allah is watching me, and I’m hoping for His Reward.”

From the seerah of Prophet Ibrahim is that we learn to cut all these things off from the roots.

Remember that Allah’s Reward is infinitely greater, His acceptance of good deeds is infinitely more honourable, and qalbun saleem paves our way to His Jannah, bi idhnillah.

🌺 ❛[𝗢 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵] 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁, 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵 𝗾𝗮𝗹𝗯𝘂𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗺.❜ 【𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗮𝘀𝗵-𝗦𝗵𝘂’𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝟮𝟲:𝟴𝟳-𝟴𝟵】

May Allah make the desire for His rida our primary desire, and keep our deeds sincerely for His sake.

🌺 ❛…𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵, 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱…❜ 【𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗮𝗹-𝗠𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗹 𝟳𝟯:𝟮𝟬】

Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says that His compensation is (1) far better and (2) far greater than all the temporary joy, relaxation and satisfaction in this dunya combined. Sheikh as-Sa’di rahimahullah wrote in his tafseer:

🌿 ❛𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝟳𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀, 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀. 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝘆𝘀.❜

All praise is due to Allah, Who has made some months, days and nights better than others — when His compensations are multiplied to many more times. And the first 10 blessed days of Dhul-Hijjah are amongst those days.

May Allah make us among those who will rejoice in the fruits of our efforts in the akhirah.

Scholars said that sins done in any of the sacred months outweigh sins committed outside those months, and Dhul-Hijjah is one of the sacred months. So strive to avoid anything that will deprive us of Allah’s Blessings in this season of obedience.

🌿 ❛𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗵𝘂𝗹-𝗛𝗶𝗷𝗷𝗮𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂? 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵’𝘀 𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆, 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

𝗔 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀. 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀. 𝗦𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗲𝘀, 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.❜

— Sheikh Dr. Muhammad ibn Ghalib al-Umari

The hujjaj will be doing the best ibaadah that one can do in these blessed days, but what about those who can’t go for Hajj? Are we deprived of its blessings and virtues?

No, because the Rabb of the Ka’bah is the same Rabb Who we all worship. So here are some recommendations. Bismillah!

🌿 𝗙𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗯𝗮𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗵 — our daily salaah, our relationship with our parents and family, etc. Always get our obligatory ibaadat covered first.

🌿 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘄𝗯𝗮𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗳𝗮𝗿 — Dhul-Hijjah is the last month of the hijri year, and it’s a great reminder for us to take stock of our shortcomings and sins. Be honest and ask ourselves: Am I happy with the ibaadat I did this year?

🌿 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝟵 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗵𝘂𝗹-𝗛𝗶𝗷𝗷𝗮𝗵 (don’t fast on the 10th – that’s the day of Eid).

🌿 If we have difficulties to fast on any of these days, then at least 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟵𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗵𝘂𝗹-𝗛𝗶𝗷𝗷𝗮𝗵 because of its immense reward: For just one day of fasting, Allah will expiate our sins of 2 years — the past, and the coming year. 【Sahih Muslim 1162b】

🌿 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗱𝗵𝗶𝗸𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 even as we walk, or idling at home. It doesn’t take much, just a simple mindfulness while we do the remembrance of Allah. And the best adhkaar in the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah are: 𝗧𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗹 (𝗟𝗮𝗮 𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗮𝗵𝗮 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵), 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗿 (𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵𝘂 𝗔𝗸𝗯𝗮𝗿), 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗮𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗲𝗱 (𝗔𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵). 【𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗱 𝗔𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗱 𝟱𝟰𝟮𝟯】

🌿 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗯𝗮𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗵 such as optional salaah, reciting the Qur’an, giving in charity, making supplications, and other good deeds.

Remember that good deeds done in these 10 days are more superior and more beloved to Allah than any other day in the entire year.

Rasulullah salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam said:

🌺 ❛𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 {𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 | 𝗵𝘂𝗯𝗯} 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 (𝗶.𝗲. 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗵𝘂𝗹-𝗛𝗶𝗷𝗷𝗮𝗵).❜ 【𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗯𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗵 𝟭𝟳𝟮𝟳 | 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗵】

There’s another similar narration from Rasulullah ﷺ, but with a different wording:

🌺 ❛𝗡𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 {𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗥 | 𝗮𝗳𝗱𝗮𝗹} 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 [𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗵𝘂𝗹-𝗛𝗶𝗷𝗷𝗮𝗵].❜ 【𝗦𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗵 𝗮𝗹-𝗕𝘂𝗸𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝟵𝟲𝟵】

Rasulullah ﷺ described doing good deeds on these days as {afdal} i.e. more important, more superior. From this, scholars derived the following:

🌿 (1) That doing fard (obligatory) ibaadah during the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah is more superior than doing fard on any other days — so they are the best days to start fixing the quality of our obligatory ibaadat, eg. praying the 5 daily prayers with khushoo and at their earliest prescribed times.

🌿 (2) That doing sunnah (voluntary) ibaadah during the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah is superior to doing sunnah ibaadah on any other days. But it’s super important to emphasize that sunnah ibaadah never surpasses the superiority of fard ibaadah. Don’t neglect the fard in favour of voluntary acts of worship, eg. observing sunnah fasts while neglecting the daily prayers.

The good deeds mentioned in both ahadith are general, encompassing all types of acts of worship. So, ALL good deeds we do during the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah are not only more beloved to Allah, but also superior to doing them on any other days. And this is truly from the Rahmah of our Rabb, walhamdulillah.