Tawbah Part 1
Section 16 of 24 · Faraid in Islam · Ustadh Mahmud Kurkcu
Rajab, and the Purity of the Heart
Rajab is called the month of the believers, the month of Allah (swt) — a month, as Rasūlullāh (peace be upon him) used to say, in which Allah's (swt) blessing is sought for Rajab and Shaʿbān, and a safe arrival at Ramaḍān is asked for. It is a month in which the muʾminūn make tawbah and Allah (swt) accepts it — the month of tawbah itself; may Allah (swt) include His servants among the tawwābīn. Inna Allāha yuḥibbu al-tawwābīna wa yuḥibbu al-mutaṭahhirīn, Allah (swt) says:
وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ قُلْ هُوَ أَذًى فَٱعْتَزِلُوا۟ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فِى ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ ۖ فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ فَأْتُوهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
“They ask you about menstruation. Say: “It is an impurity. So, keep away from women during menstruation; and do not have intimacy with them until they are cleansed. But when they are cleansed, then go to them from where Allah has commanded you. Surely Allah loves those who are most repenting, and loves those who keep themselves pure.” (2:222)
Allah (swt) loves those who make tawbah and come back to Him, and Allah (swt) loves those who purify themselves. Purification means, first, attending to one's own hygiene as the sharīʿah sets out, but it is inner purity that matters most: removing the squatters from the palace that belongs to Allah (swt), through the process of tawbah. This is where tawbah takes place — in the heart, not anywhere else. It is the change of heart that happens there, and everything else is only its reflection in action.