How do the first ten days of the Month of Dhul Hijjah differ from other days of the year

How do the first ten days of the Month of Dhul Hijjah differ from other days of the year

Question
How do the first ten days of the Month of Dhul Hijjah differ from other days of the year?

Answer

Praise be to Allaah.

Praise be to Allah Who has created Time and has made some times better than others, some months and days and nights better than others, when rewards are multiplied many times, as a mercy towards His slaves. This encourages them to do more righteous deeds and makes them more eager to worship Him, so that the Muslim renews his efforts to gain a greater share of reward, prepare himself for death and supply himself in readiness for the Day of Judgement.

The Muslim must understand the value of his life, increase his worship of Allah And persist in doing good deeds until the moment of death. Allah Says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And worship your Lord until there comes unto you the certainty." [al-Hijr 15:99] The mufassireen(commentators) said: "‘The certainty’ means death."
Among the special seasons of worship are the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, which Allah has preferred over all the other days of the year. Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah Be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him) said: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah Than these ten days." The people asked, "Not even jihaad for the sake of Allah?" He said, "Not even jihaad for the sake of Allah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with nothing." (Reported by al-Bukhari, 2/457).
Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah Be pleased with him and his father) also reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him) said: "There is no deed more precious in the sight of Allah, nor greater in reward, than a good deed done during the ten days of Sacrifice." He was asked, "Not even jihaad for the sake of Allah?" He said, "Not even jihaad for the sake of Allah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with nothing." (Reported by al-Daarimi, 1/357; its isnaad is hasan as stated in al-Irwaa’, 3/398).
These texts and others indicate that these ten days are better than all the other days of the year, with no exceptions, not even the last ten days of Ramadan. But the last ten nights of Ramadan are better, because they include Laylat al-Qadr ("the Night of Power"), which is better than a thousand months. Thus the various reports may be reconciled. (See Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 5/412).
You should know, my brother in Islaam, that the virtue of these ten days is based on many things:
⦁ Allah Swears an oath by them, and swearing an oath by something is indicative of its importance and great benefit. Allah Says (interpretation of the meaning): "By the dawn; by the ten nights" [al-Fajr 89:1-2]. Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn al-Zubayr, Mujaahid and others of the earlier and later generations said that this refers to the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. Ibn Katheer said: "This is the correct opinion." (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 8/413)
⦁ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him) testified that these are the best days of this world, as we have already quoted above from saheeh ahaadeeth.
⦁ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him) encouraged people to do righteous deeds because of the virtue of this season for people throughout the world, and also because of the virtue of the place - for the Hujjaaj (pilgrims) to the Sacred House of Allah.
⦁ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him) commanded us to recite a lot of Tasbeeh("Subhan-Allah"), Tahmeed ("Al-hamdu Lillaah") and Takbeer ("Allahu akbar") during this time. ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah Be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him) said: "There are no days greater in the sight of Allah And in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Him than these ten days, so during this time recite a great deal of Tahleel ("La ilaaha ill-Allaah"), Takbeer and Tahmeed." (Reported by Ahmad, 7/224; Ahmad Shaakir stated that it is saheeh).
⦁ These ten days include Yawm ‘Arafaah (the Day of ‘Arafaah), on which Allah Perfected His Religion. Fasting on this day will expiate for the sins of two years. These days also include Yawm al-Nahar (the Day of Sacrifice), the greatest day of the entire year and the greatest day of Hajj, which combines acts of worship in a way unlike any other day.
⦁ These ten days include the days of sacrifice and of Hajj.
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him) said: "When you see the new moon of Dhul-Hijjah, if any one of you wants to offer a sacrifice, then he should stop cutting his hair and nails until he has offered his sacrifice." According to another report he said: "He should not remove (literally, touch) anything from his hair or skin." (reported by Muslim with four isnaads, 13/146)
Whoever needs to remove some hair, nails, etc. because it is harming him, such as having a broken nail or a wound in a site where there is hair, should do so, and there is nothing wrong with that. The state of ihraam is so important that it is permitted to cut one’s hair if leaving it will cause harm.
There is nothing wrong with men or women washing their heads during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him) only forbade cutting the hair, not washing it.
