Salat al-Raghaib
Salat al-Raghaib is performed on the night of the first Friday of Rajab; this is an innovation and a novelty in religion. Consider the investigative review of the hadith presented as evidence for it:
❀ It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said:
رجب شهر الله وشعبان شهري…. لا تغفلوا عن أول ليلة فى رجب، فإنها ليلة تسميها الملائكة الرغائب، وذلك أنه إذا مضى بك الليل لا يبقى ملك مقرب فى جميع السموات والأرض إلا ويجتمعون فى الكعبة وحواليها، فيطلع الله عز وجل عليهم اطلاعة فيقول: ملائكتي سلوني ما شئتم، فيقولون يا ربنا حاجتنا إليك أن تغفر لصوام رجب، فيقول الله عزوجل: قد فعلت ذلك. ثم قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: وما من أحد يصوم يوم الخميس أول خميس فى رجب، ثم يصلي فيما بين العشاء والعتمة، يعني ليلة الجمعة، ثنتي عشرة ركعة، يقرأ فى كل ركعة فاتحة الكتاب مرة، وإنا أنزلناه فى ليلة القدر ثلاث مرات، وقل هو الله أحد اثنتي عشرة مرة، يفصل بين كل ركعتين بتسليمة، فإذا فرغ من صلاته صلى على سبعين مرة، ثم يقول: اللهم صل على محمد النبى الأمي وعلى آله، ثم يسجد فيقول فى سجوده: سبوح قدوس رب الملائكة والروح سبعين مرة، ثم يرفع رأسه فيقول: رب اغفر لي وارحم وتجاوز عما تعلم إنك أنت العزيز الأعظم سبعين مرة، ثم يسجد الثانية فيقول مثل ما قال فى السجدة الأولى، ثم يسأل الله تعالى حاجته، فإنها تقضى، قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: والذي نفسي بيده ما من عبد ولا أمة صلى هذه الصلاة إلا غفر الله تعالى له جميع ذنوبه وإن كانت مثل زبد البحر وعدد ورق الأشجار، وشفع يوم القيامة فى سبعمائة من أهل بيته
Rajab is the month of Allah Almighty and Sha’ban is my month. Do not be heedless of the first night of Rajab, because the angels have named it Laylat al-Raghaib (the Night of Wishes). When this night comes, the angels of the earth and the heavens gather around the Ka’bah and its surroundings. Allah, the Lord of Glory, looks at them and says: O My angels! Ask for whatever you desire. Then all the angels say: Our Lord! Our wish is that whoever fasts in the month of Rajab be forgiven. Allah Almighty says: I have forgiven them.
The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم further said: Whoever fasts on the first Thursday of Rajab, prays between Maghrib and Isha, that is, on the night of Friday, twelve rak’ahs, and in each rak’ah recites Surah Al-Fatiha once, Surah Al-Qadr three times, and Surah Al-Ikhlas twelve times, and after every two rak’ahs offers salam, then after finishing the prayer recites Durood on me seventy times, saying: Lord of Muhammad the unlettered Prophet, send mercy upon him and his family, then prostrates and in it recites this supplication seventy times: سُبُّوحٌ قُدُّوسٌ رَّبُّ الْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالرُّوحِ (The Most Holy, The Most Pure, Lord of the angels and the Spirit). The Lord of the angels and Jibreel is exalted and pure. Then raising his head, he recites seventy times: رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَارْحَمْ وَتَجَاوَزْ عَمَّا تَعْلَمُ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْأَعْظَمُ Lord! Forgive and have mercy and pardon all those known to You from all sins, for You are the Mighty and the Most High. Then he prostrates again, recites the same supplication, and in prostration asks Allah, the Lord of Glory, for his need, and his need is fulfilled. The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم further said: By the One in Whose hand is my soul, there is no man or woman who performs this prayer and Allah Almighty does not forgive all his sins, even if his sins are like the foam of the sea and the leaves of the trees. On the Day of Resurrection, he will intercede for seven hundred members of his family.
The Chain of Transmission and Ruling of This Hadith
It is a false narration.
