How should the expressions like "Ramadan and Rajab are the months of Allah" and "Ramadan is the month of my ummah" mentioned in hadiths be understood?

How should the expressions like "Ramadan and Rajab are the months of Allah" and "Ramadan is the month of my ummah" mentioned in hadiths be understood?

Dear Brother / Sister,

That some months like Ramadan, Rajab and Muharrem are attributed to Allah - based on the place of the expression - emphasizes their special honor and virtue. In fact, all months belong to Allah. For instance, when a father says about one of his sons, “This is my child; he is his father's son”  in order to appreciate his son, it does not mean “his other children do not belong to him.”

Due to some wisdoms like the ones above, some months are attributed to Allah. For instance, the Prophet (pbuh) stated the following in a hadith:

“Show respect to the month of Ramadan for it is the month of Allah.” (Majmau’z-Zawaid, III/143)

Some other hadith narrations are as follows:

“The most virtuous month after the month of Ramadan is the month of Allah - which you call Muharram.” (ibid, III/190)

“Ramadan is the month of Allah; Shaban is my month. Shaban cleans and Ramadan atones for sins.” (Kanzu’l-Ummal, XIII/466).

“Rajab is the month of Allah; Shaban is my month; Ramadan is the month of my ummah.” (Kanzu’l-Ummal, XII/310).

We do not see a clear statement about the issue in resources but we can state the following:

Rajab is the month of Allah. For, in the era of Jahiliyyah, people did not fight in the month of Rajab - because it was one of the four haram months -, showing respect to the orders of Allah and they tried to avoid committing bad deeds.

Shaban is the month of the Prophet (pbuh). For, it is written in the program of the divine determination in the month of Shaban, which includes the Night of Barat, that Hz. Muhammad was going to be a prophet. Therefore, the month of Shaban, which is the harbinger of the prophethood, is regarded as the month of the Prophet.

Since Ramadan is a month of pardoning and forgiveness, it is a general period of forgiveness for the salvation of the ummah. Therefore, there is no doubt that it is the month of the ummah.

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