بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Shaykh ibn al-‘Uthaymīn said: “It has not been established that the month of Rajab has been specified from among them (i.e. acts of worship) with anything – neither fasting nor standing (in prayer). So if a person specifies this month with something from the acts of worship without this being established from the Prophet (ﷺ), he would be an innovator (mubtadiʿ), due to the saying of the Prophet (ﷺ):
“Hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs. Hold onto it and bite onto it with your molar teeth, and beware of newly-invented matters, for every newly-invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance.” (Fatāwā Nūr ‘Alā Darb 1/584)
Narrations related to the virtue of Rajab
Narration of Anas:
Anas narrated that the Messenger (ﷺ) said:
فضل شهر رجب على الشهور كفضل القرآن على سائر الكلام/الاذكار، وفضل شهر شعبان على محمد كفضلي على سائر الأنبياء، وفضل شهر رمضان كفضل الله على سائر العباد
“The virtue of Rajab over the rest of the months is like the virtue of the Qur’ān over the rest of the speech/remembrances. And the virtue of Sha’bān over the rest of the months is like the virtue of Muhammad over the rest of the Prophets. And the virtue of Ramadān over the rest of the months is like the virtue of Allāh over His servants.” (al-Daylamī 4245, 4247. And al-Sakhāwī said in al-Maqāsid (p. 299): “Our Shaykh [i.e. Ibn Hajr] said: It is fabricated (mawdū’).” Ibn Hajr said (in Tabyin al-‘Ajab pg. 92) : “And the men of this chain are trustworthy and reliable except al-Siqtī, for he is the defect. And he was well-known for fabricating hadīth and forging chains. And not a single one of the men of this chain ever narrated this hadīth at all.”)
Narration of Ibn ‘Abbās:
اختص الله أربعة أشهر جعلهن حرما وعظم حرماتهن وجعل الذنب فيهن أعظم وجعل العمل الصالح والأجر أعظم
Abū Sālih via ‘Alī ibn Abī Talhah narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās: “Allāh specified four months [i.e. Rajab, Dhū al-Qaʿdah, Dhū al-Hijjah, Muharram], made them sacred, magnified their sanctities, made sin in them greater, and made righteous deeds and reward greater (in them).” (Tafsīr al-Tabarī 9/240-241, Ibn al-Jawzī print, declared weak by the verifier)
[T.N: on Abū Sālih ‘Abdullāh ibn Sālih:
Al-Nasā’ī said: “(he is) not thiqah (trustworthy and reliable)”.
Ibn Hibbān said: “(he is) Very objectionable in hadīth” (munkar al-hadīth jiddan).”
Ziyād ibn Ayyūb said: “Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allāh have mercy on him, forbade me from narrating the hadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn Sālih.”
Ahmad said: “He was coherent at first, then became corrupt later (in life), and he is nothing.”
Ibn al-Madīnī said: “I struck through (i.e. crossed out) his hadīth and I do not narrate anything from him.”
Abū ʿAlī Sālih ibn Muhammad al-Hāfidh said: “The scribe of al-Layth (i.e. Abū Sālih) used to lie.” (Jāmi’ Likutub al-Du’afā wal-Matrukīn wal-Kādhibīn 9/222-234)
Ibn Hajr said: “(he is) Truthful but makes many errors, reliable [when narrating from] his book but there was heedlessness in him. From the tenth (class of narrators).” (Taqrīb #3752)
[T.N: On Alī ibn Abī Talhah:
Al-Dhahabī says: “(he narrated) from Mujāhid, and Abū al-Waddāk, and Rāshid ibn Saʿd. He took Ibn ʿAbbās’s commentary from Mujāhid, but did not mention Mujāhid, rather he transmitted it directly from Ibn ʿAbbās.
Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: “He has (narrated) objectionable things (munkarāt).” And Abū Dāwūd said: “He used to hold (permissible) the sword (i.e. rebelling against the ruler).”
And Duhaym said: “Alī ibn Abī Talhah did not hear tafsīr (commentary of the Qur’ān) directly from Ibn ʿAbbās.” (Mizān al-I’tidāl 3/146. See also Jāmi’ Likutub al-Du’afā wal-Matrukīn wal-Kādhābīn 10/591-592)
Ibn Hajr said: “He transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās with a broken chain and did not see him, from the sixth [class of narrators]. Truthful but errs.” (Taqrīb #5336)]
Narrations related to the sacrifice in Rajab (known as al-‘Atīrah)
Shaykh ‘Alī ibn Ādam Al-Ithyūbī said: “al-‘Atīrah…it is: the sheep slaughtered on behalf of a household in Rajab. And Abū ‘Ubayd said: Al-‘Atīrah is al-Rajabiyyah, a sacrifice they used to slaughter in the Jāhilīyyah in Rajab, drawing near by it to their idols.
