Question:

Fasting in the month of Radjab is a good sunnah or innovation?

 

Answer:

• Rajab is the month of mercy and forgiveness. Being one of the months preceding Ramadan, Rajab is the preparation for this period, and Muslims should be engaged in spiritual purification and fast.

 

قال الإمام النووي في كتابه "شرح صحيح مسلم":

 

As for the fasting in the month of Rajab, Imam al-Nawawi in his book Sharh Sahih al-Muslim writes:

 

ولم يثبت في صوم رجب نهي ولا ندب بعينه, ولكن أصل الصوم مندوب إليه

 

"There is no direct command or prohibition to observe the fast in the month of Rajab. But the basis of fasting in this month remains as a desirable act"

 

Then Imam al-Nawawi writes the following:

 

وفي سنن أبي داود أنه صلى الله عليه وسلم ندب الصوم من الأشهر الحرم ورجب أحدها.

 

(ج 8 ص 39)

 

"In the Sunan (collection of hadiths) of Abu Dawud, it is said that the Prophet ﷺ urged him to fast in the forbidden months (ashhur al-hurum), and Rajab is one of them. Allah knows best."

 

[Commentary on hadith No. 1960, volume 4, p. 167].

 

قال الإمام الخطيب الشربيني في كتابه "مغني المحتاج":

 

In this regard, Imam Khatib al-Shirbini in his book Mughni al-Muhtaj writes the following:

 

أفضل الشهور للصوم بعد رمضان الأشهر الحرم وأفضلها المحرم لخبر مسلم «أفضل الصوم بعد رمضان شهر الله المحرم ثم رجب».

 

(ج 3 / ص 344)

 

"The best months for fasting after the month of Ramadan are the forbidden months, and the most auspicious of these is the month of Muharram, according to the hadith quoted by Imam Muslim:

"After it (Muharram), the best month for fasting is Rajab."

 

[See: "Mughni al-Muhtaj" vol 3, p. 344].

 

وروى عن عائشة: أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يصم بعد رمضان إلا رجبا وشعبان.

 

"It is also reported from Aisha that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not observe fasting after Ramadan, except for the months of Rajab and Sha`ban."

 

• This hadith indicates the desirability of fasting in the forbidden months in general.

 

وقال الإمام أحمد: يفطر منه يوما أو يومين

 

Imam Ahmad said: "If a man fasts during that month, let him break the fast for one day in it, or two, just so as not to fast it all."

 

• This indicates that Imam Ahmad considered it preferable to observe fasting in the month of Rajab.

 

• As for the opinion that the fast in the month of Rajab is an innovation, then regarding this ibn Hajar Al-Haithami in the book Fath al-Mubin (a commentary on the collection of the hadith of Imam Al-Nawawi "Al-Arba'un") writes the following:

 

قيل: ومن البدع صوم رجب, وليس كذلك بل هو سنة فاضلة, كما بينته في الفتاوي وبسطت الكلام عليه.

 

(ج 1 / ص 226)

 

"There is an opinion that the fast in the month of Rajab is an innovation, but it's not so, on the contrary, fasting in the month of Rajab is an excellent sunnah (desirable act), as I explained and stated it in al-Fatawa al-Kubra."

 

[See: Fath al-Mubin, vol. 1, p. 226 / No. 5].

 

Conclusion:

 

• Based on the abovesaid, we can say that fasting in the month of Rajab is a desirable act for which a person receives great reward, since scholars of the Shafi'i madhhab, whose opinion is fundamental in the madhhab, refute the proposition that this is innovation, not to mention about its prohibition.

 

Fatwah Division of Dagestani Muftiyat