➊ Regarding Abu Hasan Ali bin Abdullah bin Jahdam Sufi, Ibn Khayroon, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
تكلم فيه وقيل: إنه كان يكذب
There is discussion about him; it is also said that he used to lie.
❀ Hafiz Abdul Qadir Rawi Thumma, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
كان كذابا
He is a liar.
❀ Hafiz al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
شيخ الصوفية بحرم مكة ومصنف كتاب بهجة الأسرار متهم بوضع الحديث
He is the Sheikh of the Sufis of the Haram of Makkah and the author of the book Bahjat al-Asrar. He is accused of fabricating hadiths.
The name of Ibn Jahdam’s Sufi
book is Al-Anwar wa Bahjat al-Asrar; besides this, there is also a book named Bahjat al-Asrar by Shatnufi al-Masri Sufi
.
➋ Ali bin Muhammad Saeed Basri
➌ Muhammad bin Saeed Basri
➍ Hanif bin Abdullah Safani.
All three are unknown and obscure.
❀ Abdul Wahhab Anmati, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
رجاله مجهولون وقد فتشت عليهم جميع الكتب فما وجدتهم
His narrators are unknown; despite much effort, their conditions could not be found in the books of Rijal.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Asakir, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
في إسناده غير واحد من المجهولين
There are many unknown narrators in its chain.
❀ Abu Musa Madini, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
رجال إسناده غير معروفين إلى حميد
The narrators in the chain of this narration up to Hamid are unknown.
❀ Hafiz al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
بل لعلهم لم يخلقوا
It is possible that they never existed.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
شيخ ابن جهضم مجهول وكذا شيخ شيخه وكذا خلف
Like Khalaf, Ibn Jahdam’s Sheikh and his Sheikh are unknown.
Regarding this narration, Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
هذا حديث موضوع على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وقد اتهموا به ابن جهيم ونسبوه إلى الكذب
This narration is a lie on the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him; scholars have attributed this lie to Ibn Jahim and called him a liar.
❀ Hafiz al-Iraqi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
هو حديث كذب موضوع
This narration is false and fabricated.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
أخرج هذا الحديث أبو محمد عبد العزيز الكتاني الحافظ، فى كتاب فضل رجب له فقال: ذكر على بن محمد بن سعيد البصري أخبرنا أبو بكر، فذكره بطوله. وأخطأ عبد العزيز فى هذا، فإنه أوهم أن الحديث عنده عن غير على عبد الله بن جهضم، وليس الأمر كذلك، فإنه إنما أخذه عنه، فحذفه لشهرته بوضع الحديث وارتقى إلى شيخه، مع أن شيخه مجهول، وكذا شيخ شيخه، وكذا خلف، والله أعلم
Abu Muhammad Hafiz Abdul Aziz Katani narrated it in his book Fada’il Rajab through the chain of Ali bin Muhammad bin Saeed Basri. He says: Abu Bakr narrated to us. Hafiz Abdul Aziz made a mistake in this; he was under the illusion that this hadith was from someone other than Ali bin Abdullah bin Jahdam, whereas this is not the case, because this narration was taken from him. Then he omitted the name of the Sheikh due to its widespread fabrication and mentioned the Sheikh’s name, but that Sheikh is also unknown, and the Sheikh’s Sheikh is also unknown, similarly Khalaf is also unknown, and Allah knows best.
Hafiz Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him
, declared it false.
(المجموع شرح المهذب: 56/4)
❀ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
أما صلاة الرغائب فلا أصل لها، بل هي محدثة، فلا تستحب لا جماعة ولا فرادى. فقد ثبت فى صحيح مسلم أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى أن تخص ليلة الجمعة بقيام، أو يوم الجمعة بصيام والأثر الذى ذكر فيها كذب موضوع باتفاق العلماء، ولم يذكره أحد من السلف والأئمة أصلا
There is no origin for Salat al-Ragha’ib. It is an innovation; therefore, it is not recommended to perform it in congregation or alone. Rather, it is established in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade dedicating the night of Friday for prayer and the day for fasting. The scholars unanimously agree that the narration regarding this is false and fabricated; the Salaf and Imams did not mention it at all.
