Question:
What do the scholars and experts of shari’ah say regarding the month of Rajab? Can we specify this as a month in which we increase our worship to Allah ﷻ?
Answer:
The virtues and blessings of the month of Rajab is well established regardless of the categorisation of the ahadith concerning this month. Rajab is counted amongst one of the four sacred months in Islam. Allah ﷻ tells us in the Holy Qur’an, “The number of months recorded in Allah’s book since the day He created the heavens and the Earth is twelve, four of them are sacred; this is the established law, so don’t be mistaken, regarding them.” (Surah Al-Tawbah: 36)
A narration has been recorded by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim where the Prophet ﷺ specified these four months during the farewell pilgrimage. Three of these months come after one another; Dhul-Qa’dah, Dhul-Hijjah, and Muharram. Whereas the fourth sacred month is Rajab which comes in between Jumadi al-Akhira and Sha’ban.
Imam Tabari quotes in his exegesis from Sayyiduna Qatada, “Committing oppression in the sacred months is an even greater crime compared to it being committed in other months. There is no doubt oppression is a great sin but Allah ﷻ grants sanctity to whatever He wishes.” He further quotes, “Allah ﷻ selected special groups from amongst His different creations, a group of messengers from the angels, prophets from amongst the humans, dhikr from speech, masajid from the lands, Ramadan and the sacred months from the rest of the months, Jumu’ah from the days, and Laylat al-Qadar from the nights. Whatever Allah ﷻ has given honour to, you should also give it honour.”
A way to honour this sacred month is to engage in worship and remembrance of Allah ﷻ even more than before. Spending time in voluntary prayers, voluntary fasts, dhikr and giving sadaqah, all with the intention of growing closer to Allah ﷻ. The reward for such actions is greater in the month of Rajab similar to how it multiplies in the other sacred months.
There is no prohibition of when a person can worship Allah ﷻ unless it has been mentioned within the shari’ah. Such as the prohibition of keeping a fast on the days of ‘Id al-Fitr and ‘Id al-Adha.
And Allah ﷻ knows the best
