Haafidh Ibn Rajab
al-Hanbalee (d.795) [May Allaah have Mercy on him] writes:
Chapter 33: Second
Sitting on Mid-Sha'baan
It has been narrated by Imaam Ahmad, Aboo
Dawood, at-Tirmidhee, an-Nisaa'ee, ibn Maajah, Ibn Hibbaan and Haakim, on the
authority of Aboo Hurayrah [May Allah be Pleased with him] that the Prophet
[Peace and Blessings of Allaah be Upon him] said;
"If half of the month of Sha'baan has
passed, do not fast."
At-Tirmidhee classed this as Saheeh as did
others, such as Ibn Hibbaan, Haakim at-Tahaawee al-Hanafee, Ibn Abdul-Barr.
Others such as Bin Mahdee, Imaam Ahmad, Aboo
Zur'ah ar-Raazee and Athram classed the hadeeth as being weak and rejected.
They also stated that it contradicts another
hadeeth; "Do no precede Ramadhaan by fasting a day or two days before
it."
Based on the latter, the understanding is
that it is permissible to fast after mid-Shab'aan except for a day or two
before the commencement of Ramadhaan. Athraam also explained that it goes
against other Ahadeeth as well, for instance it is also narrated that the
Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be Upon him] fasted the whole of
Sha'baan to the extent that he combined the month of Sha'baan in fasting with
Ramadhaan, so it's not permissible to fast a day or two before Ramadhaan and
all the other Ahadeeth are not authentic in this regard.
Imaam at-Tahaawee al-Hanafee says that the
Hadeeth is abrogated and stated that there is consensus from the scholars that
this Hadeeth must be left however the majority of the scholars acted upon these
Ahadeeth.
Others like Imaam ash-Shaafi'ee and his
companions reconciled by stating that it is not permissible to fast
voluntary fasts post mid-Sha'baan except for the one who has a habit of fasting
voluntarily on a regular basis. Many of the scholars agreed with this
explanation.
Despite this, the scholars differed as to the
reason behind the prohibition. Some stated that it was to prevent the month of
Ramadhaan having extra days or an extension to the month. Others stated that
the reason was to prevent any form of weakness during the fasting of Ramadhaan,
as was stated by Wakee' and this is how he explained the fact that the Prophet
[Peace and Blessings of Allaah be Upon him] combined the months of Sha'baan and
Ramadhaan.
As for singling out the fifteenth day of
Sha'baan for worship and fasting, then this is not permissible unless
one is fasting the Ayaam al-Beed[1]
and that this is his habit to fast these days throughout the year.
It has been narrated in a Hadeeth narrated by
Ibn Maajah with a very weak chain of narrators, on the authority of 'Alee [May
Allaah be Pleased with him] that the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be
Upon him] said:
"When you reach mid-Sha'baan, stand the
night in prayer and fast during the day because Allaah, the Most High, descends
after the sun sets to the first sky and says, 'Is there anyone asking for
forgiveness so I may Forgive them? Is there anyone seeking any provision so I
may Give it to them? Is there anyone facing any difficulties so I may Relieve
them? 'And this continues until the break of dawn."
There are many other Ahaadeeth that discuss
the virtues of the 15th of Sha'baan but the majority of the
scholars have said that they are all weak. Ibn Hibbaan, however, stated
that some of them are authentic. For example, it has been narrated in his
Saheeh, on the authority of A'isahah [May Allaah be Pleased with her] that she
said;
"The Messenger of Allaah [Peace and
Blessings of Allaah be Upon him] left to the graveyard of Baq'ee and he then
raised his head to the sky and said, 'Are you scared that Allaah and His
Messenger are doing something wrong?' I replied, 'Oh Messenger of Allaah! I
thought that you were going to another wife.' To which he replied, 'Verily,
Allaah, The Exalted and The Most High, Comes Down on the night of mid-Sha'baan
to the first sky and He Forgives people more than the number of hairs on a
Sheppard's dog.'"
This was also narrated by Imaam Ahamd and
at-Tirmidhee. Imaam Ahmad, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajaah and Imaam al-Bukhaaree all
classified this Hadeeth as being weak.
