Welcome to the month of your Lord!

Indeed, all praise and thanks are due to Allaah. We praise Him; seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek protection from Him from the evils of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomever Allaah guides, no one can misguide him, and whomever He sends astray, there is no other guide for him. I testify that nothing has any right to be worshipped except Allaah alone, having no partner, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger-may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, his family, companions and those who follow them in goodness until the Day of Judgment. To proceed:

Assalaam alaykum wa rahmatullaah wa barakatuuh.

Welcome to the month of Muharram, a month that enjoys the honor of being associated with the glorious name of Allaah:

“…………………………………… Allaah’s month of Muharram……….”    (Narrated by Muslim, 1163)

Apart from that special status, it is one of the four sacred months:

“Verily, the number of months with Allaah is twelve months (in a year), so was it ordained by Allaah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are Sacred (i.e. the 1st, the 7th, the 11th and the 12th months of the Islamic calendar). That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein” [al-Tawbah 9:36] 

A month in which good deeds are enjoined:

“The best of fasts besides the month of Ramadhan is the fasting of Allah’s month of Muharram ………” (Narrated by Muslim, 1163)

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I never saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) so keen to make sure he fasted any day and preferring it over another except this day, the day of ‘Ashoora’, and this month – meaning Ramadaan. (al-Bukhaari, 1867)

And rewarded:

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “…. and fasting the day of ‘Ashoora’ I hope Allaah will expiate thereby for the year that came before it.” (Narrated by Muslim, 1162) 

Ali bin Abi Talhah narrated that Ibn `Abbas said “… Allaah then chose four out of these months and made them sacred, emphasizing their sanctity, making sinning in them greater, in addition to, multiplying rewards of righteous deeds during them. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

This month’s theme reflects the fact that this is indeed the month of Allaah. So along with the good deeds (specific to this month) that has been enjoyed upon us, I will be posting up all the Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allaah as they are mentioned in the Glorious Qur’an. Indeed scholars have extolled the virtues of knowing them as Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Sa’di (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Believing in and knowing the Most Beautiful Names of Allaah includes the three types of Tawheed. These three types of Tawheed form the essence and joy of faith, and this knowledge is the basis and purpose of faith. The more a person learns about the Names and Attributes of Allaah, the more his faith increases and the stronger his conviction becomes.” (Al-Tawdeeh wa’l-Bayaan li Shajarat al-Eemaan by al-Sa’di, p. 41 from http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/4043/).

I ask Allaah by His most beautiful names to grant us knowledge of Him that makes us to have faith in Him, to love and fear Him, to put our hopes in Him, to trust in Him and to be sincere towards Him in our actions.