Rajab Moon-sighting Information

1 year ago

Salmun Alaykum,

May Allah bless you and your family. I extend my tabrkt (blessings), taiyyt (glad tidings), du (prayers) to all Muslims around the world on the beginning of the spiritual season, the blessed months of Rajab, Shabn, and Raman. There were authentic sightings of the moon around North America tonight, therefore, 1st of Rajab will be on Saturday, January 13th.

Rajab is the month of Allah. Taking a closer look at the root of the word of Rajab, it is seen that in the old times the best means to travel was the camel. This is because when you give a camel water, it can store the water for many days. Centuries ago, the people used camels to travel through the desert and if they happened to lose their way, they could slaughter the camel and it would serve another purpose besides travel: nourishment. The lost travelers would be able to eat the meat of the camel and use the big bones of the camel to protect against predatory animals. Furthermore, the skin of the camel would be a shield from cold weather and the heat of the sun, so in essence, all the parts of the camel would become a blessing for the traveller(s). This would give them some time to survive in hopes that they would find their way by the time the camel meat was finished.

However, sometimes they did finish the meat in its entirety and would still not have found their way out of the desert. In this case, the head of a caravan would typically announce to everyone that they should go in different directions (since they were lost anyways) and small groups would split up on different paths, hoping they chose the right one. This would be a last resort and an attempt to escape the starvation and death in the desert with hope. Each person would set off with hope into the infinite sands stretching beyond ones eyes, hoping for relief. When they had a need of water again, they would find a cactus and look for a small reservoir in the trunk where possibly a little bit of water would be in the trunk of the plant. Though, not all cacti provided water-sometimes out of 20-30 different cacti, one would have water. Everyone would search and maybe one person would find water and that lucky person would say, walt Rajab! meaning I have reached hope and life! For water symbolizes life. This is the beautiful meaning of Rajab, the beginning of a season filled with life, hope, and growth. This month is called Rajab which means the month of hope, life, blessings, and forgiveness. In fact, Rajab is called Rajab al-Murajjab which means that Allahs blessings are not raining down, they are pouring down.

Rajab is the month of Allah and forgiveness. Shabn is the month of the Noble Prophet () and adorning ourselves with good deeds and reciting the blessings and salutations upon the Noble Prophet () and his Ahl al-Bayt (a). Lastly, Raman is the month where the believers become the guests of Allah. Let us take advantage of this spiritual season filled with the special mercies of Allah. By understanding the beauty of the months, inshAllh we become better prepared to take advantage of them and grow closer to Him.

With Dus,

Sayyid Nabi R. Mir (Abidi)