The Foremost in the Month of Rajab

Here we are. The time of preparation for the month of the virtuous treasures has started. Allah Glorified and Exalted says, {And if they had intended to march out, certainly, they would have made some preparation for it; but Allah was averse to their being sent forth, so He made them lag behind, and it was said (to them), “Sit you among those who sit (at home).”} [Surat At-Tawbah 9:46]

Does not your soul long for emancipation from Hellfire in this era? Your soul long for the forgiveness, mercy, and pardon from your Lord: the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, does it not.

We all claim we long for that, however, the matter is not through wishful thinking. Verily, we need a true intention to achieve these high ranks. Hence, if you do not prepare for it, do not fool yourself.

So, tell me, I beseech you by Allah, among which party will you be? Are you among those who are the foremost in performing the good? Or, rather, you will be among those who lag behind, who keep away from the Straight Path of Allah?

If you want to know if you are among the foremost who will prepare themselves, or are you among those who will be left behind, you should look into your state and attitude. Compare them to the state and attributes of those people.

The first attribute: fearing Allah

Allah Almighty says, {Verily those who live in awe for fear of their Lord;} [Surat al-Mu’minûn 23:57]

The source of fear is the knowledge. Allah Almighty says, {It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allâh.} [Surat Fâtir 35:28]

Verily, they have known their Lord through the attributes of His Glory; therefore, they felt the fear and concern. They glorified Allah, as they know that He is acquainted with them in their privacies. The scholars said, “The greatest driver to Allah is fearing Him.” Their fear is their motivator to take the Straight Path of their lord.

Are you like this, fearful, afraid, and apprehensive? On the other hand, are you heedless, frivolous, and intervening boldly on sedition?

The second attribute: they consider and understand, they believe in the signs of their Lord

Allah Almighty says, {And those who believe in the Ayât (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of their Lord;} [Surat al-Mu’minûn 23:58]

The signs of Allah include the Quranic verses and the seen signs in the universe.

Those people believe. They have faith. They believe with their hearts. The signs of belief appear in their deeds. If a sign of Allah passes by those people, they consider it, they contemplate upon it, and they know the purpose of Allah concerning it.

What about you, O slave of Allah? Do not warnings pass by you, one by one? Has not a relative or a friend of yours passed away? Have not some afflictions passed by you, those afflictions, which have been sent by Allah so that you turn unto Him in repentance?

The third attribute: monotheism, and not setting partners to Allah

Allah Almighty says, {And those who join not anyone (in worship) as partners with their Lord;} [Surat al-Mu’minûn 23:59]

Although monotheism is the prime purpose, its arrangement in the verses comes after mentioning the attributes of fear and believing with the heart; as they are the spur for the perfection of monotheism.

He sets no partners to his Lord. He loves Him wholeheartedly. He loves no one else; as everyone else he loves, he loves for the sake of Allah. He does not submit or subjugate to anyone but Him. He does not ask people for anything, rather, he puts his trust in Allah, and he commits his affairs to Allah, Alone Who has no partners.

Hence, is Allah our greatest beloved? Or is it this worldly life and the lustrous desires of the soul?

The fourth attribute: their hearts are full of fear

Allah Almighty says, {And those who give that (their charity) which they give (and also do other good deeds) with their hearts full of fear (whether their alms and charities have been accepted or not), because they are sure to return to their Lord (for reckoning).} [Surat Al-Mu’minûn 23:60]

When they get closer to Allah through performing acts of obedience, they are afraid that they would not be accepted from them.

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “I asked the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, about this (the following Verse): {And those who give that (their charity) which they give (and also do other good deeds) with their hearts full of fear …} [Surat Al-Mu’minûn 23:60] Aisha said, ‘Are those who drink alcoholic drinks and steal?” He replied, ‘No! O the daughter of As-Siddîq, but they are those who fast, pray, and practice charity and they are afraid that (their good) deeds may not be accepted (by Allâh) from them. It is these who hasten in the good deeds, and they are foremost in them.” [Reported in Sahih At-Tirmidhi, 3175, it is classified as authentic by Al-Albani]

These were the attributes of the pious believers that Allah, Glorified and Exalted, has said about them in Surat Al-Mu’minûn, {It is these who hasten in the good deeds, and they are foremost in them [e.g. offering the compulsory Salât (prayers) in their (early) stated, fixed times and so on].} [Surat Al-Mu’minûn: 61]

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Allah Glorified and Exalted has given them the following attributes in Surat Al-Imrân:

The first attribute: they spend (for the sake of Allah) without boundaries

Allah Almighty says, {Those who spend (in Allâh’s Cause) in prosperity and in adversity} [Surat Al-Imrân 3:134]

Thus, you should give a daily charity, even by the least, to ward off the wrath of Allah.

The second attribute: they repress anger, and pardon people

Allah Almighty says, {who repress anger, and who pardon men; verily, Allâh loves Al-Muhsinûn (the good-doers).} [Surat Al-Imrân 3:134]

Therefore, you should strive hard with yourself and repress your, anger for the sake of Allah, so that He pleases you. In addition, you have to prepare from the present time for the time of the Night of Al-Qadr (the Night of the Decree), to gain (the acceptance of) its supplication, “O Allah, You are Oft-Forgiving, You love to pardon, so pardon me.”

{Allâh loves Al-Muhsinûn (the good-doers).} Therefore, be a good-doer. Observe your Lord, and worship Him as if you were seeing Him in front of you.

The third attribute: frequent asking for forgiveness and turning to Allah in repentance

Allah almighty says, {And those who, when they have committed Fâhishah (illegal sexual intercourse) or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allâh and ask forgiveness for their sins; – and none can forgive sins but Allâh – and do not persist in what (wrong) they have done, while they know.} [Surat Al-Imrân 3:135]

The Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, has said, “There is not a believing slave of Allah but that he has a sin to which he is accustomed to commit every now and then, or one to which he persistently commits, he does not part with it until he parts with this worldly life. The believer is created to be objected to afflictions, repentant, and forgetful. However, he remembers if he is reminded.” [The narrator is Abdullah ibn Abbas. The Hadith scholar is Al-Albani, in Sahih Aj-Jami’, no. 5735]

The following are our practical duties in this era:

1. You should increase asking Allah for forgiveness and turning to Him in repentance. You should not be addicted to committing sins.
2. Raise your determination. Let your motto be “no one will precede me to Allah”. We are in time of trials; and the living is not safe from trials. We fear that we relapse along the road and that our hearts be turned (from guidance) and our conclusion as well (be turned away from guidance), we seek refuge with Allah.
3. Open the doors of goodness: hasten in doing good things from now. Observe fasting and spending the nights in prayers and remembrances of Allah. Make a close relationship between you and the Book of Allah. Increase your daily regular reciting of the Quran, and the remembrances. Collect charities and distribute food.
4. Put stipulations towards your soul: put some goals of faith in front of you; to remind yourself of them from time to time. However, if our best and the utmost we know are the worldly worries, we will not succeed in the way.
5. Beware of committing sins: bear in mind that we are in one of the Sacred months, about which Allah Almighty says, {… so wrong not yourselves therein …} [Surat At-Tawbah 9:36]