Jumu`ah Khutbah
Alhamdulillah nastaghfiruhu wa nastahdee. Alhamdulillah al-ladhee hadanaa li haadha wa ma kunna li-nahtadee law laa an hadaan-Allah. Wa ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wahdahu laa shareek lah wa laa matheela lahu fee `uloowi shaanihi wa `azheemi sultaanih wa ash-hadu anna sanadanaa wa mawlana Muhammadan `abduhu wa habeebuhu wa Rasooluh, arsalahu min arjaahi 'l-`arabiyy meezaanan wa afsahahaa bayaanan wa awdahihaa bayaanan fa awdaha at-tareeqah wa nasaha'l-khaleeqah sall-Allahu ta`ala `alayhi wa aalihi wa sahbihi, ridwaanullahi ta`ala `alayhim ajma`een, khusoosun minhum `ala a'immati khulafaa'i rasoolullahi `ala at-tahqeeq, umaraa'il-mumineen hadaraati abi bakrin wa `umarin wa `uthmaanin wa `aliyy dhu'l-qadri'l-jaliyy, wa `ala baqiyyati 's-sahaabati wa 't-tabi`een, ridwaanullahi ta`ala `alayhim ajma`een. ayyuhal mu'minoon al-hadhiroon ittaqullah wa atee`ooh. Inn Allah ma`Lladheena 'ttaqaw wa 'Lladheena hum muhsinoon. Qaala Rasoolullah sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallama Rajabun shahrullah wa sha`banu shahree wa ramadaanu shahra ummatee.
The Prophet (s) has emphasized that Rajab is the month of Allah (swt), Sha`baan is the month of Prophet (s), and Ramadan is the month of the ummah. That means Rajab is for everyone to prepare to meet with Prophet (s) in Sha`baan, and in Sha`baan we are fasting and praising Allah (swt) and Prophet (s) to prepare for Ramadan. And Sayyidina Muhammad (s) said, "Whoever fasts one day of Rajab, which is going to end, Allah (swt) will be happy with him and he will get the satisfaction of Allah (swt), and the highest level of Jannat al-Firdaws." And the Prophet (s) said:
عن النبي (ص) أكرموا رجب يكرمكم الله بالف كرامة يوم القيامة ومن اغتسل اول رجب واوسطه وآخره خرج من ذنوبه كيوم ولدته امَّه.
akramoo Rajab akramakumullah bi-alf karaamatan yawm al-qiyaamat wa man aghtasal awwala rajabun , awsatahu wa akhirahu kharaja min dhunoobihi ka-yawmi waladathu ummahu
Give respect to Rajab, the month of Allah, and Allah gives respect to you.
Allah's respect is not like our respect; our respect is a common respect. We are weak, helpless, and heedless people. Our respect doesn't count, but Allah (swt) said, "If you give Me respect in the month of Rajab, then I will give you respect." It is said that on the day of Qiyamah, Allah will give 1000 respects for every day fasted in Rajab!
(Continuing the hadith) "And whoever makes ghusl on the first day of Rajab with the niyyah of the first day of Rajab, and on the 15th and the last day, Allah (swt) will take all his sins as if he is newly born."
Allah (swt) is giving us a lot of ways to save ourselves, to be clean and happy in both dunya and akhirah. The Prophet (s) said, "The respect of Rajab relative to the different months of the year is like the respect of the Qur'an among all other books."
And Prophet (s) said, "Rajab consists of three letters: "raa", "jeem", and "baa". The first letter, raa, represents wa hiya rahmatullah, from the Mercy of Allah (swt). The second is jeem, joodullah, the generosity Allah gives in Rajab, and baa is barruhu,that Allah will purify you and show you His greatness and love." And that is why its called "Rajab." It has three beautiful characters in it.
