On the excellent qualities of the holy month of Rajab

[JEELANI MESSAGE]

On the excellent qualities of the holy month of Rajab
Excerpts from Al-Ghunya li-Talibi Tariq al-Haqq
by El-Sheikh Syed Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani
(Radhi Allahu Anhu)
(PART 2)

Some traditional reports concerning the special blessings bestowed by Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) upon those who perform the prayer [salat] during the holy month of Rajab.

   It was just after the new moon had appeared to mark the beginning of Rajab, as Shaikh Imam Hibatullah ibn al-Mubarak as-Saqati (Rahmatullah ’alayh) has informed us on good traditional authority, that the Holy Nabi (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) turned to Hazrat Salman al-Farsi (Radhiyallahu ’anhu) and said:

O Salman, Allah will surely erase all the sins from the record of any believing man [mu'min], and of any believing woman [mu'minah], who performs thirty rak'ah in the course of this month, reciting in each cycle Surah al-Fatiha and the Surah that begins with "Qul HuwAllahu Ahad"¹ three times, and the Surah that begins with "Qul Yaa-ayyu-hal-kaa-firoon"² three times. That man or woman will be granted the same reward as a person who has fasted throughout the entire month. He or she will be treated as one of those who continue to perform the salat [al-musallin] right through to the following year, and will be credited every day with a deed as noble as that of one of the Martyrs of the Battle of Badr [Shahid min Shuhadaa-e Badr].

   For every day of fasting [in Rajab], the ’ibadah of an entire year will be recorded in favor of the believer concerned, whose credit will be enhanced by a thousand degrees. If the believer keeps the fast throughout the whole of this month, as well as performing this particular salat-prayer [i.e., the aforementioned thirty rak'ahs of prayer], Allah will deliver that man or woman from the Fire of Hell and declare that he or she is entitled to enter the Garden of Paradise, therein to dwell in the vicinity of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala.

   Sayyidina Jibril (’Alayhis-Salaam) informed me of this, and then he went on to say: "O Muhammad, this a clear sign to mark the distinction between you true believers, on the one hand, and the mushrikeen and munafiqeen on the other, because the munafiqeen do not perform that  prayer."

   Having heard these words addressed to him by the Nabi (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim), Hazrat  Salman (Radhiyallahu ’anhu) responded by saying: “O Messenger, tell me exactly how I must perform that particular salat-prayer, and exactly when I must perform it.”

“O Salman,” said Sayyidina Rasulullah  (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim):

"on the first day of the month you must perform ten rak'ahs. In each rak'ahs you must recite Surah al-Fatiah one time only, then the Sura that begins with "Qul HuwAllahu Ahad" three times, and then the Surah that begins with "Qul Yaa-ayyu-hal-kaa-firoon" three times. When you have pronounced the final salutation [sallamta], you must raise your hands and say:

There is no god except Allah, Alone. No partner has He. To Him belongs the kingdom and to Him belongs the praise. He brings to life and causes death, while He is Ever-Living and never dies. All goodness is in His Hand, and He is Powerful over all things. O Allah, no one can withhold what You have given, and no one can give what You have withheld, nor will the worldly fortune of the possessor of such fortune profit him, if he does not obtain the fortune that comes from You [in the hereafter].

Then you must rub your face with your hands, for at this point you will have completed the first set of ten rak'ahs.

In the middle of the month you must perform another ten rak'ahs of the salat-prayer. In each rak'ah you must again recite Surah al-Fatihah one time only, then the Surah that begins with "Qul HuwAllahu Ahad" three times, and then the Surah that begins with "Qul Yaa-ayyu-hal-kaa-firoon" three times. When you have pronounced the final salutation [sallamta], you must raise your hands as you did before, but this time you must say:

There is no god except Allah, Alone. No partner has He. To Him belongs the kingdom and to Him belongs the praise. He brings to life and causes death, while He is Ever-Living and never dies. All goodness is in His Hand, and He is Powerful over all things. (I worship Him) as God, Single, One, Everlasting, Alone, Unique. He takes unto Himself neither female consort nor son.

Then you must rub your face with your hands, for at this point you will have completed the second set of ten rak'ahs.

At the end of the month you must perform the third and final set of ten rak'ahs of salat, and in each rak'ah you must again recite Surah al-Fatihah one time only, then the Surah that begins with "Qul HuwAllahu Ahad" three times, and then the Surah that begins with "Qul Yaa-ayyu-hal-kaa-firoon" three times. When you have pronounced the final salutation [sallamta], you must raise your hands as before, but this time you must say:

There is no god except Allah, Alone. No partner has He. To Him belongs the kingdom and to Him belongs the praise. He brings to life and causes death, while He is Ever-Living and never dies. All goodness is in His Hand, and He is Powerful over all things. May Allah bless Sayyidina Muhammad and the pure members of his family. There is neither any power nor any strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Almighty.

You should then ask for whatever you need, whereupon He will surely give a positive response to your Du'a. Allah will interpose seventy ditches between you and Hell [Jahannam], and each of those ditches will be as wide as the distance that separates this earth from heaven above. For every rak'ah of salat-prayer you have performed, He will credit you with a million rak'ahs. He will also inscribe on your record an exemption from the Fire of Hell and a permit to cross the Narrow Bridge [sirat]."

   Hazrat Salman (Radhiyallahu ’anhu) is reported as having said: "As soon as the Nabi  (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) had finished speaking, I sank to the ground in humble prostration, weeping as I sought to express my gratitude to Allah (Exalted is He) for what I had just been privileged to hear."