The first Ashara of Dhil Hijjah
Great Blessing of Allah
By:
Hifzur Rahman Qasmi
Allah
alone is the Supreme Owner and Creator of everything, living and non living, on
this vast earth and He reserves all the right to disposal in them. Thus, He
granted special position to some people over others; made some places nobler
than others and declared some times more blessed as compared to others. Therefore
many little good deeds done at such occasion, sometimes, carry much more reward
and value than great deeds done at normal times. One of such occasions is the first
Ashara, ten days Dhil Hijjah, the last month of the lunar calendar.
Allah
Almighty has granted the first ten days of Dhil Hijjah special status and
honor. Many verses of the Glorious Qur’an and Ahadith of the Prophet (saws)
have appeared speaking of their glory; while the actions of the Companions also
establish their nobility. Thus, the reward of the good deeds performed on this
occasion surpasses the reward of the acts done in normal days. In the following
paragraphs, let’s analyze the evidences from the Glorious Qur’an which speak of
superiority of these days.
FIRST:
Allah Almighty says in the
Glorious Qur’an والفجر وليال عشر (By the dawn, and by ten nights) which nights are referred
here? Imam Baghawi writes that Hazrat Abdullah ibn Abbas (ra) narrates that the
phrase “Ten Nights” refers to the beginning ten nights of Dhil Hijjah. He same
has been opined by other exegesis scholars like Qatada, Mujahid, Zahhak, Suddi
and Kalbi (ra).
After
quoting the opinions of different scholars on the intended meaning of the “Ten
Nights”, the author of “Tafseer Ibn Kathir” writes “The true is that the first
ten days of Dhil Hijjah is intended here.” He also quotes a narration from Musnad
Ahmad to support his opinion which reads: “The Prophet (saws) said, “The ten
refers to ten days of Dhil Hijjah.”
Coming
across to the opinions of these scholars, it gets established that the “Ten
Nights” in the above mentions verse of the Glorious Qur’an refers to the whole
ten days of the month of Dhil Hijjah. Now the notable point here is that Allah
Almighty Himself is taking oath by the “Dawn” and the “Ten Nights”; while the
fact is that the oath is taken only by the things which reserves utmost love
and importance. Thus, the importance of these nights gets crystal clear, as
Allah Himself took oath by them. This perfectly establishes the idea that these
days hold paramount importance in the eyes of Allah.
SECOND:
At another place, Allah
says: الحج أشهر معلومات (The Hajj is (in) the well-known months) Hafiz Ibn Rajab Hambali (ra) writes: “One of the causes of
the blissfulness of the first ten days of Dhil Hijjah is that these are the
last portion of the “well-known” months; and these are the months of Hajj about
which Allah said “الحج
أشهر معلومات” These months are Shawwal, Dhil
Qa’da and the first ten days of Dhil Hijjah.
The
author of Tafseer Ibn Kathir says that the “well-known” months, according to
Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Shafee and Imam Ahmad Ibn Hambal (ra), refer to Shawwal,
Dhil Qa’da and Dhil Hijjah. Moreover, the author himself seems to be inclined
to this very opinion. In addition to that, Imam Bukhari (ra) has reported a
hadith in his Sahih from Ibn Umar (ra) which clearly reads: “The months of Hajj
are Shawwal, Dhil Qa’da and (first) ten days of Dhil Hijjah.”
Performing
Hajj is such a sacred act that it holds the place of first religious and
spiritual wish for every sensitive Muslim. Thus, the days which have been declared
as the “Months of Hajj” by the Glorious Qur’an itself will surely hold
significance and sacredness. While the above mentioned face have fully proved
that the first ten days of Dhil Hijjah is also among the months of Hajj. They,
therefore, undoubtedly make a sacred and blissful occasion for Muslims to act
and get rewarded.
THIRD: Allah says: ويذكرسم الله
في أيام معلومات
(And recite the Name of Allah in specified days.) In this verse, Allah
Almighty has explicitly enticed His slaves to recite His Names in specified
days. This undoubtedly establishes the blissfulness of these days. Now the
question is that what are these specified days? Again the answer is “First ten
days of Dhil Hijjah”. Imam Bukhari (ra) reports a hadith from Ibn Abbas (ra)
which reads, “These specified days refer to the first ten days of Dhil Hijjah.”
