Fasting in Rajab

Fasting in Rajab

With regard to fasting the month of Rajab, there is no sahih hadith to indicate that there is any special virtue in fasting all or part of this month.

What some people do, singling out some days of Rajab for fasting, believing that they are better than others, has no basis in shareeah.

But there is a report from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) which indicates that it is mustahabb to fast during the sacred months (and Rajab is one of the sacred months).

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

Even if this hadith were sahih, it indicates that it is mustahabb to fast during the sacred months. So if a person fasts during Rajab because of this, and he also fasts in the other sacred months, there is nothing wrong with that.

But singling out Rajab for fasting is not right.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa (25/290): 

As for fasting in Rajab in particular, the ahaadith concerning that are all da'ef (weak), and in fact mawdoo (fabricated). The scholars do not rely on any of them. They are not among the da'eef ahaadith which have been narrated concerning virtues, rather most of them are fabricated and false.

In al-Musnad and elsewhere there is a hadith which says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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. End quote.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:  

Every hadith 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 sahih hadith 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 Allah 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 sahih 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. End quote.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah 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. End quote.

Majmoo' Fataawa Ibn 'Uthaymeen, 20/440.