The 10 Days of Dhul Hijjah: Best Days for Good Deeds

Ibn Abbas (RA) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: "There are no days on which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days." The companions asked: "Not even jihad in the way of Allah?" He said: "Not even jihad in the way of Allah, except for a man who goes out with his life and his wealth and does not return with either." (Sahih al-Bukhari 969). This comparison is the clearest possible statement of rank. Good deeds in these ten days outweigh the same deeds done at any other time of year, including the nights of Ramadan in terms of deeds by day.

These are not merely important days for pilgrims performing Hajj. They are an opportunity for every Muslim on earth, whether in Mecca or Madinah or Jakarta or London or Lagos, to access a season of reward that has no equal in the calendar. The gates of divine generosity are opened wide for ten days, and the believer who enters them with sincere deeds will find a return that far exceeds any investment of time or effort.

Why these days outrank all others

The question of why these particular ten days carry such weight has been answered by the scholars in several ways, all of which point to the same underlying reality: these are the days in which the greatest acts of worship converge in a single moment in a single place.

Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam, is performed in these days. The standing at Arafah, the tawaf around the Kaabah, the sa'y between Safa and Marwa, the stoning of the Jamarat, the sacrifice, the shaving of the head: all of these ancient rites of Ibrahim (AS) are completed in the first ten days and the days of tashreeq that follow. The entire ummah is spiritually oriented toward Mecca in these days, whether physically present or not.

The scholars note that these days combine the four greatest acts of worship in Islam: salah, fasting, sadaqah, and Hajj. No other period of the year brings all four together. Ibn al-Qayyim wrote in Zad al-Ma'ad that the ten days of Dhul Hijjah are the best days of the year, while the last ten nights of Ramadan are the best nights of the year, and that the two are not in competition but in complementarity.

Abdullah ibn Umar (RA) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "There are no days greater in the sight of Allah or in which deeds done in them are more beloved to Him than these ten days of Dhul Hijjah, so increase in them your tahlil, your takbir, and your tahmid." (Ahmad, with a sahih chain according to Ibn Hajar). The instruction is simple and direct: fill these days with remembrance of Allah.

What the Quran says about them

Allah swears an oath by the ten nights of Dhul Hijjah at the opening of Surah Al-Fajr. An oath in the Quran is not a casual rhetorical device. When Allah swears by something, He is directing the reader's attention to its immense significance.

"By the dawn, and by the ten nights." (Quran 89:1-2)

Ibn Abbas, Ibn al-Zubayr, Mujahid, and a large number of the earliest scholars of tafsir identified "the ten nights" here as the first ten nights of Dhul Hijjah. Ibn Kathir, after surveying the various opinions, stated that this is the strongest position. When Allah swears by something in His own Book, it carries a weight that no hadith commentary could add to. These nights are among the things Allah Himself has chosen to honor with an oath.

In Surah Al-Hajj, Allah commands the pilgrims and the believers to remember Him on specific days:

"That they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of Allah on known days over what He has provided for them of sacrifice animals." (Quran 22:28)

The "known days" (ayyam ma'lumat) in this verse refer, according to the majority of classical scholars including Ibn Abbas, to the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. The "known days" are contrasted elsewhere in the Quran with the "numbered days" (ayyam ma'dudat), which refer to the days of tashreeq. The remembrance and sacrifice commanded in these known days are the central acts of this season.

Dhikr and takbir: what to say and when

The Prophet ﷺ specifically commanded the increase of dhikr in these days. The narration in Tirmidhi 757 records: "There are no days more beloved to Allah for doing good deeds in them than these ten days. So increase in them your saying of tahlil, takbir, and tahmid."

The three forms of dhikr mentioned are:

Tahlil: La ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah)
Takbir: Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest)
Tahmid: Alhamdulillah (All praise belongs to Allah)

The scholars also include Tasbeeh (Subhanallah) in this list, and the comprehensive formula that combines all of them is well established: "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, la ilaha illallah, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, wa lillahi al-hamd." This is the takbir of Dhul Hijjah that should be said openly, repeatedly, and with conviction throughout the first ten days.

The companions would say the takbir openly in the marketplaces, in the streets, in the mosques, so that others would hear it and be reminded to do the same. This is not a private whispered dhikr. It is a public declaration of the greatness of Allah in a season that belongs to Him. The Salaf would say it loudly, and others would follow. In many Muslim-majority countries this practice has been revived, and hearing the takbirat rise from people in public spaces is one of the great atmospheric markers of Dhul Hijjah.

The takbir becomes specifically the takbir of Eid (takbir al-tashreeq) from the Fajr of the Day of Arafah (9th Dhul Hijjah) through the Asr prayer of the 13th of Dhul Hijjah. During this period, it is recommended to say the takbir after every obligatory prayer. This is an established sunnah practiced by the companions and recorded across the major collections of athar.

