are all under Allah’s lordship, subject to His command, and submissive to His rule. This refutes those who worship them instead of Allah: “Do not prostrate yourselves to the sun or the moon; rather, prostrate yourselves to Allah, who created them, if it is truly Him that you worship.” 1

The hadith contains many benefits, some of which I shall mention.

One benefit of the hadith is that it clarifies the distinction between faith and Islam: when the two are mentioned together, they are not one and the same. Rather, each has its own particular meaning. Faith refers to inward beliefs, while Islam refers to outward deeds. When either is mentioned on its own, however, it also encompasses the meaning of the other.

Another benefit of the hadith is that security is connected to faith and safety is connected to Islam. Faith is the path to security, and Islam is the path to safety. Whoever seeks security and safety through anything other than them has gone astray. Allah Most High says: “Those who believe and do not taint their faith with wrongdoing—it is they who will have security, and they are rightly guided.” 2

Another benefit of the hadith is its noble reminder that the most important purpose to which the months should be devoted and for which time should be spent is faith in Allah and in all that He has commanded His servants to believe, together with complete submission to Him—Glorious is He—in all His rulings and commands.

For a servant to let the months pass while remaining distracted from this sublime purpose is to squander those months and be deprived of goodness. The months were created and brought into existence only to serve as repositories for faith and deeds. The true significance of this will become clear to people only when they stand on the Day of Resurrection before