The Three Holy Months of Worship

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Shukr to Allah ﷻ, a beautiful season is coming. It is a spiritual season. It is not a usual worldly season but the season of Akhirah. The Three Holy Months begin next week. Their Thawab and virtues, and the holy nights in them are a great gift from Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla to our Ummati Muhammad ﷺ, a gift to the Ummah of our Holy Prophet ﷺ.

They are the months of worship. When people perform worship, they find peace, their light increases, and they are raised in the presence of Allah ﷻ. They become from the beloved servants of Allah ﷻ. Therefore, these Three Holy Months are important for Muslims. They are very important months and beautiful months.

The first one is Rajabu sh-Sharif. It is from the Hurum/sacred months when making war is forbidden. Unless others attacked and people defended themselves, there should be no war. There is permission to fight against those who attack you in order to defend yourself, but it is forbidden to declare a war during this month.

It is a great beauty, Shukr to Allah ﷻ. Worshipping during these months is more virtuous than in other months.

There is more Thawab for all kinds of charity. When it is usually tenfold, here it is seventy fold or seven hundred fold, or even more in the presence of Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla. He ﷻ gives as much as He ﷻ wants. Therefore, we should know its value and use this chance.

There is fasting as well. Some holy men used to call it the fasting of the Three Holy Months. They used to start fasting from the beginning of Rajab until Eid. People do it now as well, Shukr to Allah ﷻ. Whoever doesn’t do it can fast at least for three days, or on Mondays and Thursdays. It is from the worship that people of Tariqah should certainly do during these months. It is a Nafilah/supererogatory worship, but it has great Thawab. Fasting is a precious worship.

Also, some people may have skipped fasting on purpose. It must have a manner; they have to fast to make it up. But before that, there is a sixty-day Kaffarah fasting. Kaffarah fasting is done once. Even if someone didn’t fast for twenty years, they didn’t fast Ramadan, they fast just once with the intention of sixty-day Kaffarah fasting.

Usually, people of old times used to fast during these Three Holy Months. But they have to start it not on the 1st of Rajab but one or two days before it. Some months are 29 days. We said it last year as well. Masha’Allah, some stupid people couldn’t calculate it and started on the 1st of Rajab. They said that they had fasted for 59 days. You must have calculated it beforehand. It is not valid. It doesn’t go to waste though. However, Kaffarah is important. It has to be sixty days. So you have to start one or two days before Rajab so that it completes sixty days before the fasting of Ramadan, because the fasting of Ramadan cannot be considered Kaffarah. It is a Fard fasting.

This applies to those who are born Muslim and fasted from time to time. There are families who have never fasted. They were not used to it since childhood. But afterwards Allahﷻ guided them and they started fasting. But they have to make Kaffarah for the missed fasting. After they do it, they can fast once or twice a month, on Mondays and Thursdays. Their missed days will be accepted then. Otherwise, Kaffarah is the worship that has to be performed before making up the missed fasting days.

For new Muslims, there is no obligation. They are as if newly born. Allah ﷻ has forgiven them for accepting Islam. There is no Kaffarah fasting for them. But if they break their fasting on purpose without being sick or without travelling, just like that in a good health after becoming Muslim, they have to make Kaffarah.

No matter if there is one day or a hundred days, there is the sixty-day Kaffarah for them. May Allah ﷻ forgive us all. May we repent insha’Allah. May these holy months be good for us insha’Allah.

Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq. Al-Fatiha.

Sohbah by Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Adil Ar-Rabbani (q)

29th January 2022| 26th Jamadilakhir 1443

Akbaba Dergah, Istanbul

Join Channel @NaqshbandiSingapore