The Month of Rajab
By Mufti Taqi Usmani
Posted: 8 Rajab 1423, 15 September 2002
Rajab is the seventh month in the Islamic lunar
calendar. This month was regarded as one of the sacred
months (Al-Ashhur-al-hurum) in which battles were
prohibited in the days of the Holy Prophet . It is
also a prelude to the month of Ramadan, because
Ramadan follows it after the intervening month of
Sha'ban. Therefore, when the Holy Prophet sighted the
moon of Rajab, he used to pray to Allah in the
following words:
"O Allah, make the months of Rajab and Sha'ban blessed
for us, and let us reach the month of Ramadan (i.e.
prolong our life up to Ramadan, so that we may benefit
from its merits and blessings)."
Yet no specific way of worship has been prescribed by
the Shari'ah in this month. However, some people have
invented some special rituals or practices in this
month, which are not supported by reliable resources
of the Shari'ah or are based on some unauthentic
traditions. We would like to explain here the correct
position about them.
1. Celebration of Lailatul Mi'raj
It is generally believed that the great event of
Mi'raj (ascension of the Holy Prophet to the heavens)
took place in the night of 27th of Rajab. Therefore,
some people celebrate the night as "Lailatul- Mi'raj"
(the night of ascension to heavens).
Indeed, the event of mi'raj was one of the most
remarkable episodes in the life of our beloved Holy
Prophet . He was called by Almighty Allah. He traveled
from Makkah to Baitul-Maqdis and from there he
ascended the heavens through the miraculous power of
Allah. He was honored with a direct contact with his
Creator at a place where even the angels had no
access. This was the unique honor conferred by Allah
to the Holy Prophet alone. It was the climax of the
spiritual progress which is not attained by anybody
except him. No doubt the night in which he was blessed
with this unparalleled honor was one of the greatest
nights in the history of this world.
But, Islam has its own principles with regard to the
historic and religious events. Its approach about
observing festivals and celebrating days and nights is
totally different from the approach of other
religions. The Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Holy
Prophet did not prescribe any festival or any
celebration to commemorate an event from the past,
however remarkable it might have been. Instead, Islam
has prescribed two annual celebrations only. One is
Eid-ul-Fitr and the other is Eid ul-Adha. Both of
these festivals have been fixed at a date on which the
Muslims accomplish a great 'ibadah (worship) every
year. Eid-ul-Fitr has been prescribed after the fasts
of Ramadan, while Eid-ul-Adha has been fixed when the
Muslims perform the Hajj annually. None of these two
eids is designed to commemorate a particular event of
the past which has happened in these dates. This
approach is indicative of the fact that the real
occasion for a happy celebration is the day in which
the celebrators themselves have accomplished
remarkable work through their own active effort. As
for the accomplishments of our ancestors, their
commemoration should not be restricted to a particular
day or night. Instead, their accomplishments must be
remembered every day in the practical life by
observing their teachings and following the great
examples they have set for us.
Keeping this principle in view, the following points
should be remembered with regard to the
"Lailatul-mi'raj":
(1) We cannot say with absolute certainty in which
night the great event of mi'raj took place. Although
some traditions relate this event to 27th night of the
month of Rajab, yet there are other traditions that
suggest other dates. Al-Zurqani, the famous biographer
of the Holy Prophet has referred to five different
views in this respect: Rabi-ul-Awwal, Rabi-u-Thani,
Rajab, Ramadan and Shawwal. Later, while discussing
different traditions, he has added a sixth opinion,
that the mi'raj took place in the month of Zulhijjah.
Allama Abdulhaq Muhaddith Dehlawi, the well-known
scholar of the Indian subcontinent, has written a
detailed book on the merits of Islamic months. While
discussing the 'Lailatul-mi'raj' has mentioned that
most of the scholars are of the view that the event of
mi'raj took place in the month of Ramadan or in
Rabi-ul-awwal.
(2) It is also not known in which year the event of
Mi'raj took place. The books of history suggest a wide
range between the fifth-year and the twelfth year
after the Holy Prophet was entrusted with
prophethood.
Now, if it is assumed that the event of Mi'raj took
place in the fifth year of his prophethood, it will
mean that the Holy Prophet remained in this world for
eighteen years after this event. Even if it is
presumed that the mi'raj took place in the twelfth
year of his prophethood, his remaining life-time after
this event would be eleven years. Throughout this long
period, which may range between eleven years and
eighteen years, the Holy Prophet never celebrated the
event of mi'raj, nor did he give any instruction about
it. No one can prove that the Holy Prophet ever
performed some specific modes of worship in a night
calling it the 'Lailatul-mi'raj' or advised his
followers to commemorate the event in a particular
manner.
