Dhul Hijjah and the Day of Arafah: The Ten Days, Fasting, Takbir and Udhiyah

They are the days in which, according to authentic hadith, righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than on any other days. Sahih al-Bukhari 969 reports the Prophet saying that no good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these, which the sunnah.com translation glosses as the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah; al-Bukhari placed it in a chapter on the days of tashriq. Sunan Abi Dawud 2438 and Jami at-Tirmidhi 757, graded sahih on sunnah.com by al-Albani and Darussalam respectively, name the ten days explicitly.

When the Companions asked whether even striving in Allah's path was not better, he replied that it was not, except for a man who went out with his life and his wealth and returned with nothing.

The Qur'an also points to these days. Surah Al-Fajr opens by swearing by the dawn and by ten nights, and Ibn Kathir records that Ibn Abbas, Ibn al-Zubayr, Mujahid and others among the early and later scholars identified the ten nights with the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. In a chapter preface of Sahih al-Bukhari, Ibn Abbas explains the well-known days of remembrance as these ten days and the fixed number of appointed days as the days of tashriq, wording that corresponds to Qur'an 22:28 and 2:203.

Sources: [7] [9] [10] [1] [2] [8] [3] [4]

Any good deed is included, and the reports highlight remembrance of Allah, takbir, prayer, charity and fasting. The Hanbali summary on IslamQA recommends fasting, charity, remembrance and other righteous deeds because these are the best days, and the Hanafi answer on SeekersGuidance calls fasting the first nine days recommended for those able to do it.

Takbir has a special place. According to a chapter preface in Sahih al-Bukhari, Ibn Umar and Abu Hurayrah went out to the market during the ten days saying takbir, and people said takbir after them. The next preface describes Umar's takbir at Mina being taken up until the whole of Mina resounded with it, Maymunah saying takbir on the Day of Sacrifice, and women saying takbir with the men in the mosque during the nights of tashriq.

• Say takbir and praise Allah often, at home, at work and on the way, not only after prayers.
• Protect the five daily prayers and add voluntary prayer, especially at night.
• Fast what you can of the first nine days, and above all the Day of Arafah.
• Give charity, and help family and neighbours prepare for Eid.

Sources: [27] [28] [8]

Many scholars regard it as recommended, although the reports differ and are reconciled in different ways. Sunan Abi Dawud 2437, graded sahih by al-Albani on sunnah.com, reports one of the Prophet's wives saying that he used to fast the nine days of Dhul Hijjah, Ashura and three days of every month. Sahih Muslim 1176a, by contrast, records Aisha saying that she never saw him fasting in the ten days.

The Hanbali answer on IslamQA calls fasting all nine days a Sunnah and the view of the majority of scholars. It argues that the general encouragement of good deeds includes fasting, that a report affirming an act takes precedence over one that does not, and that Aisha described what she herself saw. The Hanafi answer on SeekersGuidance says the school permits and recommends the fast for those who can, but advises against fasting every day if one thinks it binding, if it causes hardship, or if it leads to neglecting the rights of others.

Only nine days can be fasted. The tenth is the Day of Sacrifice, and Sahih al-Bukhari 1990 records Umar reporting that the Prophet forbade fasting on the day you break your fast and the day you eat your sacrifice. If you cannot fast all nine, fasting some of them, or only the Day of Arafah, is still worthwhile.

Sources: [11] [12] [27] [28] [13]

The Day of Arafah is the ninth of Dhul Hijjah, when pilgrims stand at Arafah, and fasting it at home carries a great reported reward. In Sahih Muslim 1162b the Prophet, asked about fasting the Day of Arafah, said that it expiates the sins of the preceding year and the coming year; in the wording of Sahih Muslim 1162a he expresses his hope from Allah for that expiation.

It is also a day of mercy and supplication. Sahih Muslim 1348 reports that there is no day on which Allah frees more servants from the Fire than the Day of Arafah. The Hanafi answer on SeekersGuidance counts it among the days on which supplication is more likely to be accepted. Jami at-Tirmidhi 3585 calls the supplication of the Day of Arafah the best supplication and names the best words as la ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamd, wa huwa ala kulli shay'in qadir; al-Tirmidhi noted a weak narrator in its chain, and sunnah.com shows it as da'if.

