Source: “Ghair Masnoon Nafli Namazain” by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri❖ Ṣalāt al-Raghāʾib: A Bidʿah Without Basis
The Ṣalāt al-Raghāʾib, offered on the first Friday night of Rajab, is an innovation and an invention in religion. It has no foundation in authentic Islamic teachings. Below is a detailed scholarly examination of the narration used to support this practice:
✿ The Fabricated Ḥadīth About Ṣalāt al-Raghāʾib
Narrated from Sayyidunā Anas bin Mālik رضي الله عنه:
رجب شهر الله وشعبان شهري… لا تغفلوا عن أول ليلة في رجب…
"Rajab is the month of Allah and Shaʿbān is my month… Do not be heedless on the first night of Rajab, for it is the night the angels call 'Laylat al-Raghāʾib'. On this night, all the angels gather around the Kaʿbah, and Allah says: 'O My angels! Ask Me whatever you will.' They request forgiveness for those who fast in Rajab, and Allah says: 'I have forgiven them.'
The Prophet ﷺ then said: Whoever fasts on the first Thursday of Rajab and then, between Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ, offers 12 rakʿāt, reciting in each rakʿah:
- Sūrat al-Fātiḥah once
- Sūrat al-Qadr three times
- Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ twelve times
…with taslīm after every two rakʿāt. After the prayer, he recites ṣalawāt seventy times, makes specific duʿās in sujūd, and asks Allah for his needs, which will be fulfilled.
Reference: al-Mawḍūʿāt by Ibn al-Jawzī: 2/436–437, ḥadīth 1002
Reference: Muʿjam al-Shuyūkh by Ibn ʿAsākir: 1/186, ḥadīth 210
Reference: Wazāʾif al-Layālī wal-Ayyām by Abū Mūsā al-Madīnī (as quoted in Dhail al-Mīzān)
Reference: Ghaniyyat al-Ṭālibīn by ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī: 1/181–182
❖ Status of the Ḥadīth Chain: Fabricated (موضوع)
This ḥadīth is undeniably fabricated. Its chain includes several severely unreliable and unknown narrators:
✦ Key Fabricators in the Chain:
➊ Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī bin ʿAbdullāh bin Jahḍam aṣ-Ṣūfī
- Ibn Khayrūn: "He is spoken against; some say he lied."
(Tārīkh Ibn ʿAsākir: 43/19, Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl: 3/143)
- ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Rāwī: "He was a liar."
(al-Bāʿith ʿalā Inkār al-Bidaʿ by Abū Shāmah: p. 70)
- al-Dhahabī: "Accused of fabricating ḥadīths."
(Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl: 3/142, #5879)
➋ ʿAlī bin Muḥammad Saʿīd al-Baṣrī, Muḥammad bin Saʿīd al-Baṣrī, and Ḥanaf bin ʿAbdullāh al-Ṣafānī – all unknown and obscure (majhūl) narrators.
- ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Namāṭī:
"All the narrators are unknown. Despite extensive research in books of rijāl, they were not found."
(al-Mawḍūʿāt: 2/438)
- Ibn ʿAsākir:
"The chain includes more than one unknown narrator."
(Muʿjam al-Shuyūkh: 1/186)
- Abū Mūsā al-Madīnī:
"The chain is unknown up to Ḥumayd."
(Dhail Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl: 363)
- al-Dhahabī:
"Perhaps these narrators never even existed."
(Talkhīṣ al-Mawḍūʿāt: p. 185, ḥadīth 433)
- Ibn Ḥajar:
"The sheikh of Ibn Jahḍam, and his sheikh, as well as Khalaf – all are unknown."
(Tabyīn al-ʿAjab: p. 55)
❖ Scholarly Verdicts on Ṣalāt al-Raghāʾib
✦ Ibn al-Jawzī (597 AH):
"This ḥadīth is fabricated and attributed to the Prophet ﷺ falsely. Ibn Jahḍam has been accused of lying."
(al-Mawḍūʿāt: 2/438)
✦ al-ʿIrāqī (806 AH):
"A fabricated and false narration."
(Takhrīj Aḥādīth al-Iḥyāʾ: 1/203)
✦ Ibn Ḥajar (852 AH):
"Even ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Kattānī was mistaken in quoting this narration, thinking it came from someone other than Ibn Jahḍam. But in fact, it was taken from him. He intentionally omitted Ibn Jahḍam due to his reputation for fabrications. Moreover, the entire chain is unknown."
(Tabyīn al-ʿAjab: p. 55)
✦ al-Nawawī (676 AH):
"This prayer is false (bāṭil)."
(al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab: 4/56)
✦ Ibn Taymiyyah (728 AH):
"Ṣalāt al-Raghāʾib has no basis. It is a bidʿah and should not be prayed – neither individually nor in congregation. The narration about it is unanimously agreed upon by scholars to be fabricated. None of the salaf or major imams ever mentioned it as a valid practice."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 23/132)
✦ al-Dhahabī (748 AH):
"This narration is fabricated. It is only known through Ibn Jahḍam, who is accused of fabrication."
(Tārīkh al-Islām: 9/238)
"Undoubtedly false."
(Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ: 23/143)
✦ Ibn Ḥajar:
"Voluntary prayers (nafl) are encouraged generally, but to designate a specific time for such prayers without authentic basis is either disliked or outright forbidden. Ṣalāt al-Raghāʾib has no foundation."
(Fatḥ al-Bārī: 11/66, ḥadīth 6264)
✦ al-Shawkānī (1250 AH):
"This prayer is a lie and a fabrication."
(Tuḥfat al-Dhākirīn: p. 143)
✦ Ibn al-Qayyim (751 AH):
"All narrations regarding Ṣalāt al-Raghāʾib on the first Friday of Rajab are fabricated."
(al-Manār al-Munīf: p. 95, ḥadīth 167)
✦ Ibn Rajab (795 AH):
"All aḥādīth about the virtue of Ṣalāt al-Raghāʾib are fabricated and false. The prayer itself is a bidʿah by consensus of the scholars."
(Laṭāʾif al-Maʿārif: p. 228)
❖ Additional Note:
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما used to dislike people giving special importance to Rajab.
Reference: Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 3/101 — sanad is authentic (ṣaḥīḥ)
Conclusion
❖ Ṣalāt al-Raghāʾib is a fabrication, falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ.
❖ Numerous scholars, past and present, unanimously reject its authenticity and legality.
❖ It has no basis in the Qurʾān, Sunnah, or from the salaf.
❖ Designating the first Friday night of Rajab for special prayer is an innovation.
❖ Engaging in this practice is not permissible, and in fact, condemned as misguidance (ḍalālah).
