This excerpt is taken from the book by Sheikh Abi Abdul Saboor Abdul Ghafoor Damni Fazail al-Jihad.
عن ابن عباس عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال: ما العمل فى أيام أفضل منها فى هذه العشر قالوا ولا الجهاد قال ولا الجهاد إلا رجل خرج يخاطر بنفسه وماله فلم يرجع بشيء.
"Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that he reported from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that he said: 'There is no deed more virtuous than the deeds of these ten days (the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah).' The people asked: 'Not even in Jihad?' The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: 'Not even in Jihad, except for the person who goes out risking his life and wealth and returns with nothing (meaning he sacrificed everything in the way of Allah).'"
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari) (Narrated by Bukhari, Book of the Two Eids, Chapter on the Virtue of Deeds in the Days of Tashreeq, Number: 969)
Benefits
➊ The ten days refer to the first decade of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, which are considered the best days.
➋ This hadith clearly shows the greatness of Jihad, and it also indicates that there are different levels of Jihad, the highest level being that a person sacrifices his life for the cause of Allah's religion.
➌ This hadith also clarifies the virtue of the ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah and shows the great importance of righteous deeds performed during this period.
➍ The virtue of martyrdom: It is established from the mentioned hadith that no deed performed during the ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah is superior or better than others, except for the person who goes out in the way of Allah with his life and wealth and returns with nothing, meaning he becomes a martyr; then his act of martyrdom is superior even to the deeds of the days of Dhu al-Hijjah.
