Merits of Sha’bān and the Prayer of at-Tasābeeh
[Translated from the chapter on Sha'bān in the book Nuzhat al-Majālis wa Muntakhab an-Nafā'is by the Shaykh 'Abdur Rahmān as-Saffūriy. Translation by Ahmed Nibras and Hasbullah Shafi'iy]
The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم is reported to have said that whoever performs twelve rak’ahs in the first night of Sha’bān, by reciting Fātihah followed by Qul Huwa Allāhu Ahad 5 times in the first rak’ah, Allah will give him the reward of twelve-thousand martyrs and purify him from his bad deeds so that he becomes sinless as he was when his mother gave birth to him and no sinful deed will be written for him for (the next) eighty days. I saw in the book al-Baraka that the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم is reported to have said, “Whoever fasts the first and the last Thursdays of Sha’bān, it will be upon Allah to make him enter the Garden, and the last Thursday is for the one who is accustomed to regular fasting.
Ā’ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: Sha’bān was the most beloved month to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم . He also said, صلى الله عليه و سلم, “Sha’bān is a Junnatun Min an-Nār – Protection from Hell fire, so whoever wishes to meet me, let him fast in it, even if it is only for three days.” Some of the scholars said the word Junnatun, with Dhamma over the Jeem, refers to what protects you and covers you from what you fear. The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم also said, Sha’bān is my month and Ramadān is the month of my Ummah. Sha’ban is Mukaffir (the absolver of sins) and Ramadān is Mutahhir (the purifier of hearts).
Usama Bin Zaid (Allah is well pleased with him) said – “I said (to the Prophet): O Messenger of Allah, I have seen you fasting in the month of Sha’bān more than you fast in any other month except in the month of Ramadān.” He said, “This is a month which people tend to neglect because it is in between Rajab and Ramadān, while the deeds of people are raised to Allah in it, and I love that my deeds are raised while I am fasting.”
On the authority of Anas (Allah is well pleased with him) who said, “The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم was asked about the most virtuous fasting. He replied, “The fast of Sha’ban (with the intention to) exalt Ramadān.”
And it is narrated that he صلى الله عليه و سلم also said, “Purify your bodies by fasting in Sha’ban in preparation for the fasts of Ramadān. There is no servant of Allah who fasts in Sha’bān and recites plenty of salawāt on me before breaking his fast except that Allah will forgive him his sins which he had committed before and Jibreel informed me that Allah opens in this month (of Sha’bān) three hundered doors of Rahmah.”
And it is also narrated that he said, صلى الله عليه و سلم, “Do you know why this month is called Sha’bān?” We replied, “Allah and his Messenger know best.” He said, “It is because so much of good multiply and spread in it.”
Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم was asked about the best (days of) fasting after Ramadān, and he said, “Sha’bān.”
The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم is reported to have said, “The greatness of Rajab over other months is like the greatness of the Qur’ān over all other speech. The greatness of Sha’bān over all other months is like my merit over the rest of mankind. And the greatness of Ramadān over all other months, is like Allah’s greatness over all His creation.”
And he صلى الله عليه و سلم also said, “Whoever fasts a day in Sha’bān, Allah will forbid his body from hell fire and he will be a companion of Yusuf عليه السلام in the Gardens and Allah will grant him the reward of Ayub and Dawud (عليهما السلام), and if he fasts the entire month, Allah will ease for him the pangs of death (sakarāt al-maut) and guard him against the darkness of the grave, and that is (when the angels) Munkar and Nakeer (come), and Allah will cover his ‘awrah (nakedness) on the Day of Judgement.”
Abu Hurairah, رضي الله عنه, reported that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Jibreel came to me on the night of the middle of Sha’ban (fifteenth night) and said, ‘O Muhmmad, raise your head to the sky!’ So I said, ‘What (special) night is this?’ He (Jibreel then) said to me, ‘This is the night that Allah opens three hundred doors from amongst the doors of Rahmah; in it Allah forgives all (the sins) of one who does not commit shirk (associate partners with Allah), except if he is a magician, a soothsayer, one frequent in zina and one given to intoxicants.”
And he صلى الله عليه وسلم also said, “Allah looks upon His creation on the fifteenth night of Shabaan and forgives all of His creation except the one who commits shirk and the Mushāhin,” i.e. one who is quarrelsome and harsh towards his Muslim brother.
He صلى الله عليه وسلم also said – “When it is the fifteenth night of Shabaan, stand in prayer during the night and fast its day because verily Allah says, ‘Is there not one seeking forgiveness for Me to forgive? Is there not one afflicted for Me to grant relief? Is there not one seeking sustenance for Me to provide?” So He keeps saying Is there not such and such until the light of Fajr.”
