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The Deeds of Sha'ban:

Now, we should understand whether there is any prescribed act to do in this esteemed month? Since, we cannot invent anything that is not outlined in the Shariah though a practice is proven on any other time, like the Prayer of Taraweeh is a good and effective worship in the Month of Ramadan but it cannot be offered in Sha'ban because it is not prescribed in this month.

In brief, if we do anything out of its proper time, it amounts as a transgression on a matter relating to the Religion of Islam. Then, we should think whether there is any special righteous deed to be offered in this month. We have presented above (in part 1) the prescribed deeds in this month.

The most favorite deed to be done is to fast abundantly in this month as the Holy Prophet (saws) used to do in this month. In another Hadith it is narrated that the Holy Prophet (saws) has suggested not to fast after mid-Sha'ban. (Tirmidhi 1: 155)



Preparation for the Month of Ramadan during the Month of Sha'ban:

Obviously, in this Hadith it has been prohibited to fast after the mid-Sha'ban. But, at the same time another thing has been recommended in this Hadith. The detail is that the reason why the Holy Prophet (saws) prohibited fasting after mid-Sha'ban is that the people may not become physically weak by fasting in Sha'ban, and in this way would not realize their full potential of the Divine blessings and merits of the more glorious days of the forthcoming month of Ramadan in an excellent manner.



This prohibition, in fact, is directed towards making people prepare for fasting in the Month of Ramadan. This Hadith also suggests that as we should fast in Sha'ban in the same way we should do in Ramadan but it is designed to prepare us for the Month of Ramadan where a fasting Muslim can steel himself for superior acts of offering special prayers like Taraweeh and other acts of voluntary worship enthusiastically during Ramadan, and in this way gain more spiritual rewards. The month of Sha'ban also means that a person with a weak disposition should get strong by seeking proper medical advice and it is highly desirable that an ailing person cure himself, by seeking a cure for his ailment so that he should not lose out on the spiritual benefits and merits, which would accrue by fasting in the month of Ramadan. If any person wishes to travel then he should do it in Sha'ban and keep himself completely free to observe fasts in a proper manner in Ramadan. So, the intention of the Holy Prophet (saws) while highlighting the glories of the month of Sha'ban is that he did not wish the Muslims neglect the Divine merits that are gained in this month, and at the same time, he wanted to give them some free time to attend to their other worldly tasks before the arrival of Ramadan.



Now, we shall discuss the Night of Bara'ah and its reality, significance, origins and merits according to the principles outlined in the Islamic Shariah.



The Night of Bara'ah According to Islamic Shariah:



Is the night of Bara'ah respected in Islam? If that is so then what is its status? What should we do in this night and what should we avoid doing during this night? We shall answer to all these questions in the following paragraphs.



The fact is that people have gone to two extreme ways in this regard. Some of them deny the status of this night has, while some others elevate this night to a place, which it is not destined to have, for which they have invented a number of innovations. So we will outline the moderate way of observing this night and the best opinions of Islamic jurists in this regard.

The Meritorious Place of the Night of Bara'ah:



As far as the night of the Bara'ah is concerned, there are a number of Hadith, which verify its meritorious place, glory and greatness. Is the merit of the night of Bara'ah supported by the Qur'an or not? This is a disputed point. The Muslim scholars have two important views regarding this. In fact, the point of difference is the Qur'anic verse in which Allah says,

“We have sent it down in a blessed night, (because); we had to warn people. In that (night), every wise thing is decided." (Al-Qur'an 44: 34)

Some commentators of the Holy Qur'an say that the blessed night mentioned in the verse is the night of Bara'ah. Ikrimah and many other scholars share this opinion. But, the majority of the commentators have strongly rejected this idea for the verse says that the Revelation of the Holy Qur'an took place in the Night of Qadr so this is the correct meaning of this verse too, and they believe that this is the Night of Qadr, which is mentioned in this verse.



However, there are many narrations from the Holy Prophet and his Companions, which have been collected by Allama Suyuti in Ad-Durr Al- Manthoor. But most of the narrations are weak. However, since many weak narrations have been related on the same subject, they would gain strength and reliability, and put together - according to the rules of the scholars of Hadith - the Hadith would reach the status of "Hasan".

