All the praises is for Allah the Lord of the Worlds and peace and blessings be upon His Chosen Messenger Muhammad and upon his family and his companions all of them.
By the Student of Knowledge, Shaykh Abdurrahman Murad هداه الله
Sha’ban : We are in the month of Sha’ban…may Allah bless us all so that we witness the month of Ramadhan and make us all from among those who are successful…Ameen!
Now that we are ‘here’…you should know that there are many narrations that are passed on about the merit and virtue of doing good deeds in this month. As well, more often than not, the weak narrations are forwarded and the authentic narrations are not known.
In general, important authentic narrations that …speak about the merit of the month of Sha’ban:
a. The Prophet, may Allah praise him, said: “The month of Sha’ban is a month that comes between the months of Rajab and Ramadhan. People tend to become oblivious of it. In it, the good deeds are raised before Allah, and I prefer that my deeds are raised before Him while I am fasting.” (Sahih al-Jami #3711)
Arabic:
شعبان بين رجب و شهر رمضان تغفل الناس عنه ترفع فيه أعمال العباد فأحب أن لا يرفع عملي إلا و أنا صائم
In specific, the 15th of this month is virtuous as well, but there are only 3 hadeeth that are authentic regarding it.
a. The Prophet, may Allah praise him, said: “Allah looks at His creation on the night of the 15th of Sha’ban, and He forgives everyone save a Mushrik or one who has enmity in his/her heart towards someone else.” (Sahih At-Targhib)
Arabic:
يَطَّلِعُ الله – عز وجل – عَلَى خَلْقِهِ لَيْلَةَ النِّصْفِ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ، فَيَغْفِرُ لِجَمِيعِ خَلْقِهِ، إِلا لِمُشْرِكٍ أَوْ مُشَاحِنٍ
b. The Prophet, may Allah praise him, said: “Allah looks at His creation on the night of the 15th of Sha’ban, and He forgives the believers and gives others a respite and will leave those who have enmity in their hearts (without forgiveness) until they leave the enmity aside.”
Arabic:
يطلع الله إلى عباده ليلة النصف من شعبان، فيغفر للمؤمنين، ويمهل الكافرين، ويدع أهل الحقد بحقدهم حتى يدعوه
c. The Prophet, may Allah praise him, said: “Allah descends to the lowest heaven on the night of the 15th of Sha’ban. Allah forgives all people on earth save a Mushrik or one who has enmity in his/her heart towards someone else.”
Arabic:
ينزل ربنا- تبارك وتعالى- إلى سماء الدنيا ليلة النصف من شعبان، فيغفر لأهل الأرض، إلا مشرك أو مشاحن
There are no other authentic narrations that pertain to the 15th of Sha’ban. There are no specific prayers or acts of worship for this night either.
Q. Can you fast the entire month of Sha’ban?
A. In relation to this, there is an authentic narration that speaks of the Prophet, may Allah praise him, having fasted the entire month of Sha’ban.
The interesting thing is that Ibn Abbas and A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with them both, reported that the Prophet, may Allah praise him, never fasted a month in its entirety except the month of Ramadhan. So how do we gather between these two seemingly conflicting texts?
What we ca…n say is that, the Arabic language usually refers to the majority of something as if it is complete…so if the Prophet was to fast the majority of the days of Sha’ban, it could then be said, ‘he fasted the entire month’, i.e., the majority of it. This is known as the ‘intensive format’ in Arabic, and is frequently used.
So what days should you avoid when fasting in this month? Well, for starters, you shouldn’t single out Fridays or Saturdays. May Allah bless us all, and grant us success in this life and in the next. Ameen!
That aside…with this understanding, how do we gather between it and the Hadeeth in which the Prophet, may Allah praise him, said: “Once the 15th of the month passes do not fast in it till the month of Ramadhan.” ?
What is the ruling of fasting after the 15th of Sha’ban?
In the Hadeeth, the Prophet, may Allah praise him, said: “After the fifteenth of Sha’ban, one mustn’t fast until the month of Ramadhan.” (Sahih at-Tirmidthi #590)
Arabic:
إِذَا انْتَصَفَ شَعْبَانُ فَلا تَصُومُوا
Although the text is very clear, the scholars have differed regarding the ruling of this issue. In general there are two views:
a. The majority of scholars indicate there is no sin in fasting after the 15th. They don’t take by this Hadeeth, as they deem it weak.
b. The Shafi’ee scholars and others take by the Hadeeth and indicate it is disliked for one to fast after the 15th.
Regarding the authenticity of the Hadeeth:
a. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “This Hadeeth is authentic based on the principles set by Imam Muslim!”
b. Looking into the text itself, Sh. Ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “This Hadeeth is authentic as our brother and scholar Nasir ad-Deen al-Albani has indicated. When scrutinizing this Hadeeth, the prohibition relates to starting the fasting from after the 15th of the month. If one has a habit to fast the majority of the month, they would have performed the Sunnah.”
Sh. Ibn Othaimin, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “The wording of this Hadeeth indicates that doing this is disliked and not prohibited. Therefore, whoever has a habit of fasting can fast, even if the 15th of the month passes.”
May Allah make us among the successful in this month! Ameen!
Works of Abul Baraa Muhamad Amreeki 
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