TWO IMPORTANT FATWAS REGARDING 15TH OF SHABAAN(SHAB-E-BARAAT ) !!

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Laylat al-Nusf min Sha�baan (the middle of Sha�baan)(SHAB-E-BARAAT) should not be

singled out for worship

Question 1 : I read in a book that fasting on the middle of Sha�baan is a kind of

bid�ah, but in another book I read that one of the days on which it is mustahabb to
fast is the middle of Sha�baan� what is the definitive ruling on this?

Answer 1: Praise be to Allaah.

There is no saheeh marfoo� report that speaks of the virtue of the middle of
Sha�baan that may be followed, not even in the chapters on al-Fadaa�il (chapters
on virtues in books of hadeeth etc.). Some maqtoo� reports (reports whose isnaads
do not go back further than the Taabi�een) have been narrated from some of the
Taabi�een, and there are some ahaadeeth, the best of which are mawdoo� (fabricated)
or da�eef jiddan (very weak). These reports became very well known in some
countries which were overwhelmed by ignorance; these reports suggest that people�s
lifespans are written on that day or that it is decided on that day who is to die
in the coming year. On this basis, it is not prescribed to spend this night in
prayer or to fast on this day, or to single it out for certain acts of worship. One
should not be deceived by the large numbers of ignorant people who do these things.
And Allaah knows best.

Shaykh Ibn Jibreen.

If a person wants to pray qiyaam on this night as he does on other nights �

without doing anything extra or singling this night out for anything � then that is
OK. The same applies if he fasts the day of the fifteenth of Sha�baan because it
happens to be one of the ayyaam al-beed, along with the fourteenth and thirteenth
of the month, or because it happens to be a Monday or Thursday. If the fifteenth
(of Sha�baan) coincides with a Monday or Thursday, there is nothing wrong with that
(fasting on that day), so long as he is not seeking extra reward that has not been
proven (in the saheeh texts). And Allaah knows best.

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

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Should he fast on the fifteenth of Sha�baan even if the hadeeth is da'eef?

Question 2 : s it permissible, even after finding out that a hadeeth is da�eef

(weak), to follow it, by way of doing righteous deeds? The hadeeth says: �When it
is halfway through Sha�baan, spend that night in prayer and fast on that day.� The
fast is observed as a voluntary act of devotion to Allaah, as is spending that
night in prayer (qiyaam al-layl).

Answer 2 : Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:
What is narrated concerning the virtue of praying, fasting and worshipping on the
fifteenth of Sha�baan (al-nusf min Sha�baan) does not come under the heading of
da�eef (weak), rather it comes under the heading of mawdoo� (fabricated) and baatil
(false). So it is not permissible to follow it or to act upon it, whether that is
in doing righteous deeds or otherwise.

A number of scholars ruled that the reports concerning that were false, such as Ibn
al-Jawzi in his book al-Mawdoo�aat, 2/440-445; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah in al-Manaar
al-Muneef, no. 174- 177; Abu Shaamah al-Shaafa�i in al-Baa�ith �ala Inkaar al-Bida�
wa�l-Hawaadith, 124-137; al-�Iraaqi in Takhreej Ihyaa� �Uloom il-Deen, no. 582.
Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] narrated that there was consensus on the fact that
they are false, in Majmoo� al-Fataawa, 28/138.

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Hukm al-Ihtifaal bi Laylat
al-Nusf min Sha�baan (Ruling on celebrating the fifteenth of Sha�baan):

Celebrating the night of the fifteenth of Sha�baan (Laylat al-Nusf min Sha�baan) by
praying etc, or singling out this day for fasting, is a reprehensible bid�ah
(innovation) according to the majority of scholars, and there is no basis for this
in sharee�ah.

And he (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

There is no saheeh hadeeth concerning the night of the fifteenth of Sha�baan

(Laylat al-Nusf min Sha�baan). All the ahaadeeth that have been narrated concerning
that are mawdoo� (fabricated) and da�eef (weak), and have no basis. There is
nothing special about this night, and no recitation of Qur�aan or prayer, whether
alone or in congregation, is specified for this night. What some of the scholars
have said about it being special is a weak opinion. It is not permissible to single
it out for any special actions. This is the correct view. And Allaah is the Source
of strength.

Fataawa Islamiyyah, 4/511.

See also question no. 8907.

Secondly:

Even if we assume that the hadeeth is da�eef (weak) and not mawdoo� (fabricated),
the correct scholarly view is that weak ahaadeeth should not be followed at all,
even if they speak of righteous deeds or of targheeb and tarheeb (promises and
warnings). The saheeh reports are sufficient and the Muslim has no need to follow
the da�eef reports. Nothing is known in Islam to suggest that this night or day is
special, either from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or
from his companions.

The scholar Ahmad Shaakir said: There is no difference between rulings or righteous
deeds; we do not take any of them from da�eef reports, rather no one hast he right
to use any report as evidence unless it is proven to be soundly narrated from the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in a saheeh or
hasan hadeeth.

Al-Baa�ith al-Hatheeth, 1/278.

For more information, see: al-Qawl al-Muneef fi Hukm al-�Aml bi�l-Hadeeth al-
Da�eef.

See also the answer to question no. 44877.

And Allaah knows best.