Sha'ban - Virtues of the 15th Night...
Virtues of the 15th night:Sha'ban in the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. There are numerous ahadith narrated about the 15th night of Sha'ban, indicating that it has a certain distinction over ordinary nights. While some of these narrations are undeniably weak, there are others which have been graded as reliable by some hadith experts. Among the most authentic of these are the following two:
a) Hafiz Ibn Hibban recorded in his "Sahih": The Prophet (SAW), said, "Allah looks at His creation in the night of mid-Sha'ban; He forgives all His creation except for a mushrik (polytheist) or a mushahin (one who has illegitimate hatred or enmity of others)."
As is evident, this hadith was regarded as reliable by Ibn Hibban, who was a hadith expert, and a group of later hadith scholars have also judged it as hasan li-ghayrihi (good, through the support of other such narrations).
b) It is narrated that Ummul-Mu'tnineen ' A'ishah awoke one night to find the Prophet (SAW), missing, and so she went out to look for him. She found him in the Baqee' cemetery, with his head raised to the Heavens [it is recommended, in general, to visit cemeteries for the purpose of reminding ourselves of death, and to ask Allah to forgive the deceased Muslims], After helping to further reassure her, it is reported that he said, "Surely Allah, the Possessor of Blessings, the Exalted, descends to the lowest heaven [with a meaning appropriate to Allah's majesty; not to be likened to the descending of finite, spatial, created things] on the night of mid-Sha'ban, and forgives more[people] than the the hairs on the sheep of [the tribe of] Kalb." [Narrated by Tirmidhi, who points out that its chain of narration is discontinuous, although we may note that such discontinuity is not detrimental to authenticity according to some scholars. Also narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Majah and others. Ibn Rajab describes this narration as one of the best on the subject.]
Extra worship;
Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah mentions in his "Fatawa" that scholars have differed about this night; some of the salaf used to stay up on it, and the night has virtue. It was actually some of the prominent scholars of the Tabi'een (the second generation from the Prophet) in Syria, among them Makhool, who started the practice of performing optional prayer (tahajjud/qiyam) specifically during this night. On the basis of the ahadith mentioned above, fortified by more explicit but weaker ahadith, and by the practice of these Tabi'een, it is recommended, according to a group of scholars, to perform optional worship on this night. Hafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali says, "So, it is appropriate for the believer to free himself [from worldly pursuits] on that night, [and apply himself] to the remembrance of Allah, making du'a to Him to forgive sins, conceal faults, and alleviate hardships, and [it is appropriate] to precede this with repentance (tawbah) for Allah forgives on this night those who repent." It may be noted, however, that other scholars are of the view that there is no special significance in performing optional worship on this night (although it is permissible, as on any ordinary night of the year), since they viewed all ahadith on the subject as weak, and considered that the practice of a group of Tabi'een does not by itself make it recommended. Whichever of the two views we choose to follow, we should tolerate both, since there exists scholarly disagreement.
It may also be noted that there is essential unanimity that there is no specific form of worship exclusive to this night, and so those who wish to offer 'ibadah in it may perform the usual form of tahajjud (qiyam) prayers, preferably 8 rak'ah, and/or other forms of worship such as recitation of Qur'an or remembrance of Allah. It is much preferred to offer such worship individually and privately; indeed most scholars consider it a bid'ah (reprehensible innovation in religion) to gather to offer such supererogatory worship in congregation.
Fasting on the 15th day:
There is no specific order to fast on the 15th day of Sha'ban. The hadith narrated by Tirmidhi, "When it is the night of the middle of Sha'ban observe the prayer during the night and observe the fast during the day," is severely weak, and therefore cannot be acted upon. However, if one wishes, he may fast on the 15th of Sha'ban, on the basis that it is recommended to fast the middle days of every month, and it is also recommended to fast during Sha'ban in general.
Usama ibn Zayd said, "O Messenger of Allah! I have not seen you fast in any of the months as [much] as you fast in Sha'ban!" He said, "That is a month which people are neglectful of, between Rajab and Ramadan, and it is a month in which deeds are lifted up to the Lord of the Worlds, and I like for my deeds to be lifted up while 1 am fasting." [Narrated by Nasa'i and Ahmad]
"Fasting three days from every month is like fasting perpetually." [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]
"When you fast three days from a month, then fast the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth." [Narrated by Ahmad, Tirmidhi (who graded it hasan), Nasa'i and Ibn Majah]
There is also general agreement that one should not start the obligatory fasting of Ramadan early, in the last few days of Sha'ban (before the new moon for Ramadan has been sighted), because this is a false precaution.
And Allah, the Flawless, Knows best.
posted by islam on the net @ 04:04
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