Fasting in the Month of Sha’ban

With everything, practice makes perfect. That goes for fasting too!

With super long days, this year ramadhan is going to be tough, but only if you haven’t prepared! The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلّم) encouraged us to fast during the month of Sha’ban calling it the neglected month. We should all try and fast a few days, preparing for the month ahead!

Hadith regarding Fasting in Sha’ban

Usamah ibn Zayd (radiAllahu anhu) said: I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلّم), I do not see you fasting in any other month like you fast in Sha’ban.’ He said, ‘That 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 lifted up when I am fasting.’ [Al-Nasa’i]

Aisha (radiAllahu anha) said: The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلّم) did not fast in any month more than Sha’ban, and he used to fast all of Sha’ban and he used to say: “Do as much of good deeds as you can, for Allah does not get tired (of giving reward) until you get tired.” And the most beloved of prayers to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلّم) was that in which one persists even if it is little. When he offered a prayer he would persist in doing so. [Bukhari]




The Month of Sha^ban and the Supplication on Its 15th Night

The month of Sha^ban is the eighth month of the lunar year in the Islamic calendar and the month immediately preceding the month of Ramadan. For Muslims all around the world, the month of Sha^ban is a special time in which they try to do more good deeds than usual and fast more optional fasts than they do in other months. The Prophet used to fast a lot during this month. It is the habit of the Muslims to celebrate the 15th night of the month of Sha^ban by praying, reciting Quran, praising Allah, and making a great deal of supplication to Allah during that night.



It is a good matter to recite the following supplication on the 15th night of Sha^ban:



"اللهمّ يا الله يا حيّ يا قيوم يا غفور يا تواب يا هادي يا فتاح يا رزاق يا وهاب يا كريم يا أرحم الراحمين يا ذا المنّ والإنعام أسألك بحق أسمائك الحسنى أن تصلِ وتسلم على سيدنا محمد وأن تجعلنا موفقين للخير والأذكار مستغنين بفضلك عمّن سواك، وأن ترزقنا كمال الإيمانِ وقوةَ اليقين، وأن تحشرنا مع الأنبياء والشهداء والصالحينَ بجاه سيّد المرسلين ومحبوب رب العالمين، والحمد لله رب العالمين وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وسلم".



Allahumma Ya Allah, Ya Haiy, Ya Qaiyum, Ya Ghafoor, ya tawwab, ya hadi, ya Fattah, Ya Razzaq, ya Wahhab, ya Karim, ya ArHamar-RaHimin, Ya dhal-Manni wal-In^am, 'as'aluka BiHaqi Asma'ikal-Husna, An Tusalliy wa Tusallim ^ala Sayidina Muhammad wa anta taj^alana muwaffaqina lilkhayri wal-'Adhkar, mustaghneena bifadlika ^amman siwak, wa 'an tarzuqana kamalal-Iman wa quwatal-Yaqeen wa 'an TaHshurana ma^ al-'Anbiya'i wash-Shuhada'i was-SaliHeena, Bijahi Sayidil-Mursalina, wa MaHbubi Rabil-^Alamina, wal-Hamdulillahi Rabil-^Alamin, Wa Sallallahu ^Ala Sayidina Muhammad wa Sallam.



which means: O Allah, You are the Alive, the Qayyum, the Forgiver of sins, the One Who accepts the repentance, the One Who creates the guidance, the One Who endows the endowments on the people and sustains them, the Generous and Most Merciful. O Allah, We ask You by the virtue of Your Good Names to raise the rank of our Prophet Muhammad, to guide us to mention You a lot, to make us rely deeply on You, and to make us satisfied with what You give us without leaning towards acquiring worldly matters from other than You, and to do the good deeds. We ask You to give us a perfect belief and a strong certitude, and to gather us on the Day of Judgment with the prophets, the martyrs, and the righteous Muslims. We ask You for all of that by the virtue of our Master, Muhammad, the Master of the Messengers and the Special beloved person to His Lord. Praise be to Allah, the Owner of the humans and the jinns. May Allah raise the rank of our Prophet, Muhammad, and protect his nation from that which he fears for them. Amin.

Sha`ban is one of the meritorious months for which we find particular instructions in the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad . It is reported in authentic ahadith that Prophet Muhammad , used to fast most of the month in Sha`ban. These fasts are supererogatory (nafl) and well deserving of reward, for Sha`ban is the month immediately preceding the month of Ramadan. The Prophet mentioned in a hadith, "Rajab is the month of Allah, Sha`ban is my month and Ramadan is the month of the Nation".