It has been narrated by Ibn Maajah from the
Hadeeth of Aboo Moosaa [May Allaah be Pleased with him] that the Prophet [Peace
and Blessings of Allaah be Upon him] said, "Verily, Allaah descends on the
night of the fifteenth of Sha'baan and He Forgives all of His Creation except
the Mushrik or the one who has a quarrel with another."
Imaam Ahmad also narrated from the Hadeeth of
Abdullah bin 'Amr [May Allaah be Pleased with him] that the Prophet [Peace and
Blessings of Allaah be Upon him] said, "Verily, Allaah Descends upon His
creation on the night of fifteenth of Sha'baan and He Forgives all of His
creation except the one who is worshipping idols, the one has a quarrel with
another or the person who commits suicide."
Another narration has been narrated by Ibn
Hibbaan on the authority of Mu'aadh [May Allaah be Pleased with him] which
states, "When the fifteenth of Sha'baan arrives a caller calls out and
says; 'Is there anyone who needs forgiveness so that I may forgive him? Is
there anyone who has a need so that I may give it to him? And he will give to
everyone except for the adulterer or the Mushrik'."
There are many Ahaadeeth on the virtues of
this night but they are all weak.
It has been narrated that Nawf al-Bakaalee that 'Alee [May Allaah be Pleased
with him] went out on the night of fifteenth of Sha'baan and he looked at the
sky and said,
"Verily, Dawood - Peace be Upon him - came out on the same
night, at about the same time at night and looked at the sky and said, 'Verily,
if one calls to Allaah at this hour, He Will Give it to him. There is no one
who asks for forgiveness at this time, except He Will Forgive him, as long as they
are not involved in immorality or involved in Sihr.'"
Many of the scholars of Makkah and Madeenah
have rejected this narration from 'Alee or other similar to it, from them are
the likes of 'Ataa and Ibn Abee Mulaykah. In fact, it has been narrated from
Abdur-Rahmaan bin Zayd bin Aslam that the Fuqahaa or the scholars of Madeenah
rejected it also, from them were the likes of Imaam Maalik's companions and
other than them, all stating that holding this night as a night of virtue is an
innovation.
The scholars of Shaam differed about this
night into two views. Some said that is it recommended for people to gather in
the Masjid, this was the view of Khaalid bin Ma'dan and Luqmaan bin 'Aamir and
others. They stated that one should wear his finest clothes, we should perfume
the Masjid with incense and we should stand in prayer in the Masjid during this
night. Ishaaq bin Raahooyah agreed with
them and stated that having a congregational optional prayer during this night
in the Masjid is not an innovation, and he narrated this from Harb al-Karmaanee
as well.
The second view from the people of Shaam is
that they said it was not permissible to gather in the Masaajid and single this
night out, holding prayers during the night, reciting stories, making Dua'aa
are all not permissible. However, they did state that a man may stand alone
during this night in prayer if he doesn’t single the night out believing there
to be special virtue in his praying on this particular night. This was the view of 'Awzaa'ee, who was the
most knowledgeable in Shaam and he was also labeled as Imaam Ahl ash-Shaam,
their Faqeeh and their 'Aalim. And this is the correct opinion, Allaah Willing.
It has also been narrated from 'Umar bin
'Abdul-'Azeez that he wrote to his mayor in Basrah, that he should not leave
off venerating four nights in the year; the first night of Rajab, the fifteenth
night of Sha'baan, the night of 'Eid al-Fitr and the night of 'Eid al-Adhaa.
However, this narration is not authentic.
Imaam ash-Shaafi'ee [May Allaah have Mercy on
him] stated about this, "It has reached us that some say we should
venerate five nights; the night before Jumu'ah, the nights before the two
'Eids, the first night of Rajab and the night of fifteenth of Sha'baan. They
have stated that it is recommended to increase in worship during these nights
but I do not know from Imaam Ahmad anything authentic about the night of
fifteenth Sha'baan."
