Shaykh Talal Ahdab delivers a virtual chat about Muharram and the month of renewing our commitments to faith and to one another.

He talks about the 10th of Muharram and the historic milestone of the Hijra that forever changed humanity and set the start of the Islamic calendar that gives us our annual opportunity for a new beginning.

Imam Muslim reported that the Prophet PBUH said, “The best of fasts after the month of Ramadan are in the Month of Allah, which you call Muharram. And the best of prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.”

- More Shaykh Talal: http://mcceastbay.org/talal
- More talks & sermons on Muharram: http://mcceastbay.org/muharram
- More Thriving in Place Webinars: http://mcceastbay.org/thriving
- More talks & sermons on Islamic months: http://mcceastbay.org/months

This talk was delivered via the Muslim Community Center - East Bay (MCC East Bay) in Pleasanton, California on August 22, 2020.

More MCC East Bay:
Events & Activities: http://www.mcceastbay.org/calendar
Weekly Updates: http://www.mcceastbay.org/newsletter
Support MCC: https://www.mcceastbay.org/sadaqa
Facebook:   / mccpleasanton  
Instagram:   / mcceastbay  

In 2020, Muharram began at Maghrib on Wednesday, August 19 and the first of Muharram is Thursday, August 20. The 10th of Muharram is on Saturday, August 31.

About Shaykh Talal Ahdab:
Until recently, Shaykh Talal was CEO of the Razi Education, a provider of educational solutions for K-12, colleges and universities in the private and public sector. From 2008-10, Razi was commissioned by ZHIC to develop a curriculum for New Muslims that include 11 books, four audio CDs and four DVDs. Since then, the series was translated into five languages. In 2010, the Islamic Teacher Education Program (ITEP) was launched; a one-year online certificate developed in collaboration with OISE, University of Toronto.

Shaykh Talal studied the Islamic disciplines and over the last 25 years, he has been teaching the Islamic disciplines to senior students and junior scholars. With focus on Tafsir, Usul and Theology, his interests include modern challenges and how to extract solutions from Islam's rich tradition of knowledge and scholarship to address those challenges. In addition to teaching privately, he sometimes serves as Khatib in various mosques in the Greater Toronto Area. He also lectured on Prophetic pedagogy at OISE at the University of Toronto.

MCC East Bay wishes you and your family a New Hijri Year full of peace, happiness, and abundance for all. May Allah ﷻ bless you throughout the new year. May Allah ﷻ Almighty shower his blessing on the Muslim Ummah, and make this year a positive change for all Muslims, Ameen!

Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn Hisham رَضِيَ ٱللّٰهُ عَنْهُ reports that the Sahabah رَضِيَ ٱللّٰهُ عَنْهُ would learn the following du’aa for when the new month or new year would begin:

"اللهم أَدْخِلْهُ عَلينا بِالأمْنِ وَالإيمان وَالسَّلامَةِ وَالإسْلام وَرِضْوَانٍ مِّنَ الرَّحْمن وِجوارٍ مِّنَ الشَّيْطان."

"O Allah ﷻ, bring this [month or year] upon us with security, iman, safety, Islam, your pleasure and protection from shaytan."

(Al-Mu’jamul Awsat of Tabarani, Hadith: 6237)

What is Muharram?
The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar year and has 354 days over 12 months. The first month of the Islamic calendar is Muḥarram and begins today on Aug 20, 2020, which will mark the year 1442 A.H. A day in the Islamic calendar is defined as beginning at sunset. The first year of the calendar begins when the Prophet Muhammad migrated from Makkah to Madinah, known as the Ḥijrah, in 622 C.E. He, along with his early followers, fled persecution and established a new Muslim society.