SHAYKH AL ISLAM

On the meanings of the five Arabic letters of the word Sha'baan.

The word Sha'baan [in the Arabic script] is spelt with five letters:

1. shiin,
2. 'ain,
3. baa,
4. alif  and
   
5. nuun.
   

These are the gifts from Allah Almighty to His servant in this month. It is a month in which treasures are laid open, in which blessings are sent down, in which faults are forsworn, in which sins are expiated, and in which benedictions are multiplied upon His Beloved Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam, the best of human creatures. This is the month of blessings upon the Chosen Prophet.

It is a month in which treasures are laid open, in which blessings are sent down, in which faults are forsworn, in which sins are expiated, and in which benedictions are multiplied upon the Beloved Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam, the Best of human Creation.

This is the month of blessings upon the Chosen Prophet [Peace and Blessings upon him & His Family]. Allah the Almighty has said,

On the special merit of the month of Sha'baan, and the divine forgiveness [maghfirah] and good pleasure [ridwaan] sent down
on the middle night of that month.


Sayeda A'isha Radi Allahu anha, the wife of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam  is reported as having said :

Sayeda A'isha Radi Allahu anha is also reported as having said:

Umm Salma Radi Allahu anha is reported as having said:

Hadrat Ubaydullah ibn Qais once heard A'isha Radi Allahu anha say:

According to Hadrat Abdullah Radi Allahu anhu, Allah's Messenger Salla Allahu alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam once said:

Anas ibn Malik Radi Allahu anhu is the authority for the report that Allah's Messenger Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam once said:

Allah Almighy (Exalted is He) has said:

According to Abu Hurayra Radi allahu anhu, the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam once said:

He Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam also said :

According to Anas ibn Malik Radi Allahu anhu, the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam once said:

Anas ibn Malik Radi Allahu anhu is also reported as having said:

Concerning the Night of Absolution [Laylat al-Bara'ah], its special mercy, grace and merits. Allah (Almighty & Glorious is He) has said:

According to the greatest Faqih in al-Islam, Hadrat Ibn 'Abbas Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu, and with his father),

In the Quran al-karim, Allah (Exalted is He) calls many things 'blessed,' including the Qur'an itself, of which He has said:

Part of its blessedness is that one who enters it, bearing a heavy load of sins, will come out having been forgiven. Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

The sanctity of the Ka'ba is due to the sanctity of Allah, the sanctity of the Mosque to the sanctity of the Ka'ba, the sanctity of the Makkah to the sanctity of the Mosque, and the sanctity of the Sacred Precinct to the sanctity of Makkah As it is said:

The olive tree is another thing called ' blessed' by Allah (Exalted & Glorious is He):

This was the first tree from which Adam 'alayhis-salaam ate when he was cast down to earth. It contains nourishment and enlightenment. In the words of Allah (Exalted is He):

Some say the' blessed tree'  is Hadrat Ibrahim 'alayhis-salaam, some say it is the al-Qur'an, and others say it is true faith. Still others say it is the tranquil soul of the believer,  insistent on good  conduct, obedient to commandment, restrained by prohibition, submitted to destiny, conforming to the Lord in what He has decreed and ruled. Hadrat Isa (Jesus) 'alayhis-salaam is also among those Allah (Almighty & Glorious is He) calls  blessed :

His blessedness ( peace be upon him ) includes the sprouting of the fruit from the date palm for his faithful mother, Hadrat Maryam (The Blessed Mother Mary, peace be upon both mother & son), and the gushing forth of water beneath him.

In the words of the Almighty & Glorious :

Then [a voice] cried to her from below her, saying:

QUESTIONS ON FASTING AND EXTRA WORSHIP IN RAJAB AND SHA'BAN

The deviant sects "Salafis" [Wahabi/Ahle Hadith/Tablighi Jama'at/Deobandis] try to prevent the people from treating the night of Isra' and Mi'raj on 27th Rajab and the night of mid-Sha'ban (Laylat al-bara'a) as special. They claim that honouring these nights are innovations that must not be allowed. Yet practically all Muslims hold these two nights in high reverence and consider it good, not blameworthy, to celebrate or commemorate them through gathering, feeding the people, reciting Qur'an and Sira, reading hadith, performing supererogatory prayers etc.

