An Introduction to the Lord of the Worlds – Day 6

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamu Alaikum.

[Note: You can now access the site at http://thegreatestmonth.com instead of https://thegreatestmonth.wordpress.com (which still works but takes longer to type!)]

[It seems that everyone ran away again. I suppose it’s a good thing that I’m used to talking to myself…]

Day 6 continues from where I left off yesterday.

In this part, I’m just going to talk about the meaning of ibaadah (worship), because this is essential for understanding the purpose of life, and one must understand this point if one wishes to get closer to the Lord of the Worlds.

It seems there was some confusion about what ibaadah is so let’s do this step by step.

It’s Dhul Hijjah…(and I’m taking a blogging break)

Assalamu Alaikum.

Yes, it’s Dhul Hijjah (at least for those of us who follow Saudia Arabia).

Tomorrow (Nov. 7th) is the first day of fasting (for those who wish to do so). Arafah will be on Monday, insha-Allah.

Insha-Allah, I’ll be taking a break from this blog for about two weeks.

Why? Because I seriously need to take advantage of these 10 days, that’s why.

My final bit of  advice: Start increasing your ibaadah from NOW, and do what you can and just keep going on. Pretend that you’re the Energiser Bunny. Whatever works…

May Allah accept our deeds. Ameen.

A Pictorial Summary of my advice to you on the eve of Dhul Hijjah

Assalamu Alaikum.

Yes, because it’s about time.

If we don’t wake up soon, then when are we planning to do so? After death?

The best 10 days are almost here. Let’s not waste them because we’re too busy sleep walking through life and are heedless of the hereafter.

When and how does one do the takbeer in Dhul Hijjah?

Assalamu Alaikum.

[What is “takbeer”? It means saying Allahu Akbar i.e it means to magnify Allah.]

Before I link to the articles, let me a present a simplified explanation of this topic:

The first 13 days of Dhul Hijjah have certain virtues, as does the month itself.

The 8th of Dhul Hijjah is called the Day of Tarwiyah (the rites of Hajj begin on this day).

The 9th is the Day of Arafah.

The 10th is the Day of Eid or the Day of Nahr (Sacrifice).

The 11th-13th are known as the Days of Tashreeq.

So, one should do lots of takbeer (the format is mentioned below) during these 13 days.

When do you do the takbeer?

1. Any time.

Just do as much as you can. This is for all 13 days.

2. In addition to being able to do it at any time, you should also do it after the obligatory prayers (after the adhkar that is recited).

This is for the 9th-13th of Dhul Hijjah only, not for the first 8 days. [Also, this is for those who are not doing Hajj.]

A word of advice: The last 4 days are the days that everyone is celebrating Eid, visiting family, etc. It’s easy to forget which is precisely why we should make every effort possible to remember.

Here are a few articles that provide more information:

Some more articles on Dhul Hijjah…

Assalamu Alaikum.

Yes, some more….

So, here we go:

1. The Blessed Days of Dhul Hijjah by Muhammad Al-Jibaaly

2. The Three Days of Tashreeq by Muhammad Al-Jibaaly

The Days of Tashreeq are the 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhul Hijjah.

3. Virtues of and Deeds Legislated in the First Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah by Shaikh ibn Jibreen (rahimahullah)

4. Virtues of the Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah by Shaikh Muhammad Salih Al-Munajjid

5. The Final Research into the Issue of Slaughtering on the Days of Tashreeq by Shaikh Muhammad Raees Nadwee

6. The Day of Arafah Falling on a Friday by Dr. Saleh As-Saleh (rahimahullah)

Remember Ramadan Ramblings – Episode 2: Dhul Hijjah – Our Third Chance

Assalamu Alaikum.

Yes, Ramadan was our second chance (remember?) and Dhul Hijjah is our third.

So, why should we stick to “remembering” (i.e. dreaming about) Ramadan? Why don’t we just take advantage of the ten best days* that are coming up in order to give ourselves another little Ramadan?

[*Actually, even the days of Tashreeq (11th-13th) have some virtues so we shouldn’t forget about them. Sadly, most people do exactly that because they’re too busy partying their brains out because it’s Eid.]

