The Sixth Discourse

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.

Hazrat A’isha, the wife of the Prophet (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim wa Rahdiyallahu anhaa), is reported as having said:

Allah’s Messenger (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) 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 (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) continue a fast from the beginning to the end of any month except the month of Ramadaan, [apart from which] I never saw him do more fasting in any month than he did in Sha’baan.

Hazrat ‘A’isha (Radhiyallahu anhaa) is also reported as having said:

Allah’s Messenger (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) 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 Sha’baan, so I said to him:  “O Messenger of Allah, how is it I always see you fasting in Sha’baan?” and he said (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim):

“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.”

Hazrat Umm Salama (Radhiyallahu anhaa) is reported as having said:

In no other month, apart from Ramadaan, did Allah’s Messenger (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) 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.

Hazrat Anas [ibn Maalik] (Radhiyallahu anhu) once said:

When asked about the most meritorious fasting, the Prophet (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) said:  “Fasting in Sha’baan in honor of Ramadaan.”

Hazrat ‘Ubaidu’llaah ibn Qais once heard ‘A’isha (Radhiyallahu anhaa) say:

“The dearest of months to Allah’s Messenger (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) was Sha’baan, which he would link to Ramadaan.”

According to Hazrat ‘Abdullaah (Radhiyallahu anhu), Allah’s Messenger (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) 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 Ramadaan] by one or two days.

Anas ibn Maalik (Radhiyallahu anhu) is the authority for the report that Allah’s Messenger (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) once said:

“It is called Sha’baan simply because it is juxtaposed [yansha’ibu] to Ramadaan, containing many blessings, while Ramadaan is so called because it scorches [yurmidu] sins.”

Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

Your Lord creates and chooses what He wills.
wa Rabbuka yakhluqu maa yashaa’u wa yakhtaar. (Holy Qur’an, 28:68)

Thus Allah (Exalted is He) has selected four out of each kind of thing, then He has chosen one of the four: From among the Angels, He selected Gabriel [Jibriil], Michael [Miikaa’iil], Israafiil and ‘Azraa’iil, then He chose Gabriel from these four.

From all the Ambiyaa (Sallallahu alayhim ajma’een), the four He selected were Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (Allah bless them all, and give them peace), then of these He chose Muhammad (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim).

The four He selected from among the Companions (Radhiyallahu anhum) were Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan and ‘Ali, and His preferred choice was Abu Bakr (Radhiyallahu anhu).

The four mosques:  The Sanctuary Mosque [by the Ka’ba in Mecca], al-Aqsaa Mosque [in Jerusalem], the Mosque of Medina the Ennobled City, and the Mosque of Mount Sinai.  Of these He chose the Sanctuary Mosque [al-Masjid al-Haraam].

The four days:  The Day of Breaking Fast [Yawm al-Fitr], the Day of Sacrifice [Yawm al-Adhaa], the Day of ‘Arafa, and the Day of ‘Ashuuraa.’  Of these He then chose the Day of ‘Arafa.

The four nights:  The Night of Absolution [Lailat al-Baraa’a], the Night of Power [Lailat al-Qadr], the Night of Friday Congregation [Lailat al-Jum’a], and the Night of the Festival [Lailat al-‘Id].  Of these He chose the Night of Power.

The four sites:  Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, and the Mosques of the Tribes [Masaajid al-‘Ashaa’ir].  Of these He chose Mecca.

The four mountains:  Uhud, Sinai, Likaam, and Lebanon [Lubnaan]. Of these He chose Mount Sinai.

The four rivers:  Jaihuun, Saihuun, the Euphrates [al-Furaat] and the Nile [an-Niil].  Of these He chose the Euphrates.

The four months:  Rajab, Sha’baan, Ramadaan, and al-Muharram. Of these He chose the month of Sha’baan, and made it the Prophet’s own month (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim).  So, just as the Nabi (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) is the most excellent of Ambiya, his month is the most excellent of months.

“Sha’baan is my month, Rajab is Allah’s month, and Ramadaan is the month of my Community.  Sha’baan is the expiator, while Ramadaan is the purifier.”

He also said (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim):

Sha’baan is a month between Rajab and Ramadaan.  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 Maalik (Radhiyallahu anhu), the Prophet (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) once said:

“The excellence of Rajab over other months is like the excellence of the Qur’aan 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 Ramadaan over other months is like the excellence of Allah (Exalted is He) over all His creatures.”

Anas ibn Maalik (Radhiyallahu anhu) is also reported as having said:

“When the Companions of the Prophet (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) beheld the new moon of Sha’baan, they would immerse themselves in reading their copies of the Qur’aan.  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 Ramadaan.  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 Ramadaan, they would bathe themselves and devote themselves to worship.”