Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you all. I'm Abdullah Oduro and welcome. When is Hajj? When is the ceremonial practices of the Prophet Ibrahim, alayhi salam, to be performed? Well, as we talked about firstly, let's remember that we cannot go by the Gregorian calendar to figure out when Hajj is in particular. Because Hajj is in the 12th month of the lunar calendar or the Islamic calendar, which is 11 days less than the Gregorian solar calendar, which is in the 12th month called Dhul Hijjah. Now, Dhul Hijjah is the last month of the Islamic calendar. Yes, we do have 12 months, which has been confirmed in the Qur'an. It is particularly in the first 10 or 13 days of this month, particularly starting from the 8th all the way to the 13th. Now, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, within his wisdom, as we know, there are some connections between the Bible and the Qur'an, but the Qur'an may confirm certain things that we may find in other scriptures in the Torah and in the Bible. From this, some scholars mention that these first 10 days are the last 10 days of the 40 nights that Musa was promised when he went to go to Mount Sinai and to speak to God, and he was given what some may consider the 10 commandments. As Allah the Exalted says in chapter number seven, verse number 142, after Audhu Billahi minash-shaitanir rajim, Wa wa'adanaa musa thalathina laylatan wa atmamnaa haa bi'ashrin fatamma miqatu rabbihi arba'eena layla Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, Wa wa'adanaa musa thalathina laylatan and we have promised Musa or given Moses 30 nights, and then we completed it with 10.
So it has been formed to be arba'eena layla, 40 nights. And some scholars say here, these 10 nights that were added are the first 10 nights of the month of Dhul Hijjah. And then Allah continues on to say here after Audhu Billahi minash-shaitanir rajim, Wa qala musa li akhihi haroon, khlufni fee qawmi wa aslih lawat wa la ta'tabi' sabila almufsideen Then Moses says to his brother Aaron, Haroon, Wa qala musa li akhihi haroon, khlufni fee qawmi wa aslih wa la ta'tabi' sabila almufsideen Then Moses said to his brother Aaron, take my place and do right and do not follow the way of the wrongdoers. So he left his brother Aaron with the Israelites so he could go and meet Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la at the Mount Sinai or speak to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la to be given the commandments, which is further mentioned in the next verses, 143 through 145. It even talks about when Moses comes back. So seeing here the beauty of the correlation that we may find in other scriptures, but confirming these 10 days of Dhul Hijjah, which can serve as a remembrance and a reminder for us that Islam is a universal religion and that it always calls to the oneness of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and doesn't concentrate solely around the Prophet himself, remembering that the Prophet was sent to give the message. So Hajj is in these 10 days, primarily starting on the ninth day. Now, we see that you, whether you're in America or any place in the world, you have to come to Mecca and the places we will talk about. But when looking on the calendar of Dhul Hijjah, Hajj primarily starts on the ninth all the way to the 13th. The ninth, particularly you will be in Mina all the way to the 10th, which you will move on to Arafah.
And Arafah, some people call Arafah because it comes from, from Araf is to know something or Ma'ruf, which is known. And this is where some scholars mentioned that this is where Adam met Eve. And this is actually where we were all created and we were predestined and Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la asked us, Alastu bi-rabbikum qalu bala shahidina Am I not your Lord? And we all acknowledged and said, yes, you are our Lord. From this on the ninth, we will move on at Salatul Maghrib, go on to a place called Muzdalifah, which is an empty plain also. You will stay the night there. And in the morning of the 10th, you will go on to Mecca and then come back to Mina. And the 10th is the day of Eid, which as you know, the day of Eid and Ramadan, which we have, there is also Eid Al-Adha. And Eid Al-Adha means that there is something called Al-Udhia. And Udhia is that animal which you sacrifice. This is one of the practices that are done on the 10th day to show and celebrate and commemorate the practice of Ibrahim and to show gratefulness and gratitude to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la from what he has provided for you. As we mentioned in the verse, when Allah told Ibrahim to perform the pilgrimage. So the 10th will be the day of Eid. There are certain things that you have to perform. Then you will move on back to Mina in the 11th and stay there by choice. You don't have to on the 12th and 13th. So typically or generally, we see that Hajj is from the 9th to the 13th, but particularly the season of Hajj are a number of months, primarily four. And these days, the 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah, they are categorized or particularized because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, mentioned that there are no days that the actions of good are best to perform on any days like the 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah. And Allah knows best,
there may be some connection and significance between those 10 days that Moses went to speak to his Lord, asked to speak to his Lord while fasting and these beautiful 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah. May Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la bless you to be of those that take advantage of your time and to be of those when taking advantage of their time. It's filled with remembrance, patience, love, and happiness. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Thank you.