Salat al-Raghaib :
Some people perform a self-invented prayer on the night of the first Friday of the month of Rajab, which is called “Salat al-Raghaib.” This prayer is performed on the evening between Maghrib and Isha on the night between Thursday and Friday. According to Imam Ghazali and others, it consists of twelve rak’ahs, with a salam after every two rak’ahs. In each rak’ah, Surah Al-Fatiha is recited once, Surah Al-Qadr إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ
three times, and Surah Al-Ikhlas قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
twelve times. It is said that after completing the prayer, one should recite Durood Sharif seventy times, then prostrate and recite سبوح قدوس رب الملائكة و الروح seventy times, then raise the head from prostration and recite رب اغفر وارحم وتجاوز عما تعلم إنك أنت الأعز الأكرم seventy times, and then do the same in the second prostration.
Many fabricated and forged narrations are narrated to praise the virtues of this prayer, which, upon hearing, people who lack religious knowledge and are careless about distinguishing between authentic and fabricated narrations come running to seek reward. However, according to the famous historian, exegete, and hadith scholar Imam Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, in “Al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya,” this prayer is absolutely baseless.
Salat al-Raghaib and Allama Araqi:.
Allama Araqi, may Allah have mercy on him, declared the hadith related to this prayer mentioned in the Takhrij of Ihya Ulum al-Din by Ghazali as fabricated and false.
Salat al-Raghaib and Ibn Taymiyyah:.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, states regarding this prayer that there is no evidence from the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, the Tabi‘in, the Imams of the religion, or the scholars of the Salaf, for this prayer, nor is there any authentic hadith mentioning the virtue of the night between the first Thursday and Friday of the month of Rajab. The narration that is mentioned about it is considered false and fabricated by scholars and muhaddithin who possess knowledge of hadith sciences.
Salat al-Raghaib and the Hanafi Jurists:.
Regarding this Salat al-Raghaib, like other jurisprudential schools of thought and scholars and mujtahids, scholars belonging to the Hanafi school are also not pleased; rather, in the Hanafi jurisprudence books, it has been declared fabricated, contrived, and an innovation. Thus, quoting from the commentary “Al-Ashbah lil-Hamawi,” the well-known and widely circulated book “Radd al-Muhtar,” commentary on Mukhtar, Volume 1, page 544, writes about “Salat al-Raghaib”:
قد حدثت بعد أربع مائة و ثمانين من الهجرة وقد صنف العلماء كتبا فى الرد عليها و ذمها و تسفيه فاعلها ، ولا يغتر بكثرة الفاعلين لها فى كثير من الأمصار
This prayer was invented after 480 AH, and scholars have written many books denying and condemning it and calling those who perform it foolish, and one should not be deceived by the large number of people performing it in many cities.
And further on page 660, it is written:
ولذا منعوا عن الاجتماع لصلوة الرغائب التى أحدثها بعض المتعبدين لأنها لم تؤثر على هذه الكيفية فى تلك الليالي المخصوصة و إن كانت الصلواة
And for this reason, the people of knowledge have prohibited gathering for this prayer “Salat al-Raghaib,” which some ignorant worshippers have invented, because there is no authentic or established prayer with this specific condition on particular nights, although prayer itself is a good deed.
Moreover, from the statements and instructions of scholars belonging to other schools of thought, it also becomes clear that this prayer has no origin, for example:
Salat al-Raghaib and Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi :.
Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in “Al-Hisn al-Haseen” regarding this narration about the prayer:
فلا تصح، وسندها موضوع و باطل
It is not authentic, and its chain of narration is fabricated and false.
Salat al-Raghaib and Imam Nawawi
The commentator of Muslim, Imam Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, states in his other book “Al-Majmoo’ Sharh al-Muhadhdhab”:
The prayer known as “Salat al-Raghaib,” which is performed on the night of the first Friday of the month of Rajab between Maghrib and Isha with twelve rak’ahs, and a prayer consisting of one hundred rak’ahs on the night of the 15th of Sha’ban, both of these prayers are the most rejected innovations. One should not be deceived by their mention in the books “Qoot al-Quloob” and “Ihya Ulum al-Din,” nor should one be deceived by the hadiths narrated regarding these prayers, as all of these are false. Among the scholars, one person became doubtful about the legal status of these prayers and even wrote a treatise consisting of a few pages in which he mentioned the recommendation of these prayers. One should not be deceived by this treatise either (because that treatise is of the type من زلات العلماء). He used fallacious arguments in it, and Shaykh al-Islam Abu Muhammad Abdul Rahman bin Ismail al-Maqdisi, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote a fine book refuting him in which he excellently proved its falsehood.
Salat al-Raghaib and Imam Tartushi :.
Regarding this self-invented prayer, Imam Tartushi, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote while narrating from Imam al-Maqdisi, may Allah have mercy on him:
لم يكن عندنا ببيت المقدس صلوة الرغائب هذه التى تصلى فى رجب ولا فى شعبان وأول ما حدثت عندنا صلوة شعبان فى سنة ثمان و أربعين و أربع مائة
Here in Bayt al-Maqdis, this prayer called “Salat al-Raghaib,” which is performed in Rajab, was not practiced, nor was the prayer of the fifteenth of Sha’ban common, and this Sha’ban prayer was invented in 448 AH.
Similarly, many other researching scholars have declared this “Salat al-Raghaib” not only undesirable but also an objectionable and rejected innovation.