(3) After the demise of the Holy Prophet also, no one
of his companions is reported to celebrate this night
as a night of special acts of worship. They were the
true devotees of the Holy Prophet and had devoted
their lives to preserve every minute detail of the
sunnah of the Holy Prophet and other Islamic
teachings. Still, they did not celebrate the event of
mi'raj in a particular night in a particular way.
All these points go a long way to prove that the
celebration of the 27th night of Rajab, being the
lailatul-mi'raj has no basis in the Sunnah of the Holy
Prophet or in the practice of his noble companions.
Had it been a commendable practice to celebrate this
night, the exact date of this event would have been
preserved accurately by the Ummah and the Holy Prophet
and his blessed companions would have given specific
directions for it.
Therefore, it is not a Sunnah to celebrate the
Lailatul-mi'raj'. We cannot declare any practice as a
sunnah unless it is established through authentic
sources that the Holy Prophet or is noble Companions
have recognized it as such, otherwise it may become a
bid'ah about which the Holy Prophet has observed in
the following words: "Whoever invents something in our
religion which is not a part of it, it is to be
rejected."
Being mindful of this serious warning, we should
appreciate that the 27th night of the month of Rajab
is not like 'Lailatul-qadr' or 'Lailatul-bara'ah' for
which special merits have been mentioned expressly
either y the Holy Qur'an or by the Holy Prophet .
However, all the recognized modes of 'ibadah (worship)
like Salat, recitation of the Holy Qur'an, dhikr, etc.
are commendable any time, especially in the late hours
of night, and obviously the 27th night of Rajab is not
an exception. Therefore, if someone performs any
recognized 'ibadah in this night from this point of
view nothing can stop him from doing so, and he will
be entitled to the thawab (reward allocated for that
recognized 'ibadah insha-Allah.) But it is not
permissible to believe that performing 'ibadah in this
night is more meritorious or carries more thawab like
'Lailatul-qadr' or 'Lailatul-bara'ah', because this
belief is not based on any authentic verse or on a
sunnah of the Holy Prophet . Similarly, it is not a
correct practice to celebrate this night collectively
and to invite people to special ritual congregations.
(4) Some people suggest some special modes of worship
to be performed in this night. Since no special mode
of worship is prescribed by the Shari'ah in this
night, these suggestions are devoid of any authority
and should not be acted upon.
It is believed by some that the Muslims should keep
fast on 27th of Rajab. Although there are some
traditions attributing special merits to the fast of
this day yet the scholars of hadith have held these
traditions as very weak and unauthentic reports which
cannot be sufficient to establish a rule of Shari'ah.
On the contrary, there is an authentic report that
Sayyidna 'Umar, Radi-Allahu anhu, used to forbid
people from fasting on this day, rather to compel them
to eat if they had started fasting.
It should be borne in mind here that a "nafl" fast can
be observed any day (except the six prohibited days of
the year); therefore, fasting on 27th of Rajab is not
prohibited in itself. What is prohibited is the belief
that fasting on this day is more meritorious than
fasting in other normal days. One should not fast in
this day with this belief. But if someone fasts
therein, believing it to be a normal nafl fast, there
is no bar against it.
Sacrifice (qurbani) in the month of Rajab
In the days of ignorance (jahiliyyah) the Arabs used
to offer the sacrifice of a goat in the month of
Rajab. This sacrifice used to be called "Atirah' or
'Rajabiyyah'. This sacrifice was offered in the name
of different so-called gods and their icons. In the
beginning of Islam, this custom was retained, but the
Muslims modified it by offering the sacrifice of
'Atirah in the name of Allah instead of the false
gods. But finally, this custom was abandoned and the
Holy Prophet prohibited the offering of 'Atirah. In a
tradition of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah, Radi-Allahu anhu,
reported by both al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Holy
Prophet has said: "Fara' is nothing and 'Atirah is
nothing."
Abu Hurairah, Radi-Allahu anhu, has explained in the
same tradition that 'Fara" was the first child of a
she-camel. Whenever a she-camel delivered its first
child, the Arabs used to sacrifice it in the name of
their so-called gods, while the 'Atirah' was a goat
used to be sacrificed in the month of Rajab. Since the
Holy Prophet stopped both these customs, 'Atirah is
no longer a recognized practice.