And another said: Al-‘Atīrah: (it was) a vow they used to make, (that) whoever’s wealth reached such-and-such (amount), that he would slaughter from every ten of them a head in Rajab.
And Ibn Sīdah mentioned that al-‘Atīrah: (was) that a man would say in the Jāhilīyyah: “If my camels reach one hundred, I will slaughter from them an ‘Atīrah.” He added in al-Sihah: “in Rajab.” And Abū Dāwūd transmitted its restriction to the first ten (days) of Rajab, and al-Nawawī transmitted the agreement upon that. Al-Hāfidh (ibn Hajr) said: “And in it there is consideration.” (Sharh al-Tirmidhī 19/480)
Narration of Abū Razīn:
قلت يا رسول الله كنا نذبحذبائح في الجاهلية يعني في رجب فنأكل ونطعم من جاءنا ؟ فقال رسول الله ﷺ: لا بأس به
Abū Razīn narrated: I said: “O Messenger of Allāh, we used to slaughter sacrifices in the Jāhilīyyah, meaning in Rajab, and we would eat and feed whoever came to us?” So the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: “There is no harm in it.” (Ibn Hibbān 5891, al-Nasā’ī 4233, Sunan al-Kubrā of al-Bayhaqī 19344)
Declared weak by Al-Arnāūt in his checking of al-Nasāʾī, saying: “Its chain is weak due to the unknown status of Wakī’ ibn ‘Udus – or: Hudus – for Ya’lā ibn ‘Atā’ narrated from him alone, and Ibn Qutaybah, Ibn al-Qattān, and al-Dhahabī considered him unknown, and Ibn Hibbān mentioned him in “al-Thiqāt” (The Trustworthy) as is his habit in authenticating the unknown narrators.”
Narration of Ibn ‘Abbās:
Ibn ‘Abbās narrated:
استأذنت قريش رسول الله ﷺ في العتيرة؟ فقال: اعتر كعتر الجاهلية ولكن من أحب منكم أن يذبح الله فيأكل ويتصدق فليفعل
“Quraysh sought permission from the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) regarding al-‘Atīrah?” So he said: “Perform ‘Atīrah like the ‘Atīrah of the Jāhilīyyah, but whoever among you wishes to slaughter for Allāh, then eat and give in charity – so let him do (it).” (al-Tabarānī in al-Kabīr 11576, from the route of al-Husayn ibn Ishāq, Abū Kurayb narrated to us, Ibrāhīm ibn Ismā’īl narrated to us, from Ibrāhīm ibn Ismā’īl ibn Abī Habībah, from Dāwūd ibn al-Husayn, from ‘Ikrimah, from Ibn ‘Abbās. And the narration of Dāwūd ibn al-Husayn from ‘Ikrimah is weak. And Ibn Abī Habībah is weak.
And Ibrāhīm ibn Ismā’īl al-Yashkurī is unknown in status, and Allāh knows best. – see Majma Zawāid 8/517, Dār al-Minhāj print)
Narration of Khinf ibn Sulaym:
Khinf ibn Sulaym al-Ghāmidī that the Prophet (ﷺ) said at ‘Arafah:
إن على كل أهل بيت في كل عام أضحية أو عتيرة
“Indeed, upon every household in every year is an Udhiyah or ‘Atīrah.” (Abū Dawūd 2788, al-Tirmidhī 1518, Ibn Mājah 3125 and others)
Declared weak by Ibn Hazm in al-Muhallā, al-Baghawī in Sharh al-Sunnah, Al-Dhahabī in al-Tanqīh, and in al-Mīzān he said: “‘Abdul-Haqq said: it’s chain is weak.” And it was considered weak by Ibn al-Qattān due to the unknown status of ‘Āmir (Abū Ramlah). And Ibn Kathīr said in his Tafsīr: “There is criticism regarding its chain (isnād).” al-Abādī said in Awn al-Ma’būd: al-Khattābī also declared it weak due to the unknown status of Abū Ramlah. Abū Bakr al-Mu’āfirī said: “The hadīth of ibn Sulaym is weak, it cannot be used as evidence.”
Declared Hasan (li-ghayrihī – due to supporting narrations) by Al-Ithyūbī in Sharh al-Nasā’ī, Al-Albānī in his checking of Abū Dawūd, and al-Arnāūt in his checking of Musnad Ahmad.