"Salafi" literature also abounds with condemnations of those who fast in Rajab. Since pious people in my background fast the three blessed months of Rajab, Sha'ban, and Ramadan in a row as far back as I can remember, and like to offer extra worship and invocation (du'a) on the nights of 27 Rajab and 15 Sha'ban, I wanted to confirm that these are recommended in the fiqh of Ahl al-Sunnah, not blameworthy, and what is the evidence for either position?

It is recommended to fast the months of Rajab and Sha'ban as a nafila or supererogatory worship, with the intention of following the Sunnah of the Beloved of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam which has established the merit of this fast. As for extra devotions on certain nights of Rajab and Sha'ban there is grounds for prohibiting them as the "Salafis" try to do now and then, and only the those with deficient understanding or faith would object to increasing remembrance of Allah on such nights as Laylat al-isra' or 15^th of Sha'ban.

• How to pray Nawafil the Sunnah way
• Complete Qur'an online including Audio
• Power of Durood Shareef
• Sayyad al-I'stighfaar
• Kalima Tayyab
  
  

The Night of Absolution has also been called ' blessed ', because it is a vessel for the mercy, a blessing, a benefit, and pardon & forgiveness descending for the people on earth.

According to Abu Nasr, the Beloved Nabi Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam is reported as having said:

Again from Abu Nasr, we learn that Hadrat A' isha Radi Allahu ta'ala anha once said:

[The reporter said:] ''' Glory be to Allah!' I said to her, ' So what was it made of ?'' 


She replied:

She continued: ''So he did not cease from worship, now standing and now sitting [on his heels], until morning came. Then his feet were put up, and as I massaged them I said: 

'He (Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam) replied :

I asked, and he said :

'' O Messenger of Allah,' said I, ' Will no one enter Paradise except by Allah' s mercy?' 

' No one will enter Paradise except by Allah' s mercy,' he (Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam) told me.

Then he rubbed his hand over his head and his face. 

The following account, which I also received from Abu Nasr, tells how Hadrat A' isha Radi Allahu ta'ala anha related that Allah' s Beloved Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam once said to her:

Then he said:

He held the upright position only briefly, and recited al-Hamd and a short Surah; then he stayed in prostration till the middle of the night; then he stood up to begin the second cycle with a recitation similar to the first, and then his prostration lasted until dawn.

A' isha Radi Allahu anha went on to say:

'I watched him till I thought that Allah (Exalted is He) had taken His Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, then, after a long time had elapsed, I got close enough to touch the soles of his feet.  He stirred, and I heard him say in his prostration:

''I said: ' O Messenger of Allah, tonight I have heard you utter something, during your prostration, that I never heard you mention before?'

' And have you learned it?' he (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) asked.

When I said yes, he (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) told me: 

According to another report, of which Abu Nasr informed me, Hadrat A' isha Radi Allahu anha once said:

' Were you afraid that Allah and His Messenger would treat you unfairly?' 

I replied: ' O Messenger of Allah, I thought you had gone to one of your [other] wives.'

He (Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam) said:

' On the night of mid-Sha' baan, Allah (Exalted is He) descends to the lowest heaven and forgives more than the number of woolly hairs on the flocks and herds of  [the tribe of] Kalb.' '

Ikrima (may Allah bestow his mercy upon him), the client of Hadrat Ibn ' Abbaas Radi Allahu anhu and with his father), is reported as having said, about the words of Allah (Exalted is He):

Hakiim ibn Kaysaan said:

According to ' Ataa' ibn Yasaar:

Abu Nasr informed me that Hadrat A' isha Radi Allahu anhu once said:

Hadrat Abu Huraira Radi Allahu anhu reported the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam as saying:

So I looked up, to behold the gates of Paradise wide open. 

At the first gate an angel was calling: ''Good news for those who bow in worship this night!''

At the second gate an angel was calling:  ''Good news for those who prostrate themselves in worship this night!''

At the third gate an angel was calling:  ''Good news for those who offer supplication this night!'' 

At the fourth gate an angel was calling: ''Good news for those who make remembrance this night!''

At the fifth gate an angel was calling: ''Good news for those who weep this night from fear of Allah!''

