Rajab: Stop oppressing the 'rakyat'...

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In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Reflection

The Declining Day (Al-'Asr)
1. By the declining day,
2. Lo! Man is in a state of loss,
3. Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort 
one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.
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MONDAY, 20th April was 1st Rajab 1436 Hijra. The night before, there was a 'tazkirah; (talk) on Rajab at a 'masjid' near my house. I 'sharpened up' my ears when the 'ustaz' (religious teacher) asked congregators to stop all sorts of negative traits including 'this reminder' which he said aloud and clear - "please refrain from quarelling with your wife or husband." 

Why must we stop all disputes with our spouses? The 'ustaz' said Rajab was one of the four 'haram' (sacred) months in the Muslim calendar; the other months are Dzulkaedah, Dzulhijjah and Muharram. Rajab is by itself in the middle of the year while the three other months stand in a row after one another. Dzulkaedah and Dzulhijjah are the two last months of the year while Muharram is the first month of a new year,

What's the importance of Rajab? Allah SWT himself declared in the glorious Qur'an that Rajab is one of four sacred months, Rajab marks the beginning of the spiritual season of every believer ending with the end of the fasting month of Ramadan with 'Hari Raya Aidilfitri' ((Eid Al-Fitri). These three months (Rajab, Sha'ban and Ramadan) are unmatched in their importance.

There is no doubt that the month of Rajab is the key to the opening of the months of goodness and blessing. Rajab is often associated with Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. journey of 'Isra' and Mikraj' that is his journey from Makkah to Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and to 'Sidratul Muntaha' (Upper Heavens). In verse 1 of Surah Al-Isra' (17:1) Allah SWT said with the meaning: "Praise be to God Who has enraptured His servant by night from the Sacred Masjid (Mecca) to the Farthest Masjid (Jerusalem)."

The ustaz said in the sacred month of Rajab we must put up our maximum efforts and upgrade our good deeds but refrain from doing 'haram' things for example bickering, quarelling and oppressing others. Quarelling among spouses are not allowed and this also implies in societies, we must not engage in activities that are against the teaching of Islam.

Regarding some of the good deeds, Muslims could fast; because it is recommended to fast the months of Rajab and Sha`ban as a nafila or supererogatory worship, with the intention of following the Sunna of the Prophet s.a.w. who has established the merit of this fast.

In Muslim, Abu Dawud, and Ahmad: `Uthman ibn Hakim al-Ansari said: I asked Sa`id ibn Jubayr about fasting in Rajab, and we were then passing through the month of Rajab, whereupon he said: "I heard Ibn `Abbas saying: 'The Messenger of Allah used to observe fast so continuously that we thought he would never break it, and at other times he remained without fasting so continuously that we thought he would never fast'."

If it is highly recommended to observe the supplementary good deeds such as fasting and providing for the poor during this sacred month of Rajab, it is a must for Muslim to avoid confrontations, engaging in 'haram' activities such as bickering, slandering, providing and taking bribes and mixing freely among men and women. 

Muslims too must stop being liars and removed all the negative traits in them such as being arrogant, selfish and hypocrites.  Well, we must 'free ourselves' from these dirty traits before we enter the holy month of Ramadan.

During these 'haram' months those in conflicts must observed ceasefires - those in power should not oppress the weak and helpless. Regarding this aspect, my heart is with the 'poor rakyat' who are scheduled to hold a GST (goods and service tax) protest on May 1st. 

Well, nowadays the 'rakyat' are too burden in the lives that they decided to pour out their heats in the streets. They are determined to do it the 'aman' (peace) manner, so to those in power and those who are directed to do their jobs such as the police force, federal reserve unit (FRU) please have mercy on the 'rakyat'. Do not oppress the helpless.

Rememberwe are now in the sacred month of Rajab, please observe what Allah SWT and the Prophet s.a.w. has told us!