Narration of Nubayshah:
أنهم قالوا: يا رسول الله إنا كنا نعتر في الجاهلية يعني في رجب؟ قال: اذبحوا الله في أي شهر كان وبروا الله وأطعموا
Nubayshah narrated that they said: “O Messenger of Allāh, we used to perform ‘Atīrah in the Jāhilīyyah, meaning in Rajab?” He said: “Slaughter for Allāh in whichever month it may be, and do good for Allāh, and feed (people).” (Abū Dawūd 2830, Ibn Mājah 3167 – declared Sahīh by al-Arnāūt upon the conditions of Sahīh Muslim in his checking of Musnad 34/324)
Shaykh al-Tuwajirī said after presenting the different opinions of the scholars on this issue: “And what is considered more correct to me – and Allāh knows best – is the statement of nullification, due to the agreement of the majority of scholars that what has been mentioned regarding al-‘Atīrah is abrogated (mansūkh) by his saying (ﷺ):
لا فرع ولا عتيرة
There is no Far’ nor ‘Atīrah (Sahīh al-Bukhārī 5473, Sahīh Muslim 1976)
And that the “lā” (لا) in this hadīth indicates negation, by analogy to his saying (ﷺ): (لا عدوى ولا طيرة, there is no contagion nor evil omen). And because of what is in al-‘Atīrah of resembling the people of the Jāhilīyyah, and this is prohibited. And because slaughtering is an act of worship, and acts of worship are based on revelation.
However, this does not mean that it is not permissible to slaughter generally in the month of Rajab, but rather what is intended by the prohibition is what the slaughterer intends – that this sacrifice is the ‘Atīrah of Rajab, or that he slaughtered it in veneration of the month of Rajab and the like. And Allāh knows best.” (Kitāb al-Bid’ah pg. 225)
Shaykh Al-Albānī: “And this – and these ahādīth have indicated…the legislation of slaughtering in Rajab and other (months) without distinction and specification of Rajab over what is besides it from the months.
So there is no contradiction between them and the previously mentioned hadīth “there is no Far’ nor ‘Atīrah“, because he only nullified by it the al-‘Atīrah, which is the sacrifice they would specify for Rajab. And Allāh knows best.” (Abridged, Irwā 4/413)
Imām ibn Rajab said: “And from among the scholars are those who said: The hadīth of Abī Hurayrah [i.e. There is no Far’ nor ‘Atīrah] is more authentic than these ahādīth and more firmly established so the practice would be upon it, not upon them. And this is the methodology of Imām Ahmad.
And Mubārak ibn Fadālah narrated from al-Hasan (al-Basrī) who said: “There is no ‘Atīrah in Islām. Rather, al-‘Atīrah was only in the Jāhilīyyah – one of them would fast Rajab and perform ‘Atīrah in it.”
And slaughtering in Rajab resembles taking it as a season and ‘Īd – like eating sweets and the like. And it has been narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās that he used to dislike that Rajab be taken as an ‘Īd (Musannaf ‘Abdul-Razzāq 4/292, Sahīh)…[weak narrations omitted]…and the basis of this is: that it is not legislated that the Muslims take (anything as) an ‘Īd except what the Sharī’ah has come with regarding its adoption an ‘Īd, and it is the Day of al-Fitr and the Day of al-Adhā and the Days of al-Tashrīq, and they are the ‘Īds of the year, and the Day of Friday and it is the ‘Īd of the week. And whatever is besides that, then taking it as an ‘Īd and season is an innovation (bid’ah) that has no basis in the Sharī’ah.” (Latā’if al-Ma’ārif pg. 171-172)
Narrations related to prayer and fasting in Rajab
Imām ibn Rajab said: “As for prayer, nothing has been authenticated regarding the month of Rajab – (no) specific prayer that is particular to it. And the narrations (ahādīth) reported regarding the virtue of Salāt ar-Raghā’ib (the Prayer of Desired Things) on the first Friday night of the month of Rajab are lies and false – they are not authentic. And this prayer is an innovation (bid’ah) according to the majority of scholars…
As for fasting, nothing is authentically established regarding the virtue of fasting Rajab specifically from the Prophet or from his Companions.” (Latā’if al-Ma’ārif pg. 172)
Kharshah ibn al-Hurr narrated:
رأيت عمر يضرب أكف المترجبين حتى يضعوها في الطعام ويقول : كلوا فإنما هو شهر كانت تعظمه الجاهلية
‘I saw ‘Umar striking the palms of those fasting Rajab until they put them in the food, and he would say: “Eat, for it is only a month that the pre-Islamic people (al-jāhiliyyah) used to glorify.” (Irwā of Al-Albānī #957 who declared it Sahīh)
Shaykh Al-Albānī said: “This explicit text that the prohibition of ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه) from fasting Rajab— understood from his striking those fasting Rajab (al-mutarajjibīn) as in the previous report (athar)—is not a prohibition in itself, but rather so they would not commit to fasting it and complete it as they do with Ramadān. This is what some of the Companions explicitly stated. Ibn Qudāmah mentioned in al-Mughnī (3/167) after this report of Ibn ‘Umar, from Ahmad’s narration from Abū Bakrah:
“That he entered upon his family, and with them were new baskets and pitchers, so he said: ‘What is this?’ They said: ‘Rajab, we are fasting it.’ So he said: ‘Have you made Rajab like Ramadān?!’ So he overturned the baskets and broke the pitchers.”
