為齋戒月準備 (鄭平)
1/3 主麻講稿 Khutbah (Eng Below) {Imam Abdullah Cheng 鄭平}
各位教親，
當世界各地在慶祝新年的時候，我們更應該關注的是與此同時，我們也進入了 Rajab 的月份，也就是說我們距離齋戒月只剩下整整兩個月的時間了。感謝真主再次給予我們為齋戒月做準備的機會。
Rajab 的月份是一年當中四大聖月的其中一個聖月，Rajab 也是唯一一個不直接跟其他三個聖月連接在一起的月份，其他三個月份分別是 Dhul-Qa’dah、Dhul-Hijjah、以及 Muharram。這就顯示了真主特別給予特定的時間跟地點更多價值跟重要性，祂讓某些地點跟時間是比其他地點跟時間還要更神聖。例如說，在麥加禁寺裡所犯的罪是比在其他地方犯相同的罪還要更嚴重的。這是真主在古蘭經當中提到的：
你的主任意創造，任意選擇，他們沒有選擇的權利。 [28:68]
在聖月的期間，除了禁止向敵人挑起戰爭，在聖月所犯的罪也是比起在其他月份犯相同的罪還要更嚴重的。真主在古蘭經說：
依安拉所定，月數確是十二個月，安拉創造天地之日，已記錄在天經中。其中有四個禁月，這確是正教。故你們在禁月裡不要自欺欺人。 [9:36]
我們都知道 Rajab 確實是一年當中的聖月之一，不過關於這個月的神聖性，在穆斯林群體之間有非常多的誤解。根據最可靠的聖訓，並沒有任何傳述特別提到任何有關於 Rajab 的善功或儀式，但是或許是因為各地文化傳統的關係，我們有很多的穆斯林會把某一些特定的儀式誤解是先知的教導，例如說在某些特定的日子禮一些特定的拜功、或者是在夜行與登霄的日子做特定的儀式、或者是在特定的日子齋戒等等，把這些行為誤以為是聖行的一部分，但是實際上這些行為並沒有任何可靠的依據來證實。
但是與此同時，儘管說我們知道這些傳統並不是遵循聖行的正確方式，但是我們也要切記，不應該只是因為不認同這些行為跟看法就導致各種紛爭跟家庭破裂。我們確實應該要不斷地有更多坦白的對話跟討論，但是這些對話不應該讓我們去互相憎恨，尤其是憎恨的對象一樣都是相信真主跟相信使者、往相同的方向禮拜的教親兄弟姐妹。我們的穆斯林群體裡面有很多各式各樣的問題，但是我們應該要更優先面對更嚴重跟最迫切的問題，而不是因為這種瑣碎的問題導致穆斯林 Ummah 變得四分五裂。
因此在 Rajab 的這個月，與其盲目跟隨這些行為，我們可以嘗試做更多的善功，例如齋戒、施捨、禮夜間拜，同時候也注意到這些行為不是先知（SAW）本人親自直接教導的，單純只是因為這些善功是在一年當中的任何時段都可以做的，而這些都是可以取悅真主的良好行為，也可以幫助我們為齋戒月做好準備。
如果我們不事先做好準備，那我們很容易就在齋月的前幾天就缺乏動力了。就像是我們會教導小孩子禮拜跟齋戒一樣，我們會盡量在他們出幼以前就開始教他們禮拜跟齋戒，所以等到他們真的成年以後，他們就已經習慣這些了。所以，Rajab 的月份就是最適合我們開始鍛鍊自己，讓自己習慣禮夜間拜、齋戒等等。
學者們會把 Rajab 的月份形容是播下種子的月份，而下一個月 Sha’ban 的月份就是為種子澆水的月份，而齋月 Ramadan 就是收成的月份。這就是我們在度過這幾個月的期間應該保持的態度。
祈求真主賜給我們智慧，求真主接受我們的舉意跟善功，求真主讓我們順利進入齋戒月。
Dear brothers and sisters,
While the world is celebrating the new year, we should be more concerned that the month of Rajab has reached on the very same day, which means that we are only 2 months away from Ramadan. Alhamdulillah, all praise is due to Allah for giving us yet another opportunity to get ourselves prepared for Ramadan.
