Excellence Of The Day Of `Arafah

 بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد 

From Shaikh Muhammad al-Malki’s lecture (summarized):

1. The favors and blessings of Allaah upon us are too many, we can neither count them nor can we thank Him fully for them.

2. Yet we are obliged to thank Him for these favors, because thanking Him for these favors only helps in increasing them, as Allaah تعالى said:

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ

{And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: “If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Me alone), I will give you more (of My Blessings), but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers), verily! My Punishment is indeed severe.”}

[Surah Ibraaheem (14): 7]

The Deeds Most Beloved To Allaah In These Ten Days!

 بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد 

All praise is for Allaah (alone), and the most perfect and complete prayers and peace be upon Muhammad, the Messenger of Allaah, the preeminent amongst the first and the last (of the descendants of `Aadam), and the Imaam of the Prophets and Messengers, the (first) one who will intercede and (the first one) whose intercession will be accepted on the Day of Judgment, and upon his nice family, and his pure wives – the mothers of the Believers, and his noble Companions, and upon those who follow his Sunnah and accepts his guidance till the Day of Judgment.

To proceed…

The Prophet ﷺ said: “There are no days in which good deeds are more beloved to Allaah than these days.” (Meaning the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah). They (the Companions) asked: “Not even Jihad?” He ﷺ replied: “Not even Jihad, except that of a man who does it by putting himself and his property in danger (for Allaah's sake) and does not return with any of those things.”
[Sunan Abu Dawood (2348), Sunan al-Tirmidhee (757), Sunan Ibn Maajah (1727), and graded as “Saheeh” by Shaikh al-Albaanee. Imaam al-Bukhaaree also reported in his Saheeh (969) with a slight different wording]