[T.N: From ‘Atā’, he said:
كان ابن عباس بنهى عن صيام رجب كله؛ لئلا يتخذ عيدا
Ibn ‘Abbās used to forbid fasting all of Rajab lest it be taken as a festival (‘Īd). – Musannaf ‘Abd al-Razzāq 4/292,Sahīh)]. (Irwā 4/114-115)
From Abū Mujībah al-Bāhilī, from his father, or from his uncle, he said:
أَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ ، فَقُلْتُ : يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ أَنَا الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي أَتَيْتُكَ عَامَ الأَوَّلِ، قَالَ: «فَمَا لِي أَرَى جِسْمَكَ نَاحِلًا؟» قَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا أَكَلْتُ طَعَامًا بِالنَّهَارِ، مَا أَكَلْتُهُ إِلَّا بِاللَّيْلِ، قَالَ: «مَنْ أَمَرَكَ أَنْ تُعَذِّبَ نَفْسَكَ؟» قُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي أَقْوَى، قَالَ: «صُمْ شَهْرَ الصَّبْرِ، وَيَوْمًا بَعْدَهُ قُلْتُ: إِنِّي أَقْوَى، قَالَ: صُمْ شَهْرَ الصَّبْرِ، وَيَوْمَيْنِ بَعْدَهُ قُلْتُ: إِنِّي أَقْوَى، قَالَ: صُمْ شَهْرَ الصَّبْرِ، وَثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ بَعْدَهُ، وَصُمْ أَشْهُرَ الحُرُمِ
I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: “O Prophet of Allāh, I am the man who came to you the first year.” He said: “Why do I see your body emaciated?” He said: “O Messenger of Allāh, I have not eaten food during the day; I only eat it at night.” He said: “Who commanded you to torment yourself?” I said: “O Messenger of Allāh, I am strong.” He said: “Fast the month of patience [Ramadān], and a day after it.” I said: “I am strong.” He said: “Fast the month of patience, and two days after it.” I said: “I am strong.” He said: “Fast the month of patience, and three days after it, and fast the sacred months.” (Ibn Mājah #1741 and others)
Ibn Hajr said in Tabyīn al-‘Ajab: “In its chain are those who are not known.” Al-Arnāūt said in his checking of Abū Dawūd 4/95: “Its chain is weak due to the unknown status of Mujībah al-Bāhiliyyah.”
Narration of ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib:
إن شهر رجب شهر عظيم من صام منه يوما كتب الله له صوم ألف سنة، ومن صام منه يومين كتب له صوم ألفى سنة، ومن صام منه ثلاثة أيام كتب الله له صوم ثلاثة آلاف سنة، ومن صام منه سبعة أيام غلقت عنه أبواب جهنم، ومن صام منه ثمانية أيام فتحت له أبواب الجنة الثمانية فيدخل من أيها شاء، ومن صام منه خمسة عشر يوما بدلت سيئاته حسنات ونادى مناد من السماء قد غفر لك فاستأنف العمل، ومن زاد زاده الله.
from ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (رضي الله عنه) who said: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: “Indeed, the month of Rajab is a great month. Whoever fasts one day from it, Allāh writes for him the fasting of a thousand years. Whoever fasts two days from it, [Allāh] writes for him the fasting of two thousand years. Whoever fasts three days from it, Allāh writes for him the fasting of three thousand years. Whoever fasts seven days from it, the gates of Hellfire are closed for him. Whoever fasts eight days from it, the eight gates of Paradise are opened for him, and he may enter through whichever of them he wishes. Whoever fasts fifteen days from it, his evil deeds are transformed into good deeds, and a caller calls from the sky: ‘You have been forgiven, so begin anew [your] deeds.’ And whoever does more, Allāh increases him [in reward].” (Tabyīn al-‘Ajab pg. 110-111)
Ibn Hajr declared it fabricated, saying: “This is a fabricated (mawdū’) hadīth, without doubt, and the one suspected of it is al-Khatlī…”. The verifier commented on this saying: “He is Ishāq ibn Ibrāhīm al-Khatlī, author of al-Diyāj. Al-Dāraqutnī and al-Hākim said: Not strong (in hadīth). Al-Khatīb said: Trustworthy (thiqah). Ibn al-Qattān did not know him and claimed he was unknown (majhūl). In his book al-Diyāj are rejected statements, as [mentioned] in al-Lisān (vol. 1, p. 348) and al-Siyar (vol. 13, p. 342). I did not find anyone who accused him of fabrication. In it [the chain] is ‘Alī ibn Yazīd al-Sadā’ī, [who is] weak, as in al-Taqrīb (p. 377).” (Tabyīn al-‘Ajab pg. 111)
Narration of Ibn ‘Abbās:
صوم أول يوم من رجب كفارة ثلاث سنين، والثاني كفارة سنتين، والثالث كفارة سنة ثم كل يوم شهرًا
Ibn ‘Abbās, from the Prophet (ﷺ), said: “Fasting the first day of Rajab is an expiation (kaffārah) for three years, and the second [day is] an expiation for two years, and the third [is] an expiation for one year, [and] every day [is worth] a month.” (Fadā’il al-Rajab pg. 46-47)
Declared weak by Al-Albānī in Da’īf al-Jāmi’ pg. 512. Declared very weak by al-Manāwī in Fayd al-Qadīr 2/1465, saying: “A very weak hadīth. Ibn al-Salāḥ and others said: Nothing is authentically established regarding the fasting of Rajab, neither prohibition nor recommendation, and the basic [ruling on] fasting is recommended in Rajab and other [months].”
Narration of Ibn ‘Abbās:
من صام يوما من رجب وصلى فيه أربع ركعات يقرأ في أول ركعة مائة مرة آية الكرسي وفي الركعة الثانية قل هو الله أحد مائة مرة لم يمت حتى يرى مقعده من الجنة أو يرى له
Ibn ‘Abbās, who said: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: “Whoever fasts one day in Rajab and prays four rak’ahs [units of prayer] in it—reciting in the first rak’ah Āyat al-Kursī one hundred times, and in the second rak’ah ‘Say: He is Allah, the One’ (Sūrah al-Ikhlās) one hundred times—will not die until he sees his place in Paradise, or it is shown to him.” (Tabyīn al-‘Ajab pg. 101-102)
Ibn Hajr declared it fabricated, saying quoting Ibn al-Jawzī: “This is a fabricated (mawdū’) hadith [attributed] to the Messenger of Allāh. Most of its narrators are unknown (majāhīl), and ‘Uthmān is abandoned (matrūk) according to the hadīth scholars.” (Tabyīn al-‘Ajab pg. 102)
من صلى ليلة سبع وعشرين من رجب ثنتي عشرة ركعة يقرأ في كل ركعة منها بفاتحة الكتاب وسورة، فإذا فرغ من صلاته قرأ فاتحة الكتاب سبع مرات وهو جالس ثم قال سبحان الله والحمد لله، ولا إله إلا الله، والله أكبر ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله العلي العظيم أربع مرات ثم أصبح صائما حط الله عنه ذنوبه ستين سنة وهي الليلة التي بعث فيها محمد
ibn ‘Abbās, that he said: Whoever prays on the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab twelve rak’ahs, reciting in each rak’ah the Opening of the Book [al-Fātihah] and a sūrah [chapter], then when he finishes his prayer, recites the Opening of the Book seven times while sitting, then says: “Glory be to Allāh, and praise be to Allāh, and there is none worthy of worship but Allāh , and Allāh is the Greatest, and there is no power or strength except with Allāh, the Most High, the Most Great” (subhāna Allāh wa-al-hamdu lillāh, wa-lā ilāha illā Allāh, wa-Allāhu akbar, wa-lā hawla wa-lā quwwata illā billāh al-‘aliyy al-‘adhīm) four times, then rises in the morning fasting—Allāh will remove from him the sins of sixty years. And it is the night in which Muhammad was sent [as a prophet].