❀ Hafiz al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
الحديث موضوع، ولا يعرف إلا من رواية ابن جهضم، وقد اتهموه بوضع هذا الحديث
The narration is fabricated. No one narrated it except Ibn Jahdam. It is his own fabrication.
❀ He also says:
باطل بلا تردد
Undoubtedly, the narration is false.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
إن أصل صلاة النافلة سنة مرغب فيها، ومع ذلك فقد كره المحققون تخصيص وقت بها دون وقت، ومنهم من أطلق تحريم مثل ذلك كصلاة الرغائب التى لا أصل لها
The origin of voluntary prayer is Sunnah, which is encouraged. Despite this, the researchers disliked specifying a particular time for voluntary prayers; some consider it forbidden, for example, Salat al-Ragha’ib, which has no basis at all.
❀ Allama Shawkani, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
هذه الصلاة مكذوبة موضوعة
This is a false and fabricated prayer.
There is consensus and agreement among the scholars on the innovation and rejection of Salat al-Ragha’ib. The Prophet’s, peace be upon him, statement:
لا تختصوا ليلة الجمعة بقيام من بين الليالي
❀ Hafiz Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
هذا الحديث النهي الصريح عن تخصيص ليلة الجمعة بصلاة من بين الليالي، ويومها بصوم كما تقدم، وهذا متفق على كراهيته، واحتج به العلماء على كراهة هذه الصلاة المبتدعة التى تسمى الرغائب قاتل الله واضعها ومخترعها، فإنها بدعة منكرة من البدع التى هي ضلالة وجهالة، وفيها منكرات ظاهرة، وقد صنف جماعة من الأئمة مصنفات نفيسة فى تقبيحها وتضليل مصليها ومبتدعها، ودلائل قبحها وبطلانها وتضليل فاعلها أكثر من أن تحصر
It is forbidden according to this hadith to give special preference to the night of Friday for prayer and the day of Friday for fasting compared to other nights. The hadith is agreed upon by the muhaddithin as disliked. The scholars have used this hadith as evidence for the dislike of the prayer called Salat al-Ragha’ib. May Allah destroy the one who fabricated and invented this prayer. It is a misguided and erroneous innovation with clear faults. A group of Imams have written numerous books on its faults and on the misguidance and innovation of those who perform it. There are also many evidences regarding its faults, invalidity, and the misguidance of those who perform it.
❀ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
The consensus of the Imams of the religion is that Salat al-Ragha’ib is an innovation. Neither the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, declared it Sunnah, nor did his successors and Imams of the religion such as Imam Malik, Imam Shafi’i, Imam Ahmad, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Sufyan al-Thawri, Imam Awza’i, and Imam Laith consider it recommended. The narration regarding this is unanimously false according to the research of the muhaddithin. Similarly, the night of the first Friday of Rajab as Laylat al-Mi’raj, the prayer of Alfiyah on the fifteenth of Sha’ban, and the prayers on Sunday, Monday, and Saturday mentioned are also innovations, although some authors have mentioned them in Bab al-Raqa’iq, but the muhaddithin unanimously agree on their fabrication.
❀ Allama Ibn Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
كذلك أحاديث صلاة الرغائب ليلة أول جمعة من رجب كلها كذب مختلق على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
Similarly, the hadiths about performing Salat al-Ragha’ib on the night of the first Friday of Rajab are fabricated on the Prophet, peace be upon him.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
الأحاديث المروية فى فضل صلاة الرغائب فى أول ليلة جمعة من شهر رجب كذب وباطل لا تصح، وهذه الصلاة بدعة عند جمهور العلماء
All the narrations regarding the virtue of Salat al-Ragha’ib on the night of the first Friday of Rajab are false, invalid, and unproven, and this prayer is an innovation according to the majority of scholars.
Benefit:
❀ Muhammad bin Zaid bin Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah have mercy on him, states:
كان ابن عمر إذا رأى الناس، وما يعدون لرجب كره ذلك
When our master Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, saw people giving special attention to Rajab, he disliked it.