Prophet (s) said, "One of the names of Rajab is "al-Asab", the One that Allah Pours (asab means 'pouring'.)" Allah pours His love, generosity and knowledge into the hearts of people who are respecting the month of Rajab. And another name for Rajab is "al-Asam", meaning, "the one who is deaf and doesn't hear anything." Allah (swt) will raise and order Rajab to come up to the Divine Presence and Allah will ask, "What has My servant done in My month?" And he keeps quiet. And He asks a second time, "O Rajab! What has My servant done in this month?" And he is silent. And He asks a third time and he says, "O Allah! You are the One Who orders servants to veil each other, to be united, and to not say bad but only good, to close their ears when hearing something bad, and only hear what is good, to not backbite and not say anything bad. Yaa Rabbee, that is why I am not saying anything! And Your Prophet (s) has called me "the deaf one"! And that is because the angels are restricted not to hear any sin and not to hear even the pen writing. The pen stops writing in that month by the order of Allah! I am the one who does not hear the bad that Your servants did; I only hear what good they do. I heard their obedience and I didn't hear their disobedience." Then, Allah (swt) will send Rajab back.
Also another of its names is Rajab "al-Murajjam", as in that month the shayaateen, the evil ones are thrown down by Allah with heavenly rockets to keep them away from the Muslim ummah, from His servants who are obedient in this month. The specialty that Allah gave to Rajab is forgiveness, as He will forgive everyone in this month. The specialty of Shabaan is intercession, and in Ramadan the specialty is to increase more and more good tidings and hasanaat on people.
And it is said that Rajab is the month of tawbah and forgiveness. That is why awliya order their followers to do seclusion in Rajab, thirty days in Rajab and ten days in Shabaan, as these are very important months. Allah (swt) will open the paradises to those who come to His Presence.
And Shabaan is the month of muhabbah, love. Because it is the love of the Prophet (s) and love of awliyaullah, the inheritors of Prophet (s). Increase your love, as the Bedouin who asked the Prophet (s) about the Signs of the Last Days. He said, "Yaa Muhammad (s), when is the Day of Judgment?" And Prophet (s) was on the minbar, so he didn't answer. And the Bedouin asked a second time, and he (s) didn't answer, and he asked a third time, "Yaa Muhammad (s), mataa as-sa`at?" Prophet (s) didn't answer, as he was on the minbar giving the Jumu`ah khutbah.
Allah (swt) sent Jibra`eel (a) to say, "O Muhammad! Answer him."
And he (s) said, "O Bedouin, what are you preparing for that Day, as it is a long journey?"
And he said, "The only thing I have is mahabatak, your love, Yaa RasoolAllah."
And Prophet (s) said, "Kaafee yaa `Arabiyy, that is enough, O Bedouin."
The Bedouin was happy, and the Sahaabah (r) were stunned that the Bedouin, who didn't know how to pray or fast, only for the love of the Prophet (s) he was given the glad tidings of Paradise! As the Prophet (s) has mentioned in his holy hadeeth, "People will be resurrected with the ones they love." If you love Allah (swt) and Prophet (s) and your shuyookh, Allah will keep you with them on the Day of Judgment, on the day of death, and in the grave, due to their blessings.
(Continuing the hadith) Wa Ramadanu shahru qurbatee. "And Ramadan is the month of nearness to Allah." In Ramadan you will be near the Divine Presence. Salman al-Farsi (r) and Abu Hurayrah (r) said the Prophet (s) said, "There is one day and one night in Rajab; whoever fasts that day and prays that night Allah will give him hasanaat, as if he fasted 100 years and as if he kept awake 100 years for love of Allah, his Prophet (s), and his shaykh." That is 27 Rajab, the Night of `Isra and Mi`raj, where Allah (swt) said in the Holy Qur'an: سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ subhaan al-ladhee asraa bi `abdihi, "Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night..." (17:1) Allah (swt) mentioned the name of His beloved servant, Sayyidina Muhammad (s), bi `abdihi, "His servant" and He hasn't directly called any other his servant. For Sayyidina Khidr (a) He said, عَبْدًا مِّنْ عِبَادِنَا `abdan min `ibaadina, "a servant from His servants." But for Prophet (s) He said in Surat al-Isra, "My servant" (the one who is directly responsible in front of Me).
Sayyida Ayesha (r) said Shabaan was the most beloved month to Prophet (s), as if he was fasting the whole month and sometimes as if fasting and breaking some days.
O Mu'mineen! O Muslims! Keep the respect of Rajab, and it is ending. Increase your salawat, your praising for Prophet (s), and increase your awraad in this month and Allah (swt) will increase your levels. Increase your love to Allah (swt) and His Prophet (s) and to your shaykh, and Allah (swt) will increase His love to you!