Sahih Hadith Regarding the Night of Bara'ah:



This was explained according to the general Hadith principles. Allama Nasiruddin Albani, a well-known Salafi scholar of Hadith, has mentioned a Hadith in the footnote of "Islahul Masajid". The Hadith is reported on the authority of Muadh Ibn Jabal in the Sahih collection of Imam Ibn Hibban.



Muadh (ra) relates the Holy Prophet (saws) as saying:

"Allah Almighty looks upon those created by Him in the middle night of Sha'ban and forgives all those created by Him, except the one who associates partners with Him or the one who has malice in his heart." (The Footnote on Islahul Masajid: 128)



In brief, the Sahih Hadith explains that the middle night of Sha'ban, which is called " Shab e Bara'ah", is undoubtedly a meritorious night and its greatness is not a baseless idea that has been created in the minds of men.


Some more Hadith narrations:



When we add to this Hadith the other weak narrations they gain strength, and the weak narrations will become applicable if supported by an authentic Hadith, as the Hadith scholars have laid down in the guidelines of criticizing the Hadith. We present here two narrations.



Imam Tirmidhi reports on the authority of Hazrat Ayesha (ra) that she said:

"Once she did not find the Holy Prophet (saws) in the bed and she got too much perturbed and she kept searching for him until she went to the cemetery of Madinah named "Jannatul Baqi." She saw that the Holy Prophet (saws) is present there. The Holy Prophet (saws) said, "Verily, Allah descends in this night on the earth and frees a large number of people from fire, more than the number of the hair growing on the sheep of the tribe of Kalb i.e. this tribe was noted amongst Arabs for growing sheep in great numbers." (Tirmidhi 1: 156, Musnad, Ahmad 6: 238, Musnad, Ishaq Ibn Rahuyah 3: 979)



This Hadith has been declared to be weak for two reasons:

1. One of the narrators of this Hadith is Hajjaj Ibn Artat who has been declared as weak in memory by the majority of the Hadith scholars.
2. Secondly, there is Inqita in this Hadith at two places i.e. there are two narrators in the chain of this Hadith who did not mention the person on whose authority they narrated the Hadith. But, the ahadith mentioned above support this Hadith.



Imam Ahmad reports in his Musnad on the authority of Hazrat Amr Ibnul Aas that the Holy Prophet (saws) said:

"Allah Almighty looks upon all those created by Him in the middle night of Sha'ban and forgives all human beings except the one who has malice in his heart (against a Muslim) and the one who commits suicide”. (Musnad-e-Ahmad 10: 127) There are some other Hadith too, which verify the meritorious status of this night.


Is the Night of Bara'ah the time of Divine Decision Making?


There are many Hadith reports describing the merits of this night, which say that on this night Allah makes His decisions i.e. from this Sha'ban until the next, the list of those being born and those who will die is assigned to the relevant angels. In the same way, many other decisions are also taken on this day. The scholars of the Science of Hadith have declared that all such types of narrations as Dha'eef.



However, the Hadith mentioned above by Ibn Hajar is sound in which the Holy Prophet (saws) has said, "In this (Sha'ban) Allah prescribes the list of the persons dying this year." This narration supports all other weak narrations, which are mentioned on this subject.



Here a question may arise as to when the Night of Qadr has been defined by Allah for a decision as the Holy Qur'an says: "In that (night), every wise thing is decided." (Al-Qur'an 44: 4), and as many Hadith narrations confirm this idea, then what is the meaning of making decisions in the Night of Bara'ah? Some of the Muslim scholars have totally rejected the idea of accepting the Hadith that says that decisions are made in the Night of Bara'ah considering the strong evidences from Hadith that clearly reinforce the idea that the decisions are made by Allah in the Night of Qadr. But, we have mentioned above that there are some narrations, which are good and hold the other opinion i.e. the decisions are also made in the night of Bara'ah. So, some of the scholars have taken a moderate view and say that the good explanation is that the decisions in the Night of Bara'ah are recorded but they are executed and implemented in the Night of Qadr. In this way it is possible to call the both nights as the Nights of Decision. In this way the two conflicting narrations can be reconciled and synchronized. The famous scholar of Ahle Hadith Maulana Abdur Rahman Mubarkpuri notes Mulla Ali Qari as having said, "There is no difference of opinion that in the night of mid-Sha'ban the decisions take place as the Hadith says. However, the question is that whether the Holy Qur'an supports this view or not? The sound opinion is that the Holy Qur'an does not prove the idea that the Night of Bara'ah is the Night of Decision. However, the Hadith narrations confirm that decisions are made in both the nights. Besides, it is possible that in one night the decisions are made in a brief manner and they are made in the other night in a detailed way, or it is possible that in one night worldly affairs are decided and in the other night the decisions of the Hereafter are made. There are so many possibilities that arise as one contemplates deeply on the verses of the Holy Qur'an and the numerous Traditions that have been related to this effect." (Tohafatul-Ahwadhi 3: 367)



