The Month of Rajab

It has been 5 days into the month of Rajab today, one of the sacred months mentioned in the Qur'an and sunnah. well, I don't really keep track of the Islamic months except the important ones (something I am desperately trying to change. May Allah help us). So, I was alerted by someone, who told me she was fasting the month. I have heard several stories about the benefits of fasting the month of Rajab.
As I grew older however, the stories started changing with most Ulamas rejecting the previous stories I've heard. Since there is so much buzz about the whole issue, I decided to do my own research and develop my own opinion on the issue. You are all welcome to do yours too, though I'll share mine with you.

There is just too much opinion on the matter and it got me confused along the way. I have gone through a lot of opinions and I have filtered them in line with what I believe (i.e according to Qur'an and Sunnah). Islamqa is one site I trust and that was where I started my research. They gave a detailled description  which I think you should go through. Another contribution is given by Islamonline  here and here.

Some of the ahadith I came across concerning the issue are:

1. Muslim, Abu Dawud, and Ahmad reported that: `Uthman ibn Hakim al-Ansari said: I asked Sa`id ibn Jubayr about fasting in Rajab, and we were then passing through the month of Rajab, whereupon he said: I heard Ibn `Abbas saying: "The Messenger of Allah used to observe fast so continuously that we thought he would never break it, and at other times he remained without fasting so continuously that we thought he would never fast.

2. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Fast some days of the sacred months and not others." Narrated by Abu Dawood, 2428; classed as da'eef by al-Albaani in Da'eef Abi Dawood.

3. In Muslim, Ibn Majah, and (partly) Ahmad: `Abd Allah, the freed slave of Asma' the daughter of Abu Bakr, the maternal uncle of the son of `Ata', reported:

Asma' sent me to Abdullah ibn `Umar saying: "The news has reached me that you prohibit the use of three things: the striped robe, saddle cloth made of red silk, and fasting the whole month of Rajab." Abdullah said to me: "So far as what you say about fasting in the month of Rajab, how about one who observes continuous fasting? And so far as what you say about the striped garment, I heard `Umar ibn al-Khattab say that he had heard from Allah's Messenger: "He who wears a silk garment, has no share for him (in the Hereafter)." And I am afraid that stripes were part of it. And so far as the red saddle cloth is concerned, here is Abdullah's saddle cloth [=his] and it is red. I went back to Asma' and informed her, so she said: "Here is the cloak (jubba) of Allah's Messenger," and she brought out to me that cloak made of Persian cloth with a hem of (silk) brocade, and its sleeves bordered with (silk) brocade, and said: "This was Allah's Messenger's cloak with `A'isha until she died, then I took possession of it. The Apostle of Allah used to wear that, and we washed it for the sick so that they could seek cure with it."




Other opinions of respectable scholars are:

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa (25/290):
As for fasting in Rajab in particular, the ahaadeeth concerning that are all da'eef (weak), and in fact mawdoo' (fabricated). The scholars do not rely on any of them. They are not among the da'eef ahaadeeth which have been narrated concerning virtues, rather most of them are fabricated and false. In al-Musnad and elsewhere there is a hadeeth which says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined fasting the sacred months, namely Rajab, Dhu'l-Qa'dah, Dhu'l-Hijjah and Muharram, but this has to do with fasting during all of them, not just Rajab.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Every hadeeth which mentions fasting in Rajab and praying during some of its nights is false and fabricated." End quote from al-Manaar al-Muneef, p. 96

Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said in Tabyeen al-'Ajab (p. 11)
There is no saheeh hadeeth that would count as evidence which speaks of the virtue of the month of Rajab, or that speaks of fasting this month or part of it, or of spending any particular night of it in prayer.
Shaykh Sayyid Saabiq (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Fiqh al-Sunnah (1/282):
Fasting in Rajab is no better than fasting in any other month, except that it is one of the sacred months. There is no report in the saheeh Sunnah to suggest that there is anything special about fasting in this month. Whatever has been narrated concerning that is not fit to be quoted as evidence.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about fasting on the twenty-seventh of Rajab and spending that night in prayer. He replied:Fasting on the twenty-seventh of Rajab and spending that night in prayer is a bid'ah (innovation), and every bid'ah is a going astray.
 Extracted from Yanabi.com

What I have deducted and concluded in the end is that, fasting in the month of Rajab has no special virtues greater than a fast observed in other months. The Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) has taught us to fast Mondays and Thursdays, 3 days of the middle of the month, and/or fasting the beginning, the middle, and the end of each month, and fasting every other day. 

Fasting in Rajab is not on its own haram and when we do fast we should have it mind that we are fasting to earn Allah's pleasure and not for virtues specified by Hadiths which cannot be traced to the Prophet (SAW). 

May Allah (SWT) guide us aright. Ameen