The virtues of the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah:
Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, narrated that the Prophet, , said: "No good deeds done on any other days are superior to those done on these days (first ten days of Thul-Hijjah).” Some of his companions asked, “Not even Jihaad?”He replied: “Not even Jihaad, except that of a man who does it by putting his soul and his property in danger (for the sake of Allah) and does not return with either." [Al-Bukhari]
Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, , said: "No good deeds done on any other days are superior to those done on these days (the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah), so perform Tahleel (i.e., say, ‘laa Ilaaha illa Allah’ (there is no any other deity except Allah)) Takbeer (‘Allahu Akbar’ (Allah is the Greatest)) and Tahmeed (‘Alhamdulillaah’ (Praise be to Allah)." [Ahmad]
Jaabir, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, , said: "The best of all days is the Day of ‘Arafah" [Ibn Hibbaan]
Types of good deeds to be done during these ten days:
First: Performing Hajj and ‘Umrah (lesser pilgrimage), and this is the best thing that could be done as the Prophet, , said: "The performance of two ‘Umrahs expiates the sins committed in the interval between them, and the reward of an accepted Hajj is nothing but Paradise."There are many other authentic Hadeeths in this regard.
Second: Fasting these days or as many of them as possible, especially on the Day of ‘Arafah (for those not doing Hajj). There is no doubt that fasting is the best of deeds as Allah The Almighty chose it for Himself as He says: "Fasting is for Me and I reward people for it as they abandon their sexual desires, food and drink for My sake."
Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, , said: "Indeed, anyone who fasts one day for the sake of Allah, Allah will distance his face away from Hell for (a distance covered by a journey of) seventy years." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
It was narrated by Muslim, may Allah have Mercy upon him, on the authority of Abu Qataadah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, , said: "I ask Allah that fasting on the day of ‘Arafah atones for the sins of the preceding and the coming year."
Third: Performing much Takbeer and Thikr (mentioning and remembrance of Allah) during these days. Allah The Almighty Says (What means): {And mention the Name of Allah on known days.}[Quran 22:28] This implies the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah and this is why scholars have said that remembering Allah frequently is recommended during these days. Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, , said: "No good deeds done on any other days are superior to those done on these days (the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah), so perform (therein) Tahleel (i.e., say, ‘laa Ilaaha illa Allah’ (there is no any other deity except Allah)) Takbeer (‘Allahu Akbar’ (Allah is the Greatest)) and Tahmeed (‘Alhamdulillaah’ (Praise be to Allah)." [Ahmad]
Al-Bukhari said that Ibn ‘Umar and Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with them, would go to the markets during these first ten days of Thul-Hijjah to perform Takbeer there, and the people there would also perform Takbeer.
Is’haaq said that the jurists from among the Taabi‘is (successors of the Companions) would to say during these ten days, “Allaaahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. Laa Ilaaha Illa Allah. Allaaahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar wa lillaahil Hamd.” (Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, there is no deity except Allah. Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, praise be to Allah.)
It is recommended for men to raise their voices with Takbeer in the markets, streets, mosques and so forth as Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {To glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you.} [Quran 2:185]
Collective glorification of Allah is impermissible as it was not reported to be done by any of the righteous predecessors. The Sunnah is that every one should glorify Allah individually. This applies to all supplications and Thikr unless the person is uninformed. In this case, he may be dictated to until he learns. It is permissible to remember and mention Allah by performing Takbeer, glorifying or praising Him, or by any of the other permissible supplications.
Fourth: Repentance and giving up all sins so that one can attain forgiveness and mercy. Sins are the cause of being expelled from the mercy of Allah, while good deeds are the cause of being close. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, , said: "Allah is jealous and the jealousy of Allah (comes) when one commits that which He has forbidden for him.”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Fifth: Doing many good voluntary deeds such as the voluntary prayers, giving charity, Jihaad, reciting the Quran, enjoining good and forbidding evil and so forth. The reward of these deeds is multiplied during these days and it is better than doing them at any other time of the year. Good deeds during these days are even better than Jihaad, which is the best of deeds, except for the one whose horse is killed and he dies as a martyr.
Sixth: On these days, it is permissible to perform unrestricted Takbeer at any time and up to the ‘Eed prayer as well as the restricted Takbeer, which comes after the obligatory prayers that are prayed in congregation. As for non-pilgrims, their restricted Takbeer starts from the dawn of ‘Arafah, but for pilgrims, it starts from the noon of the Day of Nahr (slaughter) and lasts up to the ‘Asr Prayer on the last day of Tashreeq (the three days following ‘Eed).
Seventh: Slaughtering the sacrificial Udh’hiyah is valid on the Day of Nahr and the Days of Tashreeq. This is the Sunnah of our father, Ibraaheem, may Allah exalt his mention, when Allah The Almighty ransomed his son with a great sacrifice. It was narrated that the Prophet, , sacrificed two fine sheep that slaughtered himself, after mentioning the name of Allah over them, performing Takbeer and putting his foot on their necks.
Eighth: It was narrated by Muslim and others that Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, said that the Prophet, , said: "If you see the crescent of Thul-Hijjah and any of you wants to slaughter an Udh’hiyah, he should not cut his hair or his nails."The wording of another narration reads: "He should not cut any of his hair or nails until he slaughters his Udh-hiyah."Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal has reached its place of slaughter.}[Quran 2:196] This prohibition is for the one who sacrifices (or delegates the task of doing so), but does not include the wife or the children except if any one of them has a sacrifice for themselves. Also, there is no harm for such a person in washing their head and rubbing it, even if this causes some hair to fall.
Ninth: Muslims should be keen on praying the ‘Eed prayer, attending the Khutbah (sermon) and benefiting from it. They should know the wisdom of the legislation of ‘Eed and that this is a day for thanking Allah and performing righteous deeds. Muslims should not make this day an evil day by committing prohibited matters such as listening to music or things that keep them distracted from remembering Allah, nor should they drink intoxicants and so forth as these things affect the good deeds that they did during the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah.
It is the duty of every Muslim man or woman to make use of these days in obeying Allah The Almighty, remembering Him, praising Him, fulfilling His obligations and avoiding His prohibitions. We should utilize these occasions to obey Allah The Almighty so that one would thus gain the satisfaction of Allah. Indeed Allah is the One who guides us to the right path.