Brothers in faith! Adhere to the guidance of the Leader of the Messengers, Mohammad son of Abdullah. Whoever follows his path shall prosper and achieve everlasting happiness. Further, only when this Ummah recognises the true guidance of its religion and the path of its Prophet in its true sense that it will attain glory and might. It was said, “Islam shall become a hard rock upon which the evangelical ships are crumbled as long as the pillars; Al-Qur’an, Friday Prayers and the Hajj gathering, remain firm.”

Fellow Muslims! Some highly important days have come upon us. They are the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah. Allah swore by them as a token of their importance and merit and to stress the great reward of those who do righteous deeds in them. He says, “By the dawn! By the Ten Nights!” (I.e. the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah). (Al-Fajr: 1-2) The Prophet also said, “There are no days in which good deeds are more loved by Allah than these days.” Meaning the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah. The Companions said, “Even jihad in the way of Allah?” He replied, “Even jihad in the way of Allah, with the exception of a man who goes out for jihad with his soul and his wealth, and does not return with either.” (Al-Bukhaari).

Good deeds, dear brothers, include righteous sayings, actions and behaviour. An important aspect of that is to visit Muslims wherever they may be, to feel concerned about their affairs, to alleviate their sufferings and to pray for them.

Brothers in Islam! It is recommended to do a lot of Tahleel (saying ‘La Ilaaha Illa Allaah’), Takbeer (saying ‘Allaahu Akbar’) and Tahmeed (saying ‘Al-Hamdu Lillaah’) in these days. Also, if anyone wants to make a sacrifice for ‘Eid, and it is already in the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah, he should not cut his hair or nails. The Prophet said, “When you see the moon of Thul-Hijjah let any one of you who intends to sacrifice an animal for ‘Eid not take anything from his hair or nails until he has made the sacrifice.” (Muslim).

This prohibition is only binding on those who want to sacrifice. As for those on whose behalf a sacrifice is to be made, they are not included in this prohibition.

On this great occasion, we sincerely appeal to eminent Muslim personalities to recognise the enormous responsibilities they have to shoulder so that they can make use of these noble days to propagate Islam and spread the good virtues that Islam promotes in accordance with the commandments of Allah and respect to His limits and injunctions. We should always follow this method, be it during Hajj or other days.