At the sixth gate an angel was calling: ''Good news for those who submit this night!'' 

At the seventh gate an angel was calling: ''Will anyone ask, that his request may be granted?''

At the eighth gate an angel was calling: ''Will anyone seek forgiveness, that he may be forgiven?''

I said:  ''O Jibra'il, how long will these gates remain open?''

He replied: ''From the beginning of the night until the break of dawn.''

Then he said: ''O Muhammad, tonight Allah has as many slaves emancipated from the Fire as the number of woolly hairs on the flocks and herds of Kalb.''

On why the Night of Absolution [Laylat al-Bara' ah] is so called. Some say it is called the Night of Absolution [Laylat al-Bara' ah] because it contains two absolutions: an absolution for wretched sinners from the All-Merciful, and an absolution from disappointment for the Friends [of Allah].

Allah' s Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam is reported as having said:

It is said that the angels have two Nights of Festival in heaven, just as the Muslims have two Days of Festival on earth.  The angels celebrate the Night of Absolution and the Night of Power, while the Muslims celebrate the Day of Breakfast and the Day of Sacrifice. The angels have their festivals at night, because they never sleep, while the believers have theirs by day because they do sleep.

Concerning the wisdom in the decision of Allah (Exalted is He) to make known [the date of] the Night of Absolution, while concealing [that of] the Night of Power, it has been said to lie in the fact that the Night of Power is the night of mercy and forgiveness and emancipation from the fires of Hell, which Allah (Almighty & Glorious is He) has kept hidden so that there can be no discussion about it. He has made known the Night of Absolution, however, because it is the night of regulation and decree, the night of displeasure and approval, the night of acceptance and rejection, of attainment and obstruction, the night of bliss and woe, of grace and cleansing.

Thus one is favoured while another is put off; one is requited while another is abased; one is treated generously while another is deprived; one is rewarded while another is shunned.  Many a shroud is washed, while its owner is still busy in the bazaar. Many a grave is dug, while its owner is deluded with pleasure. Many a mouth is laughing, though it will soon be perishing.  Many a house is under construction for an owner close to destruction. Many a servant expects a reward, while punishment awaits him. Many a servant hopes for good news, while disappointment lies in store. Many a servant looks forward to Paradise, while the fires of Hell are ready for him.  Many a servant hopes for union, while separation lies ahead. Many a servant hopes for a gift, while agony awaits him.  Many a servant is expecting wealth, while death is expecting him.

It is said of al-Hasan al-Basri Radi Allahu anhu that he came out of his house on the day of mid-Sha' baan, looking as if he had been buried in the grave and then disinterred. When asked about this, he said:

''Why is that ?'' 

''Because I am certain of my sins, but I tremble over my good deeds, for I know not whether they will be accepted of me or rejected.''

The Night of Mid-Sha'ban (laylat al-bara'a)

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala said:

inna anzalnahu fi laylatin mubarakatin inna kunna mundhirin

Lo! We revealed it on a blessed night -- Lo! We are ever warning --

fiha yufraqu kullu amrin hakim

Whereupon every wise command is made clear

amran min 'indina inna kunna mursilin

As a command from Our presence -- Lo! We are ever sending --

rahmatan min rabbika innahu huwa al-sami'u al-'alim

A mercy from thy Lord. Lo! He is the Hearer, the Knower. (44:3-6)

Although the majority of the commentators consider the "blessed night" in the above verses to refer to the Night of Decree (laylat al-qadr) which is considered to be in the month of Ramadan, yet the commentaries also mention that this "blessed night" may be that of mid-Sha'ban (laylat al-bara'a). This view is based on the profusion of hadiths on the great merits of the latter. Consequently the Shari'a has commended observance of that night. Concerning supererogatory worship on the night of mid-Sha'ban Imam al-Suyuti 'alayhir rahman says in his Haqiqat al-sunna wa al-bid'a:

As for the night of mid-Sha'ban, it has great merit and it is desirable (mustahabb) to spend part of it in supererogatory worship.

