DAILY ISLAMIC REMINDERS. Yawm As-Sabt. 2nd day of Dhul-Hijjah, 1445AH (Saturday, 8th June 2024). SOME GOLDEN ACTS ON THESE BLESSED DAYS BEFORE EID. BismilLah. 

The first ten days of Dhul Hijjah hold great religious significance. It is a special period in the annual Islamic (Hijri) calendar. A time when we Muslims are advised to increase our acts of goodness and spirituality to reap the rewards of the most blessed days. 

Aside fasting as much as we can within the 8 days left before Eid, we must also strive to do the following;

INCREASING DAILY PRAYERS (SALAH)

On these blessed days, take this time to perfect and increase the daily practice of Salah. If you haven’t been praying the five fardh (obligatory) prayers – Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha on time, now is the time to start. Try to pray together with your friends and family, as there are more rewards for praying together. “Salat in congregation is twenty-seven times more meritorious than a Salat performed individually.”

If you’ve already been praying the fardh prayers, take this opportunity to start praying the sunnah and nafl (voluntary) prayers. You can also start building the habit of praying tahajjud (night prayer done in the last third portion of the night prayers).

Reciting the Quran is one of the best forms of worship. 

Try to recite the Quran as often in these blessed 10 days. 

Making Dhikr is a powerful act of worship and one you can do virtually any time. There are many types of Dhikr you can make to help put your mind at ease and bring you closer to ALLAH (SWT). 

One of the best ways to earn rewards is through Sadaqah (voluntary charity). The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Sadaqah (charity) extinguishes sins just as water extinguishes fire.”

It’s part of our human nature to be forgetful and make mistakes. ALLAH (SWT) understands this, so HE says in Surah Al-Baqarah,

“And seek ALLAH’s forgiveness. Surely ALLAH is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

Quran 2:199. Let's make lots of istighfar, including by saying “Astaghfirullah” (meaning “I seek forgiveness of ALLAH”). May ALLAH forgive us for our sins and guide us to the right path.

Islam emphasises the importance of having good relationships (Silaturrahim) with our family and fellow Muslims for the sake of ALLAH (SWT). Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said,

“Learn enough about your lineage to facilitate keeping your ties of kinship. For indeed keeping the ties of kinship encourages affection among the relatives, increases the wealth, and increases the lifespan.” So, whenever you can these 10 days of Dhul Hijjah, reach out to your loved ones and reconnect.

ALLAH (SWT) loves those who quit their sins and bad habits for HIS sake. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said:

“ALLAH says, ‘If My slave intends to do a bad deed then (O Angels) do not write it unless he does it; if he does it, then write it as it is, but if he refrains from doing it for My Sake, then write it as a good deed (in his account)…

Let's make use of these 10 days of Dhul Hijjah to start small and try to overcome one of our bad habits. Once you consistently keep off the sin, you can eventually build on the momentum to address the more difficult habits. In this way, we earn ALLAH’s pleasure by sacrificing our desires for HIS sake.

May ALLAH keep guiding us all and accept our acts of worship in these blessed days  Aameen.