The ten.
The most beloved days.
ذو الحجة
"No days are more beloved to Allah for righteous action than these ten." Of all the worships — prayer, fasting, charity, dhikr — the first ten of Dhū al-Ḥijjah are the season in which they count the most.
Even without pilgrimage.
Fast what you can.
The Prophet ﷺ used to fast the first nine days. Any of them — especially the 9th, the Day of ʿArafah — is highly recommended for the non-pilgrim. The scholars say it expiates the sins of the year before and the year after.
Raise the takbīr.
Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, lā ilāha illā Allāh… The general takbīr runs from the first of the month through the thirteenth. Ibn ʿUmar and Abū Hurayra used to walk in the markets saying it until the people said it with them.
The day of standing.
For the non-pilgrim: fast and spend the day in duʿāʾ. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The best duʿāʾ is that of the day of ʿArafah." Turn to it with the same gravity the pilgrims do on the plain.
Full ruling on the ten days →The sacrifice.
The remembrance of Ibrāhīm and his son. Ibn Kathīr's retelling of the ultimate test, and why the classical scholars said sacrifice is a sunnah that should not be abandoned where it can be offered.
Read on Ibrāhīm →"There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days." They said: "Not even jihad in the path of Allah, O Messenger?" He said: "Not even jihad — except a man who went out with his person and his wealth, and came back with neither."
Don't let them pass.
Leave your email. We'll send a short ten-day plan the week before Dhū al-Ḥijjah — one passage a day, the takbīr, and duʿāʾ for ʿArafah.