Shaykh al-Laknawī said: “Al-Hāfidh Ibn Hajar transmitted it in Tabyīn al-‘Ajab with his chain from Ibn ‘Abbās as mawqūf [stopped/attributed to the Companion], and in some manuscripts as marfū’ [raised/attributed to the Prophet], and he ruled it to be fabricated.” (Kitāb al-Āthār al-Marfū’ah fī al-Akhbār al-Mawdū’ah pg. 61)
The verifier of Tabyīn al-‘Ajab commented: “…in its chain is Bundār ibn ‘Umar al-Rū’yānī, [who was called] a liar (kadhdhāb), as [mentioned] in al-Lisān (vol. 2, p. 64).” (Tabyīn al-‘Ajab pg. 102)
Narration of Anas (regarding the Salāh al-Raghā’ib)
رجب شهر الله وشعبان شهري ورمضان شهر أمتي، قيل يا رسول الله ﷺ ما معنى قولك رجب شهر الله؟ قال: لأنه مخصوص بالمغفرة، وفيه تحقن الدماء، وفيه تاب الله على أنبيائه، وفيه أنقذ أولياءه من بلاء عذابه، من صامه استوجب على الله ثلاثة أشياء، مغفرة الجميع ما سلف من ذنوبه، وعصمة فيما بقي من عمره، وأمانا من العطش يوم العرض الأكبر، فقام شيخ ضعيف فقال: يا رسول الله إني لأعجز عن صيامه كله، فقال : أول يوم منه فإن الحسنة بعشر أمثالها، وأوسط يوم منه وآخر يوم منه فإنك تعطي ثواب من صامه كله، ولكن لا تغفلوا عن أول ليلة جمعة في رجب فإنها ليلة تسميها الملائكة الرغائب، وذلك أنه إذا مضى ثلث الليل لا يبقي ملك في جميع السموات والأرض إلا ويجتمعون في الكعبة وحواليها ويطلع الله عز وجل عليهم اطلاعة، فيقول: ملائكتي سلوني ماشئتم فيقولون: يا ربنا حاجتنا إليك أن تغفر الصوام رجب، فيقول الله عز وجل، قد فعلت ذلك، ثم قال رسول الله ﷺ : وما من أحد يصوم يوم الخميس أول خميس من رجب، ثم يصلي فيما بين العشاء والعتمة يعني ليلة الجمعة اثني عشر ركعة يقرأ في كل ركعة بفاتحة الكتاب مرة وإنا أنزلناه في ليلة القدر ثلاث مرات، وقل هو الله أحد اثني عشر مرة، يفصل بين كل ركعتين بتسليمة، فإذا فرغ من صلاته صلى علي سبعين مرة، يقول اللهم صل على محمد النبي الأمي وعلى آله، ثم يسجد، فيقول في سجوده سبوح قدوس رب الملائكة والروح، سبعين مرة، ثم يرفع رأسه فيقول رب اغفر وارحم وتجاوز عما تعلم إنك أنت العزيز الأعظم، سبعين مرة، ثم يسجد الثانية فيقول مثل ما قال في السجدة الأولى، ثم يسأل الله تعالى حاجته فإنها تقضى، قال رسول الله ﷺ : والذي نفسي بيده ما من عبد ولا أمة صلى هذه الصلاة إلا غفر الله له جميع ذنوبه ولو كانت مثل زبد البحر وعدد ورق الأشجار وشفع يوم القيامة في سبعمائة من أهل بيته، فإذا كان في أول ليلة في قبره جاءه ثواب هذه الصلاة فيحييه بوجه طلق ولسان ذلق ويقول له يا حبيبي أبشر فقد نجوت من كل شدة، فيقول من أنت؟ فو الله ما رأيت وجها أحسن من وجهك ولا سمعت كلاما أحلى من كلامك ولا شممت رائحة أطيب من رائحتك، فيقول له: يا حبيبي أنا ثواب الصلاة التي صليتها في ليلة كذا من شهر كذا جئت الليلة لأقضى حقك، وأونس وحدتك، وأرفع عنك وحشتك، وإذا نفخ في الصور أظللت في عرض القيامة على رأسك فأبشر فلن تعدم الخير من مولاك أبدا
Anas ibn Mālik, who said: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: “Rajab is the month of Allāh, Sha’bān is my month, and Ramadān is the month of my nation (ummah).” It was asked: “O Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ), what is the meaning of your statement ‘Rajab is the month of Allāh’?” He said: “Because it is specifically designated for forgiveness, in it blood is protected, in it Allāh turned [in forgiveness] to His prophets, in it He rescued His awliyā’ from the calamity of His punishment. Whoever fasts it, Allāh makes obligatory upon him three things: forgiveness of all his past sins, protection in what remains of his life, and safety from thirst on the Day of the Greatest Presentation. An elderly weak man stood and said: ‘O Messenger of Allāh, I am unable to fast all of it.’ He said: ‘The first day of it—for a good deed is [worth] ten times its like—and the middle day of it, and the last day of it, and you will be given the reward of one who fasted all of it. But do not neglect the first Friday night in Rajab, for it is a night that the angels call al-Raghā’ib [the Desired Things]. That is because when a third of the night passes, there does not remain an angel in all the heavens and earth except that they gather at the Ka’bah and around it, and Allāh, the Mighty and Majestic, looks upon them with a glance and says: “My angels, ask Me what you wish.” They say: “O our Lord, our need before You is that You forgive those who fast Rajab.” Allāh, the Mighty and Majestic, says: “I have done so.” Then the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: “There is no one who fasts the day of Thursday—the first Thursday of Rajab—then prays between the evening prayer (‘ishā’) and the night prayer (‘atamah), meaning the night of Friday, twelve rak’ahs [units of prayer], reciting in each rak’ah the Opening of the Book [al-Fātihah] once, and ‘Indeed We sent it down on the Night of Decree’ three times, and ‘Say: He is Allah, the One’ twelve times, separating between every two rak’ahs with a taslīmah [greeting of peace]. When he finishes his prayer, he sends blessings upon me seventy times, saying: ‘O Allāh, send blessings upon Muhammad the unlettered Prophet and upon his family’. Then he prostrates and says in his prostration: ‘Most Glorified, Most Holy, Lord of the angels and the Spirit’ seventy times. Then he raises his head and says: ‘My Lord, forgive and have mercy and overlook what You know, indeed You are the Mighty, the Most Great’ seventy times. Then he prostrates the second [time] and says like what he said in the first prostration. Then he asks Allāh, the Most High, for his need, and it will be fulfilled.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, there is no male or female servant who prays this prayer except that Allāh forgives him all his sins, even if they were like the foam of the sea, the number of the leaves of trees, and he will intercede on the Day of Resurrection for seven hundred of his household. When it is the first night in his grave, the reward of this prayer comes to him and greets him with a cheerful face and eloquent tongue, and says to him: ‘O my beloved, receive good news, for you have been saved from every hardship.’ He says: ‘Who are you? By Allāh, I have not seen a face more beautiful than your face, nor heard speech sweeter than your speech, nor smelled a fragrance more pleasant than your fragrance.’ It says to him: ‘O my beloved, I am the reward of the prayer that you prayed on such-and-such night of such-and-such month. I have come tonight to fulfill your right, to comfort you in your loneliness, and to remove your desolation from you. When the Trumpet is blown, I will shade you at the presentation on the Day of Resurrection over your head. So receive good news, for you will never lack goodness from your Master, ever.'” (Ibn al-Jawzī in al-Mawdū’āt 2/124, and al-Suyūtī in al-La’āli’ 2/55 and others)
Declared Fabricated by Ibn al-Jawzī, saying: “The wording of the hadīth is that of Muhammad ibn Nāsir. This is a fabricated (mawdū’) hadīth [attributed] to the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ). They accused Ibn Jahdam of it and attributed lying to him. I heard our shaykh ‘Abd al-Wahhāb al-Hāfidh say: Its narrators are unknown (majhūlūn), and I searched for them in all the books but did not find them.”
Ibn Hajr said: “Abū Muhammad ‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Kattānī al-Hāfidh transmitted this hadīth in his book Fadl Rajab [The Virtue of Rajab] and said: ‘Alī ibn Muhammad ibn Sa’īd al-Basrī mentioned [that] my father narrated to us—and he mentioned it in full. ‘Abd al-‘Azīz erred in this, for he gave the impression that he had the hadīth from other than ‘Alī ibn ‘Abdullāh ibn Jahdam, but the matter is not so. He only took it from him, but removed him [from the chain] due to his notoriety for fabricating hadīth, and elevated to his shaykh—even though his shaykh is unknown, and likewise his shaykh’s shaykh, and likewise Khalaf. And Allāh knows best.” (Tabyīn al-‘Ajab pg. 106-107)
Shaykh ul-Islām ibn Taymiyyah was asked:
Question: Regarding the prayer of al-Raghā’ib, is it recommended (mustahabbah) or not?
