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15th of Sha’baan- A night of salvation


By Mufti Sayed Haroon Al Azhari

All praises are due to Allah & Endless Salutations be upon our Beloved Master Nabi Muhammad (s.a.w) . Allah blesses us with special days and nights as a bonus for us to get closer to Him. The Prophet (s.a.w) kept extra Fast in Sha’baan as an optional form of worship. The 15th night of Sha’baan is one of these nights filled with divine mercy and great rewards. This night is also known as, Laylatul Bara-ah or Ruwwa Night.

Nabi (s.a.w) said: People are unmindful of Sha’baan, in it our deeds are presented to Allah and I Wish My Deeds Be Presented to Allah WHILST I AM FASTING  {Musnad Ahmad 5/201, Nisaee H- 2357, Albani classified it as Hasan}

THE HOLY QURAAN

“Assist each other to virtue and piety, and don’t assist each other to sin and transgression, Fear Allah: verily Allah is Severe in punishing.” {S:5,V:2}

Don’t transgress by preventing others from doing good because Allah warns us of His punishment. We should not pay attention to those who try to divert us from good after the truth has been proven.

CLEARING ANY DOUBTS CONCERNING THIS NIGHT

Doubt Which Is Created: The new Saudi doctrine says there is no basis for it.

Response: There are many Ahadith mentioning the specialties and virtues of the 15th Night of Sha’baan. Which is reported by no less than 13 companions of  Nabi  (s.a.w)  of the likes of Sayyidina Mu’adh, Abu Tha’labah, Abu Moosa, Abu Hurairah, AbuBakr, Sayyidah Aisha etc.  From the famous Six Books of Hadith, Imaam Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah have dedicated and named a special chapter on “The Night of the Middle of Sha’baan”  to establish the merits of this Night.

Alhamdulillah both the Sunni Muslims of South Africa commemorate and show importance to this Great Night, by seeking the Blessings of Allah. The ahadeeth which we will use about the merits of 15th of Sha’baan are Saheeh or Hasan (Authentic /Sound). Hence we are allowed to act upon it without any doubt.

Note: After affirming that there are authentic ahadith which we will use in this article, it’s our duty to mention that there are also some other ahadith with severe weakness (which we should leave out) and some with minor weaknesses in them which we can find in the other books of Hadith. Collectively, they reach a level of acceptability among Hadith scholars. The collective strength of these narrations cannot be refuted, and the consensus of the Hadith Masters also allows us to act upon such ahadith in virtuous deeds.

Even the top ranking Authority in the sight of Wahabi’s, Ibn Tayymiya writes: “With regards to the 15thSha’baan definitely there are Ahadith and Aathaar/ actions of the Salaf (pious predecessors) that Shows It Is A Virtuous Night. The Salaf specified salaah in this night, and there are Authentic ahadith concerning fasting in Sha’baan. Although some reject this night:

  1. a)     Majority of our companions (Hanbalis) and others say that this is a Night of Superior Merit.
  2. b)     This is indicated by the words of Imaam Hanbal, due to many ahadith regarding this night.
  3. c)     And in view of that, it is substantiated by the words and deeds of the Salaf (al-aathaar as-salafiyya ).
  4. d)     Some of its merits are mentioned in the books of Hadith (Masaneed & Sunan) whichstill holds true even if other things have been forged        concerning it (later on in time)”. {Iqtida As Sirat Al Mustaqeem pg 351 by Ibn Taymiyah}

THIS NIGHT IS UNDOUBTEDLY CONFIRMED BY RASOOLULLAH  (s.a.w) AS A SPECIAL NIGHT

Sayyidina Mu-adh reported that Nabi  (s.a.w) Said: “Allah looks upon His creation on the 15th Night  of Sha’baan, Forgives all His creation except A Mushrik(idolater) & A spiteful person.

{Hadith Scholar Sheikh Shu’ayb Al Arna-oot and Ibn Hibban 7/470 Classified this Hadith as  Saheeh.

