# Episode 1: The Sacred Months

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Virtues of Dhul Hijjah
**Published:** 2019-08-01
**YouTube:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReMOfa1A6lE
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/virtues-of-dhul-hijjah/episode-1-the-sacred-months-virtues-of-dhul-hijjah
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Description
In the first episode of the Virtues of Dhul-Hijjah, Dr. Omar Suleiman talks about the sacred months in Islam, their historical context and the virtues associated with each. Episode Transcript (Note: the transcript has been edited for clarity) 0:00 – 1:14 The sacred months in Islam Assalamu Alaikum...

## Transcript
**[0:01]** What are the Sacred Months? Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh everyone. Welcome to the Virtues of Dhul Hijjah. So first, just some historical context on what the sacred months are and what they even mean. A lot of times if you ask people what the sacred months are, they would immediately think Ramadan,

**[0:20]** because they're thinking of a very specific type of sanctity. But the sacred months have different connotations and certainly Ramadan is the holiest month and the most virtuous month, but the sacred months mean something. And it is important for us to try to memorize the Islamic calendar and to know the different months that we are in,

**[0:39]** because each month has its own set of virtues and each month has its own set of rules. And in many cases its own set of practices. So for example, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, if I was to ask you what month is fasting most virtuous outside of Ramadan, most people would think of Sha'ban or they think of Shawwal, because they're thinking about the six days of Shawwal.

**[0:58]** But the Prophet, peace be upon him, said that the most beneficial month of fasting or the most beloved month of fasting is Muharram after Ramadan, the month of Allah, Muharram. So it's important to try to know these months and to know where they are on the calendar and to know what they represent.

**[1:14]** Now, these sacred months all have a special meaning to them. The names typically have to do with seasons of warfare. And so you'll find that these months often refer to the practices or the things that were taking place at the time.

**[1:29]** So there are four sacred months and these were the months in which fighting was prohibited, in which all forms of battle was prohibited even to the pre-Islamic Arabs. And so you look at the names, Dhul Qa'dah, which means the month to sit, means that you sit back, you do not fight, you do not engage in any type of warfare.

**[1:48]** Dhul Hijjah is the month in which Hajj is, so there used to be of course an iteration of the Hajj in the pre-Islamic days. There is Muharram, which means forbidden, it's the beginning of the year so it's forbidden. And then there's the month of Rajab, which is the only month that is not in succession, that does not come in succession.

**[2:05]** And Rajab means to remove and refrain, so you would remove your weapons and you'd refrain from fighting somewhere in the middle of the year. Now, what the Arabs would do with these months is they would shift them around before Islam so that they could structure the year around their fighting.

**[2:20]** So if they needed to change a month so that they could engage in battle, they would do so. And the separation of Rajab also has a beautiful meaning to it. Imam Al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, he said that this is like Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, may Allah be pleased with him, to the rest of the Khulafa,

**[2:35]** that they are considered Khulafa al-Rashideen, the righteous caliphs. And Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, though he did not live immediately after Ali or succeed immediately after Ali radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, he is included amongst them even though he is separated from them. And so you've got three months in succession, Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram, and then Rajab which is separated.

**[2:54]** And these months all contain very special rulings and special things. Now, because the Arabs played with these months and they put them in order, or they messed with the order in order to give themselves time to fight or to give themselves flexibility in certain times of the year,

**[3:11]** Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala set them and Allah put special rules with them again. The benefit of the order for us is that if you think about the way that Allah bunches these months up, you know, you finish Ramadan and then after Ramadan you've got the six days in which you fast in Shawwal.

**[3:29]** And then immediately coming after that you end up with Dhul-Qa'dah. And in Dhul-Qa'dah you immediately have a sacred month to prepare yourself for Hajj, Dhul-Hijjah, for the month of Hajj, in which there are virtues in the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, there's the day of Arafah, and so much.

**[3:44]** So you're still on a spiritual high after Ramadan and you're able to capitalize on that with the six days of Shawwal. And then going into Dhul-Hijjah you're able to capitalize on the best ten days of the year. And then right after Dhul-Hijjah you have Muharram, which is the best month to fast outside of Ramadan.