The Night of Bara'ah and the Moderate way:



The above details show that the Night of Bara'ah is proven by some narrations and as a whole it is a meritorious night. It is possible to call this night as the Night of Divine Decisions as the Hadith explains. At the same time, it is not proper to give this night an extra status as some people do in our areas. They consider the night of Bara'ah as equal to the day of Eid. They put on new clothes on this day. A lot of care is paid for cooking excellent dishes to greet the arrival of this night. Even some Muslims go to the extent of calling this day as the Eid of Sha'ban.



The Islamic Shariah has not given this night such a great status as to equal to the day of an Eid. The Holy Prophet (saws) did not attach such a status to this day. He did not call the people to get assembled in a congregation to celebrate this night in worship. What he did was to attract the attention of the people to know the great place of this night and thus to redirect their attention towards doing good deeds.

In brief, we should adopt a moderate way and take the middle attitude without falling into encroachment or exaggeration, which conflicts directly with the Islamic Shariah.

What Muslims should do in the Night of Middle of the Month of Sha'ban?



There is no authentic narration that suggests making some special worship on this night. However, there are some weak narrations, which recommend doing particular types of deeds. And, since these narrations have been reported in regard with the merits, then there is nothing wrong in practicing them. Ibn Majah reports that the Holy Prophet (saws) said:

"When the night of mid Sha'ban comes, start to worship in it and fast during the day for Allah descends during this night on the earth and says, "Is there any one to seek My forgiveness so that I forgive him. Is there anyone seeking livelihood so that I give him sustenance? Is there any one suffering whom I remedy?" In this way Allah says until the rise of dawn." (Ibn Majah: 99)



The scholars of Hadith have rated this Hadith as to be weak but since weak narrations are applicable in order to prove the merits of particular things we have provided them here. In this Hadith three particular deeds have been mentioned.

1. To stay awake in this night.
2. To fast during the day.
3. Making supplication for one's own forgiveness, pray for a livelihood, comforts and other necessities. This has been mentioned is on the previous lines, is going to the cemetery as the Holy Prophet (saws) did. But, since these narrations are weak so it is not suitable to give them the status of permanent Sunnah acts. Considering them as part of the religion amounts to an appalling innovation of the Shariah. So, one may do this in a simple way without attaching much notice, significance or exaggeration during this night. Some people go to the extremes and visit cemeteries as though it were an Obligatory act of Islam. Such things are classified under deviation from the Right Path, and there is always the danger of straying out of the bounds of Religion if one acts in this manner.





Constant Prayers During the Night of Bara'ah:



During the Night of Bara'ah one should pay much heed to offer a lot of prayer and supplication. Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar (ra) says:

"There are five nights in which the prayers are not rejected (i.e. they are most certainly to be accepted by Allah). They are: the night of Jumuah, the first night of the month of Rajab and the night of mid-Sha'aban and the two nights of the two Eids (i.e. Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al- Adha)." (Shuabul Iman, Baihaqi 3: 342)



Imam Shafi'ee says that it has been transmitted to me that they believed (i.e. the companions) that the Dua is most likely to be accepted in the five nights mentioned. The night of Jumuah, the nights of Eid Al-Adha and Eid Al-Fitr, the first night of Rajab and the night of mid-Sha'aban. (Shuabul Iman, Baihaqi 3: 341)