The fast runs from dawn to sunset on the ninth by your local Hijri calendar. If that differs from the day on which pilgrims stand at Arafah, ask your local scholars which day your community fasts.

Sources: [15] [14] [16] [23] [17]

Most scholars consider it better for pilgrims standing at Arafah not to fast, so that they have strength for worship and supplication. Sahih al-Bukhari 1988 reports that people at Arafah disagreed over whether the Prophet was fasting, so Umm al-Fadl sent him a bowl of milk, and he drank it while mounted on his camel.

IslamOnline's summary, quoting Fiqh as-Sunnah, says that this led most scholars to conclude that the pilgrim should not fast that day, and that the reports encouraging the fast concern those who are not at Arafah. The Hanafi answer on SeekersGuidance says the fast remains recommended even for a pilgrim in that school if it does not weaken him from spending the day in worship. Pilgrims should also follow their group's advice on heat and health; the Hajj guide covers the rites themselves.

Sources: [18] [29] [23]

It depends on your school, but the common core is from the Day of Arafah or the Day of Sacrifice until the thirteenth of Dhul Hijjah. Shaykh Dr Muhammad Fayez Awad's answer on SeekersGuidance distinguishes unrestricted takbir, said at any time from the start of Dhul Hijjah until sunset on the thirteenth, from restricted takbir, said after the obligatory prayers. The schools differ over when the restricted takbir starts and ends, whether it follows every obligatory prayer or only congregational ones, and its legal weight, as the table shows.

Within the Hanafi school, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani explains that Abu Hanifa's own position was eight prayers, and that the longer period held by his students Abu Yusuf and Muhammad is the one chosen for fatwa. Pilgrims begin later, at Dhuhr on the Day of Sacrifice, in the Shafi'i and Hanbali accounts; the Hanbali answer explains that they are occupied with the talbiyah before then.

Sources: [24] [23] [25] [26] [27]

The udhiyah, the sacrifice of Eid al-Adha, is necessary in the Hanafi school for a sane adult Muslim who is resident and owns the nisab, and an emphasised Sunnah in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools and in one narration from Imam Malik. Shaykh Faraz A. Khan's answer on SeekersGuidance records these positions and the other narration from Malik that it is necessary. Ustadh Salman Younas adds that in the Hanafi school travellers, including pilgrims, are exempt from the obligation but still encouraged to sacrifice if they can.

Its time starts only after the Eid prayer: Sahih al-Bukhari 5545 reports that an animal slaughtered before the prayer is simply meat for one's family, not a sacrifice. In Awad's comparative answer, the days of sacrifice are the tenth to the twelfth of Dhul Hijjah in the Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools, so the window closes at sunset on the twelfth, while the Shafi'i school adds the days of tashriq, which end at sunset on the thirteenth. The Hanafi answer on SeekersGuidance gives the end as Maghrib on the twelfth, and the Hanbali summary on IslamQA states that a sacrifice on the thirteenth is not valid in that school.

The sacrifice recalls Ibrahim's readiness to sacrifice his son, described in Qur'an 37:102-107, and Qur'an 22:36-37 reminds believers that neither flesh nor blood reaches Allah, only their devotion. The Eid prayer guide covers the prayer that comes first.

Sources: [30] [31] [20] [24] [32] [27] [6] [5]

The hadith asks someone who intends to sacrifice not to cut their hair or nails once Dhul Hijjah begins, and the schools differ on how strictly to read it. Sahih Muslim 1977c and 1977d report, from Umm Salamah, the Prophet's instruction that someone who intends to sacrifice should not have his hair cut or his nails trimmed once the ten days of Dhul Hijjah begin.

The Federal Territory Mufti in Malaysia gives the relied-upon Shafi'i position that refraining is Sunnah and cutting is mildly disliked, makruh tanzih, noting al-Nawawi's report that Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Rabi'ah, Ahmad and others read the hadith as a prohibition. The Hanbali summary on IslamQA says the Hanbali school prohibits it, while many other scholars consider it disliked. The Hanafi answer on SeekersGuidance says it is recommended to avoid cutting hair and nails until your animal has been sacrificed.

In each of these accounts the restraint ends once the sacrifice has been made, which may be on the day of Eid or later within the window. If a charity or relative slaughters on your behalf, find out when it has been done.

Sources: [21] [22] [34] [27] [33]

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