The month of Muharram marks the beginning of the Islamic year. Its name comes from the root Arabic word “haram” – meaning “forbidden” and it is one of the 4 “sacred months” in the Islamic Calendar
Introduction
The month of Muharram marks the beginning of the Islamic year. Its name comes from the root Arabic word “haram” – meaning “forbidden” and it is one of the 4 “sacred months” in the Islamic Calendar, the others being, Dhul Qadah, Dhul Hijjah and Rajab. Muharram however, is the only month that has Allah’s name attached to it as the Prophet Muhammad (saw) referred very specifically to Muharram as ‘the Sacred Month of Allah’.
This month is frequently undervalued, yet so significant that certain actions, such as war, become forbidden during it – whilst performing good actions, (for example giving charity), become strongly recommended. In addition, all of our actions, be they good or bad, hold far more weight on our scales during Muharran than they do at other times of the year.
What Makes Muharram Special?
On a most basic level, Muharram is a special month, because Allah has chosen for it to be that way. We are told not to ‘wrong ourselves’ during this month and instead work hard, keep our intentions pure and avoid falling into sin as much as possible.
During this month we need to take stock, knuckle down, and work that extra bit harder to reflect on how we act. Whether it’s focussing on being kinder to our parents, even if we think we know better, keeping our patience with our spouses, no matter how crazy they might make us, showing understanding with our friends and family even if they might be annoying, putting excellence into our jobs even though we might not enjoy them, or simply through the act of taking care of ourselves – to ensure we are making ourselves stronger, healthier and more focussed individuals.
Each and every action can act as a huge multiplier of reward, if carried out with the right intention during this month.
Try thinking about and making intention with the following sentence for every action you take this month:
“It’s the month of Muharram, these days are very special and I want Allah SWT to shower me with His mercy so I will______________, for His Sake ”
Work on building this into a habit during Muharram to not only bring an abundance of barakah and blessings into your life but to serve as a way to carry on gaining the reward of simple actions throughout the year.
Practical TipsTo Maximise Muharram:
Putting in extra effort during the days of Dhul-Hijjah and nights of Ramadan tend to come easy to us, but there are an abundance of blessings and opportunities to gain the mercy of our Creator during Muharram. This is a golden opportunity to get closer to Him, learn about Him, and gain His mercy through reflection and repentance. Below are an example of actions you can take to fully maximise the blessings of Muharram and start building Jannah credit.
The Jewel In The Crown: Ashura
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, ‘The best fasting after Ramadan is the Sacred Month of Allah (Muharram)…’ (Muslim)
Aim to try and fast as much as you can during this month as this is the best time to do so outside of Ramadan. It does take effort to muster up the courage to fast outside of Ramadan, the ease in which fasting can be done in Ramadan is incomparable however if you consider it is a handful of days, not the entire month. You can do it!
The jewel in the crown of the month of Muharram, is the Day of ’Ashura – (which falls on the 10th of Muharram). This is the day that signifies the people of Musa AS being freed from the tyranny of the Pharoah. Fasting on this day brings colossal reward. Imagine all of the minor sins you committed for the last year being wiped from your record.
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said that fasting on the day of ’Ashura , ‘expiates the minor sins of the past year’ (Muslim).
Note: Alongside the day of Ashura we also fast on either the 9th or the 11th of Muharram so that our Ummah differentiates itself from other People of the Book.
The Prophet (saw) said, ’Fast the Day of ‘Ashura and be different from the Jews by fasting a day before it or a day after it’. [Ahmad]
Now just think about this, giving charity on ’Ashura – is equal to an entire year’s worth of charity
The Sahabah RA used to single out the day of Ashura for giving charity and it was reported that Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (ra) said,
’Whoever fasts ‘Ashura it is as if he has fasted the entire year. And whoever gives charity this day it is like the charity of an entire year’. [Ibn Rajab’s Lata’if al-Ma‘arif]
And yet the potential for reward doesn’t end there:
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said,
“One who generously spends on his family on the day of ‘Ashura, Allah will be generous to him for the entire year’. Tabarani
The act of treating your family to a cheeky takeaway – and gaining extra reward for it!
To Conclude:
The entire month of Muharram is a golden opportunity to exponentially increase your reward. Make the intention to please your Lord before all of your day to day actions and be rewarded for it as good deeds weigh heavier on the scales during this month.
- Try to cut down on actions that don’t benefit you as these deeds also weigh heavier than they usually do.
- Fast as much as you can
- Ensure you gain the most out of fasting the day of Ashura (and one day before or after it)
- Give extra charity on Ashura
- Seek forgiveness on Ashura
- Treat your family on Ashura
