Wednesday 6 May 2015

Word of the Month for Rajab

A translation of this article from Naseem al-Sham

In the Name of Allah, the All Merciful, the Most Merciful


شهر رجب

Word of the Month for Rajab

By Asmāʾ Ramaḍān

Translated by Mahdi Lock

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all Creation, praise that complies with His blessings and compensates His abundance, and blessings and peace be upon our master Muammad, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him and all his family and Companions.

To proceed:

Al-Bukhārī and Muslim have related in their two Ṣaḥīḥ collections, from the adīth of our master Abū Bakrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave a khuṭbah in his farewell pilgrimage and in that khuṭbah he said, {Indeed time has come full circle and returned to how it was the day Allah created the heavens and the earth. The year is twelve months and four of them are sacred, three of which are in succession: Dhūl Qaʿdah, Dhūl ijjah and Muarram, and the other is Rajab Muḍar, which comes between Jumādā and Shaʿbān}…and the rest of the adīth.

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has said in Sūrat at-Tawbah: {There have been twelve months with Allah in the Book of Allah, from the day He first created the heavens and the earth. Four of them are sacred. That is the true religion. So do not wrong one another during them. However, fight the idolaters totally just as they fight you totally, and know that Allah is with the godfearing.} [At-Tawbah 9:36]

Thus, Allah, Glorified is He, has informed us that since the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the creation of night and day, both have revolved in their orbits and as a result we have the darkness of the night and the whiteness of the day, and that was when the year was made to comprise twelve months based on the sighting of the crescent moon.

Therefore, the year in the Revealed Law is measured according to the moon and its ascending, not the sun and its passage through the zodiac, as is done by the People of the Book.


From these months, Allah, Glorified and Exalted, has made four sacred, and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, clarified which ones they are in the aforementioned adīth.

-          There has been a difference of opinion as to which of the sacred months is best:
-          One opinion is that it is Rajab, and this is the position of some of the Shāfiʿīs and was it declared weak by Imam an-Nawawī and others.
-          Another opinion is that is al-Muarram, and this is the preferred opinion of Imam an-Nawawī.
-          Still another opinion is that it is Dhūl ijjah, and this has been related from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr and others, and it is the more prominent position[1]…and Allah knows best.

-          His statement, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, {Indeed time has come full circle and returned to how it was the day Allah created the heavens and the earth. The year is twelve months…} is a nullification of the deferring of months[2] that was done in the Age of Ignorance,  as people in the Age of Ignorance would swap the sacred months with other months according to their needs.

-          There has also been a difference of opinion as to why these four month are called sacred [aram]:
-          One opinion is that it is because of their esteemed sanctity and the unlawfulness of committing sins therein, and it has been related from Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, ‘Allah has singled out four months and made them sacred. He has esteemed their sanctity and made sinning therein weightier, and He has made righteous action and its reward weightier.’ Kaʿb said, ‘Allah has chosen time, and the most beloved of it to Allah is the sacred months.’
-          Another opinion is that they are called ḥaram because fighting is unlawful therein, and this was known in the Age of Ignorance.
-          Another opinion is that the reason these months were made sacred, out of all other months, is to facilitate the performance of Ḥajj and ʿUmrah, and therefore the month of Dhūl Ḥijja had been made sacred because Ḥajj takes place therein, and the month of Dhūl Qaʿdah has been made sacred along with it because that’s when the journey towards Ḥajj is made. The month of Muḥarram has likewise been made sacred because that’s when the return journey from Ḥajj is made, so that the pilgrim can feel safe and secure from the moment he leaves his house till the moment he returns. The month of Rajab has been made sacred so that ʿUmrah can be performed in the middle of the year, and thus those who are close to Makkah perform ʿUmrah therein.