'Umrah in the month of Rajab
Ibn 'Abidin, the well-known scholar of the Islamic
jurisprudence, has mentioned that the people of Makkah
(in his days) used to perform 'umrah in the month of
Rajab. Perhaps they believed that performing 'umrah in
this month is more meritorious than in other months.
Then Ibn Abidin himself has rejected the authenticity
of this practice, because no tradition of the Holy
Prophet is found to this effect. Conversely Sayyidah
'Aishah, Radi-Allahu anha, has expressly negated the
presumption by saying that the Holy Prophet never
performed an 'umrah in the month of Rajab (Sahih
Muslim 1:409)
However, Ibn 'Aibidin has quoted a narration that
'Abdullah ibn Zubair, Radi-Allahu anhu, completed the
renovation of Ka'bah shortly before 27th of Rajab, and
as a sign of gratefulness he performed 'umrah and
slaughtered some animals. But this report cannot form
the basis of a recognized annual practice, firstly
because the report is not very authentic, and secondly
because it does not mention that Abdullah ibn Zubair,
Radi-Allahu anhu, had adopted it as a continuing
practice. At the most, he performed 'umrah once as a
sign of gratefulness on the completion of Ka'bah. It
does not mean that he performed it as a characteristic
of the month of Rajab. Therefore, performing 'Umrah in
this month is like performing it in any other month
and no special merit can be attached to it merely
because it has been performed in the month of Rajab.
The Salat of "Ragha'ib"
Another special mode of worship attributed by some
people to this month is the Salat of Raghai'b.
According to the custom of such people, this Salat is
performed in the night of first Friday of the month of
Eajab. The Salat of Raghaib is said to consist of
twelve rak'ats to be performed in pairs with six
salams, and in each rak'at the surah al-qadr is
recited three times followed by the Surah-al-ikhlas.
This type of Salat is also not based on any sound
source of Shari'ah. Therefore, almost all the jurists
and scholars of Shari'ah have held that the Salat of
Raghaib is a baseless practice and it is not
permissible to treat it as a recognized practice of
this month. It is true that there is a tradition,
narrated by Razin, the author of a book of hadith,
which attributes the origin of this practice to the
Holy Prophet but almost all the scholars of the
science of hadith have held it to be absolutely
unauthentic. Therefore, no importance can be attached
to it.
Distribution of Breads and niyaz of koonday:
Another baseless practice in the month of Rajab is
that the people bake special types of breads and,
after reciting some verses and prayers on them,
distribute them among their friends and neighbors.
This custom has two different shapes.
1). In some communities, this custom is celebrated on
17th of Rajab on the assumption that Sayyidna Ali,
Radi-Allahu anhu, was born on 11th of Rajab and the
17th of Rajab is the day on which his 'Aqiqa (Shaving
of his head) was performed. In order to celebrate this
happy event, the breads of some special type are
prepared and after reciting Surah Al-Mulk on them,
they are distributed among the relatives and friends.
These breads are generally called "breads of Tabarak"
because Surah Al-Mulk is usually recited on them.
This practice is baseless because it is never proved
that Sayyidna Ali, Radi-Allahu anhu, was born on 11th
of Rajab or that his Aqiqa was performed on 17th of
this month and, as explained earlier, even if these
events are proved to have happened in those days,
their commemoration through these specific rituals is
not warranted by the Shari'ah.
2). A more common practice of this type is observed on
22nd of Rajab whereby some breads and meals of a
special type are prepared and distributed among the
people. Since these special meals are usually placed
in some bowls made of clay, the custom is usually
known as "Koonda", an Urdu equivalent of such bowls.
It is usually believed that the custom is designed to
make 'isal-al-thawab to the soul of Sayyidna Jafar
Al-Sadiq who himself has directed his followers to
observe this custom and has promised them that whoever
observes it, his desires will be fulfilled.
All these assumptions also have no basis at all,
neither historically, nor according to the principles
of Shari'ah. In fact, the date of 22nd of Rajab has no
concern whatsoever with Sayyidna Jafar al-Sadiq,
Rahimah-u-Allah. According to the historians, he was
born on 8th of Ramadan 80 A.H. and died in Shawwal 148
A.H. No specific event of the life of Sayyidna Jafar
al-Sadiq is proved to have happened on this date. The
people believing in the custom refer to a coined story
mentioned in an unauthentic book named
"Dastaan-e-Ajeeb".