The answer: “This prayer was not prayed by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), nor by any of his Companions, nor by the Successors (tābi’īn), nor by the Imāms of the Muslims. The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) did not encourage it, nor did any of the Salaf [early Muslims], nor the Imāms, and they did not mention any virtue specific to this night. The hadīth narrated regarding this from the Prophet is a fabricated lie by agreement of those with knowledge of this. For this reason, the verifying scholars said that it is disliked, not recommended. And Allāh knows best.” (Fatāwā al-Kubrā 2/261-262)
Hadīth related to du’ā in Rajab
Narration of Anas:
كَانَ إِذَا دَخَلَ رَجَبُ قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَنَا فِي رَجَبَ وَشَعْبَانَ، وَيَلْغْنَا رَمَضَانَ، وَكَانَ إِذَا كَانَتْ لَيْلَةُ الجُمُعَةِ قَالَ: هذه لَيْلَةٌ غَرَاءٌ، وَيَوْمَ ازْهَرُ
“He (ﷺ) used to, when Rajab entered, say: ‘O Allāh, bless us in Rajab and Sha’bān, and allow us to reach Ramadān’ (Allāhumma bārik lanā fī Rajab wa-Sha’bān, wa-balligh-nā Ramadān), and when it was the night of Friday, he would say: ‘This is a bright night, and a radiant day.‘” (Ibn ‘Asākir in his Tarīkh, Musnad Ahmad 2436)
Declared weak by Al-Albānī in Da’īf al-Jāmi’ pg. 637. Al-Haythamī said in Majma’ al-Zawā’id (2/165): “Al-Bazzār narrated it, and in it is Zā’idah ibn Abī al-Riqād. Al-Bukhārī said: ‘Rejected in hadith (munkar al-hadīth),’ and a group declared him unknown (jahhalahu).”
Declared weak by Al-Arnāūt in his checking of al-Musnad, saying: “Its chain is weak (da’īf); Zā’idah ibn Abī al-Riqād—al-Bukhārī and al-Nasā’ī said: “rejected in hadīth (munkar al-hadīth).” Abū Dāwūd said: “I do not know his [status].” Abū Hātim said: “He narrates from Ziyād al-Numayrī, from Anas, rejected marfū’ [raised/attributed to the Prophet] hadīths, and we do not know [whether the defect is] from him or from Ziyād.”
As for Ziyād al-Numayrī—who is Ibn ‘Abdullāh—Ibn Ma’īn and Abū Dāwūd weakened him. Abū Hātim said: “His hadīth is written down but he is not used as proof.” Ibn Hibbān mentioned him in al-Thiqāt [The Trustworthy Narrators] and said: “He errs.” Then he mentioned him in al-Majrūhīn [The Discredited Narrators] and said: “Rejected in hadīth (munkar al-hadīth), he narrates from Anas things that do not resemble the hadīths of the trustworthy [narrators]; it is not permissible to use him as proof.” (Takhrīj Musnad Imām Ahmad 4/180)
Narration of Abū Umāmah:
خمس ليال لا ترد فيهن الدعوة : أول ليلة من رجب ، وليلة النصف من شعبان ، وليلة الجمعة ، وليلة الفطر ، وليلة النحر
Abū Umāmah narrated from the Prophet (ﷺ): “There are five nights in which supplication is not rejected: the first night of Rajab, the night of the fifteenth of Sha’bān, the night of Friday, the night of [Eid] al-Fitr, and the night of [Eid] al-Nahr.” (Tārīkh of Ibn Asākir 10/275-276)
Declared Fabricated by Al-Albānī in al-Da’īfah due to; The hadīth containing two narrators explicitly identified as liars
Bundār ibn ‘Umar al-Rū’yānī – ‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Nakhshabī said “Do not listen to him, for he is a liar”. Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Yahyā – described as a liar by Yahyā and others. Ibn Hajr said: “All its routes are defective (ma’lūlah).” Also due to unknown individuals: “Abū Qa’nab,” “Ibn Mu’attib,” “Abū Qu’ayb” and Ibn Burrah. (Summarised, 3/649-650)
Hadīth related to Zakāh in Rajab
Imām Ibn Rajab said: “As for zakāh [alms], the people of these lands have become accustomed to paying the zakāh in the month of Rajab, but there is no basis for that in the Sunnah, nor is it known from any of the Salaf…zakāh is only obligatory when a full year passes over the nisāb [minimum threshold]. So every person has a year specific to him according to the time of his ownership of the nisāb.” (Latā’if al-Ma’ārif pg. 174)
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