Dhul Hijjah, the final month of the Islamic calendar, is a very significant and sacred month. It's not only when Hajj and Eid al-Adha occur but the first ten days of the month are often referred to as the best of the year.

Dhul Hijjah in Arabic means "The Month of the Pilgrimage".  

Pilgrims from all around the world come together in Makkah to fulfil the fifth pillar of Islam in the hope they will have all their previous sins forgiven upon completion.

Regardless of whether one is making Hajj or not, the first ten days of the month are important to all Muslims.

It's an opportunity for people to spend their time in remembrance of Allah and do more acts of worship, like fasting, sadaqah, voluntary prayer, dua and dhikr.

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The significance of Dhul Hijjah

Several Hadiths detail the importance of this period in Dhul Hijjah:

"There are no days on which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days." (Bukhari)

"There are no days that are greater before Allah or in which good deeds are more beloved to Him than these ten days, so recite a great deal of tahleel, takbeer and tahmeed during them." (Ahmad):

One of the wives of Muhammad (PBUH) said: "Allah's Messenger used to fast the [first] nine days of Dhul Hijjah, the day of 'Ashurah, and three days of each month." (Abu Dawud)

In a recent episode of IslamiQA, Sheikh Abid Khan tells us why these days are amongst the holiest and points out how scholars discussed whether the ten days of Dhul Hijjah are weightier than the last ten days of Ramadan.

The Shiekh stresses the importance of doing extra acts of Ibadah, just as we would do during Ramadan.

Watch the segment to find out more about the month and how you can maximise those ten days.