Muharram Is the Month of Peace!
And Not Just for Muslims!
And Muharram Is also a Time for Muslims to Repent!
Dr. Pasha
(Bringing Islam to the World One Concept at a Time!
Taking the Qur'an to Every Home and Heart that Needs It --
And which One Does Not?)
Muharram is the Month of Peace. And not just for Muslims. But for the whole world.
Muharram is one of those most blessed months that God himself calls Al-Haraam.
And that means "Forbidden." It is one of the four months during which Allah has specifically forbidden all kinds of violence for all people of the earth.
All wars and conflicts of all kind.
Even the Pagans of Pre-Islamic Arabia used to respect that annual interlude of peace and desist from all wars and violence against each other, even though they were by their nature and culture a very warlike people.
As always, the Qur'an is as clear, as direct and as simple as we ever see it.
Says Allah in his own special style and diction that no one can imitate:
Fa-Laa Tazlimoo Feehinna Anfusakum!
Paraphrase:
"So, do not commit any atrocities against each other!"
"So, do not engage in any war activities against each other!"
If you are a Muslim, chances are you will not hesitate to call the month of Muharram a "Sacred Month." Because that is what the non-Muslims teach you. And you, as Muslims, have, for some time now, seriously compromised your ability to educate yourselves and to think for yourselves.
But the Qur'an calls them:
Minhaa Arba'atun Hurum!
And declares:
"There are four Haraam Months."
Or to paraphrase it a bit differently:
"Four of those months are Haraam."
And those four months are:
The first and last month of the Hijri Calendar. That is, Dhul Hijjah, which is the 12th month of the Lunar Islamic Calendar, and Muharram, which is the first month of the Lunar Islamic Calendar.
And also the 11th month, Dhul Qa'dah and Rajab, the 7th month -- of the Hijri or Lunar or Islamic Calendar.
For, as the Qur'an says, there are 12 months in a year.
Inna Iddatash Shuhoori Indallahi Ithnaa Asharata Shahraa
And Allah says that this is part of the firm foundation of the faith of Islam -- what you call "Religion," and what Allah calls in the Qur'an Deen.
Dhaalikad Deenul Qayyim!
What does it mean in practice?
Therefore, rather than call it a "Sacred Month," a better way to translate the expression "Ash-Shaharul Haraam" is to look upon it as the "Forbidden Month."
And that means, during these four "Forbidden Months," Muslims must stop, and desist from, all killing of all kind: killing fellow-Muslims in Civil Wars of various kinds and, also, at the same time killing non-Muslims in any kind of military operation undertaken against them.
Before the advent of Islam, even the non-Muslim Pagan Arab Tribes respected the "Sanctity" of the Forbidden Months. As much as they could, they tried to avoid war and bloodshed during those months.
So, the Qur'an took this Non-Muslim Window for Peace among humans and made it a requirement for Muslims as well so that, for an extended period of several months, there could be peace on God's earth between Muslims and non-Muslims as well as among Muslims themselves.
So, that is what the Forbidden Month of Muharram is. It is: A Month Dedicated to Peace on Earth.
It is a month in which human beings -- all human beings, both Muslim and non-Muslim -- must stop killing each other on God's Earth.
Just like the other three Forbidden Months of Rajab, Dhul Qai'dah and Dhul Hijjah.
And for Muslims, the Month of Muharram is also a month for Repentance: For all the terrible things Muslims have done, and continue to do, and for all the good things Muslims have failed to do, almost on a continuing basis.
And, as a result, Muharram is also a Month of Reflection -- serious, serious reflection: about such things as:
Just who we are as people?
And Muslims?
And how did we get to where we are right now?
Why are we some of the least educated people on the face of this earth?
And also some of the least prosperous and well-to-do as a nation and a community?
And why is there such division, such schism and such disunity among us as Muslims, even though no human group has such a powerful framework for unity of thought and action as we Muslims do?
Our God is one.
Our Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, is one.
Our Book, the Qur'an, is one.
Our five-times-a-day daily prayer format and routine is one.
Our Hajj is one.
Our month-long fasting of Ramadan is one.
Our Adhaan or Call to Prayer is one.
Ihraam or our formal clothing for Hajj is one: nothing but two seamless white cotton sheets for all males.
Our Creed called Kalimah Tayyibah: Laa Ilaaha Illallah -- No God But God -- is one.
Our burial when we die is one.
Just to list a few things that unite Muslims in an iron bond of unity and brotherhood.
And yet, the Muslims must reflect in this Forbidden Month of Muharram, why are we involved in such terrible and unspeakable violence against each other?
Muslims killing Muslims!
In Yemen!
In Iraq!
In Syria!
Elsewhere!
Muslims must reflect, and ask themselves, why are we such a divided people in every conceivable way, even though we have so much to unite us and to hold us together.
I believe that will be time and effort well spent.
END