It is also narrated from him that it is
recommended or Mustahab to stand the night in prayer, this is one of two views
narrated from him. In the view that you are recommended to stand, it states
that we should stand the night of ‘Eid in prayer and this night, however it is
not recommended to stand the night in congregational prayer, as it has not been
narrated from the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be Upon him] or any of
his Companions [May Allaah be Pleased with them]. It is recommended or Mustahab
to stand this night in prayer due to the action of Abdur-Rahmaan bin Yazeed bin
al-Aswad, who was a Tabi’ee. However, standing the night in prayer, the 15th
night in Sha’baan has not been narrated from the Prophet [Peace and Blessings
of Allaah be Upon him] or any of his Companions [May Allaah be Pleased with
them] or any other of the Tabi’een or any of the scholars of Shaam.
It has been narrated on the authority of K’ab
[May Allaah have Mercy on him] that he said, “Verily, Allaah, the Most High,
sends on the night of 15th Sha’baan
Jibreel [Peace be Upon him] to Jannah and orders him to tell them,
‘Verily, Allaah, the Most High, has freed people from the fire on the night of
15th Sha’baan which are equivalent to the stars in the sky,
equivalent to the number of days and nights in the Dunya, equivalent to the
number of leaves on the tress, equivalent to the weight of the mountains and
equivalent to every gain of sand.’”
It is also narrated that ‘Ataa [May Allaah
have Mercy on him] said, “There is no night, after the night of Qadr in
Ramadhaan, except the night of 15th Sha’baan. Allaah Descends to the
first sky on this night, Honored and He is, and He Forgives everyone except a
Mushrik, a person who has a quarrel or someone who is cutting the ties of
kinship, the rest He Frees from the fire. ”
Therefore it is incumbent upon the Muslim to
remember Allaah, the Most High, on this night, ask Him to forgive you your
sins, to cover your mistakes and to get close to Allaah, the Most High, by
repenting to Him and gaining close to Him[2].
It is also important that the Muslim leaves
off sinning on this night, lest he be prevented from attaining the Forgiveness
and Mercy of Allaah, lest he may find his Dua’aa rejected on this night.
It has been narrated that the worst of sins
that one can commit are Shirk, committing suicide and fornicating/adultery as
it has been narrated from the hadeeth of Ibn Ma’sood [May Allaah be Pleased
with him] which is Agree Upon on its authenticity that the Prophet [Peace and
Blessings of Allaah be Upon him] said, “Do you know what is the worst of sins?
It is to make a partner or equal to Allaah when He Created you…to kill your
children fearing poverty…to fornicate/commit adultery with the wife of your
neighbor.”
Allaah, the Most High, Descends on this
night, so think about the saying;
“And those who
invoke not any other ilah (god) along with Allah, nor kill such life as
Allah has forbidden, except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual
intercourse and whoever does this shall receive the punishment.”
[al-Furqaan 25:68]
Also from the sins that could prevent one
from attaining Mercy and Forgiveness is to be in a state of argumentation with
another Muslim. Having enmity, hatred and spreading rumors about him are also
causes for one to be prevented from having Mercy and Forgiveness upon him. This
is not exclusive to this night, rather this prevention of Mercy and Forgiveness
applies to the quarrelsome person every night, as it has been narrated on the
authority of Aboo Hurayrah [May Allaah be Pleased with him] that has been
narrated by Saheeh Muslim that the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be
Upon him] said, “The doors of Jannah are opened every Monday and Thursday, so
Allaah forgives all His Slaves except for the one who is involved in doing
Shirk, two Muslim brothers who have a quarrel with each other and they. So it
said, ‘Let them be until they reconcile’”
Al-‘Awzaa’ee [May Allaah have Mercy on him]
explained the meaning of this by stating that the one who is argumentative or quarrelsome
is the one who harbors ill-thought and hatred towards another Muslim. There is no doubt that this type of sin is
worse than mere argument or disagreements that may occur between two people,
just like the people of Bid’ah split the Ummah.
Ibn Thawbaan [May Allaah have Mercy on him]
said that the argumentative person here in this Hadeeth refers to the one who
leaves following the Sunnah of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be
Upon him].
Therefore this argumentative person, I mean
the person of Bid’ah, includes everyone who splits the Ummah, he splits them in
their religion, their wealth and their honor just like the Khwaarij and the
Rawaafid, they insult the Jama’ah of the Muslims and even make Halaal their
blood and the likes.
