Question:
A hadith mentioning the sacred months and specifically why the Prophetﷺ said: “Rajab of the tribe of Mudar.” This narration appears in several places in Sahih al-Bukhari, including hadith numbers 4406, 3197, 4662, 550, and 7447.
The Sacred Months: The Prophetﷺ explained that the year has twelve months, and among them four are sacred months. Three of them are consecutive:
- Dhul-Qa‘dah
- Dhul-Hijjah
- Muharram
During these months warfare was traditionally prohibited. Then there is one separate sacred month: Rajab
Why did the Prophetﷺ say “Rajab of Mudar”?
Answer:
In the pre-Islamic era, Arabs sometimes manipulated the calendar.
If they wanted to fight during a sacred month, they would change the names of months.
For example: If they wanted to fight in Rajab, they might move Rajab to another month. They would declare another month as “Rajab” and fight during the actual Rajab.
In other words, they shifted the sacred status of months whenever it suited them. The Qur’an later condemned this manipulation as increasing disbelief.
The exception: the tribe of Mudar
Among Arab tribes, the tribe of Mudar was known for maintaining the correct position of Rajab. They did not change it. So when the Prophetﷺ said: “Rajab of Mudar, which lies between Jumada and Sha‘ban,” he was clarifying:
Not the manipulated Rajab used by other tribes. But the correct Rajab preserved by the tribe of Mudar
The Prophetﷺ’s own lineage (the Quraysh tribe) traced back to Mudar, so their calendar maintained the proper month.