Safar al-Muzaffar

Safar al-Muzaffar is the second month of the Islamic calendar. Literal meaning of Safar is empty. During this month the houses used to be empty and deserted because the ban on going to war in the month of Muharram came to an end and everyone proceeded towards the battlefield.

Safar also means to be yellow. When the names of the months were being given it was the season of autumn and the leaves of the trees were yellow.

Many people have erroneous beliefs regarding this month i.e. it is a month of misfortune and calamities. The teachings of Allah Ta'ala and His Most Beloved Rasool (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) gives us clear guidelines on such incorrect beliefs.

Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) says in the Qur'an al-Kareem:

ما أصاب من مصيبة إلا بإذن الله
"No misfortune befalls except by Allah’s command..." [Surah Tagabun, Verse 11]

These erroneous beliefs have also been condemned in the context of the following Ahadith:

لا عدوى ولا طيرة ولا هامة ولاصفر
There is no superstitious owl, bird, no star-promising rain, no bad omen in the month of Safar. [Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 5707]

لا عدوى ولا صفر ولا غول
There is no bad omen in the month of Safar and no Ghouls (evil spirits). [Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2222]

The above Ahadith clearly refutes all incorrect beliefs and superstitions regarding the month of Safar. These incorrect beliefs flow from the pre-Islamic period of Jahiliyyah .

The Month of Safar during the Days of Ignorance

The Muhaddithin have recorded many of the superstitions harboured by the Arabs during the Days of Ignorance. A few are mentioned below:

1. The pre-Islamic Arabs believed Safar to be a snake which lives in the stomach of a human being and when hungry, bites the person. This is the discomfort one experiences when gripped by the pangs of hunger.

2. Some said Safar are worms which originate in the liver and ribs due to which the colour of the person becomes yellow, a condition we know today as jaundice.

3. According to some, the month of Safar flanked by Muharram and Rabi al Awwal is full of calamities and misfortune.

With the advent of Islam and the teachings of Sayyadina Rasoolullah (SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam), all evil and incorrect beliefs common in pre-Islamic times were discarded.

Incorrect Beliefs:

Today too, there are some Muslims who hold incorrect beliefs regarding the month of Safar.

1. A nikah performed in this month would not be successful.
2. This month is full of misfortune and calamities.
3. To commence any important venture, business etc. during this month will bring bad luck.
4. The first to the thirteenth of Safar is ill-fortune and evil.
5. The person who distributes food or money on the 13th of Safar will be saved from its ill-fortune.
6. To celebrate the last Wednesday of Safar and regard it as a holiday.

What to do:

1. To shun all types of erroneous beliefs regarding the blessed month of Safar.

2. To understand that the most unfortunate person is he who disobeys Allah Ta'ala's commandments e.g. does not perform the five daily salaah etc. It is narrated in a hadith that Rasoolullah (SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "Pray, 0 Allah! Cause not anyone of us to be a wretched destitute." He then asked: "Do you know who is a wretched destitute?" Upon the request of the Sahabah (Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhum) he replied, "A wretched destitute is he who neglects his salaat."

3. We should understand that all conditions which befalls us, good or bad, favourable, or unfavourable are from Allah Ta'ala, (as a result of our actions). Allah Ta'ala says: " Whatever misfortune befalls you, it is due to the things your hands have wrought, and He forgives many a sin." (Surah 42 - Verse 30).

This can also be confirmed by the following Hadith:

Sayyadina Jabir (Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu) has said that, "I have heard Sayyadina Rasoolullah (SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam) saying, the descending of illness and evil superstition befalling in the month of Safar is untrue."

Important dates and Anniversaries in the month of Safar

1st Hadrat Haji Waris Ali Shah
1st Hadrat Abul Qasim Shah Ismail Hasan Marehrawi
1st Hadrat Khwaja Shah Muhammad Suleman Tonswi
5th Umm al-Mu'mineen Sayyidah Maymoonah
6th Hadrat Sayyid Abdullah Shah Qadiri (Baba Bulleh Shah)
7th Sayyiduna Baha al-Din Zakariya Multani Suharwardi
9th Sayyiduna Imam Ali Moosa
9th Sayyiduna Imam Ali Rida
10th Umm al-Mu'mineen Sayyidah Juwairiyah bint al-Harith
11th Mufassir al-Aazam Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Rida Jilani Miyan
11th Shaykh al-Quran Allama Gulam Ali Ashrafi Okarvi
12th Sayyidatuna Ruqaiyyah bint Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam
12th Hadrat Mawlana Fadl al-Haq Khayrabadi
12th Hadrat Shah Abd al-Latif Bhittai
13th Hadrat Abu Abd ar-RaHman Ahmad Nisai (Compiler Sunan al-Nasai)
14th Hadrat Sayyiduna Maalik Ibn Dinar
16th Raees al-Qalam Allama Arshadul Qadiri
19th Hadrat Sayyid Ahmed Kalpawi
20th Hadrat Sayyiduna Yahya Ibn Bukayr
23rd Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Baqir
23rd Hadrat Sayyiduna Sultan Mehmood Ghaznavi
23rd Mawlana Muhammad Saleem Qadiri Shaheed
25th Mujaddid al Aa'zam AlaHadrat ash-Shah Imam Ahmad Rida Khan
26th Hadrat Sayyiduna Hasan Jilani al-Baghadi
27th Hadrat Imam Badr al-Din Al-Ayni [Shaarih al-Bukhari]
27th Hijrat from Makkah of the Beloved Prophet (SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam)
27th Mujahid al-Kabeer Sultan Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi
27th Birth Hadrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Awliya
28th Martyrdom of Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Hasan Ibn Sayyiduna Ali
29th Hadrat Imam ar-Rabbani Mujaddid Alf Thaani Shaykh Ahamd Sarhindi
29th Hadrat Sayyiduna Pir Mahr Ali Shah Gilani Golarrwi
30th Hafidh al-Hadith Imam Muhammad Haakim Nishapuri

Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhum Ajma'een (May Allah be well please with them All)