InshaAllah from June 19, 2023 the month Zul Hijjah begins. The Day of Arafah this year is set to Tuesday, June 27, 2023 InshaAllah. This is the time to say Inshallah Hajj Mabarak to all who are making Hajj this year. We pray to Allah to accept their efforts and bring them back home safely Ameen. EID Al ADHA will be celebrated on WEDNESDAY, June 28, 2023 InshaAllah
Hajj and the First Ten Days of Dhu al-Hijjah Hajj is one of the most profound rituals of worship. It symbolizes our struggle against Satan and instills in us the urge and determination to fight this eternal enemy of mankind. We perpetually face Satan and his temptations and as such we need to muster special reserves of energy to face his onslaught. Hajj – which to many of us is a once in a lifetime opportunity is a powerful symbolic ritual that enacts this struggle against Satan and culminates in pelting stones at certain pillars that signify Satan and his accomplices. The purpose is to equip us with the will power to continue pelting these stones on his temptations once we return to our normal life routine.
Viewed thus, hajj is an extra-ordinary worship ritual that can transform our lives if it is offered with its real spirit and a deep understanding of the wisdom it encapsulates. Zul-Hijjah is the month which has been prescribed for Hajj. Like three other months (Rajab, Zul-Qa‘dah, Muharram and ), this month has been regarded as sacred by the Qur’an. All sacred months carry God’s blessings. In the case of Zul-Hijjah, because of this outstanding nature of Hajj, the first ten days of this month are specially regarded as blessed by the Prophet (sws) as they culminate in the completion of this ritual. He is reported to have 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 said: “Not even Jihad for the sake of Allah, except in the case of a man who went out, giving himself and his wealth up for the cause [of God], and came back with nothing.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
The Prophet (sws) fasted on the 9th of Zul-Hijjah (the day of Arafat) and thus inspired us too to observe this fast. Other than this, every righteous deed done and every worship ritual offered in this month will earn God’s reward. However, the extent of this reward is only known to him. It may incidentally be noted that many weak and unauthentic narratives are these days circulating on facebook and whatsApp. They inform us of the huge reward a person will get for various worship rituals during these ten days. They must be ignored.
In this regard, another practice of the Prophet (sws) was that he would not cut his hair and nails in these ten days in line with the ancient Abrahamic practice of devoting oneself to God by offering animal sacrifice to Him. This is a symbol of cutting off one self from worldly adornments and dedicating oneself to Allah completely. All people who intend to sacrifice this animal are advised to observe this practice, though it is not obligatory.
Every Muslim is aware of the blessings of day of Arafah. The Prophet (sws) is reported to have said that if a person fasts on this day then hopefully the Almighty will forgive his previous and next year’s sins.[Muslim, No: 1162.]
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