In the book al-Baraka, it is mentioned that the Jinn, the birds, the predatory animals, and the fish in the oceans fast on the fifteenth day of Sha’bān.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Whoever keeps his vigil (in worship) on the night of Eid and the night of the fifteenth of Shabaan, he will not die on the Day of Judgement when hearts will be dead”.
It is mentioned in al-Iqnaa’ that Jibreel came down to meet the Prophet on the night of Baraa’ah (15th night of Sha’bān) and said, “O Muhmmad, exert yourself in this night because in this night needs are fulfilled,” so the Prophet exerted himself standing (in prayer). Then Jibreel came a second time and said, “O Muhmmad, give good news to your Ummah, because Allah has forgiven everyone from your Ummah who do not commit shirk.” He then said, “Raise your head.” When the Prophet raised his head, he saw the gates of the Garden (jannah), and in another narration, the gates of the sky (samā), were open. At the first gate was an angel calling out, “Blessed are those who do rukū (bow) in this night.” At the second gate was an angel calling out, “Blessed are those who do sujūd in this night.” At the third gate was an angel calling out, “Blessed are those who make du’ā in this night. At the fourth gate was an angel calling out, “Blessed are those who weep in awe of Allah in this night.” At the fifth gate was an angel calling out, “Blessed are those who perform good deeds in this night”. At the sixth gate was an angel calling “Is there anyone who asks, that he will be given what he asks for?” At the seventh gate was an angel calling “Is there one who seeks forgiveness that he will be forgiven?” Then I said, “O Jibreel, how long will these doors be open? He said to me, “Until the light of Fajr.” He then said that Allah Ta’ala said that it is a night of salvation from the fire for as much as the number of hair on the sheep of the tribe of Kalb.
It is said in Raud al-Afkar – Isa عليه السلام passed by a mountain and saw that there was a white rock, so he went around it and was astonished by it. So Allah revealed to him: “Do you wish to know about what has astounded you?” Isa said, “Yes.” The rock split and a man came out with a green stick in his hand. A grape tree was with him, and he said, “This is my everyday sustenance.” Isa said to him, “How long have you been worshipping Allah in this rock?” He said, “Since four hundred years ago.” Isa then said, “O my Lord, I do not think there is anyone in Your creation more virtuous than him.” Then Allah said to him, “Whoever from the Ummah of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم performs two Raka’ahs on the fifteenth night of Sha’bān has more virtue than this man’s worship of four hundred years.” Then Isa said: “I wish I had been from the Ummah of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم.”
Shaykh Abdul Azīz ad-Durayni (more widely known as ad-Dīrīnī), Allah is well pleased with him, said: And amongst what the people who were righteous carefully observed was the Salātu at-Tasābeeh. It is mentioned in the Raud al-Afkār that it is observed after the sun passes the meridian and just before the salāt of az-Zuhr.
As for how it is performed, it is narrated by ‘Ikrimah from Ibn Abbās that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to ‘Abbās “O uncle, shall I not award you, grant you, show you ten which if you do, Allah will forgive all your sins, the first sin and the last, the old and the recent sins, sins committed intentionally, mistakes, done in secret and in public? It is that you should perform four rak’ahs and recite in each rak’ah the Fātihah (once as usual) and Surah al-Ikhlās four times. [It is reported in Raud al-Afkār that (the surahs that should be recited in this prayer should be from the Musabbihāt, that is, Surah al-Hadeed or al-Hashr, or as-Saff, or al-Jumu’ah, or at-Taghābun] When you complete it’s recitation you say سبحان الله والحمد لله ولا إله إلا الله والله أكبر (Subhān Allahi Wal Hamdulillāhi Walā Ilāha Illallāhu Wallāhu Akbar) fifteen times. Then you go to Rukū’ (the bowing position) and say it ten times while in Rukū’, and ten times when you get up after the Rukū’. Then when you go to sujood, you say it ten times in that position and when you raise your head from sujood, you say it ten more times. Then when you do the second sujood, you say it ten times, and when you raise your head, you say it ten times again (in the sitting posture) before you stand up (for the next rak’ah), and like this, it would add up to seventy-five tasbeeh in each rak’ah.”