What should we do?

1) Aim for a fresh start (don’t wait for Dhul Hijjah, do it NOW). Seek Allah’s Forgiveness and ask Him to make things easy for you.

2) Read about the virtues of Dhul Hijjah and write down all the specific deeds that can be done during this time (e.g. fasting, takbeer, etc).

[Note: We need to read about Eid Al-Adha and the days of Tashreeq too as they are a religious celebration, not a 4 day party.]

Rather than waiting for next Ramadan to come, we need to pretend that it is already here and that we are in the last ten days (hey, there’s even an Eid after them!).

3) Bring out all those Ramadan Resolutions papers out from the bottom of your drawers. Oh yes.

However, now we’re going to call this “Dhul Hijjah resolutions”.

Look over those resolutions and then write down your goals for these 10 days.

4) Write down all the good things that you did in Ramadan and then aim to do them in Dhul Hijjah as well.

5) Write down where (and why) you messed up in Ramadan and take steps to rectify that in Dhul Hijjah.

6) Try to get the Eid shopping done before these 10 days.

7) Encourage everybody to participate in Dhul Hijjah.

See, one of the great things about Ramadan is that everybody is trying to be good, so it’s much easier for us to be good.

8) Try to prepare a checklist for Dhul Hijjah (we have so many Ramadan checklists but not even one Dhul Hijjah checklist!).

It’s always easier to remember things when you have a checklist (we’re not elephants, remember?)

[Note: To the menstruating women, remember that even though you can’t pray or fast, you can still do a lot.]

9) Try to prepare a dua list as well (remember the wonderful day of Arafah?)

10) Remember that ultimately the purpose of Ramadan is the same as Dhul Hijjah: to get closer to Allah.

Therefore, we should once again aim to continue the good deeds even after Dhul Hijjah. If we just intend them for Dhul Hijjah and don’t want to bother doing them after that, it means we have a problem with our sincerity.

So, let’s get going, insha-Allah. We don’t want to waste our third chance, would we?

Lecture: Merits of the First 10 Days of Dhul Hijjah

Assalamu Alaikum.

Yes, the best days of the year are about a week away.

Are we ready? Or are we going to let another opportunity slip through our hands?

NO.

We’ll be ready, insha-Allah.

So, here’s another lecture on the best days so we can continue to be motivated:

Merits of the First 10 Days of Dhul Hijjah by Mutasim Al-Hameedee (Download)

Article: The Best Planner

Assalamu Alaikum.

Indeed, Allah is the Best of Planners. We all know it but sadly we keep forgetting it. That’s why we need to keep reminding each other.

Many times we look around and say “Why is this happening to me?”, perhaps only to say years later, “Alhamdulillah, that was the best thing to happen to me!”.

Why the change in tone? Because when the event is taking place, we don’t have all the information and the pieces of the puzzle haven’t been put together yet. However, after the dust settles, the picture is quite clear and we finally understand what happened.

Here’s a heart warming story by a brother that took place in Hajj. Let’s all reflect over how it all worked out so wonderfully well at the end.

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http://www.khutbah.com/en/ramadan_hajj/planner.php

The Best Planner

by Muhammad Alshareef

As we look over the crowds at Hajj, we are overwhelmed by the number of people that come there to worship Allah. Throughout Hajj, we find ourselves similarly overwhelmed by the sheer number of lessons that we learn on our journey – lessons of patience, compassion, and humility. Every corner you turn, or any spot you can find to sit, has the potential to mold a Hajji for better or worse. Sharing our experiences with each other helps us reflect on what we have learned, and may also have the invaluable effect of encouraging our fellow Muslims to perform Hajj.

Here’s a story from my Hajj, which truly showed me that Allah is the best of planners:

During one Hajj a man in our group became very ill while we were staying in the tent city of Mina. As we sat down to dinner he began shivering uncontrollably. We stopped our dinner and made du’a for him. Soon, paramedics were called and carried him to the hospital on a stretcher.

Lecture: The Ten Best Days

Assalamu Alaikum.

Here’s a lecture to help get you excited about The Best Days of The Year: