Ramadân: The Month of Walâ’ and Barâ’

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السلام عليكم

Ramadân: The Month of Walâ’ and Barâ’
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5-6 minutes


Ramadân is a month of many things for the Muslims: it is a month of mercy, forgiveness, blessing, worship, exertion, devotion, and discipline. In addition, it has historically been a month that revived the concept of walâ’ and barâ’ in the conscience of the believers in one way or another.

Firstly and most famously, the 17th of Ramadân 2 AH was the day of the first decisive battle between Islâm and kufr: the Battle of Badr.

On the same day (17th) of Ramadân six years later, the Messenger of Allâh (صلى الله عليه و سلم) conquered Makkah along with 10,000 Muslim soldiers. That day, he entered the Ka’bah and personally smashed each of the 360 idols he found inside. Later that same Ramadân, he sent his Companions to destroy the other idols worshipped by the Arabs: Khâlid bin al-Walîd was sent to destroy al-‘Uzza, ‘Amr bin al-‘As to destroy Suwâ’, and Sa’d bin Zayd to destroy Manât.

The next year, upon his return from the expedition to Tabûk in Ramadân, the Prophet sent a group of his Companions to demolish the Masjid ad-Dirâr that was built by the hypocrites.

In Ramadân of 92 AH, Târiq bin Ziyâd led an army against the Gothic King Roderick in the Battle of Guadalete. This was a battle in which the Muslims defeated an army of Goths eight times their size, initiating the Islamic conquest of Andalusia, Southern Italy, and parts of France.

Ramadan of the year 584 AH marked victory for the Muslims in the Battle of Hittin, in which Salâh ad-Dîn al-Ayyubî laid waste to the army of the Crusaders, resulting in his conquest of Jerusalem.

In Ramadân of the year 658 AH, the Mongols were dealt their first decisive defeat in history at the hands of Sayf ad-Dîn Qutuz in the Battle of ‘Ayn Jalût, avenging the deaths of the millions and millions of Muslims killed during the rape of their lands.

The revival of walâ’ and barâ’ in Ramadân was also manifested in the mosques of the Salaf during their prayers, as al-Imâm Mâlik reported in his ‘Muwatta” (306):

وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ الْحُصَيْنِ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ الأَعْرَجَ يَقُولُ: مَا أَدْرَكْتُ النَّاسَ، إِلاَّ وَهُمْ يَلْعَنُونَ الْكَفَرَةَ فِي رَمَضَانَ
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al-A’raj said: “I did not find the people except that they would be cursing the kuffâr in Ramadân.”

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In ‘al-Istidhkâr’ (2/72), Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said:

“This shows that it is permissible to curse the kuffâr whether or not they are dhimmîs. This is not obligatory. Rather, it is allowed for those who do it out of hatred for them for the sake of Allâh due to their denial of the truth and their enmity to the Religion and its people…They would supplicate in the Witr of their prayer in Ramadân and curse the kuffâr in imitation of the Messenger of Allâh when he supplicated in his Qunût against Ra’al, Dhakwân, and Banî Lahyân, who had killed his Companions at the Well of Ma’ûnah.

And Ibn Wahb narrated from Mâlik that the Qunût in Ramadân should be in the last half of Ramadân, and it is the cursing of the kuffâr. He curses the kuffâr, and those behind him say ‘amûn.’

…and al-A’raj met a group of the Companions and the major Tâbi’în, and this is the practice of the people of Madînah.”

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Also, on p. 32 of his treatise ‘Qiyâm Ramadân,’ al-Albânî mentions a narration of Ibn Khuzâymah’s (2/155) in which ‘Umar would appoint someone to lead the people in prayer at night in Ramadân, and at the end of the prayer after the first half of the month, the leader would make the following supplication:

اللهم قاتل الكفرة الذين يصدون عن سبيلك ويكذبون رسلك ولا يؤمنون بوعدك وخالف بين كلمتهم وألق في قلوبهم الرعب وألق عليهم رجزك وعذابك إله الحق
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‘O Allâh, fight the kuffâr who lead people away from Your Path, deny your Messengers, and do not believe in Your Promise. Divide them and throw fear into their hearts, and throw Your punishment upon them, O Deity of Truth!’


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The leader of the prayer would then invoke peace and blessings upon the Prophet, pray for the Muslims for what was good, and then ask Allâh’s Forgiveness for the believers. After this, they would finish the supplication with the following:

اللهم إياك نعبد ولك نصلي ونسجد وإليك نسعى ونحفد ونرجو رحمتك ربنا ونخاف عذابك الجد إن عذابك لمن عاديت ملحق
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‘O Allâh, we worship You, and we pray to You, and we prostrate to You, and we strive and rush and hope for Your Mercy, our Lord. And we fear Your true punishment, as Your punishment is close behind Your enemies.’


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After this, he would go into prostration.

So, these glimpses of the Muslims who came before us show that they treated Ramadân as a month to revive the concept of walâ’ and barâ’

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Adapted from: iskandrani.wordpress.com