-          Regarding his statement, may Allah bless him and grant him peace {and Rajab Muḍar), Rajab was called Rajab because it is held in awe [yurajjab], i.e. exalted.
-          Another opinion is that the angels devote themselves to glorifying and praising Allah in this month.
-          As for it being added to Muḍar, one opinion is that the people of Muḍar would greatly exalt and respect this month, and thus it was attributed to them.
-          Another opinion is that the people of Rabīʿah would make Ramaḍān sacred, while the people of Muḍar made Rajab sacred, and thus it was called Rajab Muḍar, and this is verified by his statement, {which comes between Jumādā and Shaʿbān}…

-          Some have mentioned that the month of Rajab has fourteen names: the Month of Allah, Rajab, Rajab Muḍar, Munṣil al-Asinnah, al-Aṣamm, Munaffis, Muṭahhir, Muqīm, Harim, Muqashqish, Mubarriʾ, Fard

-          There are several rulings attached to the month of Rajab, some of which come from the Age of Ignorance, and the scholars have differed as to whether they continued to apply in Islam, such as the prohibition of fighting. The majority hold the position that such a prohibition was abrogated. Another example is ritual sacrifices, as people in the Age of Ignorance would slaughter an animal and call it al-ʿatīrah, and the scholars have differed regarding its ruling in Islam. The majority hold the position that Islam nullified it…

-          Abū Dāwūd and an-Nasāʾī have related on the authority of Nubayshah, that they said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we did the ʿatīrah in the Age of Ignorance…’ i.e. in Rajab. He responded, [Sacrifice for Allah in any month, and obey Allah and feed people.}
-          It is on the authority of al-asan, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, ‘There is no ʿatirah in Islam. ʿAtīrah was only in the Age of Ignorance. Someone would fast the month of Rajab and do the ʿatīrah therein.  A sacrifice would make Rajab a season [mawsam] followed by a festival [ʿīd], for eating sweets and the like…and it has been related from Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with him, that he disliked making a festival for Rajab.
-          At-Ṭabarānī and Ibn Mājah have related from Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, ‘The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would forbid fasting the entire month of Rajab so as to avoid a festival being made for it.’
-          In the Muṣannaf, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Ibn Ṭāwūs, on the authority of his father, who said, ‘The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, {Do not make a month a festival, nor a day a festival}, and the foundation of this is that it has not been legislated for the Muslims to make anything a festival apart from what has come in the Revealed Law as a festival, which is the day of al-Fiṭr[3] and the day of al-Aḍḥā[4] followed by the days of tashrīq. These are the annual festivals, while Friday is the weekly festival. Apart from these, making anything else a festival or season is an innovation [bidʿah] that has no basis in the Revealed Law.

·         Some of the rulings of Rajab (what has been mentioned regarding fasting, prayer and ʿUmrah):

-          As for prayer, nothing has been authentically related regarding Rajab having any specific prayer that is exclusive to it. The aḥādīth that have been related regarding the virtue of Ṣalāt ar-Raghāʾib are false, baseless and inauthentic. This prayer is an innovation according to the vast majority of scholars, and this has been mentioned by the following prominent latter-day scholars and memorisers of ḥadīth: Abū Ismāʿīl, Abū Bakr as-Samʿānī, Abū al-Faḍl ibn Nāṣir, Abū al-Faraj  Ibn al-Jawzī, and others. The earlier scholars didn’t mention it, because it was invented after them. It first appeared after the year 400 AH, and therefore the earlier scholars never knew about it or spoke of it.
      
      Even Imam an-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy on him, in his book al-Majmūʿ, says, ‘The prayer known as Ṣalāt ar-Raghāʾib, which is twelve units of prayer performed between Maghrib and Ishā on the first Friday night in Rajab, and the hundred units of prayer performed during the middle night of Shaʿbān; these two prayers are reprehensible and repugnant innovations. There is no known mention of them in the books Qūt al-Qulūb or Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm ad-Dīn and there is no ḥadīth that mentions either of them. It’s all baseless, and one should not be misled by those imams who have obscured their ruling and written documents about their being recommended. They are mistaken in this matter. The sheikh, the imam, Abū Muammad ʿAbdur Ramān ibn Ismāʿīl al-Maqdasī, may Allah have mercy on him, has written a valuable book that negates both of them, and he did an excellent job.'
-          

