About the month of Muharra

The month of Muharram is the first month of the Arabic year, and it is one of the four sacred months of Allah. Allah says in the Quran:


“Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months (in a year), so was it ordained by Allah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are Sacred (i.e. the 1st, the 7th, the 11th and the 12th months of the Islamic calendar)….” [Quran, Surah Al-Tawbah 9:36]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The division of time has turned to its original form which was current the day Allah created the heavens and earth. The year consists of twelve months of which four are sacred: three consecutive months, Dhu’l-Qa’dah, Dhu’l-Hijjah and Muharram, and Rajab of Mudar which comes between Jumada and Sha’baan.” [Hadith mentioned in al-Bukhaari (3167) and Muslim (1679) as narrated from Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him)]

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The best fasting after Ramadan is the month of Allah Muharram, and the best prayer after the obligatory prayer is prayer at night.” Narrated by Muslim, 1163.
It was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not fast any month in full apart from Ramadan, so this hadith is to be understood as meaning that it is it is encouraged to fast a lot in the month of Muharram, not to fast the whole month.
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Nothing happens unless decreed by Allah

The following verses from the Quran show that nothing happens unless ordained by Allah. That includes the good and the bad. The commentary also shows the attitudes that a Muslim needs to adopt in times of hardship and difficulties.
In Surah At-Tawba Allah gives His servants the assurance of His protection. He Says:

Say: “Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us. He is our Mawla (protector).” And in Allah let the believers put their trust.)
Quran (Surah Tawba, Verse 51)

In Surah Hadid, Allah (SWT) Makes it more explicit that He decides what is to happen in our lives and that He has a purpose for it. He says:

No calamity occurs on earth nor in yourselves but it is inscribed in the Book of Decrees before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah.
In order that you may not grieve at the things over that you fail to get, nor rejoice over that which has been given to you. And Allah likes not prideful boasters.
Quran (Surah Hadid, Verses 22,23)

Ibn ‘Abbâs narrates:

(The saying:) “Allâh (Alone) is Sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs (for us)” was said by Ibrâhîm (Abraham) when he was thrown into the fire; and it was said by Muhammad (s) when they (i.e. hypocrites) said (as mentioned to us in the Quran),

“Verily, the people (pagans) have gathered against you (a great army), therefore, fear them,” but it (only) increased them in Faith and they said: “Allâh (Alone) is Sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs (for us).” Quran (Surah Aal-e-Imran, Verse 173)
(Sahih Al-Bukhâri, Vol.6, Hadîth No.86).

Ibn ‘Abbas also narrates: Once I was behind the Prophet (s) and he said:

O boy, I will teach you a few words:
(a) Be loyal and obedient to Allâh [worship Him (Alone)], remember Him always, obey His Orders. He will save you from every evil and will take care of you in all the spheres of life.
(b) Be loyal and obedient to Allâh, you will find Him near (in front of you) i.e. He will respond to your requests.
(c) If you ask, ask Allâh.
(d) If you seek help, seek help from Allâh.
(e) Know that if all the people get together in order to benefit you with something, they will not be able to benefit you in anything except what Allâh has decreed for you. And if they all get together in order to harm you with something, they will not be able to harm you in anything except what Allâh has decreed for you. The pens have stopped writings [Divine (Allâh’s) Preordainments]. And (the ink over) the papers (Book of Decrees) has dried.
This Hadith is quoted in Sahih At Tirmidi.

In Tafheem ul Quran, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi states the following:

“In contrast to the man of the world, whatever the man of God does, he does it to please Him and trusts in Him and not in his own powers nor in material resources. Therefore he is neither exultant over his success in the cause of Allah nor loses heart by failure, for he believes that it is the Will of God that is working in both the cases. Therefore he is neither disheartened by disasters nor is filled with conceit by successes. This is because he believes that both prosperity and adversity are from Allah and are nothing but a trial from Him. Therefore his only worry is to do his best to come out successful in His test. Besides, as there are no worldly ends before him, he does not measure his success or failure by the achievement or failure of his ends. On the other hand, the only object before him is to sacrifice his life and wealth in the Way of Allah, and he measures the success or failure of his efforts by the standard he achieves in the performance of this duty. Therefore if he is satisfied that he has done his best to perform this duty, he believes that he has come out successful by the grace of God, though he might not have been able to accomplish anything from the worldly point of view; for he believes that his Allah in Whose cause he has expended his life and wealth will not Iet go waste the reward of his efforts. As he does not depend on the material resources only, he is neither grieved if they are unfavorable, nor feels exultant when these are favorable. His entire trust is in God Who is the controller of all the resources; therefore he goes on doing his duty even under the most unfavorable circumstances with the same courage and perseverance that is shown by the worldly people unfavorable circumstances alone. That is why Allah asked the Holy Prophet to say to the hypocrites, “There is a basic difference between you and us in regard to the conduct of affairs. We believe that both the good and the bad are from Allah: therefore the apparent result does not make us happy or sad. Moreover, we depend on Allah in our affairs and you depend on material resources: so we are content and happy in all circumstances.”

