16
The Intended Meaning of the Sacred Months
He goes on to say:
The phrase “the sacred months” in His words, “When the sacred months have elapsed…” (Q 9:5), denotes the months of amnesty (al-ashhur al-siyāḥa) according to the majority of scholars (1), and both the Qur’an and the Sunnah support this view.
Some, however, imagined that the reference is to the three sacred months plus Rajab, and this opinion is reported from Aḥmad. What led them astray was the resemblance between the word al-ḥurum (sacred) and al-ḥurum (forbidden); those months are not consecutive, but rather,
(1) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah states in Minhaj al-Sunnah, 8/513-514: “The haram referred to in the verse: fa-idha insalakha al-ashhur al-hurum (when the sacred months have passed, 9:5) are not the same as the sacred months meant in the verse: minha arbaʿatu hurum (of them four are sacred, 9:36). Whoever thinks so is clearly in error, a point well known to scholars and discussed in detail elsewhere.”
He likewise says in al-Safadiyya, 2/318: “When Allah revealed al-Baraʾa and said: fa-idha insalakha al-ashhur al-hurum (when the sacred months have passed), He was referring to the four months mentioned in His words: fasiihu fi al-ardi arbaʿata ashhur (travel freely in the land for four months, 9:2). These are not the sacred months that are Dhu al-Qaʿdah, Dhu al-Hijjah, Muharram, and Rajab, although some have claimed this and fallen into error.”
A similar passage occurs in al-Jawab al-Sahih, 1/175.
[المُرَادُ بِالْأَشْهُرِ الحُرُمِ]
إِلَى أَنْ قَالَ:
وَالمُرَادُ بِالْأَشْهُرِ الحُرُمِ فِي قَولِهِ ﴿فَإِذَا انْسَلَخَ الْأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ﴾ هِيَ أَشْهُرُ السِّيَاحَة عِنْدَ جُمْهُورِ العُلَمَاءِ (١)، وَعَلَيهِ يَدَلُّ الكِتَابُ والسُّنَّةُ.
وَظَنَّ طَائِفَةٌ: أَنَّهَا الحُرُمُ الثَّلَاثَةُ وَرَجَبٌ، وَنُقِلَ هَذَا عَنْ أَحْمَدَ، وَهَؤُلَاءِ اشْتَبَهَ عَلِيهِمْ لَفْظُ الحُرُمِ بالحُرُم، وَتِلْكَ لَيسَتْ مُتْصِلَةٌ؛ بَلْ
(١) قال شيخ الإسلام في منهاج السنة (٨/ ٥١٣ - ٥١٤): (هذه الحرم المذكورة في قوله: ﴿فَإِذَا انْسَلَخَ الْأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ﴾، الآية، ليس المراد الحرم المذكورة في قوله: ﴿مِنْهَا أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ﴾، ومن قال ذلك فقد غلط غلطًا معروفا عند أهل العلم، كما هو مبسوط في موضعه). وقال أيضًا في الصفدية (٢/ ٣١٨): (والمقصود: أن الله لما أنزل براءة وقال فيها: ﴿فَإِذَا انْسَلَخَ الْأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ﴾، وهي الأربعة التي قال الله فيها: ﴿فَسِيحُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ﴾، ليست الحرم التي هي ذو القعدة وذو الحجة والمحرم ورجب، وقد قال بعضهم: هي هذه. وغلط في ذلك). ونحوه في الجواب الصحيح (١/ ١٧٥).