A murabbi from Denmark wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa and asked whether the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah carried more merit than the last ten days of Ramadan. Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 22 August 2021, gave the following answer to his question:
“Neither the Holy Quran nor the ahadith of the Holy Prophetsa provide a comparative assessment of the excellence of these two months. However, the abundance of virtues and blessings of the two months and of the worship performed in them have indeed been described. These virtues have been described in general terms and sometimes the Holy Prophetsa has also described them based on the circumstances of the questioner or the situation.
“Based on those virtues described in the Holy Quran and the Hadith, in some ways, the last ten days of Ramadan, the acts of worship performed during them and the commands revealed during them appear to be more excellent, but in some respects, the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah and the acts of worship performed during them seem to be superior. Hence, the Holy Prophetsa said on one occasion:
سَيِّدُ الشُّهُورِ شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ وَأَعْظَمُهَا حُرْمَةً ذُو الْحِجَّةِ
“‘The chief of all months is the month of Ramadan, and the most inviolable and sacrosanct of them is the month of Dhu al-Hijjah.’ (Shu‘ab al-Iman by Imam al-Bayhaqi, Fasl takhsisi ‘ayyami l-‘ashri min dhil hijjah, Hadith 3597)”