Fadail Shahr Rajab lil-Khallal
- Author died
- 439 AH
- Editions
- Dar Ibn Hazm
Fada'il Shahr Rajab (The Merits of the Month of Rajab) is a specialized hadith tract (juzʾ) compiled by the Baghdadi hadith scholar Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Khallal (352–439 AH / 963–1047 CE), dedicated to narrations concerning the sacred month of Rajab and the practices associated with it .
Contents and Structure
The work comprises twenty narrations recorded with their full chains of transmission (isnads) . It gathers prophetic hadiths alongside statements and traditions attributed to the Companions and Successors regarding the merits of Rajab, the sacred months, voluntary fasting, night prayer, and performing Umrah during Rajab .
Among the prominent texts included in the collection are:
- The supplication upon the arrival of Rajab: اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَنَا فِي رَجَبٍ وَشَعْبَانَ وَبَلِّغْنَا رَمَضَانَ ("O Allah, bless us in Rajab and Sha'ban, and allow us to reach Ramadan") .
- Reports on the linguistic and religious explanations for the naming of Rajab and its status among the sacred months .
- Traditions detailing the virtues and recorded rewards of fasting specific days or sequences of days in Rajab and the sacred months .
- A long narrative attributed to Abu al-Darda detailing the virtues and divine promises attached to fasting increments of days throughout the month .
- A report regarding Abdullah ibn Umar's preference for performing Umrah during Rajab .
- A narration regarding fasting on the twenty-seventh of Rajab .
- The closing narration relating a dream narrative attributed to Aminah bint Wahb, the mother of the Prophet ﷺ .
Transmission and Scholarly Reception
The text was transmitted down through well-documented hearing certificates (sama'at) and chains of authorization. The preserved transmission chain connects al-Khallal to students and transmitters including Abu Mansur Abd al-Muhsin ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi, Muhibb al-Din al-Tabari, Radi al-Din al-Tabari, and 'Afif al-Din al-Nashawari al-Makki, and later featured in the audition records of figures such as Umm Hani bint Abi al-Hasan al-Hawriniyya and al-Sakhawi .
Later hadith scholars drew upon and cited the book's narrations in their compilations and legal inquiries, including al-Suyuti, al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-San'ani, and Muhammad ibn Ali al-Shawkani .
Publication
The tract was edited and verified from manuscript sources by Abd al-Rahman ibn Yusuf Al Muhammad and published in a single volume by Dar Ibn Hazm in Beirut in 1416 AH / 1996 CE .
Answer updated