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All
praise is due to Allah Who has created time and has made some
periods of time superior to others. He has made some days, nights,
and months to be of greater value 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 and so that he can prepare himself
for death and the Day of Judgment.
These
seasons of worship bring many benefits, such as the opportunity to
correct one’s faults and make up for any shortcomings. Each of
these special occasions involves some kind of worship through
which the slaves can draw closer to Allah and get some kind of
unique blessings. The successful and exultant person is the one
who makes the most of these special hours, days, and months and
draws nearer to his Lord during these times through acts of
worship.
Among
these special seasons of worship are the first 10 days of
Dhul-Hijjah, which Allah has preferred over all other days of the
year. Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the
Prophet (peace and blessings 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 jihad for the sake
of Allah?” He replied, “Not even jihad for the sake of
Allah, except for the case of a man who went out to fight giving
himself and his wealth up for the cause and returned with nothing”
(Al-Bukhari).
The
text mentioned above indicates that these 10 days are better than
all the other days of the year, without exception, not even the
last 10 days of Ramadan. But the last 10 nights of Ramadan are
better than the first 10 nights of Dhul-Hijjah, because they
include Laylat Al-Qadr (the Night of Decree), which is better than
a thousand months. Thus the various reports may be reconciled.
The
virtue of these 10 days is confirmed by many proofs:
Allah
swears an oath by them, and swearing an oath by something is
indicative of its importance and great benefit. Allah says: [By
the dawn; and by the ten nights]
(Al-Fajr 89:1-2). Ibn `Abbas,
Ibn Az-Zubayr, Mujahid, and others of the earlier and later
generations of exegetes said that this refers to the first 10 days
of Dhul-Hijjah.
The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to
abundantly remember Allah and make dhikr. `Abdullah ibn
`Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings 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 them say a
great deal of La ilaha illa Allah, Allahu Akbar, and
Al-hamdu lillah” (Ahmad).
Satan,
te enemy of Allah, was never seen more humiliated and enraged than
on the day of the Battle of Badr—except on the Day of `Arafah.
On that day he sees the mercy that Allah sends down and His
forgiveness of sins.
There
is no other day on which the extent of forgiveness and mercy
reaches such a level like the Day of `Arafah. On `Arafah Allah
frees people from the Hellfire. `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased
with her) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) said
There
is no day in which Allah frees greater number of His slaves from
the Hellfire than the Day of `Arafah. Allah comes close to His
slaves and boasts about them to the angels, then asks (a
rhetorical question): “What do these slaves seek?”
(Muslim)
In
another narration the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
reports that Allah says to His angels, “I make you witnesses
that I forgave them.” The angels would then say, “O Allah!
So-and-so is overburdened with sins.” Allah replies, “I
forgave them all” (Ibn Khuzaymah).
Al-Manawi
said, “The fact that Allah boasted about His slaves to the
angels denotes His forgiveness because Allah would not have
boasted in front of the pure and sin-free angels unless the
pilgrims had become clear of all sins.”
Bilal
(may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) said to him in the morning when people
gathered (in Muzdalifah), “O Bilal! Tell the people to be
silent!” Then he said to them, “Allah blessed you in
this gathering and forgave the sinful among you due to the fact
that you were amid the pious—and He granted the pious what they
asked for” (Ibn Majah).
Hakim
Ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with) used to stand in `Arafah
bringing one hundred camels and one hundred slaves (he was only
obliged to sacrifice one seventh of a camel). He would then start
freeing the slaves for the sake of Allah. The people would then
start crying loudly with du`aa’ saying, “O Allah! Your
slave freed his slaves, and we are Your slaves, so free us (from
the Hellfire).”
Al-Fudhail
saw the supplications of people and their weeping on the night of
`Arafah and asked the crowds, “If these people went to a man and
asked him for a daniq (a very small amount of money), would
he refuse?” The people said, “No.” He said, “Allah’s
forgiveness is even easier to obtain than that.”
Ibn
Al-Mubarak said, “I went to Sufyan Ath-Thawri on the night of
`Arafah and he was kneeling down and crying. I asked him, ‘Who
is the worst person in this gathering?’ He said, ‘He who
thinks Allah will not forgive him.’”
The
foregoing are just a few of the many wonderful stories that you
hear from this blessed and pure land. Here you will see people
supplicate with humbleness, repentance, and regret; they will cry
over their sins and shortcomings. Many are those who asked
forgiveness and were forgiven; who cried and pledged to refrain
from sinning and had their sins wiped out. Many come out of
`Arafah sinless with joyful hearts and happy faces.
Moreover,
the Day of `Arafah is so blessed that fasting on it will expiate
for the sins of two years as reported in the Sahih of Muslim. So,
non-pilgrims should not let this golden opportunity slip through
their fingers.
As
for those who were unable to perform Hajj and missed standing in
`Arafah, let them fulfil all the other rights of Allah. He who
could not spend the night in Muzdalifah, let him pledge to obey
Allah in all other matters; he who could not slaughter his
sacrifice, let him give up his whims and desires; and he who could
not reach the house of Allah (the Ka`bah), let him supplicate to
Allah, the One Who is nearer than one’s jugular vein. For those
who could not make it to `Arafah, follow the advice of your
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and fast that day.
May
Allah forgive our sins, increase our faith, and accept us in these
blessed days.
*
Based on a Friday sermon
delived at the London
Central Mosque on February, 7, 2005.
**
Imam of London
Central Mosque.
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