So from the best of actions is that one is
clean and pure in his heart, free from having any quarrels or grudges, unlike
those who follow their desires or Bid’ah, that which insults the Salaf of this
Ummah and those who came after them, sharing in their ‘Aqeedah and their enmity
to the people of innovation. Branching off from this, if one is clean in his
heart and his thoughts of people, it will lead to him being sincere to the
general Muslims, wanting good for them and giving them sincere advice. The one
who is clean and free from grudges wants for others that which he would want
for himself.
Allaah, the Most High, has given the believer
this special characteristic, as He States:
“And those who came
after them say: "Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded
us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have
believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful.”
[al-Hashr
59:10]
The Salaf would see the best deed one can do
is to have a clean heart, rectifying himself and being sincere to the Ummah.
Because of the virtue of having a clean heart, goodness has spread throughout
the land, even more so than the ones who are heavy in praying and fasting.
My brothers! Leave off everything that will
make the Mercy and Forgiveness of Allaah abandoned from you. The slave is the
slave of a Mawlaa who is al-Ghafaar, Forgiving especially in this season, a
season of Mercy, Repentance and Forgiveness. As for the Mushrik, then Allaah
says;
“Verily,
whosoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, then Allah has forbidden
Paradise for him, and the Fire will be his abode . And for the Zalimun (polytheists
and wrong-doers) there are no helpers.” [al-Maaidah 5:72]
If one commits
the sin of murder, had the heavens and the earth’s and all its inhabitants were
to gather to help this person, then he will not be saved from the fire.
As for the one
who commits fornication or adultery, then he should beware of the Anger of
al-Jabbaar. All of the creation are slaves to Allaah, there is no one more
jealous than Allaah when a slave commits fornication/adultery, thus because of
this He has Prohibited His slaves from committing any lewd act and Has Ordered
us to lower our gaze.
“Consider not that Allah is unaware of that which the Zalimun
(polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) do, but He gives them respite up to a Day
when the eyes will stare in horror”
[Ibraaheem 14: 42]
This
is all sufficient for us to be prohibited from attaining the Forgiveness of
Allaah.
It
has also been narrated about this night from ‘Ikrimah and others from the
scholars of Tafseer about the Aayah
“We sent it (this
Qur'an) down on a blessed night [(i.e. night of Qadr, Surah No: 97) in
the month of Ramadan,, the 9th month of the Islamic calendar]. Verily, We are
ever warning [mankind that Our Torment will reach those who disbelieve in Our
Oneness of Lordship and in Our Oneness of worship]. Therein (that night) is
decreed every matter of ordainments.”
[ad-Dukhaan
44:3-4]
That
this refers to the 15th of Sha’baan. However, the majority of the
scholars, and this is the correct opinion, they stated that this Aayah refers
to Laylah al-Qadr in Ramadhaan.
[Lataa'if al-Ma'aarif
(Pg. 102-107)]
[1] Literally meaning
the 'White Day's', these are the days when there is a full moon and it is
Sunnah to fast during these days or any three days of a given month. See: Sharh
al-Mumti' 6/373 [TN]
[2] Assuming that some of the Ahaadeeth are authentic, there is nothing
narrated from the Sunnah that states we should gather in the Masaajid or pray
Salaah or supplicate in congregation or to fast the day of the 15th
Sha’baan. As Shaykh Sa’ood ash-Shuraym [May Allaah Preserve him] pointed out, “So
the correct view about the virtues of this night, the night of 15th
Sha’baan, is that there is no virtue or anything special about this night and
there is nothing specifically prescribed for us to do on this night. Some
people try to use the hadeeth, “Allah descends on this night and he forgives al
of his creation except the Mushrik [the one who is doing Shirk], the Mushaahin
[one who has a quarrel with another] or the Mudmin [addict]”. Some of the
scholars did say that this hadeeth is Saheeh, but even if it is Saheeh for
arguments sake, then the hadeeth doesn’t prescribe for us to do anything
special on this night by the way of act of worships. This is because the
hadeeth doesn’t encourage us to do any special act of worship or to fast the
day or the following day, rather all the hadeeth states is that Allaah will
forgive on this night.” [Sharh
Nathm al-Habeer fi Usool at-Tafseer, tape 14]
