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Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
Wa sall Allahu ta 'Ala 'alaa Sayyidina wa Mawlaana Muhammadin wa 'alaa Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa sallim
Sayyiduna Ayyub (Radhi Allahu ‘anhu) relates that the Messenger of Allah (Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa sallim) said,
“Whoever fasts Ramadan and follows it with six days from Shawwal it is as if they fasted the entire year.”
[Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah; Ahmad transmitted it from Jabir, Muntaqa]
Sayyiduna Thawban (Radhi Allahu ‘anhu) relates that the Messenger of Allah (Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa sallim) said,
“Whoever fasts Ramadan, and then six days after Eid, it is an entire year. Whoever does a good deed shall have ten times its reward.”[Ibn Majah, Muntaqa]
Important Notes:
1. Based on this, the majority of the fuqaha, including the Hanafi, Shafi`i, and Hanbali school, have held that it is recommended to fast six days of the month of Shawwal. [Radd al-Muhtar; Mughni al-Muhtaj Shah al-Minhaj; Kashshaf al-Qina`]
2. It is permitted to fast these six days separately throughout the month, or consecutively, after Eid al-Fitr.
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An excerpt from Al Ghunya lit Talibi Tariq al Haqq
Sultan Muhyuddin Sayyidinaa Shaikh Abd al-Qadir al- Jilani Radhi Allahu ta ‘ala ‘anhu
O young man, the word Ramadhan consists of five letters:
1 - Ra' 2 - Meem 3 - Dhad 4 - Alif 5 - Noon.
The Ra' is derived from Rahma (mercy), the Meem from mujazat (recompense), mahabba (love) and minna (favour), the Dhad from dhaman lil thawab (assurance of reward), the Alif from ulfa (affinity) and qurb (nearness) and the Noon from nur (light) and nawal [the receiving (of grace)]
If you give this month its due and act properly during it, these things will come to you from the True One (‘Azza wa Jall).
They will come to you in this world as strengthening and enlightening for your hearts, & as favour & receiving of grace, outwardly and inwardly. In the hereafter there will come to you what no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard & has never occurred to any human heart.
Most of you are out of touch with Ramadhan. Respect for a command comes in proportion to the respect shown to the commander. As for anyone out of touch with Allah (‘Azza wa Jall), His Messenger, His Prophets & the righteous among servants (Peace & Blessings Upon Them), then how can he be in touch with this month?
Most of you have seen their fathers, mothers & neighbours fast, so they joined them in fasting as a matter of habit not worship. They think that fasting is merely abstaining from food & drink, so they do not fulfil its conditions & requirements.
O People give up habitual practice and keep to worship. Fast for the sake of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall). Do not get bored of fasting & worshipping in this month. Do righteous deeds, during it, & make sure that you act with sincerity. Make a regular practice of the prayers of taraweeh. Illuminate the mosques, for this will be a light for you on the Day of Resurrection. If you obey and respect Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) in this month, it will be an intercessor on your behalf in the presence of your Lord (‘Azza wa Jall) on the Day of Resurrection. It will beg Him to grant you a share of His favour, His Generosity, His Blessings, His Grace, His Graciousness, His Subtle Kindness & His Safekeeping.
Woe unto you! What Benefit would you derive from fasting if you break it on unlawful food & Sleep during these noble nights having committed acts of disobedience? You fast out of dissimulation & hypocrisy as long as you are among creatures, & once you are on you own you break your fast! Then you come out & say: “I am keeping the fast”, while throughout the day you are involved in verbal abuse, levelling defamatory accusations, swearing false oaths & taking people’s money by way of defrauding, trickery & exaction. This sort of behaviour makes you no good at all and does not count as a fast.
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On the Excellent Qualities of the Sacred Month of Rajab
Al-Ghunya li-Talibi Tariq al-Haqq
Sufficient Provision for Seekers of the Path of Truth]
Sultan Muhyuddin Ghawthul Adhim Sayyidinaa Shaykh Abdul-Qadir Al Jilani, Radhi Allahu anhu
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has told us:
إِنَّعِدَّةَالشُّهُورِعِندَاللَّهِ اثْنَاعَشَرَشَهْرًا فِي كِتَابِاللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ مِنْهَاأَرْبَعَةٌحُرُمٌۚ
ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُۚ فَلَاتَظْلِمُوا فِيهِنَّ أَنفُسَكُمْۚ
"The number of the months in the sight of Allah is twelve months. [They were already inscribed] in the Book of Allah on the day when He created the heavens and the earth; four of them are sacred. That is the right religion. So do not wrong yourselves in them...." (9:36)
Rasoolulah ﷺ said "that it is mustahab (preferable) to fast during the sacred months (and Rajab is one of the sacred months). The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: “Fast some days of the sacred months and not others.” Narrated by Abu Dawood
Rasoolulah ﷺ said that 'Rajab is Allah's month, Sha’ban is my month, and Ramadhan is the month of my ummah/nation.' Someone then asked him: “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, what do you mean exactly, when you say that Rajab is Allah’s month?” So he ﷺ 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/prophets, because in it He rescues His awliya/saints 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 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 Rasoolulah ,ﷺ I am physically incapable of fasting through the whole of the month," so Rasoolulah ﷺ 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.
Read more: On the Excellent Qualities of the Sacred Month of Rajab