The month of Rajab is one of the 4 sacred months during the year, and it is the only month that is not directly connected to the other 3 sacred months, which are Dhul-Qa’dah, Dhul-Hijjah, and Muharram. This shows that Allah chooses certain time and place to be more sacred and important than others. For example, sins committed in Masjid Al-Haram are more serious than sins committed somewhere else, as Allah says in Surah Al-Qasas:
وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ وَيَخْتَارُ ۗ مَا كَانَ لَهُمُ ٱلْخِيَرَةُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ وَتَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
Your Lord creates and chooses whatever He wills—the choice is not theirs. Glorified and Exalted is Allah above what they associate ˹with Him˺! [28:68]
During the sacred months, other than being prohibited from starting a fight with the enemy, sins committed in this month are worse than in other months, as mentioned in the Qur’an:
إِنَّ عِدَّةَ ٱلشُّهُورِ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًۭا فِى كِتَـٰبِ ٱللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ مِنْهَآ أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌۭ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلْقَيِّمُ ۚ فَلَا تَظْلِمُوا۟ فِيهِنَّ أَنفُسَكُمْ
Indeed, the number of months ordained by Allah is twelve—in Allah’s Record since the day He created the heavens and the earth—of which four are sacred. That is the Right Way. So do not wrong one another during these months. [9:36]
We know as a fact that Rajab is indeed one of the blessed and sacred months, however, there are many misconceptions regarding the blessings of this month. According to the authentic Hadiths, there isn’t any specific deeds and rituals that are related to this month, yet perhaps due to culture and traditions, we may mistakenly attribute certain deeds to the Prophet (SAW), such as praying a specific prayer called Salah Al-Ragha’ib, or celebrating Al-Isra wa Al-Mi’raj, or fasting on specific days, and so on, thinking that these are part of the Sunnah, while these are newly invented rituals that are not based on any authentic evidence.
At the same time, even though we know that following these traditions isn’t the correct way to follow the Sunnah, it shouldn’t lead us to something even worse than what it is, which is to cause disputes and conflicts and break the ties of kinship just because of these differences of opinions. We should indeed always try to maintain open conversations and discussions to find out which opinion is closer to the truth, but they shouldn’t make us hate each other, when those very same people who follow these actions also believe in Allah and His Messenger, and also pray towards the same Qiblah. There are many issues that exist within our Muslim Ummah, but we should prioritize the problems that are more relevant and more serious in front of us.
Therefore during the month of Rajab, instead, we can try to perform more extra good deeds in this month, such as fasting, giving charity and praying Tahajjud, while at the same time being aware that these are not taught specifically by the Prophet (SAW) to do these actions, particularly in the month of Rajab, simply because these are good deeds that can be done at any time during the year, and these are good deeds that can earn the pleasure of Allah and help us get prepared for the month of Ramadan.
If we do not prepare ourselves beforehand, then we can easily get tired in the first few days of Ramadan. Similar to how we would teach our children how to pray and fast, we would try to teach them even way before they reach the age of puberty, because we hope that by the time praying and fasting become obligatory for them, they are already prepared to perform them. Therefore, the month of Rajab is the perfect time for us to start training ourselves and get used to praying the night prayers, and fasting, and other deeds.
The scholars would describe the month of Rajab as the month of planting the seeds, and the month of Sha’ban as the month of watering them, and the month of Ramadan as the month of harvesting the fruit. This is the attitude that we need to have while spending our time during these months.
May Allah make us among those who bear wisdom, may Allah accept our intentions and our deeds, and may Allah allow us to reach Ramadan.