He is asking about the virtues of the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah

Are the first ten days of Dhu'l-Hijjah more specialthan other days?
What are the righteous deeds that it is recommended to do a lot of
during these ten days?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Among the great seasonsof worship are the first ten days of
Dhu'l-Hijjah, which Allaah has favoured over other days. It was
narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There are
no days on which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allaah than these
ten days." They said: "Not even jihad for the sake of Allaah?" He
said: "Not even jihad for the sake of Allaah, unless a man goes out
himself for jihad taking his wealth with him and does not come back
with anything." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2/457
It was also narrated from Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There
is no deed that is better before Allaah or more greatly rewarded than
a good deed done in the (first) ten days of al-Adha." It was said:
"Not even jihad for the sake of Allaah?" He said: "Not even jihad for
the sake of Allaah, unless a man goes out himself forjihad taking his
wealth with him and does not come back with anything." Narrated by
al-Daarimi, 1/357; its isnaad is hasan as stated in al-Irwa', 3/398.
These texts and others indicate that these ten days are better than
all other days of the year, with no exception, even the last ten days
of Ramadaan. But the last ten nights of Ramadaan are better than the
first ten nights of Dhu'l-Hijjah, because they include Laylat al-Qadr,
which is better than a thousand months. See Tafseer Ibn Katheer,
5/412.
So the Muslim should start these days with sincere repentance to
Allaah, then he should do a lot of righteous deeds in general, then he
should pay attention to doing the following deeds:
1 – Fasting
It is Sunnah for the Muslim to fast on the first nine days of
Dhu'l-Hijjah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) encouraged us to do righteous deedsin the first ten days of
Dhu'l-Hijjah, and fasting is one of the best of deeds, which Allaah
has chosen for Himself as it says in the hadeeth qudsi: "Allaah says:
'All the deeds of the son of Adam are for him, exceptfasting, which is
for Me and I shall reward for it."Narrated by al-Bukhaari,1805.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to fast
on the first nine days of Dhu'l-Hijjah. It was narrated from
Hunaydahibn Khaalid from his wife, that one of the wives of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: The Prophet
(peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to fast on the first
nine days of Dhu'l-Hijjah and the day of 'Ashoora', andthree days each
month, the first Monday of the month and two Thursdays. Narrated by
al-Nasaa'i, 4/205 and by Abu Dawood; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 2/462.
2 – Reciting tahmeed, tahleel and takbeer a great deal
It is Sunnah to recite takbeer (saying Allaahu akbar (Allaah is most
great)), tahmeed (sayingal-hamdu Lillah (praise be to Allaah)),
tahleel (saying Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (There is no god but Allaah))
and tasbeeh (saying Subhaan-Allaah (Glory be to Allaah)), during
thefirst ten days of Dhu'l-Hijjah, saying these words out loud in the
mosques, homes, streets and every place in whichit is permissible to
remember Allaah, to perform this act of worship openly and proclaim
the greatness of Allaah.
Men should recite out loud and women should recite quietly.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"That they may witness things that are of benefit to them (i.e. reward
of Hajj in the Hereafter, and also someworldly gain from trade), and
mention the Name of Allaah on appointed days, over thebeast of cattle
that He has provided for them (for sacrifice)"
[al-Hajj 22:28]
The majority are of the view that the "appointed days" are the first
ten days of Dhu'l-Hijjah, because it was narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas
(may Allaah be pleased with him) that the appointed days are the first
ten days of Dhu'l-Hijjah.
It was narrated from 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased
with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "There are no days that are greater before Allaah or in which
good deeds aremore beloved to Him, than these ten days, so recite a
great deal of tahleel, takbeer and tahmeed during them." Narrated by
Ahmad, 7/224; its isnaad was classed as saheeh by Ahmad Shaakir.
The takbeer is as follows:
Allaah akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, Allaahu akbar, wa
Lillaah il-hamd (Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great, there is
no god but Allaah; Allaah is Most Great and to Allaah be praise).
And there are other versions.
This takbeer has becomea forsaken Sunnah nowadays, especially at the
beginning of these ten days. You can hardly hear it except from a few.
It should be recited out loud, so as to revive the Sunnah and remind
the heedless. It was proven that Ibn 'Umar and Abu Hurayrah (may
Allaah be pleased with them both) used to go out to the marketplace
during the first ten days of Dhu'l-Hijjah, reciting the takbeer our
loud, and the people would recite takbeer when they heard them, i.e.,
thepeople would rememberthe talkbeer and each one would recite it by
himself; it does not mean that they recited in unison – that is not
prescribed in sharee'ah.
Reviving Sunnahs that have been forgotten brings a great deal of
reward, as is indicated by the words of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him): "Whoever revives one of my Sunnahs
that has died out after I am gone, will have a reward like that of
everyone who does it,without that detracting from their reward in the
slightest." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 7/443; this hadeeth is hasan
because of corroborating reports.
3 – Doing Hajj and 'Umrah
One of the greatest deeds that can be done during these ten days is
Hajj to the sacred House of Allaah. Whoever Allaah helps to go on Hajj
to His House and do the rituals in the required manner will – in sha
Allaah – be included in the words of the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "Anaccepted Hajj brings no less
a reward than Paradise."
4 – Udhiyah (sacrifice)
One of the righteous deeds that bring a person closer to Allaah
inthese ten days is to slaughter the sacrifice and to look for a good,
fat animal and to spend money on it for the sake of Allaah.
Let us hasten to make the most of these great days, before the
negligent regrets what he did, and before he asks to go back and
receives no response.