Fasting the first nine days

The Prophet ﷺ fasted the first nine days of Dhul Hijjah. Hafsah (RA) narrated: "The Prophet ﷺ never abandoned four things: fasting the Day of Ashura, fasting the ten days (of Dhul Hijjah), fasting three days of every month, and praying two rakats before Fajr." (Ahmad, Abu Dawud 2437, graded sahih by al-Albani)

Fasting any or all of the first nine days of Dhul Hijjah is a confirmed sunnah. For those who can only fast one day of this period, the most important day to fast is the ninth, the Day of Arafah, which has its own dedicated ruling and reward discussed in the next section.

For those who wish to fast the full nine days, the first of Dhul Hijjah through the ninth, this is an excellent and rewarding practice. The combination of fasting with increased dhikr, extra night prayer, and sadaqah in these days creates a season of worship comparable in intensity, if not in specific form, to the last ten nights of Ramadan.

If fasting all nine days is too much, even fasting several of them carries reward. The principle stated in the hadith about righteous deeds in these days being more beloved to Allah than at any other time applies to fasting just as it applies to every other act of worship. A fast performed on the 3rd of Dhul Hijjah carries more reward than the same fast performed on any random Monday in the rest of the year.

The Day of Arafah: expiating two years

The ninth of Dhul Hijjah is Yawm Arafah, the Day of Arafah. It is named after the plain of Arafah outside Mecca where the pilgrims stand in the central act of Hajj. The Prophet ﷺ called it the best day of the year. It is the day on which Allah takes pride before His angels in the pilgrims standing before Him, saying: "Look at My servants, they have come to Me disheveled, dusty, and from every distant mountain pass." (Ahmad, graded sahih)

For those not performing Hajj, the greatest act of worship on this day is fasting. The Prophet ﷺ said:

"Fasting the Day of Arafah, I hope Allah will expiate thereby the sins of the year before it and the year after it." (Sahih Muslim 1162)

This is an extraordinary promise. A single day of fasting is expected to carry the expiation of two full years of sins. The year before because those sins are already in the past and need to be wiped clean. The year after because Allah in His generosity grants a kind of advance protection against future shortcomings. The scholars note that this expiation applies to minor sins; major sins require specific repentance (tawbah nasuha) that includes acknowledgment, regret, cessation, and resolution not to return.

The fasting of Arafah is specifically for those who are not performing Hajj. The pilgrim at Arafah does not fast on that day. The standing (wuquf) at Arafah is itself the pinnacle of Hajj, and the pilgrims need their strength and clarity for the supplications, the standing, and the journey back after sunset. The Prophet ﷺ forbade fasting on Arafah for pilgrims. (Sahih al-Bukhari 1988)

On the Day of Arafah, in addition to fasting, the Muslim should increase their dua, their dhikr, and their reading of the Quran. Many scholars consider this the single best day of the year for dua outside of Laylat al-Qadr. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The best supplication is the supplication of the Day of Arafah." (Tirmidhi 3585, graded hasan)

Why not to cut hair or nails before the udhiyah

One of the lesser-known but clearly established rulings of Dhul Hijjah concerns the person who intends to offer an udhiyah sacrifice. The Prophet ﷺ said:

"When the ten days begin and one of you intends to offer a sacrifice, let him not cut his hair or clip his nails." (Sahih Muslim 1977)

The restriction is to refrain from cutting hair from any part of the body and from trimming or cutting the nails, from the start of Dhul Hijjah until after the sacrifice has been made on Eid al-Adha or during the days of tashreeq. This applies to the person offering the sacrifice, not to every member of their household.

The wisdom behind this ruling, as the scholars have explained, is that the person offering the udhiyah enters a state that is in some ways analogous to the state of the pilgrim in ihram, who is also prohibited from cutting hair or nails. The animal sacrifice is an act of drawing near to Allah (taqarrub), and the person making the offering participates in the spirit of the sacrifice by giving up something of their own comfort and usual routine for the duration of these days. It is a small but meaningful form of solidarity with the pilgrims, a reminder that the entire ummah is participating in the spirit of this season even if only some are physically present in Mecca.

If a person forgets and cuts their hair or nails, they should continue with the sacrifice. The cutting does not invalidate the udhiyah. The Prophet ﷺ said this is something that should be avoided, but the scholars of the four major schools agree it is not an invalidating condition; it is a strong recommendation whose violation requires no expiation. The person should seek forgiveness for the oversight and proceed with the sacrifice.

If a person did not initially intend to offer an udhiyah but decides partway through Dhul Hijjah to do so, they should stop cutting hair and nails from that point forward. They are not required to make up for the days already passed.

Udhiyah: the sacrifice on Eid al-Adha

The udhiyah, also called qurbani in South Asian and Turkish communities, is the animal sacrifice offered in the days of Eid al-Adha. It commemorates the great trial of Ibrahim (AS) who was commanded to sacrifice his son and who submitted completely, after which Allah ransomed his son with a great sacrifice from Himself. The Quran refers to this event in Surah As-Saffat (37:100-107) and the practice of udhiyah continues Ibrahim's legacy in every Muslim household that is able to perform it.

