Welcome back Sha'ban

Alhamdulillah we've reached the month of Shaban,this is the name of the (eighth) month of the Islamic lunar calendar,this is a month that appears between the months of Rajab and Ramadan.

In this article I would like to write on the topic "Fasting in month of Sha'ban,(Welcome back Sha'ban)" as it was practised by our beloved prophet muhammed (sal).

Virtue of fasting in the month of shaban

Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, I do not see you fasting in any other month like you fast in Sha'ban.' He said, 'That is a month to which people do not pay attention, between Rajab and Ramadan, and it is a month in which deeds are lifted up to the Lord of the Worlds. I like for my deeds to be lifted up when I am fasting.'" (Narrated by al-Nasa'i).

The phrase "Sha'ban is a month to which people do not pay attention, between Rajab and Ramadan" indicates that because it comes between two important months, the Sacred Month of Rajab and the month of fasting, people are preoccupied with those two months and they do not pay attention to Sha'ban. Many people think that fasting in Rajab is better than fasting in Sha'ban, because Rajab is one of the Sacred Months, but this is not the case.

It was said that his wives used to make up the days that they missed of Ramadan in Sha'ban, so he used to fast because of that. This is the opposite of what was reported from 'A'ishah, that she used to delay making up days that she had missed in Ramadan until Sha'ban because she was too busy with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) to fast.

Another benefit of fasting in Sha'ban is that it is a kind of training for the Ramadan fast, in case a person finds it difficult to fast when Ramadan starts; if he fasts in Sha'ban he will have gotten used to fasting and he will feel strong and energetic when Ramadan comes. Sha'ban is like an introduction to Ramadan and it has some things in common with Ramadan, such as fasting, reciting Qur'an and giving in charity.

Fasting Entire month of Shaban ?
'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - PBUH) used to fast until we thought he would never break his fast, and not fast until we thought he would never fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allah fasting for an entire month except in Ramadan, and I never saw him fast more than he did in Sha'ban." (Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim).

From the above mentioned hadith it is clear that prophet muhammed (sal) did not fast completely in the month of shaban but compared to other month he fasted most of the days.A group of scholars say that the Prophet did not fast all of Sha'ban, but he fasted most of it. This is supported by a report in Saheeh Muslim narrated from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: "I never knew of him - meaning the Prophet (PBUH) - fasting for any entire month apart from Ramadan." According to another report also narrated by Muslim, A'ishah said: "I never saw him fast for any entire month from the time he came to Madeenah, apart from Ramadan."

Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "He observed more voluntary fasts in Sha'ban than in any other month, and he used to fast most of Sha'ban."

It was reported in al-Bukhari and Muslim that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) did not fast any entire month apart from Ramadan.” Ibn ‘Abbas regarded it as makrooh to fast any entire month apart from Ramadan. Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “He observed more voluntary fasts in Sha’ban than in any other month, and he used to fast most of Sha’ban.”

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