Abdullah bin ‘Amr’s report goes: … Allah forgives All except two: One Fixed on Hatred & A Murderer.

{ Shaykh Ahmed Shakir has classified this Hadith as ‘Saheeh in Musnad 2/176. &  Albani as ‘Hassan’, Silsila as Sahihah 3/136}

Abu Tha’labah’s report goes…Allah forgives the believers and abandons the Jealous People with their jealousy.

{At Targheeb, Jaami’us Sagheer, Baihaqi.Hafith Al Ghumari and Albani classified this Hadith as Hasan}

Every night & day is a means of attaining closeness to Allah as much as we can, but Rasoolullah  (s.a.w) informed us of the extra high merits and special Rahmah of Allah on the 15thnight of Sha’baan which is not only in the 3rd part of the night like other nights but in fact it begins from Maghrib. Imaam Shaf’ee Says in his famous book {Al Umm 1/231} Dua is accepted on five nights. One of these nights is the 15th Night of Sha’baan.

 THINGS TO DO ON THIS BLESSED NIGHT AND ON THE DAYS THAT FOLLOW

  1.  Take a bath so it can mentally prepare you, for the change you wish to make in your life.
  2. Make an intention to seek Allah’s pleasure, forgiveness and to leave your evil habits.
  3. Start your little & constant journey of progression of worship into Ramadhan & Beyond.
  4. Join the Jama’ah (congregation) at your local masjid.
  5. Recite the Holy Quraan even if it’s just Surah Yaseen or Surah Mulk.
  6. Do other optionalIbadaat (worship) like Salaatul Awwaabeen, Salaatut Tasbeeh,Taubah and Shukr. Making Zikr of Allah alone or in a gathering, giving charity,helping others and Make a lot of Dua.
  7. Visit the graveyard as Rasoolullah (s.a.w) did. {Ibn Abi Shaiba 6/108,Al Musnad 6/238, & Daru Qutni}.
  8. Visit the Kramats/ Mazaars and gain the blessings of Allah which are descending there.
  9. Ask those whom you’ve hurt for forgiveness and pardon those who’ve hurt you. We all have shortcomings and need Allah to forgive us, so we                 must also be willing to forgive Allah’s creation.
  10. After cleaning our records, we must remain firm on our Daily Salaah, Faraaid & Family Ties.
  11. Fast on the 13th14thand 15th of Sha’baan and try to keep this Sunnah in every other month as well.

Note: There are no prescribed rituals of worship to be performed on this night, thus we cannot stop people from performing nawafil (optional prayers) at any time except if Rasoolullah (s.a.w) prohibited certain times.

PERMISSIBILITY OF KEEPING FAST ON THE 15TH  OF SHA’BAAN

Sayyidina Imraan bin Husain reported : Allah’s Messenger (s.a.w) having said to him or to someone else: Did you fast in the Middle of Sha’ban? He said: No. Thereupon the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) said: If you did not observe fast, then you should observe fast for two days.{Sahih Muslim, Kitaabus Siyaam 006,Number 2607}
It is reported in {Saheehul Bukhari} that Nabi (s.a.w) fasted, almost the entire month of Sha’baan, and He also encouraged us to fast on “ the 13th, 14th, &15th” of the Islamic Months. {Tirmidhi}

Deduction:  Based on the above ahadith, it is considered highly recommended to fast in Sha’baan. If you fast a few days in this month, be it the 15th  or any other days before it, as mention in the Hadith of Sahih Muslim, it will be Allowed. By looking at the 2nd and 3rd Hadith, we also find permissibility and No One can say it is prohibited, because Rasoolullah (s.a.w) himself kept fast the entire month which also includes the 15th day.Ibn Hajr says in Al Fatawa Al Fiqhiyyah fasting on 15th is allowed because it’s from the 3 days. Allah Knows Best.

Nisfush Sha’baan or 15th  of  Sha’baan  begins at Maghrib on Thursday  11 May, 2017.

 


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