O servants of Allah! Don’t forget that you are in the abode of trials. This world is a temporary refuge where you have come to be tested. Allah (pure and exalted is He) placed us in this world in order to test which of us would be better in our deeds. And truly happy is the person who fills the time (which is not a lot and ticking away fast) allotted to him – with deeds that bring him closer to Allah (pure and exalted is He) and distance him from everything that causes the anger and hatred of the Almighty Creator.
Know, O servants of Allah, that one of the best deeds that brings us closer to Allah (pure and exalted is He), to your Lord, is fasting (syyam). This is one of the most beloved forms of worship for Allah (pure and exalted is He).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
مَا مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ عَمِلَهَا ابْنُ آدَمَ إِلَّا كُتِبَ لَهُ عَشْرُ حَسَنَاتٍ، إِلَى سَبْعِمِائَةِ ضِعْفٍ، َّ :
“There is not a single act that a person would perform, so that for this one good deed ten rewards would not be recorded for him. And sometimes up to seven hundred good deeds are recorded for one.”
Allah (exalted and exalted is He) says:
إِلَّا الصِّيَامَ فَإِنَّهُ لِي، وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ،
“Except for fasting, for, truly, fasting is for Me.”
That is, this is such a sincere act in which there can be no show.
“It is for My sake. And I will reward him,” says Allah (pure and exalted is He).
The hadith was reported by al-Bukhari (1761), Muslim (1946).
We do not know what kind of reward Allah will give. This will be an incalculable reward.
يَدَعُ شَهْوَتَهُ وَطَعَامَهُ مِنْ أَجْلِي، ٌ
“My servant leaves his passion and food for My sake.”
، الصِّيَامُ جُنَّةٌ
“Fasting,” says the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), “is a shield.”
The hadith was reported by al-Bukhari (1894) and Muslim (1151).
That is, such a thing that protects a person from sins, and therefore protects a person from Hell.
لِلصَّائِمِ فَرْحَتَانِ : فَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ فِطْرِهِ، وَفَرْحَةٌ عِ نْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ، وَلَخُلُوفُ فَمِ الصَّائِمِ أَطْيَبُ عنْدَ ا للَّهِ مِنْ رِيحِ الْمِسْكِ
“And the fasting person has two joys: the first joy is during Iftar, and the second is when he meets his Lord on the Day of Judgment. And the bad smell from the mouth of a fasting person is more pleasing to Allah than the smell of musk.”
The hadith was narrated by al-Bukhari, Muslim, an-Nasai and this is his version.
O servants of Allah, do you know that in Paradise there are special gates, special doors called ar-Rayan, and no one will enter this gate except those who fast? That is, those people who fasted a lot. And when they enter these doors, they will close and no one else can enter them.
Do not think that these virtues apply only to fasting in the month of Ramadan. They concern not only mandatory, but also additional types of fasting.
Abu Umama says:
“I once asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “Command me to do something. I want to do something special. What should I do?” And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him:
عَلَيْكَ بِالصَّوْمِ ؛ فَإِنَّهُ لَا عَدْلَ لَهُ
“You must fast, because there is nothing equivalent to fasting.” Abu Umama said a second time: “Command me to do the deed, O Messenger of Allah.” “You must fast, because there is nothing equivalent to fasting,” the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told him for the second time. “O Messenger of Allah, order me to do something,” says Abu Umama for the third time. “You must fast, because there is nothing like fasting.” And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that whichever slave fasts one day in the path of Allah (pure and exalted is He), the Almighty will remove his face from Hellfire for seventy years.”
Hadith narrated by an-Nasai (2220).
Look at the position of this worship – fasting (syyam).
Know, O servants of Allah, that we are now in a time period when it is advisable to fast a lot, because now is the month of Sha’ban.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sought to fast during this month. And ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) – the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the mother of the faithful – said:
فَمَا رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اسْتَكْمَلَ صِيَامَ شَهْرٍ إِلَّا رَمَضَانَ، وَمَا رَأَيْتُهُ أَكْثَرَ صِيَامًا مِنْهُ فِي شَعْبَانَ
“I have not seen the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fast completely in any month, except for Ramadan. And I did not see him fasting as much in any month as in the month of Sha’ban.”
This hadith was reported by al-Bukhari (1969) and Muslim (1156).
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says:
أَحَبُّ الصَّوْمِ إِلَيْهِ فِي شَعْبَانَ
“The most favorite fast for him (the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was the fast in the month of Sha’ban.”
And ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says:
كَانَ يَصُومُ شَعْبَانَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا
“The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fasted throughout Sha’ban, except for a few days.”
In the hadiths that say that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fasted the entire month of Sha’ban, it is meant that he fasted almost the entire month, except for a few days. And for us, O servants of Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is a good example. Therefore, if we have the opportunity, we should hasten to use this month to fight our soul (nafs) and fast.
