The fifteenth night of Sha'ban al-Muazzam is called "Shab-e-Barat," which means the night of erasing sins.
There has been a difference of opinion among scholars regarding the proof of the virtue of Shab-e-Barat. In fact, there is weakness and ambiguity in all the hadiths narrated about Shab-e-Barat, which led to the difference. Those scholars who consider the hadiths to be at the level of authenticity are in favor of the virtue of Shab-e-Barat, and those who do not consider them to be at the level of authenticity do not consider the proof of the virtue of Shab-e-Barat to be established.
According to the scholars who find proof of the virtue of Shab-e-Barat and believe in it, ten blessed hadiths are narrated from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), among which the narration of Hazrat Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) is given the first priority.
It is narrated from Hazrat Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) that: On the fifteenth night of Sha'ban, I did not find the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in my resting place, so I went out in search. I saw that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was in Jannat al-Baqi, that is, the graveyard. Seeing me, he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "O Aisha! On the fifteenth night of Sha'ban, Allah Almighty comes to the lowest heaven and forgives the sins of more sinners than the number of goats of the tribe of Bani Kalb."
Another narration says that on this night, Allah Almighty forgives the sins of all creatures, except for seven people. They are: polytheist, disobedient to parents, malicious, drunkard, murderer, one who hangs his pajamas below the ankles, and backbiter. These seven people are deprived of forgiveness on this great night.
The third narration is narrated from Hazrat Ali Karam Allah Wajhu, that on this night, worship Allah Almighty, and fast during the day. On this night, Allah Almighty comes to the lowest heaven and announces: Is there anyone who wants forgiveness? Is there anyone who wants expansion in sustenance? Is there anyone afflicted with calamity, wanting to get rid of his calamity?
Three things are clearly understood from the above narrations:
One is to worship, since the place of worship is seclusion, and there is proof of worshipping alone in the narrations, therefore, worship should be done alone on Shab-e-Barat. The collective method is not narrated. So, one should worship according to one's ability on this night.
It is in the hadith that whoever performs the Isha prayer in congregation and sleeps, and performs the Fajr prayer in congregation, will get the reward of worshipping the whole night.
The second thing is to fast during the day.
The third thing: To go to the graveyard on this night and pray for the reward and forgiveness of the dead.
It should be kept in mind that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not go to Jannat al-Baqi in any year of his blessed life except this year. Therefore, if a person acts on this Sunnah once in his life, it will be a cause of reward.