       As for fasting, nothing has been authentically related from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, nor his Companions, regarding the virtue of fasting Rajab in particular. However, it has been related from Abū Qalābah that he said, ‘In Paradise there is a palace for those who fasted Rajab.’
-          Rather, what has been related regarding fasting in all of the sacred months is the adīth of Mūjībah al-Bāhiliyyah, on the authority of her father or uncle, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, {Fast some days in the sacred months and leave some days.}
-          It is on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ that ʿUrwah said to ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, ‘Did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, fast in Rajab?’ He replied, ‘Yes, and he would honour it.’ And he said this three times. This adīth has been related by Abū Dāwūd and it is mursal.[5]
-          In another adīth that has been related by Ibn Mājah, it is stated that Usāmah ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, would fast the sacred months, and then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, {Fast Shawwāl.} Thereafter, he left fasting the sacred months and fasted Shawwāl until he died. (There is a cut in the chain of transmission).
-          It is on the authority of Zayd ibn Aslam, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, ‘It was mentioned to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that some people were fasting Rajab, and he said, {What about their fasting in Shaʿbān?}
-          Azhar ibn Saʿīd al-Jumaḥī related from his mother that she asked ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, about fasting Rajab. She replied, ‘If you are someone who fasts, then you must fast in Shaʿbān.’
-          It is on the authority of Kharshah ibn al-Ḥurr that he said, ‘I saw ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, striking the hands of people in Rajab so that they would put them in the bowl, and he would say, ‘Eat…this a month that the People of Ignorance would exalt.’
-          It is on the authority of Abī Bakrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that Nafīʿ ibn al-Ḥārith (one of the distinguished Companions) entered upon his family and they had new baskets and small jugs. He said, ‘What is this?’ They replied, ‘We’re fasting Rajab.’ He then said, ‘Are you making Rajab like Ramadan?’ He then turned over the baskets and shattered the jugs.
-          It is on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with him, that he disliked for anyone to fast the whole month of Rajab…and it is on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar and Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with both of them, that they opined that some days should not be fasted.
-          Imam ash-Shāfiʿī, in his old school, said, ‘I dislike for a man to fast an entire month the way he fasts Ramaḍān.’
-          What has been related to us from Imam Aḥmad, may Allah have mercy on him, is that whoever fasts the whole year can fast [all of Rajab], and if not then one should not fast all of it. Rather, one should break his fast therein and not make it resemble Ramaḍān.
-          It is in the Musnad of Imam Aḥmad, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, that when he saw the people preparing for Rajab he disliked it, and he said, ‘Fast therein and break your fast.’
-          It is on the authority of ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her: ‘The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would fast three days from every month, and sometimes he would delay them so that he could make them up in Shaʿbān.’
-          
      As for zakāt, it has become the custom of people in certain countries to pay their zakāt in the month of Rajab, and there is neither a foundation for this in the Sunnah nor was it a known practice amongst any of the First Three Generations[6]…but in any case, zakāt is only obligatory after one’s wealth has passed the threshold and been in one’s possession for one lunar year, whatever month it happens to fall in.[7]
-          
      As for performing ʿUmrah (in Rajab), Imam Aḥmad has related in his Musnad, as well as Ibn Mājah in the chapter on pilgrimage rites, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, performed an ʿUmrah in Rajab and ʿĀʾishah reproached him for doing so. He listened and remained silent…
-          It is on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, that he performed ʿUmrah in Shawwāl and Rajab.
-          It is on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Musayyib, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, ‘ʿĀʾishah would perform ʿUmrah towards the end of Dhūl Ḥijjah, and she would perform an ʿUmrah from Madīnah and enter iḥrām at Dhūl Ḥulayfah.
-          It is on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbdur Raḥmān ibn Ḥāṭib from his father, who said, ‘I performed an ʿUmrah with ʿUmar and ʿUthmān in Rajab.’
-          It has been related that the month of Rajab contains significant events, the most authentic of them being the event of the Night Journey and Ascent[8] …but there has been a difference of opinion as to when this event actually occurred. The preferred position is that it took place after the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had returned from Ṭāʾif, but the exact year in which it took place has not been specified. Imam Ibn Ḥajar [al-ʿAsqalānī] decisively affirmed that it took place one year before the Hijrah, and Allah knows best.
The vast majority of Muslims hold the position that this event took place in body and spirit, and thus it is one of the dazzling miracles that Allah honoured the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with, in order to make firm his heart and bestow honour upon him.
When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was taken on the Night Journey to Jerusalem, among the signs that he saw on the way were the following: seeing the terrain of the Paradise as well as that of the Fire, seeing our master Mūsā, our master ʿĪsā and the tree of Ibrāhīm, peace be upon them, seeing the pillars of the Book being carried by the angels, the scent coming from the pure grave of Māshiah, Pharaoh’s daughter…and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw the state of this worldly life and he came across a caller from the Jews and the Christians, but he didn’t respond to him. He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw the Dajjāl. The state of those who leave off prayer and zakāt was revealed to him, as well as that of fornicators, highway robbers, consumers of usurious gain and preachers of sedition. Likewise, the state of those who fight in Allah’s way was revealed to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as well as the states of the people of the Paradise and those of the Fire…
