Month of Sha'ban al-Muazzam

!!Assalam-o-Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

The fifteenth night of the month of Shaban is a night of great virtue. Many virtues of this night have been mentioned in the blessed Hadiths, and the predecessors of the Ummah have also been acknowledging its virtue. This night is called "Shab-e-Barat" because on this night countless people attain salvation from Hell through the mercy of Allah Almighty.

People are victims of extremism and negligence regarding Shab-e-Barat. Some are those who do not believe in its virtue at all, but rather declare the hadiths narrated in its virtue as fabricated and concocted. While some believe in its virtue, but commit countless innovations, customs, and self-made affairs in obtaining this virtue, and perform such evils in the name of worship that there is no refuge.

The moderate view in this regard is that the virtue of this night of Shaban is proven, but its status is not that of obligatory, but merely recommended. It is not correct to deny its virtue altogether, nor is it correct to give the acts and worship performed in it the status of obligatory.

Many hadiths are narrated regarding the virtue of Shab-e-Barat, although some of them are weak in terms of authenticity, but since the weak are also acceptable in virtues. And the abundance of narrations and chains of transmission together remove this weakness. Furthermore, the practice of the Ummah and the predecessors continuing to act upon the standing up in prayer on this night is evidence that these narrations are acceptable and that the origin of Laylat al-Bara'at is necessary. A few narrations are quoted.

Hadith Number 1

Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that [one night] the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

أَتَدْرِينَ أَيَّ لَيْلَةٍ هَذِهِ ؟ "، قُلْتُ: اللهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ، قَالَ: " هَذِهِ لَيْلَةُ النِّصْفِ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ، إِنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَطْلُعُ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ فِي لَيْلَةِ النِّصْفِ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ فَيَغْفِرُ لِلْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ، وَيَرْحَمُ الْمُسْتَرْحِمِينَ، وَيُؤَخِّرُ أَهْلَ الْحِقْدِ كَمَا هُمْ ۔(شعب الایمان للبیہقی: رقم الحدیث 3554،)

جامع الاحادیث للسیوطی(: رقم الحدیث 7265)

کنز العمال: رقم الحدیث (7450)

:Translation

O Aisha!) Do you know what night this is? I said, Allah and His Messenger know best. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: This is the fifteenth night of Shaban. On this night, Allah Almighty looks upon His servants with mercy; He forgives those who seek forgiveness, has mercy on those who seek mercy, and leaves those who harbor malice as they are.

Hadith Number 2

عن عائشة عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : هل تدرين ما هذه الليل ؟ يعني ليلة النصف من شعبان قالت : ما فيها يا رسول الله فقال : فيها أن يكتب كل مولود من بني آدم في هذه السنة وفيها أن يكتب كل هالك من بني آدم في هذه السنة وفيها ترفع أعمالهم وفيها تنزل أرزاقهم۔

مشکوۃ المصابیح: رقم الحدیث1305)

:Translation

Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: (O Aisha!) Do you know what happens on this night, that is, the fifteenth night of Shaban? Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: O Messenger of Allah! What happens in it? So he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: On this night, all the humans who are to be born this year are written down, and all the people who are to die this year are also written down on this night. On this night, the deeds of the children of Adam are raised, and on this night, the appointed sustenance of the people descends.

Note: It is known from this hadith that the names etc. of the humans who are to be born and die in the year after Shab-e-Barat are written down on this night, while these things have already been written in the Preserved Tablet, then what is the meaning of writing? The answer is that writing on this night means that lists are written from the Preserved Tablet and handed over to the angels related to these matters. And Allah knows the truth best.

Hadith Number 3:

أَتَانِي جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، فَقَالَ: هَذِهِ اللَّيْلَةُ لَيْلَةُ النِّصْفِ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ وَلِلَّهِ فِيهَا عُتَقَاءُ مِنَ النَّارِ بِعَدَدِ شُعُورِ غَنَمِ كَلْبٍ، لَا يَنْظُرُ اللهُ فِيهَا إِلَى مُشْرِكٍ، وَلَا إِلَى مُشَاحِنٍ ، وَلَا إِلَى قَاطِعِ رَحِمٍ، وَلَا إِلَى مُسْبِلٍ ، وَلَا إِلَى عَاقٍّ لِوَالِدَيْهِ، وَلَا إِلَى مُدْمِنِ خَمْرٍ

شعب الایمان للبیہقی: رقم الحدیث3556، الترغیب و الترہیب للمنذری: رقم الحدیث 1547)

Translation: Hazrat Jibreel (peace be upon him) came to me and said: This is the fifteenth night of Shaban. On this night, Allah Almighty frees people from Hell equal to the number of hairs on the goats of the tribe of Kalb, but on this night He does not look (with mercy) at the polytheist, the spiteful, the one who breaks ties of kinship, the one who keeps his garment below his ankles, the one who is disobedient to his parents, and the one who is addicted to alcohol.

Khatimatul Muhaddithin Hazrat Allama Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri (may Allah have mercy on him) says:

This night is "Laylat al-Bara'at" and the narrations about the virtue of this Laylat al-Bara'at are authentic.

(Al-Arf al-Shazi: Vol. 2, p. 250)

Hakeemul Ummat, Mujaddidul Millat Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ashraf Ali Thanvi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:

The origin of Shab-e-Barat is that the fifteenth night and the fifteenth day of this month are of great dignity and blessing. "(Bahishti Zewar: Part Six, p. 58

Sheikhul Islam Hazrat Maulana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (may his blessings continue) says:

Many narrations have been narrated regarding the virtue of Shab-e-Barat, most of which have been collected by Allama Suyuti (may Allah have mercy on him) in "Al-Dur al-Manthur"... Despite the weakness of these narrations, the importance of worship on Shab-e-Barat is not an innovation. Firstly, because the multiplicity of narrations and their collection indicates that the virtue of Laylat al-Bara'at is not baseless, and secondly, the practice of the Ummah has been to take special care of awakening and worship on Laylat al-Bara'at, and it has been mentioned many times that any weak narration supported by practice is acceptable. Therefore, the virtue of Laylat al-Bara'at is proven, and the attempt by some outwardly-minded people of our time to invalidate the virtue of Laylat al-Bara'at by merely looking at the documentary weakness of the hadiths is not correct" (Dars-e-Tirmidhi: Vol. 2, p. 579)

 Reference; (Month of Shaban and Shab-e-Barat).. From Mutakallim-e-Islam Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Ghumman (may Allah protect him) 

Faqat wassalam.