Briefly stated, the gist of the story is that a poor
woodcutter lived in Madinah in the days of Jafar
Al-Sadiq. He went abroad to earn his livelihood. His
wife was employed in the house of the Prime Minister.
Once she was cleaning the courtyard of the Prime
Minister when Sayyidna Jafar al-Sadiq passed by her.
It was 22nd of Rajab. He advised her to bake some
breads of a special type and make 'isal-al-sawab to
him. According to this story, he promised her that if
her desire is not fulfilled after this practice, she
can catch hold of him at the doom's day. On hearing
this, the woman made a vow that if her husband will
come back with a considerable wealth, she will observe
the custom of "Koonda". On the same day her husband,
who was in another country, found a valuable treasure
in the earth and came back with it to Madinah where he
established himself as a rich man and started living
in a magnificent castle. When his wife told the story
to the wife of the Prime Minister, she disbelieved her
and because of this disbelief, she and her husband,
the Prime Minister, were punished by Allah. He was
removed by the king from the prime minister-ship and
was imprisoned in a jail and was ordered to be hanged.
While being in the prison, the wife of the Prime
Minister remembered that she had disbelieved the story
of Jafar al-Sadiq told to her by her maidservant and
their misery might be the punishment of their
disbelief. On this point, she and her husband repented
before Allah and made a vow to observe the custom of
"Koonda", if they are released from the jail. After
they made such a vow, the whole scenario of the events
changed suddenly. The king released the Prime Minister
from the jail and reinstated him on his former
position.
As it can be seen by any reasonable person, this story
is totally forged on the face of it. The person who
has coined this story did not even know that Madinah
had never a king nor a Prime Minister. All the Muslim
rulers were named as caliphs and had no Prime Minister
at all. In the days of Umayyads, their capital was
Damascus and in the days of Abbasids, their permanent
seat was in Baghdad.
It is ironical that the story of such a woodcutter is
not even known to anybody in Madinah, nor in any city
of the Arab countries. No Arabic book has ever
referred to it. It has no mention except in an Urdu
book 'Dastaan-e-Ajeeb', the author of which is
unknown. One can easily see that a custom based on
such a fallacious and mythical story can never be an
Islamic custom. Islam has always been far away from
such superstitions.
Therefore, this baseless custom should completely be
avoided by the true Muslims. Some historians have
opined that in fact, this custom has been coined by
some Shi'ites because the date of 22nd of Rajab is the
date of the demise of Sayyidna Mu'awiyah whom they
take as their biggest enemy. They took that date as a
happy occasion and made the Sunni Muslims also to
celebrate it on the pretext of the above mentioned
story.
Be that as it may, it is evident that such customs
have crept into the Muslim society by their long
association with Hindus who commemorate different
historical events of their religion in the like
manner. The Muslims must be careful about these
customs, because they are not only an invention of
ignorance but also the imitation of non-Muslims in
their religious rituals. No doubt the
"'isal-al-thawab' to the soul of a deceased Muslim,
and particularly to a pious person is not only
permissible but also a commendable practice but the
Shari'ah has not prescribed a particular date, nor a
particular mode to do so. If someone wants to make
"'isal-al-thawab" to Sayyidna 'Ali, Radi-Allahu anhu,
or to Ja'far al-Sadiq, he can do it any day and by
performing any act of worship, like Salat, fast,
Sadaqah, dhikr etc. There is no reason why it should
be restricted to a special type of meal or bread
distributed on a particular date. What makes this
practice worse is the fact that the people accustomed
to this practice deem it as necessary as a fard
(obligation); rather they treat it as more necessary
than fard because they do not care to perform the
obligatory Salat or to fulfill the rights of men
obligated on them, but they are very strict and
punctual to perform these activities. Moreover, if a
person does not observe this practice, they reproach
him and call him with bad names. Such behavior makes
this custom a bid'ah which is condemned by the Holy
Prophet as a misguidance. Therefore, the Muslims must
abandon all such practices and should not cling to it
only because it has been the practice of their society
for many years. A Muslim is supposed to follow the
dictates of Shari'ah and not the practice of the
society, if it violates any of its principles.
Conclusion
The upshot of the above discussion is that the
Shari'ah has not prescribed any specific way to
observe the month of Rajab or to perform a specific
mode of worship or a ritual in any one of its dates.
However, being a prologue to the month of Ramadan, it
should be availed of for preparing oneself for Ramadan
and one should pray Allah to make him reach the
blessed month and to benefit from its unique merits.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows.
Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.
http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545433