[Some] said: There is no difference between this night (mid-Sha'ban) and other nights of the year. However, the opinion of many of the people of learning, and that of the majority of our companions (i.e. the Hanbali school) and other than them is that it is a night of superior merit, and this is what is indicated by the words of Ahmad (ibn Hanbal), in view of the many ahadith which are transmitted concerning it, and in view of what confirms this from the words and deeds transmitted from the early generations (al-athar al-salafiyya). Some of its merits have been narrated in the books of hadith of the musnad and sunan types. This holds true even if other things have been forged concerning it.

Among the hadiths stressing the status of laylat al-bara'a are the following:

The Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam said :

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala looks at His creation in the night of mid-Sha'ban and He forgives all His creation except for a mushrik (idolater) or a mushahin (one bent on hatred).

Haythami said that Tabarani also narrated it in his Kabir and Awsat with chains containing only trustworthy narrators, that is: sound (sahih) chains; Ibn Khuzayma included it in his Sahih, which has the same level of acceptance among the experts as Sahih Muslim; and even the deviant Albani (wahhabi) included it in his Silsila sahiha!

2. Tirmidhi and Ahmad narrate from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, and al-Bazzar with a chain he graded as fair (hasan) through the great Tabi'i jurist al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Siddiq:

Allah looks upon His creatures on the night of mid-Sha'ban and He forgives all His servants except two: one intent on hatred, and the homicide.

3. Bayhaqi relates from 'A'isha in Shu'ab al-iman with his chain of transmission:

al-Azhari said:

Concerning his words: "broken his agreement with you": this is said to a person who betrays his companion and therefore has not given him his due right.

Bayhaqi continues:

I say: This hadith is missing the Companion in its chain, and is a good hadith (hadha mursal jayyid). It is probable that al-'Ala' ibn al-Harith took it from Makhul, and Allah knows best.

4. Tirmidhi, Ahmad, and Ibn Majah relate:

5. Ahmad and Ibn Majah relate:

From 'Ali ibn Abi Talib: The Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam said: "The night of mid-Sha'ban let all of you spend in prayer (i.e. partly) and its day (i.e. preceding it) in fasting, for Allah descends to the nearest heaven during that night beginning with sunset and says: Is there no one asking forgiveness that I may forgive them? Is there no one asking sustenance that I may grant them sustenance? Is there no one under trial that I may relieve them? Is there not such-and-such, is there not such-and-such, and so forth until until dawn rises.

top | home | world of tasawwuf

Concerning the Prayer of Benefits [ Salaat al-Khair ], traditionally performed on the night of mid-Sha'ban.

It is reported of al-Hasan [al-Basri] (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) that he once said:

Courtesy of Brother Ruslan Moore at ''Al Baz Publications'' where the complete translation of Ghunyat Lit Talibi is available

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

Allahumma yaa Dhal Manni wa Laa yumannu 'alaih, Yaa Dhal Jalaali wal Ikraam.

Yaa Dhut Tawli wal in’aam. Laa ilaahi illaa anta Dhahrul laajeena  wal jaarul Mustajeereen.  Wa amaanul Khaa-e-feen.

Allahumma in kunta  katabtanee 'indaka fee Ummil Kitaabi shaqiyyan aw mahrooman aw matroodan aw muqattaran 'alayya fir rizqi famh.

Allahumma bifadhlika shaqawatee wa hirmanee wa tardee waqtitaara rizqee wathbitnee 'indaka fee Ummil Kitaabi sa'eedam marzooqam
muwaffaqan lil khayraat. Fa innaka qulta wah qawlukal haqqu fee kitaabikal munazzali 'alaa lisaani Nabiyyikal Mursal. Yamhullahu ma
yashaa-u wayuthbitu wa 'indahu Ummul Kitab.

Ilaahi bit Tajallil 'Atham, fee laylatin Nisfi  min Shahri Sha'baanal Mukarram Allatee yufraqu fihaa kulli Amrin Hakeemiw wa yubram.
Antakshifa 'annaa minal bala-e maa na'lamu wa la na'lam. Wa anta bihee 'alam. Inaka antal A'azul Akram .

Wa Sall Allahu ta 'alaa 'Alaa Sayyidinaa Muhammadiw Wa 'alaa Alihi wa Sahbihi wa Sallim.

Wal Hamdulillahi Rabbil 'Aalameen.

The transliteration should not be thought of as a suitable substitute for the original Arabic.