It is mentioned in at-Targheeb wat-Tarheeb that if one does this prayer at night, one ends the prayer with salām (i.e divides the prayer with Tashahhud and salām) after every two rak’ahs, and if one does this prayer at noon, he has the option to divide it like this or to combine it and give salām (at the end of the fourth rak’ah while reciting the lesser tashahhud at the end of the second rak’ah as one usually does for the salats of az-Zuh and al-Asr and al-‘Ishā and then getting up for the third rak’ah without giving salām). Yes, I have seen in the commentary of al-Muhadh-dhab that the better thing to do is to conclude the prayer with salam after every two rak’ahs and this was the position of Mālik and Ahmad, based on the saying of the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم , “The (supererogatory) prayer of (both) the night and the day are two by two.” It is recorded by Abū Dāwūd with a Saheeh chain.
It is mentioned in the book al-Barakah the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said, “Whoever performs twelve rak’ahs in the night of the fifteenth of Sha’bān, by reciting in each rak’ah Surah al-Ikhlās ten times after Surah al-Fātihah, his evil deeds will be erased and he will be blessed with a long life.
Allah has made it (the fifteenth night of Sha’bān) the Barā’ah because it is a night for judgement and His decisions (the Decree), during which Allah extends the decreed moments (extends life) and deeds are raised to him.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said: "Allah rains down goodness in abundance on four nights: the fifteenth night of Sha’ban, the night of al-Fitr (night of 1st Shawwāl), the night of al-Adhā (10th Dhul-Hijjah) and the night of ‘Arafah (9th Dhul-Hijjah), whereas He hid the night of al-Qadr because it is a night of special mercy and salvation from Hell fire and so it was hidden lest the people rely (only) upon it.
An-Nasafi, may Allah have mercy on his soul, explained: “Laylatul Qadr is hidden so that people strive the entire month for it and similar is the case of the special moment when du’ās are answered on the day of Jumu’ah. Allah also hid His greatest name (al-ism al-a’zam) so that we may call Him by all His beautiful names, and Allah hides the Waliy (His friend) so that no one will look down upon any of the believers.”
The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said, “Allah has hidden three things in three things: His Pleasure in the acts of obedience to Him so that you do not belittle any act of obedience (comparing it with another act of obedience), His anger in the acts of disobedience to Him, so that you do not belittle any act of disobedience to Him, and He has hidden his Waliy (or saint) in His creations so that you do not belittle any creation of Allah.
Ka’b al-Ahbār, Allah is well pleased with him, said: “On the fifteenth night of Sha’bān, Allah sends Jibreel to the Garden and commands it to be beautified and He would say: ‘Allah emancipates (HIS creation) in this night of yours as much as the number of stars in the sky and as much as the number of days and nights alter in the world.’”
‘Ataa bin Yasār said: “After Laylat al-Qadr, the best of nights is the night of the fifteenth of Sha’bān because it is from amongst the nights in which prayers are answered.”
Note: Sha’bān has five letters. ش ع ب ا ن. Sheen is for ash-Sharaf – honor. The second (‘ain) is for al-‘Uluw – great heights. The third (Baa) is for al-Birr – kindness. The fourth (alif) is for Al-Ulfah – affinity or harmony. The fifth (nūn) is for an-Nūr – Light. Allah grants these to His servants in this month.
Issue of discussion: It is prohibited for one to fast after the fifeteenth of Sha’bān except for those who are accustomed to continuous fasting, this is based on the Saheeh transmission recorded by at-Tirmidhiy, in which the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم is reported to have said, “When half of Sha’bān has passed, do not fast until Ramadān arrives.” Imam Mālik said (as a commentary on this) that it is recommended (not to fast). There is a hadīth in al-Bukhāri from ‘Āishah, Allah is well pleased with her, who reported, “I did not see the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم fasting completely in any month other than in Ramadan and I did not see him fasting most in any month more than in Sha’bān.” It is also mentioned in the Saheeh that ‘Āishah, Allah is well pleased with her, reported that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam “used to fast all of the month of Sha’bān.” So the Jam’ (method of reconciling hadiths appearing to give different rulings) of the two narrations is that “all of it” means “most of it.”
It is written in the Tourah: Whoever says in Sha’bān لا إله إلا الله ولا نعبد إلا إياه مخلصين له الدين ولو كره الكافرون (La ilāha Illallāhu Wa Lā Na’budu Illā Iyyāhu Mukhliseena Lahu-deena Walaw Karihal Kafirūn), Allah will write for him the Ibādah (deeds of worship) of one thousand years and erase the equivalent of a thousand years of sins for him. When he is resurrected from his grave (on the Day of Judgement) his face will be like the full moon and his name will be written among the friends of Allah and Allah knows best.