All of the above took place on the way to Jerusalem (and the details thereof are many), and then, when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered al-Masjid al-Aqṣā he found Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl, Mūsā, and ʿĪsā amongst a large group of Prophets, peace be upon them, that had been gathered for him. Jibrīl, peace be upon him, put him forward and he led all of them in two units of prayer. Then they praised Allah the Exalted and reminded one another of the Hour…
Then two drinking bowls were brought to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, one containing milk and the other wine, and he chose the milk. Jibrīl then said, ‘Praise be to Allah, who guided you to man’s natural disposition.’ Then he took the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and ascended with him into the sky, and when he was in the sky of this world he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw the Fire and the ways its people are punished. He also met the angels, and the angel who guards the Fire. Then he ascended with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, into the seven heavens, where he met the Prophets, peace be upon them, and he saw his Ummah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.
Then the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered Paradise and described it as that which no eye has seen, no hear has heard and nothing like it has ever occurred to the heart of any human being, and so forth. He saw the Kawthar[9] river and he even, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave glad tidings to the noble Companions that he had seen their abodes in Paradise.
-          Then he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, reached the lote  tree of the utmost boundary[10], which was the limit of what he ascended to in terms of the earth, and then he was taken from there. Then he reached the limit of that which falls from above it, and was taken from there. At that point he saw a sublime light and then a cloud covered the lote tree. Jibrīl, peace be upon him, stayed back while the Prophet, peace be upon him, ascended until he reached a level at which he heard the screeching of pens. His Lord then spoke to him and that was when the five prayers were made obligatory upon him.
-          This place in the sky was exclusively for him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his Ummah were exclusively given the final āyāt of Sūrat al-Baqarah. Also, whoever does not associate partners with Allah will be forgiven.[11] He was also given three titles: the Master of the Messengers, the Messenger of the Lord of all Creation, and the Leader of the Radiant.[12]
-          There has been some difference of opinion regarding the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, seeing His Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, during the Night Journey and Ascent. The preferred position is that He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw his Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, with the eyes in own head that night, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
-          In conclusion, the People of Ignorance would devote themselves in Rajab to supplicating against oppressors, believing that it would be accepted from them. There are well-known reports about this and they have been mentioned by Imam Ibn Abī ad-Dunyā in his book Mujābī ad-Daʿwah, and others. This was mentioned to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah be pleased with him, and he said, ‘Indeed Allah would do that to them to restrain some of them from others, and Allah has made the Hour their appointed time and the Hour is more calamitous and bitter.’
-          Zāʾidah ibn Abī ar-Raqād has narrated on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, ‘When Rajab had entered, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace would say, {O Allah, bless us in Rajab and Shaʿbān and make us reach Ramaḍān.} Imam al-Bukhārī, may Allah have mercy on him, said, ‘Zāʾidah is munkar in ḥadīth’, which makes the ḥadīth weak in terms of its chain of transmission, and especially since no one else has related it regarding the virtue of Rajab.
-          Despite that, it contains evidence that it is recommended to ask Allah to be allowed to live in order to witness virtuous times, so that one can perform righteous actions therein; indeed the believer does not increase in age except that he increases in goodness, and the best of people are those who have long lives and do good works. The First Three Generations deemed it desirable to die after a righteous deed, such as fasting Ramaḍān, or after completing Ḥajj, and they would say, ‘Whoever dies like that will be forgiven.’
-          One of the righteous became ill just before the month of Rajab, and he said, ‘I have asked Allah to delay my death until the month of Rajab, for it has reached me that in that month Allah has people whom He spares punishment.’ Allah answered him and he died in Rajab.
-          The month of Rajab is the key to the months of goodness and blessing. Abū Bakr al-Warrāq al-Balkhī said, ‘The month of Rajab is the month of cultivating. The month of Shaʿbān is the month of irrigating. The month of Ramaḍān is the month harvesting what was cultivated.’
-          It is also related from him that he said, ‘The month of Rajab is like wind. The month of Shaʿbān is like clouds. The month of Ramaḍān is like rain.
-          One of them said, ‘The year is like a tree. The month of Rajab is like the days of leaves sprouting. The month of Shaʿbān is like the days of branching. Ramaḍān is the days of gathering, and the believers are the gatherers.
-          It would be appropriate for the one who has blackened his record[13] with sins to whiten it with repentance in this month, and whoever has wasted his life so far in frivolity should seize the opportunity in this month to rectify what remains of it…