**[4:01]** So you can increase your fasting. And so the way that these months are bunched up, you go out of the Islamic year or you finish the Islamic year strong, and then you're able to start the Islamic year strong, and you're able to maintain that spiritual high. So what happens in these months or what's to be taken into consideration in a practical level,

**[4:20]** outside of the specified virtues of those months, and outside of war and battle and things that are not applicable to us today? Well for one, good deeds are more acceptable or are more beneficial, more blessed in these days.

**[4:38]** So Allah multiplies the rewards of good deeds in these months. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala also, because it's a sacred month, or these are sacred months, the sins are also amplified or they're worse in these days. And this is according to a saying of Al-Hafidh ibn Rajab, may Allah be pleased with him, he said,

**[4:54]** احذروا المعاصي فانها تحرم المغفرة في مواسم الرحمة He said that, be careful of the acts of disobedience because verily they forbid forgiveness in these seasons of mercy. It's just like if you commit a sin, it's bad enough, but if you commit a sin in prayer, it makes it worse.

**[5:10]** So when Allah gives you a season of mercy, a season of forgiveness, then you need to capitalize on that and make sure you don't do anything that's going to deprive you of the blessings of those rewards in those months. Finally, when it comes to these sacred months, Dhul Hijjah is the most sacred of the sacred months,

**[5:28]** as a month as a whole. And we know that because the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said in a hadith narrated from Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, he said that, no doubt, your blood, your property, your honor are more sacred to one another as the sanctity of this day of yours, كحرمة شهركم هذا

**[5:46]** as sacred as this month of yours, as sacred as this place of yours, which is Mecca. So the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam was saying, the most sacred day in the most sacred month, which is Dhul Hijjah, in the most sacred place, which is Al-Masjid Al-Haram, which is the sanctified place.

**[6:03]** And so it's important to memorize the Islamic calendar. I tell people, by the way, there's a great nasheed that you can memorize the Islamic months. My kids would sing it all the time, where they'll actually go through them. And it's important for us to know where we are, to know the specified good deeds of that month,

**[6:19]** and to also amplify our good deeds in those months and be extra careful with our sins in those months. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to achieve the benefit and mercy in these months and forgiveness in these months and allow us to abstain from sin throughout the entire year. Allahumma ameen. Jazakum Allah khayran.

**[6:34]** Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

## Other Episodes in "Virtues of Dhul Hijjah"
- [Episode 10: "And in That Let Them Rejoice"](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/virtues-of-dhul-hijjah/episode-10-and-in-that-let-them-rejoice-virtues-of-dhul-hijjah.md)
- [Episode 9: The Wonders of 'Arafah](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/virtues-of-dhul-hijjah/episode-9-the-wonders-of-arafah-virtues-of-dhul-hijjah.md)
- [Episode 8: 3 Years of Fasting](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/virtues-of-dhul-hijjah/episode-8-3-years-of-fasting-virtues-of-dhul-hijjah.md)
- [Episode 7: The Sacrifice](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/virtues-of-dhul-hijjah/episode-7-the-sacrifice-virtues-of-dhul-hijjah.md)
- [Episode 6: The Preferred Forms of Remembrance](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/virtues-of-dhul-hijjah/episode-6-the-preferred-forms-of-remembrance-virtues-of-dhul-hijjah.md)
- [Episode 5: Fasting the First 9 Days](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/virtues-of-dhul-hijjah/episode-5-fasting-the-first-9-days-virtues-of-dhul-hijjah.md)
- [Episode 4: The 10 Days of Moses](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/virtues-of-dhul-hijjah/episode-4-the-10-days-of-moses-virtues-of-dhul-hijjah.md)
- [Episode 3: The Days Allah Swears By](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/virtues-of-dhul-hijjah/episode-3-the-days-allah-swears-by-virtues-of-dhul-hijjah.md)
- [Episode 2: The Best Good Deeds](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/virtues-of-dhul-hijjah/episode-2-the-best-good-deeds-virtues-of-dhul-hijjah.md)