THAFSEER IBN KASEER, 9:36 Explanation

(Every man who does not pay t he Zakah due on his money, t hen on t he Day of Resurrect ion, his side, forehead and back will be branded wit h rods made of fire on a Day t he lengt h of which is fift y t housand years, unt il when t he servant s will be j udged; t hat man will be shown his dest inat ion, eit her t o Paradise or t he Fire.) aIn t he Tafsir of t his Ayah, Al-Bukhari recorded t hat Zayd bin Wahb said, "I passed by Abu Dharr in t he area of Rabadhah and asked him, ` What made you reside in t his area' He said, ` We were in Ash-Sham when I recit ed t his Ayah,

(And t hose who hoard up gold and silver and spend t hem not in t he way of Allah, announce unt o t hem a painful t orment .) Mu` awiyah said, ` This Ayah is not about us, it is only about t he People of t he Book.' So I (Abu Dharr) said, ` Rat her, it is about us and t hem.''

(36. Verily, t he number of mont hs wit h Allah is t welve mont hs (in a year), so was it ordained by Allah on t he Day when He creat ed t he heavens and t he eart h; of t hem four are sacred. That is t he right religion, so wrong not yourselves t herein, and fight against t he Mushrikin idolat ers collect ively as t hey fight against you collect ively. But know t hat Allah is wit h t hose who have Taqwa.)

The Year consists of Twelve Months

Imam Ahmad recorded t hat Abu Bakrah said t hat t he Prophet said in a speech during his Haj j ,

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(The division of t ime has t urned t o it s original form which was current when Allah creat ed t he heavens and t he eart h. The year is of t welve mont hs, out of which four mont hs are sacred: Three are in succession Dhul-Qa` dah, Dhul-Hij j ah and Muharram, and (t he fourt h is) Raj ab of (t he t ribe of) Mudar which comes bet ween Jumada (At h-Thaniyah) and Sha` ban.'' The Prophet t hen asked, (What is t he day t oday') We said, "Allah and His Messenger know bet t er. He kept quiet unt il we t hought t hat he might give t hat day anot her name. He said (Isn't it t he day of Nahr) We replied, "Yes.'' He furt her asked, (Which mont h is t his) We again said, "Allah and His Messenger know bet t er,'' and he kept quiet and made us t hink t hat he might give it anot her name. Then he said,(Isn't it t he mont h of Dhul-Hij j ah) We replied, "Yes.'' He asked, (What t own is t his) We said, "Allah and His Messenger know bet t er,'' and he kept quiet unt il we t hought t hat he might change it s name. He asked, (Isn't t his t he (Sacred) Town) We said, "Yes.'' He said,

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(Verily! Your blood, propert y and honor are sacred t o one anot her like t he sanct it y of t his day of yours, in t his mont h of yours and in t his cit y of yours. Verily, you will meet your Lord and He will quest ion you about your act ions. Behold! Do not revert t o misguidance aft er me by st riking t he necks of one anot her. Have I conveyed It is incumbent upon t hose who are present t o inform t hose who are absent , because t hose who are absent might comprehend (what I have said) bet t er t han some who are present .) Al-Bukhari and Muslim collect ed t his Hadit h. In a small book collect ed by Shaykh ` Alam ad-Din As-Sakhawi, ent it led, Al-Mashhur fi Asma' Al-Ayam wash-Shuhur, he ment ioned t hat Muharram is so named because it is a sacred mont h. To me, it was so named t o emphasize it s sacredness. This is because t he Arabs would swit ch it around. One year t hey would say it was a sacred mont h, t he following year t hey would say t hat it was not . The aut hor said, "...and Safar is so named because t hey used t o leave t heir homes during t hat mont h for fight ing and t raveling. When saying ` Safir' a place, it means t o leave it ... Rabi` Al-Awwal is called t hat because t hey used t o do Irt iba` in it , t hat is t o maint ain one's propert y... and Rabi` Al-Akhir, was so named for t he same reasons. Jumada is called t hat because t he wat er would dry up (Jamud) t hen....They say Jumada Al-Uwla and Al-Awwal, or Jumada Al-Akhar or Al-Akhirah. Raj ab comes from Tarj ib, meaning t o honor. Sha` ban because t he t ribes would separat e and ret urn t o t heir homes. Ramadan was so named because of t he severit y of t he Ramda' - t hat is - t he heat , and t hey say t hat t he branch Ramadat when it is

t hirst y...And t he saying t hat it is a Name of Allah is a mist ake, for t here is no proof or support for t hat ...''

The Sacred Months

Allah said,

(of t hem four are sacred). The Arabs used t o consider t hese mont hs sacred during t he t ime of Jahiliyyah, except for a group of t hem called Al-Basl, who held eight mont hs of t he year t o be sacred as way of exaggerat ion in religion. The Prophet said,

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(Three are in succession; Dhul-Qa` dah, Dhul-Hij j ah and Muharram, and (t he fourt h is) Raj ab of (t he t ribe of) Mudar which comes bet ween Jumada (At h-Thani) and Sha` ban). The Prophet said "Raj ab of Mudar'' t o at t est t o t he cust om of Mudar, in saying t hat Raj ab is t he mont h t hat is bet ween Jumada and Sha` ban, not as t he t ribe of Rabi` ah t hought , t hat it is bet ween Sha` ban and Shawwal, which is Ramadan in t he present calendar. The four Sacred Mont hs were made four, t hree in succession and one alone, so t hat t he Haj j and ` Umrah are performed wit h ease. Dhul-Qa` dah, t he mont h before t he Haj j mont h, was made sacred because t hey refrained from fight ing during t hat mont h. Dhul-Hij j ah, t he next mont h, was made sacred because it is t he mont h of Haj j , during which t hey performed Haj j rit uals. Muharram, which comes next , was made sacred so t hat t hey are able t o go back t o t heir areas in safet y aft er performing Haj j . Raj ab, in t he middle of t he lunar year, was made sacred so t hat t hose coming from t he fart hest areas of Arabia are able t o perform ` Umrah and visit t he House and t hen go back t o t heir areas safely. Allah said next ,

(That is t he right religion), t hat is t he St raight Law, requiring implement ing Allah's order concerning t he mont hs t hat He made sacred and t heir t rue count as it was originally writ t en by Allah. Allah said,

(so wrong not yourselves t herein) during t hese Sacred Mont hs, for sin in t hem is worse t han sin in ot her mont hs. Likewise, sins in t he Sacred Cit y are writ t en mult iplied,