Getting our daily A’maal in order
When Rajab’s Hilaal would be sighted, Nabi Sallallahu alaihi wasallam used to recite the Du’a, the translation of which is:
“O Allah! Grant us Barakah (blessings) in Rajab and Sha’baan, and let us reach Ramadhaan.”
Rajab is like a ‘training-ground’. In this month, we are supposed to be on duty with regards to our A’maal. We are supposed to check if we are up-to-date with our daily A’maal. If in Rajab we don’t get our punctuality and routine in terms of A’maal up-to-date, then when will we? Sha’baan might be too late as Ramadhaan will then be by the door-step!
Some have explained Rajab to be a month in which we plant our seeds of deeds. In Sha’baan we water them. And in Ramadhaan they will bear fruits. So, if we plant seeds of good deeds, in Ramdhaan we will enjoy sweet and delicious fruits. And if we plant seeds of misdeeds, then in Ramadhaan we will taste sour, bitter and tasteless fruits. May Allah Ta’ala make it that we plant seeds of good deeds, Aameen.
In our previous article we mentioned the importance of consuming Halaal and Tayyib food. Once our intake is Halaal, then automatically our energy and strength will be used in Halaal avenues. Just like how it is important for a vehicle to be fuelled with the correct fuel so that it may be give correct driving results, so too, the ‘engine’ of a Mu’min (i.e. the stomach), should be given Halaal and Tayyib food so that our deeds may be productive, valuable and may earn us rewards.
Nevertheless, in Rajab, extra care should be taken in fulfilling our duties due unto Allah Ta’ala. In regard to this, we will Insha Allah, as a reminder for us and the readers, mention a few basic and daily duties which we are supposed to have / get in place.
- Fardh Salaah: Those of us who are not performing our five daily Fardh Salaahs should do so now in the month of Rajab. Otherwise, Rajab will soon be made history, in Sha’baan we might still be lacking in them and Ramadhaan might pass by without us performing all our Fardh Salaahs. May Allah Ta’ala protect us. Those of us who are performing daily Fardh Salaahs, Alhamdulillah, should firstly make Shukr unto Allah Ta’ala for granting us the Tawfeeq of performing all our Salaah, and secondly make Du’a that Allah grant us Istiqaamat to continue performing our Salaah with Jamaat.
- Sunnah Salaah: There are Sunnah Salaahs to be performed before every Fardh Salaah and after some Fardh Salaah (Zuhr, Maghrib and Esha).
Many of us just perform the Fardh Salaah and rush out of the Masjid after the Salaam / Du’a. There is no performance of the Sunnats before or after the Fardh. A typical example is Jumu’ah Salaah, where many of us socialize with friends, colleagues and others outside the Masjid, then enter the Masjid upon the Azaan before Khutbah, then march out of the Masjid again immediately after Fardh Salaah. There is no question of Sunnats before and after the Fardh of Jumu’ah, despite the blessed day of Jumu’ah!
We should not be like that. We should perform our Sunnnats. Here Sunnats are meant as ‘Sunnatul-Mu’akkadah’, which is practically Wajib and sinful to omit.
- Nafl Salaah: Those of us whose daily Fardh Salaahs are up-to-date, should endeavour to perform some Nafl Salaahs. There are plenty of Nafl Salaahs which can be performed. Tahajjud, Ishraq, Duha (Chast), Awwabeen, Tahhiyatul-Masjid (for men only as men go to the Masjid), Tahhiyatul-Wudhu etc. Those of us who haven’t yet performed any of the above few Nafl Salaahs mentioned, should try to perform and maintain one of them at a time.
Keeping the above pints in mind will, Insha Allah, allow us to enjoy a fruitful Rajab, Sha’baan as well as Ramadhaan.
May Allah Ta’ala bless us in Rajab and Sha’baan and may He make us reach the Month of Ramadhaan, Aameen.