By Aisyah Karina
According to Abu Bakar al-Warraq, “Rejab is the month of farming, Sya’ban is the month of watering the plants, and Ramadan is the month of harvesting those plants that we planted.”
Among the 12 months in the Islamic calendar, four of them are known as the sacred months which are Zul al-Kaedah, Zul al-Hijjah, Muharram and Rejab.
Allah SWT has stated in the Quran, in Surah at-Taubah verse 36,
“The number of months in the sight of Allah is twelve (in a year) – or so ordained by Him the day He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are sacred: that is the straight usage. So wrong not yourselves therein and fight the Pagans (disbelievers) all together as they fight you all together. But know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves (the righteous).”
This verse tells us about the respected months and one of them is Rejab which means ‘to respect’ or ‘to be in awe’.
Rejab is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar and it gained its name due to the respect it received during the times of Jahiliyyah where the occurrence of war or death was prohibited.
This month comes after Jumadi al-Akhir and before Sya’ban.
It has been stated in the book entitled Kitab Mawahib al-Jalil that the month of Rejab has many names such as Al-Ashom, Al-Ashob, Rajm, Al-Shahr al-Haram, Al-Muqim, Al-Mu’la, Al-Fard, Munshil al-Asinnah, Munshil al-Aali, Munzi’ al-Asinnah, Syahr al-Atiroh, Al-Mubdi, Al-Mu’ash’ish and Syahr Allah.
In the sacred month of Rejab, every injustice committed is considered a great sin as stated by al-Hafiz Ibni Kathir in his tafsir which was shared by Ibni Abbas RA.
On the other hand, any good deeds done will also be granted bigger rewards than deeds done in other months.
As Muslims, some of the good practices that can be done during the holy month of Rejab include fasting, giving more sadaqah, more Quran recitation, zikr, and sunnah prayer.
We are approaching the Holy Ramadan with fifty days left before 24 April which is the first day of fasting. In Islam, it is encouraged that we strive in doing good deeds and practices to obtain the blessings of Allah SWT.
Let us seize this opportunity and engage in more good practices to obtain greater rewards from our Creator.
May Allah grant us steadfastness in becoming a better person. Aamiin.***