Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. O Allah! I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating partners with You in any way, and I seek Your forgiveness for that which I do not know. Ameen.

Zul Qaedah in Islam turns out to be included in the glorified month or the name al-Asyhur al-Hurum. Also known as the sacred month. 

This month is also the beginning of the four glorified months in Islam, namely Zulhijjah, Muharram, Rejab and of course Zul Qaedah. 

It is called Zul Qaedah because the Arabs in the past did not wage war (qu'uud 'anil qitaal) in it. 

Regarding this sacred month, it is also contained in the word of Allah s.w.t., surah At-Taubah verse 36, which means the following: 

In fact the number of months according to Allah is twelve months, as in Allah's decree when He created the heavens and the earth, of which there are four months which are glorified. (QS at-Taubah: 36) 

The scholars interpret, these four months are Zul Qaedah, Zul Hijnmjah, Muharram, and Rejab. 

In this month, during the ancient times it was even forbidden to fight and it is better to increase the practice of worship, especially in preparation for the pilgrimage month in Zul Hijjah. 

One of the special things about this month is that Zul Qaedah is the month of preparation.  Whether it's self-preparation, mentally and financially ahead of the pilgrimage. 

In addition, during this month the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. often performed Umrah. In fact, it was recorded that the Prophet performed Umrah four times during this month. 

This is as stated in the hadith of Bukhari Muslim regarding the umrah performed by the Prophet. 

“The Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam performed umrah four times, all in the month of Zul Qaedah except for the umrah that was carried out with his hajj, namely one umrah from Hudaibiyah, one umrah the following year, one umrah from Ji'ranah when distributing the spoils of Hunain war and one more Umrah and Hajj” (Al-Bukhari). 

So, what if you can't do Umrah or Hajj? 

As with other sacred months, Muslims are encouraged to increase their worship in this venerable month. 

This can be done by means of routine remembrance or night worship, or by sunnah fasting such as fasting Monday-Thursday or Ayyamul Bidh in the middle of the month. 

That is the specialty of the month of Zul Qaedah that Muslims must know and don't let it go unnoticed.

Wallahu'alam.