At-Tazkiyah -

The Month of Muharram

by Hadhrat Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh

Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is one of the four sacred months mentioned in the Glorious Qur'ān,

Lo! The number of the months with Allāh is twelve months by Allāh's Ordinance in the day that He created the heavens and the earth. Four of them are sacred: that is the right religion. So wrong not yourselves in them... (9:36)

The specification of these four sacred months is stated in a hadīth narrated by Abū Bakrah radhiyallāhu 'anhu that Rasūlullāh sallallāhu 'alayhi wasallam said,

Verily time has completed its cycle and returned to its original stage as it was on the day Allāh created the heavens and the earth. The year consists of twelve months, four of which are sacred. Three of them occur consecutively; Dhul Qa'dah, Dhul Hijjah and Muharram, (the fourth being) Rajab of Mudar (named after the tribe of Mudar as they used to respect this month) which occurs between Jamādī-al-Ākhir and Sha'bān. (Al-Bukhārī)