and Shaʿbān.’ It is the fourth month. In the Age of Ignorance they used to perform ʿumrah in it, setting aside the month of Rajab for the lesser pilgrimage and reserving the other three sacred months for Hajj. Thus that month was declared inviolable: fighting in it was forbidden just as it is in Dhu al-Qaʿdah, Dhu al-Ḥijjah, and Muḥarram.

Hence the yearly cycle established by Allah for His servants consists of twelve months, of which four are sacred, as stated in the Noble Quran: Dhu al-Qaʿdah, Dhu al-Ḥijjah, Muḥarram, and Rajab.

The Prophet ﷺ then asked them, “What month is this? What land is this? What day is this?” He posed these questions in order to rouse their attention and sharpen their focus, for the matter at hand was momentous. So he said, “What month is this?” They replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best,” finding it unlikely that he would ask about a month whose identity was obvious—Dhu al-Ḥijjah. Yet out of courtesy they did not say, “It is Dhu al-Ḥijjah,” for that was already known; rather, in refined etiquette, they answered, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”

Then he fell silent, for when a speaker talks and then pauses, people become alert and wonder, “Why did he stop?” This is a recognized technique in public address: if a speaker notices the audience drifting, he pauses so they will pay attention. Continuous speech can cause the listener to lapse into heedlessness, but an unexpected stop jolts them awake and makes them ask why he has paused.

The Prophet ﷺ remained silent—Abu Bakr reports—“until we thought he was going to call it by another name. Then he said, ‘Is it not Dhu al-Ḥijjah?’ They answered, ‘Indeed.’ He then asked, ‘And what land is this?’ They said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ They knew full well that it was Mecca, but out of their respect and deference to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ they did not say, ‘That is something obvious, O—’