Moreover, the same opinion has been expressed by other exegesis scholars, such
as Hasan, Ata, Ikramah, Mujahid, Qatadah and Shafi (ra).
Human
beings owe a great deal of favor from Allah Almighty. It, therefore, gets
compulsory for human to recite the Name of his Beneficent Lord each and every
time. Yet the Benevolent Creator has specified a span of time for the recital
of His Name, which definitely lays foundation for these days to be sacred.
After
pondering over these verses of the Qur’an, the sacredness of the first ten days
of Dhil Hijjah is proved and provides sufficient ground for those who want to achieve
nearness of Allah. Yet we have some ahadith of the Prophet (saws) as well,
which clearly speak of the sacredness of these days. Some of them are mentioned
here.
The
Prophet (saws) says: “No day is better than these ten days in which the good
deeds are more beloved to Allah. The Companions asked if the Jihad in way of
Allah also is not (so beloved). The Prophet (saws) replied, “Not even the Jihad
in the way of Allah, but the Jihad of the one who gets out in the way of Allah
with his life and wealth but returns with nothing.”
Explaining
this hadith, Hafiz Ibn Rajab Hambali (ra) writes: “When the good deeds done on
this occasion is more beloved to Allah as compared to the deeds done in normal
days of the year, the little acts of these days will bring much more reward
than the high acts done in other days. This was the reason why the Companions
asked if the Jihad performed in other days of the year is also not so beloved. The
Prophet (saws) replied, “Not”.
Another
hadith which has been recorded by Ahmad and Darmi reads: “There is no act more
purified to Allah and more reward-fetching than the acts done during the first
ten days of Dhil Hijjah. He was asked, “even the jihad in the way fo Allah?” he
replied, “Even the jihad in the way of Allah, but the jihad of the person who
goes out with his life and wealth and does not return with anything.”
Causes
of Fazeelat:
Allah
alone is the creator and owner of everything. He sometimes takes the things of
least importance to the high in the sky, while at the other time He brings the
things of high respect and honor down to earth. Whenever He wants, He grants superiority
to something over the things of similar kind. Thus, this no surprising matter,
if he granted superiority to the ten days of Dhil Hijjah over normal days of
the year. But the things of this world have been constituted under the system
of cause and effect. Therefore, the man is always in search of the reasons and
causes to every happening. About the sacredness of the first ten days of Dhil
Hijjah, the scholars have given some reasons. Hafiz Ibn Hajar (ra) says, “The
reason of the ten days of Dhil Hijjah being so sacred and distinct seems that all
the basic worships like Namaz, fast, Sadaqa and Hajj gather in these days; and
they do not gather in other days.”
One
the reasons of the Fazeelat of these ten days is that the days Arafah occur
during them on which Allah Almighty completed the Faith and and His bounties
upon Muslims. Naturaly the days on which somebody get a memorable bounty gets
memorable for him. Imam Bukhari (ra) has recorded a hadith from Umar (ra). A
Jew said to Umar (ra) that your book consists of the verse which you read. If
this verse would have been revealed to us, we would celebrate of the day of its
revelation. Hazrat Umar (ra) asked, “Which verse?” He replied: اليوم أكملت لكم دينكم... Umar (ra) says, “We know the day and
the place on which this verse was revealed. The Prophet (saws) was staying at
Arafa and it was Friday.
One
reason to it is that the last day of them is the day sacrifice about which the
Prophet (saws) said that the most beloved day to Allah is the day of sacrifice
and stay. This hadith clearly establishes the Fazeelat of the day of sacrifice
which is the last day of the first ten days of Dhil Hijjah. Thus, the sacrifice
day makes the whole ten days special.
Conclusion:
The
above mentioned verses and ahaidth make the Fazeelat of the ten days of Dhil
Hijjah crystal clear. This is the reason why the blessed companions, mystic men
and sincere Ulama would take great care of worship during these days. To these
blessed persons, the sole purpose of life was to achieve the pleasure of Allah.
