RAJAB HAS COMMENCED. It is one of the 4 sacred months. In these months good actions have greater reward and evil is more sinful.
إِنَّ عِدَّةَ ٱلشُّهُورِ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِى كِتَـٰبِ ٱللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ مِنْهَآ أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلْقَيِّمُ ۚ فَلَا تَظْلِمُوا۟ فِيهِنَّ أَنفُسَكُمْ
‘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 deen, so do not wrong yourselves during them…’ (at Taubah 36)
Abu Bakr al-Warraaq al-Balkhi, a noted 9th-century ascetic and uncle of Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on them) said: ‘The likeness of the month of Rajab is that of the wind, the likeness of Sha‘baan is that of a cloud, and the likeness of Ramadan is that of the rain.’
It really is a beautiful example. The rain that cools and brings life to the dry earth starts far away as a stirring in the air. It gathers pace collecting moisture from the water bodies. As it advances it cools and forms heavy clouds and finally, it releases its bounty as rain.
It is similar to his other well-known saying: ‘The month of Rajab is a month for sowing, the month of Sha‘baan is a month for irrigating the crop, and Ramadan is a month for harvesting the crop.’
With two months to go till Ramadhan, Rajab is a time to get our thoughts together and start the preparations so that we can hit Ramadhan running rather than wondering what to do the night before.
It starts with the good intention of seeking Allah’s pleasure. Now is the time to ask ourselves what we achieved or didn’t last Ramadhan- what went well and what didn’t? What can I do better this year? It is a time to look at the year that has gone by and identify our gaps. How has my reality changed and what can I realistically do? What do I need to focus on?
It is the time to start working on seeking forgiveness and repentance. It is the time to start reigniting our relationship with the Qur’an which may have weakened.
It is time to put in some extra fasts to accustom the body to fasting and stay up a little to train ourselves for the night prayers.
Of course, all our realities will be different so what we prepare will be unique to each individual. But now is the time to set the air into motion so that it gathers goodness in the next two before we gain the rewards in Ramadhan, if Allah wills.
اَللّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَنَا فِى رَجَبَ وَ شَعْبَانَ وَ بَلِّغْنَا رَمَضَان
‘O Allah, bless us in Rajab and Sha‘ban, and let us reach Ramadan.’
Living For Islam 