Excellence of the month Sha’ban
Sha’ban
The month of Sha’ban is given to us by the Most High as a means of approaching Him and as a means for atonement of sins. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, the name of the month Sha’ban comes from the word ‘tashaab’ meaning to ‘spread’: this is the month for spreading virtue.
A particularly desirable act to observe during this month is fasting. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fasted throughout this month. Those who are not able to fast the whole month, may fast at least three days in the beginning, three days in the middle (13th, 14th and 15th of Sha’ban) and three days at the end of the month. An especially valuable fast is on the 15th of Sha’ban. It is also desirable this month to frequently recite the Salawat:
لَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلَى آلِ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ سَلِّم
Furthermore, the month of Sha’ban contains one of the most important and highly regarded nights, Baraat, the night from the 15th to the 16th (according to some sources, the night from the 14th to the 15th) of the month. Baraat means ‘salvation’, ‘deliverance’: on this night, people with bad deeds are completely excluded from Paradise, and people with good deeds from hell.
May Allah make us among such His servants who manifest obedience and gratitude to Him for His blessings bestowed upon us! Amin!
Usama ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, “O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I do not see you fasting in any other month like you fast in Sha’ban.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “This is a month to which people do not pay attention, between Rajab and Ramadan and it is a month in which deeds are lifted up to the Lord of the Worlds. I like for my deeds to be raised when I am fasting.” (Hadith narrated by al Nasa’i, Abu Dawud and Ibn Khuzaymah).
Holy Night of Baraat
Baraat means ‘deliverance’, ‘complete separation’. On the night of Baraat the angel Gabriel appeared to our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and awakened him. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked what the night was, he replied that it was Baraat’s night. It is the night when three hundred gates of Grace of the Almighty open for the Ummah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is the night when the Almighty answers the du’a of His servants who humbly pray.
The hadith say that on the night of Baraat the sins of all people are forgiven, except for apostates, envious persons, slanderers, sorcerers, fortunetellers, those who constantly consume alcohol, those who have severed ties with relatives, those disobey their parents, adulterers, proud people and provokers of distempers.
Therefore, it is desirable to spend this night in prayers and remembrance of the Almighty. In one hadith it is said that there are five nights when the du’a (prayersupplication) is accepted: Friday night, the tenth night of Muharram, the 15th night of Sha’ban, the nights before the Kurban Bayram (Eid al Adha) and Uraza Bayram (Eid al Fitri) holidays. On this night, the names of those who will die within a year are erased from the Stored Tablets.
From Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) it is transmitted that, “one night during prayer, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was so long bowed to the ground that I thought that the Almighty had taken his soul. And when I saw this, I got up, went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and touched his thumb, at which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) moved a finger, and I moved away from him.
When, having finished prayer, he raised his head from prostration, he addressed me, “Oh, Aisha! Did you really think that I had distanced myself from you?” I said, “No, by Allah, oh, Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Seeing that you did not raise your head for a long time from your prostration, I thought that Allah had taken away your soul.” He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Do you know what this night is?” I replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”
He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “This is the night of the middle of the month of Sha’ban.” Indeed, this night when Almighty Allah graciously looks on His slaves with mercy and forgives the sins of those who sincerely ask for forgiveness, and has mercy on those who desire His mercy, except for those of His slaves, who nurture malice towards one other. He leaves such in the same state they were in already.” Narrated by Imam al Baikhaki.
MUHAMMAD MUSAEV
THEOLOGIAN