Whiten your black record in Rajab
            With righteous deeds that will save you from the Fire
One of the Sacred Months has come
            If one calls on Allah therein he will not be rejected
How good is the slave who purifies his deeds therein
            And refrains from vile deeds and suspicion
So seizing the opportunity to do good deeds in this month availing oneself of this time to do acts of obedience has an immense virtue…

O slave, turn in repentance and seize Rajab
            For indeed my pardon for the one who repents is necessary
In these months the doors are open
            For those who repent, flee towards Us
Dismount your riding beasts at the gates of Our mercy
            With a good opinion, for everyone obtains what they seek
We have showered our compassion upon them
            Showerings of good acceptance; the one who covers the distance will be successful

Sources:
·         Al-Majmūʿ by Imam an-Nawawī
·         Al-Mughnī by Imam Ibn Qudāmah
·         Mushkil al-Āthār
·         Al-Muṣannaf by Imam ibn Abī Shaybah
·         Mukhtasar al-Jāmiʿ fī as-Sīrah, by al-Ānisah Samīrah az-Zāyid
·         Laṭāʾif al-Maʿārif fīmā limawāsim al-ʿām min al-Waẓāʾif by Abu al-Faraj [Imam ibn Rajab al-anbalī]

And all praise be to Allah, Lord of all Creation.

[This article is also available from the English Naseem al-Sham site]

Related Posts:
The 27th of Rajab, and Tawassul





[1] Ar. al-aẓhar
[2] Ar. al-nasīʾ, please see Sūrat at-Tawbah 9:37
[3] (tn): i.e. ʿĪd al-Fiṭr, which follows the month of Ramaḍān
[4] (tn): i.e. ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā, which follows Ḥajj and is followed by the days of tashrīq
[5] (tn): i.e. a ḥadīth in which the end of the chain of transmission is missing after the Follower (tābiʿ).
[6] Ar. as-Salaf
[7] (tn): The author is speaking specifically about zakāt an-naqd, or zakāt on money, which is 2.5% of one’s monetary savings after one lunar year has passed on the condition that the wealth was above a certain amount for that period of time. Please see Reliance of the Traveller, section h4, for further details or at-Taqrīrāt as-Sadīdah: Qism al-ʿIbādāt, p.410-411.
[8] Ar. al-isrāʾ wa al-miʿrāj
[9] (tn): as referred to in Sūrat al-Kawthar (108)
[10] Ar. sidrat al-muntaha, as mentioned in Sūrat an-Najm 53:14
[11] (tn): i.e. His Ummah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is of two categories: the ummah of daʿwah and the Ummah of istijābah, or the Ummah of those who are called and the Ummah of those who respond. The former includes everyone from the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to the establishment of the Hour. The latter, and this is the important bit, includes everyone who believes in Allah alone, does not associate partners with him, and believes in the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, even if they lived before his time, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and followed a previous prophet. This is because it was part of their theology, regardless of the age they lived in, to believe in the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
[12] Ar. sayyid al-mursalīn, rasūl rabb il-ʿālamīn wa qāʾid al-ghurr al-muḥajjalīn
[13] Ar. ṣaḥīfah, i.e. his page on which his deeds are written 

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