Therefore, they always were in quest of the places and times in which the
rewards of things get increased to many fold, so that they could prepared the provisions
for their afterlife journey by doing special deeds and worships. In sharp
contrast to them, common Muslims show drastic carelessness towards such
auspicious occasions, which leads them to irreparable loss. Therefore, they
should also try to avail these occasions and achieve the nearness of Allah. In
following line, the good deeds which have been prescribed to perform are being mentioned.
Dhikr
of Allah’s Name:
During
these days, it is msnoon to excessively recite takbeer, tahmeed and tahleel. According
to a hadith, the Prophet (saws) said, “To perform the righteous deeds in these
days is such a great and beloved act to Allah that no any other days. You
should, therefore, recite excessively لا إله إلا الله، الحمد للہ and اللہ اکبر.
The wordings of the takbeer for these days are: (1) اللہ اکبر اللہ اکبر کبیرا (2) اللہ اکبر اللہ اکبر لا الہ الا اللہ واللہ اکبر
اللہ اکبر وللہ الحمد۔ Takbeer is permissible in two ways: (1) Takbeer Mutlaq
(Abdolute Takbeer) which to means to recite the takbeer evertime at every place
where and when it is allowed to recite the name of Allah. Its time begins from
sighting the moon of Dhil Hijjah. (2) Takbeer Muqayyad (Defined Takbeer). Its
time begins from the Fajr of ninth Dhil Hijjah and lasts till the Asr of 12th
Dhil Hijjah. It should be recited specially after every Namaaz. Men should
recite it in high tone, while the women are suggested to recite in low tone.
In today’s
world, the Sunnah of reciting takbeer has vanished. Very few people are seen
taking care of the takbeer. We should, therefore, take care the takbeer to revive
a sunnah of the Prophet (saws). The Prophet (saws) is reported to have said, “The
one who revived a sunnah of mine which had been left, he will get reward equal
to those who actually performed it without any cut up from the reward of the
practitioner.” Therefore, we should excessively recite the names of Allah
during these days.
Keeping
Fast:
During
these days, any good deed fetches much more reward than normal acts. As far as
the fast is concerned, it is so great an act that Allah says, “I Myself am the
reward for fast.” Keeping fast, therefore, becomes a great source of reward
during these days. Moreover, the Prophet (saws) himself is reported to keep
fast in the first nine days of Dhil Hijjah. The blessed mothers of the believers
narrate, “The Prophet (saws) used to keep fast in the first nine days of Dhil
Hijjah, on the days of Aashura and three days every month.” Hafsa (ra) says, “Four
things, the Prophet (saws) would not skip: the fasts of Aashura, first nine
days of Dhil Hijjah, three days every month and two rak’ats before Fajr.”
In short,
keeping fast in the nine days of Dhil Hijjah is masnoon and a blessed act. But
Muslims have brushed it asid which is indeed deprivation of the great bounty. Apart
from that, the fast of the ninth Dhil Hijjah is specially sunnah. The ahaidth
clearly speaks of its blissfulness. Hazrat Qatada (ra) reprts that the Prophet
(saws) said, “keep fast on the day of Arafa. I hope Allah makes it Kaffarah for
sin of one previous and one later years.”
Supplication
on the Day of Arafa:
It
is such a blissful act to supplicate on the day of Arafa. The Prophet (saws) is
reported to have said, “The best of all supplications is that which is done on
the day of Arafa and the most blessed supplication which I and the Prophet
before me have done is لا الہ الا اللہ وحدہ لا شریک لہ ولہ الحمد و ھو علی کل شیئ
قدیر.
Ibn Abdul Bar (ra) says that this hadith also points out to the fact that the
prayers of the day of Arafa are mostly answered. Therefore, even those who did
not go for hajj should make special supplications on this day.
True
Repentance:
It
is obligatory on every Muslim to repent to Allah every time. But its importance
is increased even more on auspicious occasions. We should, therefore, take this
Ashara as a golden opportunity to repent and we must not delay in it. The
reason is that we never know when to leave this earthly world for the eternal
one. If a Muslim is enabled to repent to Allah with sincerity, he indeed is a
blessed person.
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