1. The blessed companion Anas , reports that Prophet Muhammad , was asked, "Which fast is the most meritorious after the fasts of Ramadan?" He replied, "Fasts of Sha`ban in honor of Ramadan."

2. The blessed companion Usama ibn Zaid , reports that he asked Prophet Muhammad : "Messenger of Allah, I have seen you fasting in the month of Sha`ban so frequently that I have never seen you fasting in any other month." Prophet Muhammad , replied: "That (Sha`ban) is a month between Rajab and Ramadan which is neglected by many people. And it is a month in which an account of the deeds (of human beings) is presented before the Lord of the universe, so, I wish that my deeds be presented at a time when I am in a state of fasting."

3. Ummul Mu'mineen `Aishah (r), says, "Prophet Muhammad , used to fast the whole of Sha`ban. I said to him, 'Messenger of Allah, is Sha`ban your favorite month for fasting?' He said, 'In this month Allah prescribes the list of the persons dying this year. Therefore, I like that my death comes when I am in a state of fasting.’"

4. In another Tradition she says, "Prophet Muhammad , would sometimes begin to fast continuously until we thought he would not stop fasting, and sometimes he used to stop fasting until we thought he would never fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allah fasting a complete month, except the month of Ramadan, and I have never seen him fasting in a month more frequently than he did in Sha`ban."

5. In another report she says, "I never saw the Messenger of Allah, , fasting in a month so profusely as he did in the month of Sha`ban. He used to fast in that month leaving only a few days, rather, he used to fast almost the whole of the month."

6. Ummul-Mu'mineen Umm Salamah (r), says: "I have never seen the Messenger of Allah fasting for two months continuously except in the months of Sha`ban and Ramadan."

These reports indicate that fasting in the month of Sha`ban, though not obligatory, is so meritorious that Prophet Muhammad did not like to miss it.

The Night of Bara`ah (nisf Sha`ban)
Another significant feature of the month of Sha`ban is that it consists of a night which is termed in Shari`ah as "Laylatul-bara`ah" (The night of freedom from Fire). This is the night occurring between 14th and 15th day of Sha`ban. Traditions of Prophet Muhammad , prove that it is a meritorious night in which the people of the earth are attended by special Divine Mercy. We will be posting much more about this blessed night shortly.

What should be done in this night?
On the Holy Night of 15th Shaban, after Maghrib or Isha prayer it is traditional practice to read Surah Yasin three times, and after each time, read a special du`a with the following intentions:
1st reading the niyyat (intention) for should be for Long Life.
2nd reading the niyyat (intention) should be for Protection from Calamities.
3rd Reading the niyyat (intention) should be for not being needy to anyone except Allah.

What to recite (PDF) [excerpted from Guidebook by Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani]

It is very necessary that just as others observe this night, you observe it. To make an invitation to feed people on that night, to remember Allah (swt) and to remember His Prophet , and to fast its day and pray its night, will be rewarded for that night and for whoever observes it.
In order to observe the Night of Bara`ah, one should remain awake on this night as much as possible. If someone has the opportunity, he or she should spend the whole night in worship and prayer. However, if one cannot do so for one reason or another, he can select a considerable portion of the night, preferably of the second half of it for this purpose, and should perform the following acts of worship:
praying Salat ul-Khair, which consists of 100 raka`ts, in each raka`t reciting Sura al-Fatiha and 10 Surat al-Ikhlas. To complete the prayer one recites 1000 Sura al-Ikhlas.
The Night of Bara`ah is a night in which special blessings are directed towards the Muslims. Therefore, this night should be spent in total submission to Allah Almighty, and one should refrain from all those activities which may displease Allah.

Fast of the 15th Sha`ban
On the day immediately following the Night of Bara`ah, i.e. the 15th of Sha`ban, it is mustahabb (advisable) to keep fast. Prophet Muhammad is reported to have recommended this fast emphatically. A large number of the predecessors (salaf) of the Ummah have been observing the fast of the 15th of Sha`ban.
Therefore, it is advisable to fast the 15th of Sha`ban as an optional (nafl) fast. One can also keep a fast of qada (make-up) on this day and it is hoped that he can also benefit from the merits of this fast.