In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Brothers and sisters..
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh..
Allah, Almighty, has created humans, and He has distinguished some of them..
and He made some of them better than others..
And, Allah, Almighty, has created days and months..
and He made some of them special..
So, He made Ramadan.. not like other months..
And He made the days of Dhul Hijjah, not like other days..
So, these days..
are the best days of the year..
the best days of the 350 days of the year..
The 10 days of Dhul Hijjah are the best days of the year.
Allah has sworn by the first 10 days saying:
"By the dawn"
"And [by] ten nights" 89:1-2
And Allah swears only by great things..
Now, these 10 days has began..
The prophet, SAW, said about them:
'The days that Allah loves the good deeds most..
are in these days..
i.e. .. done during the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.
Don't say to me, the days of Ramadan..
even than the days of Ramadan.
the first 10 days, are better than them.
Because, in Hadith, the prophet said, no other days are better!
The companions, may Allah be pleased with them.. they said to him..
Not even, the Jihad for the sake of Allah?
Because, the Sahaba consider Jihad to be the highest level of deeds.
it is the top position in Islam..
He said; not even the Jihad for the sake of Allah..
A person praying at these days , is better than Jihad!
He reads Qur'an, it is better than Jihad!
He said; not even Jihad for the sake of Allah, except..
a man went for Jihad with his soul and his wealth and he didn't come back with any.
Now.. let's talk about..
.. what to do in these days.. how to spend our time..
How can we benefit from these days.. and these nights..
Do you believe what people are doing today?!
these days pass by them like any other days
Is this right?
Muslims go to work.. school.. as usual.. just the same..
and Masjids look the same..
everywhere.. just the same!
If so, then there is a problem..
If Muslims couldn't feel that these days are different..
Then, they have a problem.
and they didn't prepare themselves for these days properly..
So, first, we congratulate you that these days has begun..
and that, by a favor from Allah, we have them now..
So, make sure not to miss a single salat during this period..
never.. make your intention, from now..
If you do not pray Isha on time.. begin from now..
Pray Salat Fajr on time..
Dhuhr.. Asr.. Maghrib.. Isha..
During these 10 days, try not to miss any Salat.. do them on time
with Khushu[submission].. as it should.
with all its pillars and duties..
and if praying in group is wajeb for you.. go for it..
and be early to start with Takbeer..
Pray the Sunnah Salats..
the authentic 12 Raku'a..
Duha Salat.. Witr Salat..
pray some extra salat at night.. each night..
Do not go to bed before doing few Raku'a
By Allah, these are the best days to pray at night.. Qiyam
And, these are the best days to pray Duha.. not like any other days!
And, these are the best days to pray Witr.. not like any other days!
Try to do Salat perfectly, with its duties and Sunnah parts..
And how about fasting during the 9 days..
not the 10 days..
because, the 10th day is Eid day..
it is prohibited to fast during Eid day.
So, you can fast during the 9 days..
unless if you are going for Hajj.
then, you can do only 8 days..
So, if you could fast the 9 days..
this is great..
If a person fast one day for the sake of Allah..
Allah will put a distance between him and the Fire..
70 Autumns.
Fasting during these days..
in not like fasting during other days!
So, be keen to fast.. as nothing is like it!
How about..
doing more charity during these days..
by giving a poor person, each day..
or through the charity boxes and Zakat places..
or participating with some charity projects, during these days..
If a person was planning to dig a well for charity, why not doing it during these days..
If a person was planning to build a Masjid, why not doing it during these days..
to sponsor an orphan.. go for it.
All the good things that you were intending to do in the future.. do them in these days.
because, rewards are multiplied.
the good deed now is not like in other days.
And the best charity is at the 10th day..
by slaughtering the sacrifice.. for Allah, Almighty.
The offering that is given for the sake of Allah..
at the day of Eid.. and for 3 days..
If you could do that.. it is a great Sadaqah that Allah, Almighty, appreciates.
And if a person was planning to do the Udhiyah..
he must stop from now.. cutting his hair and nail.
Other good deeds that you can spend your time doing them are....
Dhikr.. remembering Allah, as the prophet, SAW, told us to do..
say much Takbeer, Tahmeed, Tahleel..
Dhikr.. Tasbeeh, Istighfar..
The more you keep your tongue, wet remembering Allah..
the higher the levels go up.. as counted by Allah..
Especially these days.. brothers.
Don't make your tongue busy saying any other thing!
Even the messages that you send..
and the emails..
these days are different, so save them for Dhikr..
and remembering Allah is greater..
Subhan Allah and Alhamdulillah.. they fill that is between the sky and earth..
And two words, they are light for the tongue.. heavy on the scale..
loved by Ar-Rahman;
Subhan Allah with praising Him.. Subhan Allah the Great.
My beloved brother.. make sure to read Qur'an, these days..
It is easy to finish the Qur'an within 10 days.. By Allah, it is easy.
3 Juz each day..
It is nothing..
And if you are not going to Hajj this year..
make sure that you fast the day of Arafat..
Because, fasting that day of Arafat..
Allah will forgive him.. two years!
a year before and a year after..
Do you see how much are the rewards.. how much are the Khayrat..
Being good to parents..
visiting sick persons..
following when a deceased is to be taken to grave..
reuniting with relatives..
saying the good word..
Do any good deed that you can do in these days..
don't have stinginess upon yourself.