Tuesday 19 May 2015

Islam is the best: Welcome back Sha'ban.....Fasting in the month of s...

Islam is the best: Welcome back Sha'ban.....Fasting in the month of s...: 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 th...

Welcome back Sha'ban.....Fasting in the month of shaban?

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 practiced by our beloved prophet Muhammad (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.”

Islam is the best  www.ssumaiya.blogspot.com

Sunday 3 May 2015

Islam is the best: Month of Rajab....Do we have Special Sunnah Fastin...

Islam is the best: Month of Rajab....Do we have Special Sunnah Fastin...: The month of Rajab is one of the sacred months of which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, the number of mont...

Month of Rajab....Do we have Special Sunnah Fasting?



The month of Rajab is one of the sacred months of which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, the number of months with Allaah is twelve months (in a year), so was it ordained by Allaah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are Sacred (i.e. the 1st, the 7th, the 11th and the 12th months of the Islamic calendar). That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein”
[al-Tawbah 9:36]

With regard to fasting the month of Rajab, there is no saheeh hadeeth to indicate that there is any special virtue in fasting all or part of this month or just on 27th day of this month.What some people do, singling out some days of Rajab for fasting, believing that they are better than others, has no basis in sharee’ah.

But there is a report from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which indicates that it is mustahabb to fast during the sacred months (and Rajab is one of the sacred months).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Fast some days of the sacred months and not others.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 2428; classed as da’eef by al-Albaani in Da’eef Abi Dawood.

Even if this hadeeth were saheeh, it indicates that it is mustahabb to fast during the sacred months. So if a person fasts during Rajab because of this, and he also fasts in the other sacred months, there is nothing wrong with that. But singling out Rajab for fasting is not right.


Fasting in Rajab is no better than fasting in any other month, except that it is one of the sacred months. There is no report in the saheeh Sunnah to suggest that there is anything special about fasting in this month.

 Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about fasting on the twenty-seventh of Rajab and spending that night in prayer. He replied: Fasting on the twenty-seventh of Rajab and spending that night in prayer is a bid’ah (innovation), and every bid’ah is a going astray.