The wisdom behind this prohibition of the one who wants to offer a sacrifice from cutting his hair etc., is so that he may resemble those in ihraam in some aspects of the rituals performed, and so that he may draw closer to Allah By offering the sacrifice. So he leaves his hair and nails alone until the time when he has offered his sacrifice, in the hope that Allah Will save him in his entirety from the Fire. And Allah Knows best.
Among the good deeds which the Muslim should strive to do during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah are:
⦁ Fasting. It is Sunnah to fast on the ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him) urged us to do good deeds during this time, and fasting is one of the best of deeds. Allah Has chosen fasting for Himself, as is stated in the hadith qudsi: "Allah Says: ‘All the deeds of the son of Adam are for him, except for fasting, which is for Me and I am the One Who will reward him for it.’" (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 1805).
⦁ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him) used to fast on the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah. Ubaydah ibn Khalid reported from his wife that some of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him) said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him)used to fast on the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah, on the day of ‘Aashooraa’, in three days of each month, and on the first two Mondays and Thursdays of each month." (Reported by al-Nisaa’i, 4/205 and by Abu Dawud; classified by al-Albaani as saheeh in Saheeh Abi Dawud, 2/462).
⦁ Takbeer. It is Sunnah to say Takbeer ("Allahu akbar"), Tahmeed ("Al-hamdu Lillaah"), Tahleel ("La ilaha ill-Allaah") and Tasbeeh ("Subhaan Allaah") during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, and to say it loudly in the mosque, the home, the street and every place where it is permitted to remember Allah And mention His name out loud, as an act of worship and as a proclamation of the greatness of Allah, may He be exalted.
⦁ Men should recite these phrases out loud, and women should recite them quietly.
⦁ Allah Says (interpretation of the meaning):
⦁ "That they might witness things that are of benefit to them (i.e., reward of Hajj in the Hereafter, and also some worldly gain from trade, etc.), and mention the name of Allah on appointed days, over the beast of cattle that He has provided for them (for sacrifice)..." [al-Hajj 22:28]
⦁ The majority of scholars agree that the "appointed days" are the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, because of the words of Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father): "The ‘appointed days’ are the first ten days (of Dhul-Hijjah)."
⦁ The Takbeer may include the words "Allahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, la ilaaha ill-Allaah; wa Allahu akbar wa Lillaahi’l-hamd (Allah Is Most Great, Allah Is Most Great, there is no god but Allah; Allah Is Most Great and to Allah Be praised)," as well as other phrases.
⦁ Takbeer at this time is an aspect of the Sunnah that has been forgotten, especially during the early part of this period, so much so that one hardly ever hears Takbeer, except from a few people. This Takbeer should be pronounced loudly, in order to revive the Sunnah and as a reminder to the negligent. There is sound evidence that Ibn ‘Umar and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah Be pleased with them) used to go out in the marketplace during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, reciting Takbeer, and the people would recite Takbeer when they heard them. The idea behind reminding the people to recite Takbeer is that each one should recite it individually, not in unison, as there is no basis in Sharee’ah for doing this.
⦁ Reviving aspects of the Sunnah that have been virtually forgotten is a deed that will bring an immense reward, as is indicated by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him): "Whoever revives an aspect of my Sunnah that is forgotten after my death, he will have a reward equivalent to that of the people who follow him, without it detracting in the least from their reward." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 7/443; this is a hasan hadith because of corroborating asaaneed).
⦁ Performing Hajj and ‘Umrah. One of the best deeds that one can do during these ten days is to perform Hajj to the Sacred House of Allah. The one whom Allah Helps to go on Hajj to His House and to perform all the rituals properly is included in the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Be upon him): "An accepted Hajj brings no less a reward than Paradise."
⦁ Doing more good deeds in general, because good deeds are beloved by Allah And will bring a great reward from Him. Whoever is not able to go to Hajj should occupy himself at this blessed time by worshipping Allah, praying (salat), reading Qur’an, remembering Allaah, making supplication (du’aa’), giving charity, honouring his parents, upholding the ties of kinship, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and other good deeds and acts of worship.
⦁ Sacrifice. One of the good deeds that will bring a person closer to Allah During these ten days is offering a sacrifice, by choosing a high-quality animal and fattening it, spending money for the sake of Allah.
⦁ Sincere repentance. One of the most important things to do during these ten days is to repent sincerely to Allah And to give up all kinds of disobedience and sin. Repentance means coming back to Allahand foregoing all the deeds, open and secret, that He dislikes, out of regret for what has passed, giving it up immediately and being determined never to return to it, but to adhere firmly to the Truth by doing what Allah Loves.
"So whoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it,
And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it."
[al-Zalzalah 99:7-8]