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THE MONTH OF RAJAB Prof. Dr. Mahmud Es'ad
Cosan Dear audience of AKRA: May your Friday be
blessed! In fact, I should say,
"May your month of Rajab be blessed, too!" This Friday is also the
first day of Rajab, the first month of the blessed three months season. We have just stepped into a beautiful
spiritual season. I pray that this
season of three months is blissful and beneficial for you. As you now,
many
blessed months, Ramadhans, days and nights come and go.
What matters is how much a person benefits
from them. If the person does not open
his heart to the light and blessings of these special times, he will be
deprived of the good things. He comes as
deprived and leaves as deprived from this life.
While everybody else enjoys the abundance of these special
days, he will
get nothing. May Almighty Allah place us
among those who appreciate such opportunities and those who earn great
rewards. a. The Prayer of
the
Prophet SAS for Rajab I would like to begin
with a hadith of our beloved Prophet SAS. The
hadith is reported by Anas RA and recorded
in the collection of Ibn-i Asâkir and other sources: كان اذا دخل رجب قال: اللـهم بارك لنا فى رجب وشعـبان، وبلـغـنا رمضــان. وكان اذا كانـت لـيـلـة الـجمــعـة قال:
هذا ليلة الــغرَّاء ويومٌ ازهر (هب. وابن عساكر عن انس) RE. 532/10 (Kâna
idhâ
dakhala rajab, qŕl) "When the month of Rajab arrived, the prophet
used
to pray: (Allŕhumma bârik lenâ fî rajaba
wa sha'bân wa ballighnâ ramadhŕn!) 'O Allah! Make us those who are
aware of
the blessings and abundance of the months Rajab and Sha'bân and who
benefit
from them. Make us live through such blessings and enter into
Ramadhan.'" (Wa kâna idhâ kânat laylatul jumu'ati qŕl)
When it was the Friday
night, he would say: (Hadhihî laylatul
gharrâu) 'This is such a blissful, glistening, happy spiritual
night, (wa yawmun azhar) and such a happy and
bright day.'" Yes now we are in the
daytime of Friday. It is a bright
blessed, glistening, and spiritually beautiful day.
May Almighty Allah have us appreciate this
precious day. We infer from this
hadith that the Prophet SAS used to long for Ramadhan from the
beginning of
Rajab. He would seek the month of
Ramadhan and wish that he arrived in Ramadhan.
In his prayers he would say, "Bless Rajab and Sha'ban and
take us
to Ramadhan." As you know, Rajab,
Sha'ban and Ramadhan are the spiritual season of the three months. Our forefathers named it as "Three
Months." May Allah be pleased with
them. They have read the books and
sources on Islam, and they have tried to do everything in the best way
possible. They tried to carry out the
orders of Allah and thus earn his consent.
May their resting place be illuminated in peace, let their
graves be
full of light. May their spirits be
happy: their ranks in paradise, high. There are great
opportunities, beautiful and special nights in the three months season.
The first
of the special nights is the Raghâib Night. When is the time for the
Raghâib
Night? Which day of Rajab is it? It is not a fixed date in Rajab: It is the
first Friday night of Rajab--the night joining the first Thursday to
Friday. It is a blessed night that must
be desired and spent in prayers. We had
it last night this year. There is also the Mi'raj
(Ascension) Night in Rajab--the night joining the 26th of Rajab to 27th
of
Rajab. It is a beautiful blessed night
in which our beloved Prophet SAS ascended to heavens (Mi'raj). Then there comes the fifteenth night of
Sha'bân, the Bara'ah Night. It is a
night in which the events and destinies of the coming year are
determined. It is an important night and
one should be
prepared for that night. We should seek
refuge with Allah and ask Him to place us among the righteous and happy
ones,
not among the rebellious ones. We should
be prepared accordingly. b. Rajab is the
Month of
Repentance Rajab is the month of tawba.
Tawba means turning to Allah: من تاب الى الله تاب الله عليه (Wa man tâba ilallŕhi tâballŕhu aleyhi)
"If a servant turns to
Allah, Allah turns to him." This is
the actual meaning of tawba. That
is, tawba
means abandoning the false paths, the deeds of the ignorance and
disobedience,
the sinful actions, prohibitions, shortcomings and unawareness and
turning to a
lifestyle that is favorable to Allah.