A young man wants to follow the Sunnah but his father is Shi’i and wants to prevent him from following true guidance. What advice can you give?

I am 15 years old and I have just begun to adhere to the teachings of
Islam. The only source I have for learning the religion is Islamic
sites on the Internet, like this site of yours, because I do not have
anyone whocan take me to the mosque, which is 5 milesaway from where I
live and walking there is very dangerous. In addition to that, my
father wants to prevent me from using the Internet so that I will
focus more on my studies. He also hates meto read or learn from your
site, because he is Shi'i and he says that you will brainwash me. He
is insisting on teaching me the Shi'i madhhab, and even their way of
praying which I find is very different from the way other Muslims
pray. I do not know what I should do now. Can you advise me?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly, we praise Allah for having guided you tothe truth, and we ask
Him to make you steadfast and help you to attain all that is good.
Remember that you havebeen greatly blessed, and if you devote your
entire life and wealth for that purpose, that will be little in return
forthat blessing. Do you know how many millions of people of your
father's background worship rocks and human beings? Do you know that
all these people believe that the Qur'aan is distorted and they regard
the Sahaabah as kaafirs, apart from a fewof them? Do you know that
these people have revived the shirk of Jaahiliyyah and added more
forms of shirk thanwere known in the past?
We do not call people to anything except worshipof Allah, may He be
exalted, and we also call people to venerate and respect the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and not to impugn his
honour or slander his Companions. As we love all of the Sahaabah and
pray that Allah be pleased with them, and we seek to draw closer to
Allah by loving them, we also love and respect the people of the
Prophet's household (Ahlal-Bayt), and we seek to draw closer to Allah
by loving them.
Secondly:
With regard to your dealings with your father, what we advise you is:
1. Be kind in your dealings with him as much as possible.
2. Strive to serve him as much as you are able, and do not spare
any effort in doing so. Do not withhold any help orkind treatment from
him.
3. Focus on your studies and do not let your neglect of them be a
cause of you losing your religious commitment. What we understand from
your message is that your father wants to take steps to prevent you
from accessing our site and other beneficial Islamic sites because of
your studies. So do not give him that excuse; study and progress in
your studies; close the door to your father's shaytaan so that he will
not be able to make the issue of your studies a means of preventing
youfrom following true guidance.
4. Do not make an open show of visiting useful Islamic websites in
front of him, and do not make an open show of your following the path
of Ahl al-Sunnah in front of him. Even more important is not
arguingand debating with regard to good matters, because doing that
openly may motivate him to prevent you from following the path of true
guidance.
5. Pray for him and forall of your family to be guided to the
right path.Strive to make this du'aa' when you are prostrating and
during the last third of the night.
6. Finally, we advise you to use wisdom in dealing with your
father. If he teaches you to pray in the Shi'i manner and you cannot
reject it, then accept it from him and pretend toagree with him, but
prayin the manner established in the sound Sunnah. With regard to the
way the prayer is done, the matter is broad in scope in sha Allah, and
you come under the heading of one who is forced to do something. You
are at anage when you are not old enough to separate from him, so be
patient until the time comes when you can leave, then if Allah guides
your father before that, you can stay with them, or you can leave and
live independently, so as to protect your religious commitment.
And Allah knows best.

