Dhu al-Hijjah


Dhu al-Hijjah, also spelled Zu al-Hijjah, is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. It is a very sacred month in the Islamic calendar, one in which the Ḥajj takes place as well as the Festival of the Sacrifice.
"Dhu al-Hijjah" literally means "Possessor of the Pilgrimage" or "The Month of the Pilgrimage". During this month Muslim pilgrims from all around the world congregate at Mecca to visit the Kaaba. The Hajj is performed on the eighth, ninth and the tenth of this month. Day of Arafah takes place on the ninth of the month. Eid al-Adha, the "Festival of the Sacrifice", begins on the tenth day and ends on sunset of the 13th.
In the Ottoman Empire times, the name in Ottoman Turkish was Zī-'l-Hìjjé or Zil-hig̃g̃e. In modern Turkish, the name is Zilhicce.

''Hadiths''

According to Islamic traditions, the first 10 days of Dhu al-Hijjah are the most blessed days in which to do good deeds according to Imam Ali: "9-10 Dhu al Hajjah are the best days for nikkah relations."
Narrated Ibn Abbas: The Prophet said, "No good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these." Then some companions of the Prophet said, "Not even Jihad?" He replied, "Not even Jihad, except that of a man who does it by putting himself and his property in danger and does not return with any of those things."
Muhammad used to fast the first nine days of this month, owing to their perceived virtue:
One of the wives of Muhammad said: "Allah's Messenger used to fast the nine days of Dhul-Hijjah, the day of 'Ashurah, and three days of each month."

Timing

The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Dhu al-Hijjah migrates throughout the seasons. The estimated start and end dates for Dhu al-Hijjah, based on the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia, are:
AHFirst day Last day
143912 August 201810 September 2018
14402 August 201930 August 2019
144122 July 202019 August 2020
144211 July 20218 August 2021
144330 June 202229 July 2022
144419 June 202318 July 2023

Special days

The following acts have been prescribed for the first nine days of Dhu al-Hijjah
On the days of Qurbani, i.e. 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhu al-Hijjah, the greatest action is the spilling of blood of a sacrificial animal.

Reward for fasting and ''Tahajjud''

According to the hadith, great rewards have been mentioned for fasting the first nine days of Dhu al-Hijjah and standing in worship in the first 10 nights of Dhu al-Hijjah:
This hadith has been classed as a daeef hadith by many scholars,
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi ; al-Bazzaar and Ibn Maajah via Abu Bakr ibn Naafi‘ al-Basri, who said: Mas‘ood ibn Waasil told us, from Nahhaas ibn Qaham, from Qataadah, from Sa‘eed ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah. 
This is a da‘eef isnaad because of an-Nahhaas ibn Qaham and Mas‘ood ibn Waasil. Hence the scholars of hadith unanimously agreed that it is to be classed as da‘eef. 
At-Tirmidhi said: 
This is a ghareeb hadith, which we know only from the hadith of Mas‘ood ibn Waasil, from an-Nahhaas. 
I asked Muhammad – i.e., al-Bukhaari – about this hadith and he did not know it except via this isnaad. 
Some of this was also narrated from Qataadah, from Sa‘eed ibn al-Musayyab, from the Prophet in a mursal report. Yahya ibn Sa‘eed criticised Nahhaas ibn Qaham with regard to his memory. End quote. 
Al-Baghawi said: 
Its isnaad is da‘eef  
Sharh as-Sunnah  
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
There is some weakness in it. End quote 
Sharh al-‘Umdah  
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said: 
Its isnaad is da‘eef. End quote. 
Fath al-Baari  
It was classed as da‘eef by Shaykh al-Albaani in as-Silsilah ad-Da‘eefah. 
The reason for the 10 days being distinguished is due to the combination of worship in this period of prayer, fasting, charity, Takbir and Hajj.
From the first nine days of Dhu al-Hijjah, it is particularly recommended to fast the Day of Arafah as expiation of the sin of two years:

General events