Allah says: "That they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of Allah on known days over what He has provided for them of sacrifice animals." (Quran 22:28). The mention of Allah's name over the animal, the takbir at the moment of slaughter, connects every udhiyah across the world back to that original act of submission.

The timing is critical. The udhiyah begins after the Eid prayer on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah and continues through the days of tashreeq: the 11th, 12th, and 13th. The Prophet ﷺ was explicit: "Whoever slaughtered before the prayer, let him slaughter another in its place, and whoever has not yet slaughtered, let him slaughter in the name of Allah." (Sahih al-Bukhari 5562). An udhiyah offered before the Eid prayer does not count and must be repeated.

The valid animals for udhiyah are sheep (one per household), goats (one per household), cattle (shared among up to seven people), and camels (shared among up to seven people). The animal must be free of major defects: it must not be blind in one eye, severely lame, extremely thin, or have a serious ear or horn defect. Minor defects are permissible. The animal should ideally be in good health and of good quality; the Prophet ﷺ encouraged offering healthy, well-fed animals.

The meat of the udhiyah is distributed in three portions: one third for the family, one third for relatives and friends, and one third for the poor. This distribution is the sunnah and ensures that the act of worship becomes an act of community care. Every family in the neighborhood, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, can feel the generosity of the season.

It is permissible to delegate the slaughter to a butcher or to an organization that distributes the meat to those in need, including organizations that sacrifice on behalf of donors in countries where meat is scarce. This has become the predominant form of udhiyah for Muslims living in non-Muslim majority countries, and it is a valid and accepted practice.

Eid al-Adha

Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah and is the greater of the two Eids in Islamic tradition. Its Arabic name means the Festival of the Sacrifice, and everything about the day revolves around the act of offering, giving, and gratitude.

The day begins with the Eid prayer, which is a communal prayer performed in the early morning after sunrise, either in an open field (musalla) or in the mosque. The Prophet ﷺ and the companions prayed the Eid prayer outdoors, and this is the preferred practice. The Eid prayer consists of two rakats with additional takbirat: seven in the first rakat and five in the second, before the recitation in each rakat. The imam delivers a khutbah after the prayer, unlike the Jumuah khutbah which comes before.

On Eid al-Adha specifically, the takbirat should be said on the way to the prayer, out loud, as a declaration of joy and gratitude. Eating before the Eid al-Adha prayer is not recommended; the sunnah is to eat from the udhiyah meat after the prayer and sacrifice. This contrasts with Eid al-Fitr, where the sunnah is to eat dates before going to the prayer.

Wearing one's best clothes, greeting fellow Muslims with "Eid Mubarak" or "Taqabbal Allahu minna wa minkum" (May Allah accept from us and from you), visiting family, and giving gifts to children are all established practices of the Eid. The joy of Eid is not in contradiction with the seriousness of the worship that preceded it. The Prophet ﷺ said: "For every people there is a feast, and this is our feast." (Sahih al-Bukhari 952). Eid is the Muslim celebration, and celebrating it with joy, community, and gratitude is itself an act of worship.

A practical day-by-day approach

The ten days can feel overwhelming if approached as a block. A practical structure helps to make the most of each one without burning out by day five.

Days 1-8: Begin each day with the intention of multiplying good deeds. After every obligatory prayer, add five to ten minutes of dhikr using the forms mentioned above: takbir, tahmid, tahlil, tasbeeh. Say them aloud, not only in the heart. Fast as many of these days as you comfortably can. Give sadaqah each day, even a small amount. Read a portion of the Quran beyond your normal routine. Perform any voluntary prayers you can manage, especially the night prayer and the Duha prayer.

Day 9 (Arafah): Fast the entire day if you are not a pilgrim. Make this the most intensive day of dua in the entire year. Begin the specific takbirat of Eid after the Fajr prayer on this day and continue them through every prayer until Asr on the 13th. Recite the best dua of Arafah abundantly: "La ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu al-mulk wa lahu al-hamd wa huwa ala kulli shay'in qadir." (Tirmidhi 3585)

Day 10 (Eid): Do not eat before the prayer if you are offering an udhiyah. Go to the Eid prayer in your best clothes. Say the takbirat on the way. After the prayer, offer or arrange the udhiyah. Eat from it. Visit family. Celebrate with gratitude.

Days 11-13 (Tashreeq): Continue the takbirat after every prayer. For those who offered an udhiyah, the days of tashreeq are the remaining days within which the sacrifice can be made if it was not done on day 10. Continue fasting if you wish, though the three days of tashreeq are days of eating and drinking according to the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ (Muslim 1141), so fasting on them is prohibited for the pilgrim and discouraged for others.

The ten days of Dhul Hijjah are a gift from Allah to every Muslim who is alive to witness them. The pilgrim at Mecca has the Hajj. The rest of the ummah has these days of worship, open to anyone who chooses to fill them with dhikr, fasting, generosity, and prayer. The Prophet ﷺ would have known, when he made that statement about these days surpassing all others in the worth of good deeds, that only a fraction of the ummah would ever make it to Mecca. The rest would have these days. He wanted them to know that the rest could also access something extraordinary, right where they stood.