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What if you find a watch in the sand?

Suppose you find a watch in the middle of a desert. What would you
conclude? Would you think that someone dropped the watch? Or would you
suppose that the watch came by itself?
Of course no sane personwould say that the watch just happened to
emerge from the sand. All the intricate working parts could not simply
develop from the metals the lay buried in the earth. The watch must
have a manufacturer.
If a watch tells accurate time we expect the manufacturer must be
intelligent. Blind chance cannot produce a working watch.
But what else tells accurate time? Consider the sunrise and sunset.
Their timings are so strictly regulated that scientists can publish in
advance the sunrise and sunset times in your daily newspapers. But who
regulates the timings of sunrise and sunset? If a watch can not work
without an intelligent maker, how can the sun appear to rise and set
with such clockwork regularity? Could this occur by itself?
Consider also that we benefit from the sun only because it remains at
a safe distance from the earth, a distance thataverages 93 million
miles. If it got much closer the earth would burn up. And if it got
toofar away the earth would turn into an icy planet making human life
here impossible. Who decided in advancethat this was the right
distance? Could it just happen by chance?
Without the sun plants would not grow. Then animals and humans would
starve. Did the sun just decide to be there for us?
The rays of the sun would be dangerous for us had it not been for the
protective ozone layer in our atmosphere.The atmosphere around earth
keeps the harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching us. Who was it that
placed this shield around us?
We need to experience sunrise. We need the sun's energy and it's light
to see our way during the day. But we also need sunset. We need a
break from the heat, we need the cook of night and we need the lights
to out so we may sleep. Who regulated this process toprovide what we
need?
Moreover, if we had onlythe sun and the protection of the atmosphere
we would want something more-beauty. Our clothes provide warmth and
protection, yet we design them to also look beautiful. Knowing or need
for beauty, the designer of sunrise and sunset also made the view of
them to be simply breathtaking.
The creator who gave uslight, energy, protection and beauty deserves
ourthanks. Yet some people insist that he does not exist. What would
they think if they found a watch in the desert? An accurate, working
watch? A beautifully designed watch? Would they not conclude that
there does exist a watchmaker? An intelligent watchmaker? One who
appreciates beauty? Such is God whomade us. SubhanAllah!

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Hadees ~ Rain water, snow, and hail:

These substances are pure because Allah says so: "And sent down water
from the sky upon you, that thereby He might purify you..." (al-Anfal
1), and"We send down purifying water from the sky" (al-Furqan 48).
This is also supported by the following hadith: Abu Hurairah reported
that the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, used to be silent
between the (opening) takbir of the prayer and the verbal Qur'anic
recitation. Abu Hurairah asked him, "O Messenger of Allah, may my
father and mother be sacrificed for you, why do you remain silent
between the takbirand the recital? What do you say(silently during
that time)?" He said, "I say, 'O Allah, make a distance between me and
my sins similar to the distance you have made between the East and the
West. O Allah, cleanse me of my sins in the manner that a white
garment (is cleansed) from dirt. O Allah, wash my sins from me with
snow, water, and hail."' This hadith is related by the "group", except
for at-Tirmizhi.

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