The month of Rajab is a great opportunity for this turning. Let us read another
hadith from the book Raműzul Ahadith which is compiled by our great
master
Ahmed Ziyauddin Gumushkhanawi--may his abode be This hadith was reported
by Sa'id ibn-i Abî Râshid and included in the collections of Tabarânî. The Prophet SAS said: رجـب شـهرٌ عظـيمٌ، يضاعـف الله فـيه الحسـنات، فمن صام
يـومًا من رجب فكأنما صام سنةً، ومن صام مـنه سبعة ايامٍ غلِّقت عنه
ابواب جهـنـم، ومن صـام مــنــه ثمانـيـة ايـامٍ فـتـحـت له
ثمانــية ابواب الـجـنة، ومن صــام مــنه عشرة ايام لم يسأل الله شــيئًا الا
اعــطاه،
ومـن صام مـنه خمسة عشرة يومًا نادى منادٍ من السماء: قـدغفر لك ما
مضى فاستأنف الــعـمل، ومن زاد زاده الله. وفى رجـب حمـل الله
نـوحًا فى الـسـفـــيـنــة فـصــام رجــب، و امـر من مــعــه ان
يـصــومـوا. فـجـرت بــهم السفـينة ستة اشـهر اۤخر ذلك يوم عاشوراء اهـبط على الجدىِّ
فصام نوحٍ ومن معه والوحوش شكر الله عز وجل. وفى يوم عاشوراء فلق الله البحر لبنى اسرائيل، و فى يوم عاشوراء تاب الله على
اۤدم، وعلى مدينة يونس وفيه ولد ابراهيم (طب. عن سعيد بن ابى راشد) RE. 288/13 (Rajabu
shahrun
azîm) "Rajab is a magnificent, important month.
It is a respected, great month. (Yudŕifullŕhu
fîhil hasanât) Almighty
Allah rewards the deeds that are done in this month in many folds." In comparison to the reward for a deed that
is done in other months, there will be a lot more rewards for the same
deed
when it is carried out in Rajab. The first thing we plan
to do in Rajab is repentance and turning to Allah (tawba). With a sincere
heart, we repent and try to be one of the beloved servants of Allah. We try to live like the beloved servants of
Allah, improve our disposition and direction, and walk in the path of
Allah
with determination and perseverance. Then the Prophet SAS
used to fast many days in Rajab. He
praised and encouraged fasting in Rajab.
As you know, fasting has an important effect in shaping
the will power
of a person. The human being is a living
creature which is equipped with a desire for food.
All living beings have this desire. The
desire for food and nutrition is a strong
desire. In Islam, this desire for food is kept under control, it is
prevented
while fasting. We prevent ourselves from eating and drinking while
fasting
despite the fact that eating is our right and we have the desire to eat
and
drink. We also prevent ourselves from some other desires while we fast. This requires some
effort, yet it teaches a person how to overcome his own desires. It teaches the person self control. That is why fasting is much recommended in
Rajab, the month of seeking forgiveness and turning to Allah. How is the ability of self control
achieved? By abstaining from eating
food, a person strengthens his will power and dominate over the desires
of his
nafs. He will learn how to dominate the
desires of his nafs. Thus his tawba
will be based on strong
foundations. He will maintain his tawba and stay in the path of Allah
consistently. (Fa man sŕma yawman min rajabin) "One who
fasts a day from the
month of Rajab, (faka-annamâ sŕma sanatan)
ears rewards as though he has fasted a whole year," says the Prophet
SAS
in the hadith. Our Lord is the Most Gracious of the gracious, the Most
Generous
of the generous, so He grants rewards in many folds for our deeds which
are
small in quantity. For instance, if a person enlivens a Night of Power,
he will
be given the rewards as though he had worshipped one thousand months. Here if a person fasts one day in Rajab, he
will be given rewards as though he had fasted an entire year. (Wa man sŕma minhu seb'ata ayyâmin ghullikat
'anhu abwâbu jahannam)
"If one fasts seven days of Rajab, the gates of Hell are closed for
him." As you know, it was reported
that there are seven levels of hell, and it has seven gates. These seven gates will be closed for that
person. That means the person will not
enter the hellfire. (Wa man sŕma minhu themâniyata ayyâmin
futihat lahű themâniyatu abwâbil
jannah) "If one fasts eight days of Rajab, eight gates of We ought to tell the
story of Prophet Noah AS. While he lived
in what is Almighty Allah is the
most gracious, he has infinite knowledge. And the Prophets of Allah do
not do
anything wrong; they obey the order of Allah.
Prophet Noah AS built the ark and the torrential rains
started. Prophet Noah took the believers
to the ark,
and they all were saved--along with the animals aboard—from the flood. According to the hadith, Prophet Noah AS
boarded the ark in Rajab. [The ark sailed for six months till the day
of
Ashura. The ark landed on c. Rajab is the
Month of
Allah With another hadith, I
would like to complete my talk about the month of Rajab. According to
Hasan of
Basra, the Prophet SAS said: رجب شهر الله، وشعبان شهرى، ورمضان شهر امتى (ابو الفح فى اماليه عن الحسن مرسلاً) RE. 289/2 (Rajabu
shahrullah) "Rajab is the month of Allah. (Wa sha'bânu
shahrî) And Sha'bân is my month. (Wa
ramadhŕnu shahri ummatî) And Ramadhan is the month of my Ummah."
Rajab
is the month of Allah because Almighty Allah forgives his servants in
this
month. Rajab is the month of repentance and turning to Allah for the
servants. Almighty Allah accepts the
repentance of His servants in Rajab. He
forgives them their sins. Their book of
record is cleared off the offences. Sha'ban is the month the
Prophet claims to be his own. We, as the Ummah of the Prophet SAS, must
pay
extra attention to follow his path and say salat-u
selâm for him during the moth of Sha'ban.
