Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Merit of the month of Sha'baan

On the special merit of the month of Sha'baan, and the divine forgiveness [maghfirah] and good pleasure [ridwaan] sent down
on the middle night of that month.

Sayeda A'isha , the wife of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam is reported as having said : Allah's Messenger Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam used to fast until we would say he was never going to stop fasting, and he would go so long without fasting that we would say he was never going to fast, but I never saw Allah's Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam continue a fast from the beginning to the end of any month except the month of Ramadan, [apart from which] I never saw him do more fasting in any month than he did in Sha'baan.




Sayeda A'isha is also reported as having said: Allah's Messenger Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam used to fast until we would say he was never going to stop fasting, and go so long without fasting that we would say he was never going to fast. The fasting he liked best was that he did in Shabaan, so I said to him:''O Messenger of Allah, how is it I always see you fasting in Sha'baan?'' and he Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam replied: ''O ''A'isha, it is the month in which the Angel of Death has to note down the name of anyone whose soul he must take before the year is out, so I would rather he did not record my name except while I am fasting.



Umm Salma Radi Allahu anha is reported as having said:In no other month, apart from Ramadan, did Allah Beloved Messenger Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam fast more often than in Sha'baan. And that was because, each Sha'baan, all who must die in the course of that year have their names transcribed from the list of the living onto that of the dead, and a man may embark on a journey even while his name is listed among those about to die. Hadrat Anas [ibn Malik] Radi Allahu anhu once said: When asked about the most meritorious fasting, the Beloved of Allah Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam said: ''Fast in Sha'baan, in honour of Ramadan''


Hadrat Ubaydullah ibn Qais once heard A'isha say: 'The dearest of months to Allah's Messenger Salla Allahu alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam were Shabaan, which he would link to Ramadan.'



According to Hadrat Abdullah Radi Allahu anhu, Allah's Messenger Salla Allahu alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam once said: Anyone who fasts on the last Monday of Sha'baan will be granted forgiveness. - meaning the last Monday that falls within it, not as the very last day of the month, for it is forbidden to anticipate the month [of Ramadan] by one or two days.



Anas ibn Malik Radi Allahu anhu is the authority for the report that Allah's Messenger Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam once said: ''It is called Sha'baan simply because it is juxtaposed [yansha'ibu] to Ramadan, containing many blessings, while Ramadan is so called because it scorches [yurmidu] sins.''


Allah Almighy (Exalted is He) has said: Your Lord creates and chooses what He wills.
wa Rabbuka yakhluqu maa yasha'u wa yakhtaar. (al-Qur'an, 28:68)


According to Abu Hurayra , the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam once said: ''Sha'baan is my month, Rajab is Allah's month, and Ramadan is the month of my Community.
Sha'baan is the expiator, while Ramadan is the purifier.''



He Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam also said : Sha'baan is a month between Rajab and Ramadan. People tend to neglect it, but that is when the deeds of His servants ascend to the Lord of All the Worlds, so I would rather mine rose up while I was fasting.



According to Anas ibn Malik Radi Allahu anhu, the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam once said: ''The excellence of Rajab over other months is like the excellence of the Qur'an over all other speech, while the excellence of Sha'baan over other months is like my excellence over the rest of the Prophets, and the excellence of Ramadan over other months is like the excellence of Allah (Exalted is He) over all His creatures.''



Anas ibn Malik Radi Allahu anhu is also reported as having said: ''When the Companions of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam beheld the new moon of Shabaan, they would immerse themselves in reading their copies of the Qur'an. The Muslims would pay the alms-due [zakaat] assessed on their wealth, thereby providing the means for the weak and the poor to fortify themselves in preparation for the fasting of the month of Ramadan. The governors would summon the prison inmates, to carry out the sentence on those convicted of major offences under Islamic law, and to set the rest free. Businessmen would set about paying their debts and collecting their dues. Then, when they beheld the new moon of Ramadan, they would bathe themselves and devote themselves to worship.

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