Allah Ta’ala has sent down the last divine book Al-Quran to guide every human being toward the truth. And Allah Ta’ala has sent the last Messenger to teach Muslims how to implement every ruling of the Qur’an and every matter of Islam. Verily, there are many important things in Islam. One of the important things is Shab E Barat (the night of the middle of Sha’ban). Many Muslims are involved in exaggeration and extreme laxity with the matter of Shab E Barat. There is a class of people who do things that are clearly Bid’ah and illegitimate. On the other hand, another class of people devalues the night of the middle of Sha’ban. Denies its existence and virtue. Indeed, Islam does not support this exaggeration and laxity.
So I will present to you some information about ‘Shab e Barat’ which will help you to know a lot. And at the same time, I will try my best to present clear evidence for each subject. So let’s first know the identity of Shab E Barat.
What is Shab E Barat?
Shab is a Persian word. This means night. And Barat is an Arabic word. And that means impunity. Shaban is the name of a month of Arabic 12 months. And the 15th night of that Shaban month is called Shab e Barat. In this regard, Abul Ala Muhammad Abdur Rahman Al Mubarakpuri (Rh) said,
“Shab e Barat is the 15th night of the month of Shaban. It is called Lailatul Barat.” [Tuhfatul-Ahwazi, volume 3, page: 364]
Originally in Arabic, this night is called ‘Layla Al Nisf Min Shaban’ (ليلة النصف من شعبان). Many years after the age of the Companions of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and the Tabi’ins, this night became known as Shab e Barat (Lailatul Barat).
Is there any virtue in Shab E Barat (Lailatul Barat)?
Many hadiths have been narrated about Lailatul Barat which point to the virtues of this night. However, many scholars have criticized the authenticity of those hadiths. I am quoting three famous hadiths about Shab e Barat.
It was narrated from Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Allah looks down on the night of the middle of Sha’ban and forgives all His creation, apart from the idolater and the Mushahin (Hostile to one another).” [Sunan ibn Majah, Hadith No. 1390]
Aishah (RA) narrated: She said, I could not find the Messenger of Allah one night. So I left and found him at Al-Baqi. He (peace be upon him) said: “Did you fear that you had been wronged by Allah and His Messenger?” I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I thought that you had gone to one of your wives.’ Then he (peace be upon him) said: “Indeed Allah, Mighty, and Sublime is He, descends to the world Heavens during the night of the middle of Sha’ban, grants forgiveness to more (people) than the number of hairs on the sheep of (Banu) Kalb.” [Jami’ at-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 739]
Narrated by Abu Salabah (RA), The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah Ta’ala looks to His servants. So He forgives the believers and gives respite to the disbelievers and keeps the Hostiles because of their hostility (in their own state. He withholds the forgiveness upon them) until they give up their hostility.” [Musnad Al-Bazzar, volume 1, page: 157]
What is the ruling on fasting on the occasion of Lailatul Barat?
If you say, I will fast on the occasion of Lailatul Barat because I have got a Hadith which describes clearly fasting on the occasion of Lailatul Barat. The hadith is:
It was narrated that Ali bin Abu Talib (RA) said, The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “When it is the night of the middle of Sha’ban, spend its night in prayer and observe a fast on that day. For Allah descends at sunset on that night to the world heaven and says: Is there no one who will ask Me for forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Is there no one who will ask Me for provisions, that I may provide for him? Is there no one who is afflicted by trouble, that I may relieve him? And so on; until dawn comes.” [Sunan ibn Majah, Hadith No. 1388]
Then We will say about this hadith which you have presented as evidence; This hadith’s value is Dhaif Jiddan (very weak) according to the previous and the present many wise scholars of Hadiths. This hadith cannot be acted upon. In this regard, Abul Ala Muhammad Abdur Rahman Al Mubarakpuri (Rh) said,
“Another caveat: I did not find any authentic Marfu’ Hadith about fasting on the day of the night of the middle of Sha’ban.”
“Then there is the hadith of Ali (RA) which has narrated Imam Ibn Majah (Rh) by the word “When it is the night of the middle of Sha’ban, spend its night in prayer and observe a fast on that day.” So you must know that the hadith is Dhaif Jiddan (very weak).” [Tuhfatul-Ahwazi, volume 3, page: 368]
Remember
If you fast on the occasion of Lailatul Barat, then you have done the work which goes against the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. This is because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his Companions (RA) did not fast on the occasion of Lailatul Barat.
But if you fast for three days every month, you observe a Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). There are many hadiths narrated in this regard. So I am mentioning two hadiths about it.
Mu’adhah Al-Adawiyyah reported that she asked A’isha (RA), the wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Would the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) fast three days every month? She (RA) said: Yes. I said to her: Which were (the particular) days of the month on which he observed fast? She said: He did not care which days of the month he fasted. [Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 1160]
Narrated Abdullah bin Amr (RA): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to him, “Fast for three days a month, for the reward of a good deed is multiplied by ten times, and so the fasting of three days a month equals the fasting of a year.” [Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 3418]
Fasting on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of the Arabic month
If you want, you can fast on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of Shaban, and other months. Verily, there is no problem with it. In this regard,
Abu Dharr (RA) narrated that The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “O Abu Dharr! When you fast three days out of a month, then fast the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth.” [Jami’ At-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 761]
Worshipping on the occasion of Lailatul Barat
On the occasion of Shab E Barat, Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) did not perform and did not teach any special worship, special Salah, or any special Dua or Dhikr. However, there is no obstacle to performing more and more Nafl Salah personally, praying to Allah, reciting Qur’an in proportion to one’s ability, etc.
But of course, gathering in a mosque or any other place to perform Nafl worship in groups is definitely an evil deed. Because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his Companions (RA) did not all gather in the mosque on this night to perform Nafl worship. In this regard, Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (Rh) said:
And there is the virtue of Shab e Barat. Many of the Salaf used to perform Nafl prayers on this night. But on this night, it is a Bid’ah to gather in the mosque to wake up at night for worship. Similarly, performing As-Salah Al-Alfiyah (i.e., 100 rak’ah salah which requires recitation of Surah Ikhlas 10 times per rak’ah) is also Bid’ah. [Al-fatawa Al-kubra of Shaykh Al-islam Ibn Taymiyyah, volume 5, page: 344]
Similarly, in centering on Shab E Barat going to more graveyards, visiting graves, lighting graveyards with lamps, etc. are also considered Bid’ah. [Al-Madkhal li-ibn Al-Ḥajj, volume 1, page 311]
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the grace to always abandon all kinds of Bid’ah and may He also grant us Tawfiq to always follow the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). Ameen.
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