We should try our best to spend the month with prayers and
worship. Ramadhan is our month,
the month of the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad SAS.
We must push our efforts to the limit in this month and
harvest the
rewards for the spiritual activities and rewards that have been
accumulating
since the beginning of Rajab. In certain
books, it is stated that Rajab is the
month of sawing, Sha'ban is the month of caring, and Ramadhan is the
month of
harvesting. By looking at all these
reports, we come to a conclusion. This
three-month period is a special time for us to abandon the wrong deeds
and
turning to Allah in repentance, to follow the path Almighty Allah has
ordered
for us, to start living as a good Muslim, to train our self by fasting,
to
strengthen our will power, to cleanse ourselves physically and
spiritually, to
earn rewards, and to live a good life. In Ramadhan we increase our zeal
and
harvest the rewards. Then we reach the
Eid at the end of Ramadhan in this life and in the hereafter, too. This time period is a special opportunity and
means granted for the servants. Once the Prophet SAS
said "Amen!" three times when he stepped on the pulpit to deliver a
sermon. Afterwards he was asked why he said "Amen!" three times. The Prophet SAS responded: "Gabriel AS
made three duas, and I said 'Amen' for them.
First, the angel said, 'Woe to a child who had his parents
or only one
of them and he failed to earn the paradise by not serving them well and
not
getting their blessings. May his nose be
rubbed to dirt in humiliation.' I
responded saying 'Amen!'" This means a person must
serve his parents, kiss their hands in respect, keep them happy and
earn their
blessings. This will earn the person
admittance to paradise. He will earn the
consent of Allah by earning the blessings of his parents. "Gabriel AS said
the second prayer: 'Woe to the person who fails to say salat-u
selâm on the Prophet when his name is mentioned.
May his nose be rubbed to dirt in
humiliation.' I said 'Amen!' to that too." This means we ought to
say "Sallŕhu 'alayhi wa sallam"
or "'Alayhis-salâtu was-salâm"
or another one of the salât-u salâm
when we hear the name of the Prophet SAS.
Let me remind you also that we should say salât-u
salâm in plenty on Fridays. That is the recommendation of
the Prophet SAS. Remember, today is the
Friday, the first Friday of Rajab. You should say one hundred times or
one
thousand time salât-u salâm on the
Prophet SAS. "Gabriel AS said
the third dua: 'Woe to the person who reached the month of Ramadhan yet
failed
to benefit the spirituality and blessings of Ramadhan thus failed to be
forgiven by Almighty Allah. May his nose
be rubbed to dirt in humiliation.' I
said 'Amen!' to that, too." Yes dear respected
Brothers and sister! We have entered the
month of Rajab; it is the first day of it today. Sha'ban
will arrive and special nights will
come too. We are going to do our
servitude with prayers and enter the month of Ramadhan.
We are going to offer our Tarawih prayers with
salât-u salâms to our beloved
Prophet SAS. Many brothers will retreat to
the mosques for i'tikaf for the last
ten days of Ramadhan. With all the
righteous deeds and prayers throughout these three months, we ought to
become a
servant who has been forgiven his offences and shortcomings. We should aspire to be like that on the day
of Eid with all of our zeal and determination. We ought to complete
this three-month course of spiritual training and get our certificate
of
freedom from the hellfire, and the certificate of admission to paradise. We must try for that. Otherwise, we may be
subjected to the condemnation of Gabriel AS.
The prophet said "amen!" to that. It
is a serious matter. One who fails to
benefit from Ramdhan is subjected to the condemnation: "Woe to the
person
who fails to benefit from the blessings of Ramadhan.
May his nose be rubbed to dirt in
humiliation." If a person had never
lifted a finger to do good deeds and never worshipped in Ramadhan, he
wil be
deprived of the blessings. He will be a
loser. Dear Brothers and
Sisters! May Almighty Allah keep us on
his path establishing the remembrance of his name.
We must offer our servitude to Allah from the
bottom of our hearts, with love and eagerness.
We need it. We need the
prayers,
the servitude, and the mercy of Allah.
We need the grace of Allah. We
ought to try and work sincerely. Servitude to Allah is
beautiful. An obedient and dutiful
servant of Allah would be showered with blessings and abundance. This is the first Friday
of a blessed month. Almighty Allah has
hidden a precious time, in the blessed hours of Friday. Just like the
Night of
Power being hidden in Ramadhan. If the
servants knew when it is, then they would relax and try only at that
specific
time or night. At the precious time of
the Friday, the prayers are answered. That is why we ask Almighty Allah
to
coincide the time of our prayers with that special hidden time of
Friday. May he receive our prayers with
the best of
receptions. May He grant us and our
beloved ones happiness in this life and in the hereafter. Dear audience of
AKRA! I congratulate you for the arrival
of the month Rajab. May the month of
Sha'ban be blessed and fruitful for you. May Allah take you to Ramadhan
in
health and happiness. May he make His
beloved servants whom He is pleased with.
May he honor you with His beauty in His Paradise. As-salamu alaikum
wa rahmatullŕhi wa barakâtuh! May
peace,
mercy and abundance of Allah be with you. |