Rajab in Islam

Hi all readers! Are you looking for an explanation of “what is Rajab in Islam?”? If your answer is “Yes”, congratulations! Now you are reading the right article. Why? Because that is what I will explain in this article. As Muslims, we must understand that. That's why I wrote this article. So, you should read it to the end!

Specifically, there are three important points about “what is Rajab in Islam?” which I will explain in this article. Three important things I mean are as follows:

What is Rajab in Islam?

The first important thing about “what is Rajab in Islam?” what I'm going to explain now is a specific answer. I want you to understand that first because that is the main discussion in this article.

One basic thing about Rajab in Islam that we must understand is that Rajab is one of the names of the month in Islam. Thus, Rajab is one of the Hijri months. There are twelve months in Islam. Rajab is one of them.

We can find an explanation that there are twelve months in Islam in the Quran below:

اِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُوْرِ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِيْ كِتٰبِ اللّٰهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضَ مِنْهَآ اَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ ۗذٰلِكَ الدِّيْنُ الْقَيِّمُ ەۙ فَلَا تَظْلِمُوْا فِيْهِنَّ اَنْفُسَكُمْ وَقَاتِلُوا الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ كَاۤفَّةً كَمَا يُقَاتِلُوْنَكُمْ كَاۤفَّةً ۗوَاعْلَمُوْٓا اَنَّ اللّٰهَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِيْنَ

Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them. And fight against the disbelievers collectively as they fight against you collectively. And know that Allah is with the righteous [who fear Him]. (At-Taubah [9]: 36).

Rajab is an Arabic word. The writing is رَجَبَ . The meaning of Rajab is respect.

Specifically, Rajab is the seventh month in Islam. The names of the months in Islam are as follows:

Muharram.
Safar.
Rabi'ul Awal.
Rabi'ul Akhir.
Jumadil Awal.
Jumadil Akhir.
Rajab.
Sha'ban.
Ramadan.
Shawwal.
Dhul Qadah.
Dhul Hijjah.

That is a brief explanation of "what is Rajab in Islam?". As Muslims, we must understand that.

Hadith About Rajab in Islam

The second important point about “what is Rajab in Islam?” what I will explain now is the hadith about Rajab in Islam. I want you to understand that because it is one of the important topics in this article that must be well understood.

One important thing I would like to say about the hadith about Rajab in Islam is that there are a lot of false hadiths about Rajab in Islam. If we read some Islamic literature about Rajab, we will find an explanation that there is not a single valid hadith (hadith sahih) that explains the features of Rajab.

As for the hadith explaining the specialty of Rajab is the "Hadith Hasan". The hadith I mean is as follows:

عَنْ أُسَامَةُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ ، قَالَ : قُلْتُ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، لَمْ أَرَكَ تَصُومُ شَهْرًا مِنَ الشُّهُورِ مَا تَصُومُ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ ، قَالَ : ذَلِكَ شَهْرٌ يَغْفُلُ النَّاسُ عَنْهُ بَيْنَ رَجَبٍ وَرَمَضَانَ ، وَهُوَ شَهْرٌ تُرْفَعُ فِيهِ الْأَعْمَالُ إِلَى رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ، فَأُحِبُّ أَنْ يُرْفَعَ عَمَلِي وَأَنَا صَائِمٌ

From Osama bin Zaid, he said, "I asked the Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad), "O Messenger of Allah, I do not see you fasting in a month as you did in the month of Sha'ban." He replied, "That month (Sha'ban) is a month that many people forget, because it is between Rajab and Ramadan. In the month of Sha'ban, deeds are raised to Allah, so I want mine to be lifted while I am fasting."

As for one example of a false hadith about Rajab is as follows:

رَجَبَ شَهْرُ اللهِ ، وَشَعْبَانَ شَهْرِيْ , وَرَمَضَانَ شَهْرُ أُمَّتِيْ

Rajab is the month of Allah, Sha'ban is my month, and Ramadan is the month of my Ummah.

All readers! It is true, the above hadith does not specifically explain the features of Rajab. But if we understand the hadith, we can conclude that Rajab is one of the months in Islam that has virtue.

That is a brief explanation of the "hadith about Rajab in Islam". As Muslims, we must understand that.

Is There Any Special Order to Fast in Rajab?

The third important point about “what is Rajab in Islam?” what I will explain now is "is there any special order to fast in Rajab?". I want you to understand that because it is one of the important questions about Rajab that some Muslims don't understand very well. I want you to have a good understanding of it after you read this article.

All readers! If we read some Islamic legal literature, we will not find a specific order for Muslims to fast in Rajab. The legal status of fasting in Rajab is a recommendation or sunnah. So, if we fast in Rajab, we will get a reward. If we do not fast in Rajab, we will not sin.

We can find an explanation of the recommendation to fast in Rajab in the two hadiths below:

وَفِيْ سُنَنِ أَبِيْ دَاوُدَ أَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَدَبَ إِلَى الصَّوْمِ مِنَ الْأَشْهُرِ الْحُرُمِ

In the book "as-Sunan" by Abu Daud there is information that the Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad) encouraged (Muslims) to fast during the months that were highly respected (al-Asyhur al-Hurum).

In Islamic literacy there are four months that are highly respected (al-Asyhur al-Hurum): Rajab, Dhul Qadah, Dhul Hijjah, and Muharram.

عَنْ مُعَاذَةَ الْعَدَوِيَّةِ أَنَّهَا سَأَلَتْ عَائِشَةَ زَوْجَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَكَانَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَصُوْمُ مِنْ كُلِّ شَهْرٍ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ ؟ قَالَت ْ: نَعَمْ . فَقُلْتُ لَهَا : مِنْ أَيِّ أَيَّامِ الشَّهْرِ كَانَ يَصُوْمُ ؟ قَالَتْ : لَمْ يَكُنْ يُبَالِيْ مِنْ أَيِّ أَيَّامِ الشَّهْرِ يَصُوْمُ . رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ

From Mu'adzah al-'Adawiyyah, that he once asked Aisha, the wife of the Prophet (Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, "Did the Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallah fast for three days every month?". She (Aisha) replied, "Yes." I then asked her, "On what days does he fast?". She (Aisha) replied, "He does not care what day he fasts." This hadith was narrated by Muslim.

That's a brief explanation of "is there any special order to fast in Rajab?". As Muslims, we must understand that.

All readers! That's a brief explanation of "what is Rajab in Islam?" and some important things about it. Do you understand? If you want to ask, please ask.

I think that's enough for this article. Hope it is useful. Amen.

See you again in the next article!