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On the excellent qualities
of the holy month of Rajab
Traditional reports in which great emphasis is placed on the special merit of fasting on the first Thursday in Rajab, and of performing the prayer [salat] during the first Friday night [Jumu'ah] of that month.The following report has been conveyed to us by Shaikh Imam Abu-l-Barakat Hibatu'llah ibn al-Mubarak as-Saqati (Rahmatullah ‘alayh), who cites good traditional authority in support of its authenticity: Allah's Messenger (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) once said:Rajab is Allah's month, Sha'ban is my month, and Ramadan is the month of my Ummah.Someone then asked him: “O Messenger of Allah, what do you mean exactly, when you say that Rajab is Allah’s month?” So he (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) explained: [I call it Allah's month] because it is specifically associated with forgiveness, because in it the shedding of blood is brought to a halt, because in it Allah (Exalted is He) relents toward His Ambiya, because in it He rescues His Awliya from the hands of their enemies, and because anyone who fasts during this month becomes entitled to receive three things from Allah (Exalted is He). The first and second of these are forgiveness for all the sins he has previously committed, and impregnable virtue ['isma] for the remainder of his life. As for the third, he will be safe from thirst on the Day of the Greatest Review [Yawm al-'Ard al-Akbar]."At this point a feeble old man stood up and said: "Ya Rasulullah, I am physically incapable of fasting through the whole of the month," so Rasulullah (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) went on to say: Fast during the first day of the month and during the day that comes in the middle of it, and also during the very last day of the month, for then you will be given the same reward as someone who has fasted through the whole of the month, since one good deed is equal in value to ten of the same kind.Then Rasulullah (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) said: No one will go unrewarded if he fasts during the daytime on Thursday, the first Thursday in Rajab, and if he then performs twelve extra rak'ahs during the period between Maghrib and 'Isha, i.e., during the first segment ['atama] of the night of Friday. In each rak'ah, he must recite Surah al-Fatihah one time only, then the Surah that begins with "Innaa anzalnaa-hu fee layla-til-qadr"1 three times, and the Sura that begins with "Qul HuwAllahu Ahad"2 twelve times. The twelve rak'ahs must be divided into sets of two, with a salutation [taslima] to mark the conclusion of each pair. When he has completed his salat-prayer, he must invoke blessings upon me, by repeating seventy times:Allah's Holy Messenger (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) also said:O Allah, bestow blessings anda peace upon Muhammad, the Holy Nabi, and upon his family.He must then perform sajdah, repeating seventy times while he is in sajdah:All-Glorious, All-Holy Rabb of the Angels and of the Spirit!Then he must raise his head and repeat seventy times:My Rabb, forgive and have mercy and pardon that which You well know, for You are the Mighty, the Supreme.Then he must bow down low for the second time and repeat the words he uttered during the first sajdah. Finally, while he is still in sajdah, he should ask Allah to grant his personal request, for that request will surely be fulfilled. By Him in whose Hand is my soul, I assure you that no servant [of His], whether manservant ['abd] or maidservant [ama], will ever perform this particular salat-prayer without Allah forgiving all the sins of which that individual has ever been guilty, even if they are like the flecks of foam upon the ocean, as numerous as all the grains of sand, as heavy as the mountains, and as many as the drops of rain and the leaves on all the trees. On the Day of Resurrection [Yawm al-Qiyama], he will be allowed to intercede on behalf of seven hundred members of his family. Endnotes
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