Firstly, seeking the reward of Allah (pure and exalted is He) and His pleasure.
Secondly, following the example of the best of people – the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Scholars have studied a lot about the question of why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fasted so much in this month. They give different reasons, but the correct and main reason is the one stated in the hadith.
Osama ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، لَمْ أَرَكَ تَصُومُ شَهْرًا مِنَ الشُّهُورِ مَا تَصُومُ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ.
“O Messenger of Allah, why do I see that in no other months do you fast as much as you fast in this month of Sha’ban?” And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
ذَلِكَ شَهْرٌ يَغْفُلُ النَّاسُ عَنْهُ بَيْنَ رَجَبٍ وَرَمَضَانَ، الْأَعْمَالُ إِلَى رَبِّ الْعَالَمِي نَ، فَأُحِبُّ أَنْ يُرْفَعَ عَمَلِي وَأَنَا صَائِمٌ
“Many people are careless about this month between Rajab and Ramadan and forget about it. And this is the month when the deeds of people rise to the Lord of the worlds. And I want that when my deeds ascend to Allah (pure and exalted is He), I will be fasting at that time.”
This hadith was reported by an-Nasai (2357).
Oh, servants of Allah, I want to draw your attention to two things.
Firstly, If someone has a debt from the past Ramadan, then they need to hurry. And this debt, that is, those days on which you did not fast during the past Ramadan, must be repaid before the next Ramadan, because postponing without a good reason the fast that a Muslim must observe and repay is prohibited (haram). I want to remind men, and even more so women, of this, because a woman needs a reminder: she is very often busy taking care of her husband and family. She may forget that she must make up for the fasting days of the past Ramadan. This is mandatory, unless, of course, a person has a good reason to postpone this post.
The second thing I want to draw your attention to, O servants of Allah. There is a hadith about the authenticity of which there is disagreement among scholars. It is said in the hadith:
إِذَا انْتَصَفَ شَعْبَانُ فَلَا تَصُومُوا
“When the middle of Sha’ban comes, do not fast.”
This hadith was reported by Abu Dawud (2337), at-Tirmidhi (738), and Ibn Majah (1651).
Scholars say that this means that if a person did not fast in the first half of Sha’ban, then it is not advisable for him to fast in the second half of Sha’ban. And if a person makes up for the days of obligatory fasting in the second half of Sha’ban (performs qad’a) or if he fasted in the first half of the month, then there is no problem if he fasts in the second half of Sha’ban.
Finally, there are hadiths that tell us about the dignity of the middle of Sha’ban, the middle night of Sha’ban, i.e. the 15th night of Sha’ban. It is said in the hadith:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَيَطَّلِعُ فِي لَيْلَةِ النِّصْفِ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ، فَيَغْفِرُ لِجَمِيعِ خَلْقِهِ إِلَّا لِمُشْرِكٍ أَوْ مُشَاحِنٍ
“Allah looks at all people on this night in the middle of Sha’ban and forgives all servants, except the one who commits polytheism (shirk), worships someone other than the Almighty (mushrik), and except the person who has a quarrel with his brother (and the relationship was broken due to some worldly issues with his brother (mushakhina)).”
Another version of the hadith says that Allah (pure and exalted is He) forgives everyone except the unbeliever until he accepts Islam; and except for a man who has some kind of hatred towards his brother, until he gives up this hatred.
This hadith was reported by Ibn Majah (1390) and a number of other muhaddis.
Indeed, there are hadiths about the dignity of this night, but this does not mean that there is some special worship on this night, that you need to stand up for some prayers, do some special night prayer (qiyam) or fast the day after this night. There is none of this. Moreover, there is no such thing to celebrate this night – the middle of Sha’ban, to gather in mosques all together, to organize some kind of celebration, collective worship. Neither the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) nor his companions did any of this. All that is said in the hadith is that Allah (pure and exalted is He) looks upon slaves and forgives everyone, except those who associate him with partners (does shirk), and except those who have a quarrel with his brothers. Reconcile with someone with whom you have a quarrel, but some special worship or fasting is an innovation (bid’ah).
And one last thing. Muslims are often taught the following prayer (du’a):
اللهم بارك لنا في رجب وشعبان و بلغنا رمضان
“O Allah, grant us grace in Rajab and Sha’ban and let us live until Ramadan.”
This du’a, although it is conveyed in a hadith, but this hadith is weak, this du’a is unreliable, therefore it is wrong to turn to Allah (pure and exalted is He) with such a du’a.
And then, know, O servants of Allah, that the most truthful word is the Book of Allah. The best path is the path of Muhammad. The worst of deeds is a religious innovation. Every innovation is a heresy (bid’a), and every bid’a leads to Hellfire.
We ask Allah (pure and exalted is He) to forgive us our sins, to forgive our parents, all believers, all Muslims and Muslim women.
