The Prophet ﷺ said there are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than the first ten of Dhul Hijjah. Fasting the nine, takbir from dawn through dusk, the run-up to Arafah on the ninth, and the sacrifice on the tenth — a season the salaf treated with the seriousness of Ramadan’s last ten.
The Prophet ﷺ said: there are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten. They asked: not even jihad? He ﷺ said: not even jihad — except a man who went out with his life and his wealth and returned with neither.
al-Bukhari 969; Abu Dawud 2438
Ibn Umar (RA) and Abu Hurayrah (RA) would walk into the markets of Madinah during the first ten days saying takbir aloud, until the people repeated after them. The dhikr of the season was not private; it filled the public air.
al-Bukhari 970 (taʿliqan, reported with strong chains in al-Bayhaqi)
The 9th of Dhul Hijjah is Yawm Arafah — for the pilgrim, the pillar of Hajj; for the rest of the ummah, the most rewarded single day of fasting in the year. The day at the centre of the ten is the day the deen was perfected.
Muslim 1162; Surat al-Maidah 5:3
The 10th is the Day of Sacrifice — the Eid that closes the season of the ten and opens the Days of Tashriq (the 11th, 12th, 13th). The udhiyah (sacrifice) is from the Sunnah of Ibrahim ﷺ, revived by the Prophet ﷺ as a community-wide practice.
al-Bukhari 5550; Surat al-Kawthar 108:2
Whoever intends to sacrifice should not clip nails or cut hair from the first sighting of Dhul Hijjah until the sacrifice is offered. The body comes into a small fast of its own — a pause from grooming that joins the worshipper, in spirit, with the pilgrim in iḥram.
Muslim 1977 (Umm Salamah RA)
Eight blocks for any of the first nine days — heavier on the 9th for Arafah, replaced on the 10th by the Eid al-Adha routine. Clock times are illustrative; the day shifts with location and season, the shape does not.
These are days the Prophet ﷺ said no other days surpass in beloved deeds before Allah. Tahajjud in the last third of any of these nights, even short, weighs more than the long sittings of other months. Even two rakah count.
al-Bukhari 1145; Muslim 758 (Tahajjud); al-Bukhari 969 (the ten)
Fasting on the first nine days is recommended; the 10th is Eid and not fasted. The 9th — Yawm Arafah — is the most rewarded fast in the year, expiating two. Suhoor is the same as any voluntary fast: small, blessed, sustaining.
Abu Dawud 2437 (fasting the nine); Muslim 1162 (the day of Arafah)
Begin the day with Fajr in jamaah and sit in dhikr until the sun rises — the post-Fajr sitting carries the reward of a Hajj and umrah on any day; in this season, the reward sits inside an already-amplified pocket.
al-Tirmidhi 586 (graded hasan)
Ibn Umar (RA) and Abu Hurayrah (RA) used to walk to the marketplace during these ten days saying takbir aloud, until the people would say takbir with them. The unrestricted takbir runs from the first of Dhul Hijjah through the end of the Days of Tashriq. Pair the takbir with the daily Quran portion.
al-Bukhari 970 (ibn Umar and Abu Hurayrah in the marketplace)
From Fajr of the 9th through Asr of the 13th, the takbir is also recited after every fard prayer — the muqayyad (restricted) takbir, on top of the mutlaq (unrestricted) takbir of the wider season.
Practice of the Sahabah — al-Bayhaqi 5872; reported widely
From Asr onwards on any of the ten is a window for sadaqah, istighfar, salawat, and personal dua. The shape of the day's deeds matters less than their density. Ibn Rajab (RH) gathered seventeen forms of worship that are rewarded most heavily in these days.
Latāʾif al-Maʿārif — Ibn Rajab (RH)
Break the fast at the call to Maghrib; the dua at iftar is itself answered. Pray Maghrib, then a light meal. Continue the takbir; it does not pause for the evening.
al-Bukhari 1957 (hasten the iftar)
Pray Isha, then add what you can — a juz of recitation, two rakah of qiyam, salawat. These nights were treated by the salaf with a discipline closer to Ramadan’s last ten than to ordinary nights.
al-Bukhari 969 (the season of beloved deeds)
The wording carried from the Sahabah, repeated aloud across these days —
اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ، وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، وَلِلَّهِ الْحَمْدُ
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha illa-Llah, wa-Llahu akbar, Allahu akbar, wa lillahi-l-hamd.
Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, and to Allah belongs all praise.
Reported from Ibn Masʿud (RA), Ibn Abbas (RA) — al-Bayhaqi 5872 and others
Nine fasts queued from sighting. The takbir surfaced at the start of each prayer. A daily juz scheduled into the windows. The 9th transitions into the Arafah plan; the 10th into the Eid al-Adha routine. Solah is the scaffolding for the season most apps don’t even mark.