Reflections on this verse:

• Allah decides whatever happens on earth and in our lives.
• This realization should comfort us that the administration of the whole universe is in the Hands of the Supreme Almighty, and our responsibility is only to lead life as He has directed us to.
• Trust in Allah is the most important aspect of our Faith. Obedience should follow trust.
• Supplications should be offered to Allah Alone, for all decisions are in His Hands.
• Regret about what we missed of fortune is pointless, because if it had been destined for us, we wouldn’t have missed it.
• Complaining about the situation or experience intended for us, however disagreeable, is also futile, for we couldn’t have escaped it whatever we might have done to avoid it.
• Whatever good man meets with and whatever hardship he suffers in the world, are pre-ordained by Allah.
• A true believer is he who does not lose heart in affliction and is not puffed up with pride in good times.
• Rewards promised by Allah can be attained only if we take active part in the conflict with kufr, for that is the criterion which distinguishes true Muslims from hypocrites.
• It is the character of a hypocrite and disbeliever that he is puffed up with pride when Allah favors him with His blessings, behaved boastfully and shows stinginess when called upon to spend in the cause of the same God Who blessed him, and also counsels others to be stingy like himself.
• We should not entertain the delusion that our intelligence and efforts excelling those of others, made us worthy of our good fortune.
• Pride is a vice that Allah wants us to discard.

References: (Tafsir Ibn Kathir and Tafhim al- Qur’an by Sayyid Abul Ala Moududi)

Surah Ikhlas – Importance and Interpretation of the Quranic Verses

Based on the works of Bilal Philips:
This post describes the genealogy and description of God, the Most Merciful as it is described in Surah Ikhlas.

It was revealed by Allah to refute beliefs attributed to Him by misguided people concerning His similitude, form, origin and offspring. For example, those who paint pictures or make statues of Allah are claiming similitude, those who worship others besides Him claim similitude, and those who attribute some parts of His creation to others besides Him claim similitude. However, nothing is similar to Him in His Attributes, His Dominion or His Divinity. Therefore, only He alone deserves to be worshipped by His creatures.
This is described in Surah Ikhlas (Chapter of ‘The Purity”) the verses of which are the following:



The translation and interpretation follows;

(1) Say: “He is Allah, One (the Unique)” This verse represents Allah’s own affirmation of His unique Monotheism, His inimitable Oneness. Thus, the first verse is a command to the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, and whoever reads or recites this verse to affirm Allah’s Unique Oneness. He is one like whom there is no other. There are many unities in this world, but they all are not unique as each unity has others similar to them. For example, there is one Mount Everest, but there are other tall mountains similar to it. In the case of Allah, there is no other unity similar to Him. All other unities can be divided into parts, while Allah is unique in His Oneness and is as such indivisible.

(2) “Allah, the Self-Sufficient.” Allah’s uniqueness is realized in His self-sufficiency. On the other hand, all created beings have needs and are dependent on others to fulfill their needs. Allah is not in need of any of His creation in any way, as nothing they can do can better or benefit His already perfect state. This attribute of self-sufficiency invites the believers to reflect on the purpose and the goals of their worship. Most people worship as if they are doing God a favor. The purpose of human creation is to worship Allah because all human beings have a need to worship Him. He has no need for or from them. Human beings need to worship and glorify God because obedience to divine law is the key to their success in both this life and the next.

(3) “He does not give birth, nor was He born.” This verse describes another aspect of Allah’s Unique Oneness. False religions generally represent God in human terms by either giving Him human characteristics and or human form. This verse deals primarily with two distinct characteristics of human beings and other living creatures in general: coming into existence by being born and procreating by giving birth. “He (Allah) does not give birth,” because there is nothing similar to him. A child is made from portions (sperm and ovum) of the bodies of its parents which is why it is similar to its parents in form and characteristics. If God gave birth, there would be another god like Him, which His uniqueness has already negated. The Almighty also rejected the concept of having a child from the perspective that bearing offspring usually requires a female partner similar in form to the male. Allah also rejected offspring from the general perspective that it is not befitting, since to have a child would reduce him to the status of His creatures. This answers the question of those who claim that since it is agreed that God can do anything, He should be able to have a son if He wished. It is not befitting because it would make God like His creatures. Furthermore people have children out of a need for help to survive in this material world or out of the need for continued existence through one’s progeny. By describing Himself as self-sufficient, Allah also negated this possibility.
“Nor was He born” subtly rejects the notion that Jesus was God, because he was born. For God to be born, He must first have not existed, which contradicts the basic unique divine attribute of eternal existence.

(4) “And there is nothing equal to Him.” Allah closes the chapter with a restatement of the opening verse. If God is unique, nothing can be equal to Him. If nothing is equal to Him, then He alone is unique. If He alone is Self-Sufficient and all creation is in need of Him, nothing in creation can be equal to Him. If He does not bear offspring, nor did anyone or anything give birth to Him, nothing or no one can be equal to Him as every created being came into existence after a period of non-existence. Every created being has something similar to it, called its pair, or something resembling it, called its equal. If the Creator were from one or other of these species, He would have an equal and a similitude.
Thus, It was revealed by Allah to refute beliefs attributed to Him by misguided people concerning His similitude, form, origin and offspring. For example, those who paint pictures or make statues of Allah are claiming similitude, those who worship others besides Him claim similitude, and those who attribute some parts of His creation to others besides Him claim similitude. However, nothing is similar to Him in His Attributes, His Dominion or His Divinity. Therefore, only He alone deserves to be worshipped by His creatures.

The importance of this Surah is further evidenced by the following ahadith:

Muslim (811) narrated from Abu’l-Dardaa’ that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Is any one of you unable to recite one-third of the Quran in one night?” They said, “How could anyone read one-third of the Quran?” He said, “Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad is equivalent to one-third of the Quran.”
Muslim (812) narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Gather together, for I will recite to you one-third of the Quran.” So those who could gather together gathered there, then the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came out and recited Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad, then he went in. They said to one another, Perhaps there has been some news from heaven on account of which he has gone inside (the house). Then the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came out and said, “I told you that I was going to recite to you one-third of the Quran. Verily it is equivalent to one-third of the Quran.”