Shab-e-Barat in the Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah
Allah the Exalted said:
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا۟ بِٱلْأَزْلَـٰمِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ۗ ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِ ۚ ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًۭا ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ فِى مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍۢ لِّإِثْمٍۢ ۙ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ٣
Prohibited for you are: carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, and those upon which (a name) other than that of Allah has been invoked (at the time of slaughter), animal killed by strangulation, or killed by a blow, or by a fall, or by goring, or that which is eaten by a beast unless you have properly slaughtered it; and that which has been slaughtered before the idols, and that you determine shares through the arrows. (All of) this is sin. Today those who disbelieve have lost all hope of (damaging) your faith. So, do not fear them, and fear Me. Today, I have perfected your religion for you, and have completed My blessing upon you, and chosen Islam as Dīn (religion and a way of life) for you. But whoever is compelled by extreme hunger, having no inclination towards sin, then Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful. (5:3)
At another place, Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:
أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَـٰٓؤُا۟ شَرَعُوا۟ لَهُم مِّنَ ٱلدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَنۢ بِهِ ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَلَوْلَا كَلِمَةُ ٱلْفَصْلِ لَقُضِىَ بَيْنَهُمْ ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ ٢١
Is it that they have associate-gods who have prescribed for them a religion that is not sanctioned by Allah? Had it not been for a decisive word, the matter would have been decided between them (here in this world). And of course, for the wrongdoers there is a painful punishment (in the Hereafter). (42:21)
It is narrated from Sayyidah Aisha (رضي الله عنها) that the Noble Prophet (ﷺ) said:
حَدَّثَنَا يَعْقُوبُ، حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنِ الْقَاسِمِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ قَالَتْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ مَنْ أَحْدَثَ فِي أَمْرِنَا هَذَا مَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ فَهُوَ رَدٌّ ”. رَوَاهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ الْمَخْرَمِيُّ وَعَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ بْنُ أَبِي عَوْنٍ عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ.
Narrated Aisha: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “If somebody innovates something which is not in harmony with the principles of our religion, that thing is rejected.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (رضي الله عنه) that the Noble Prophet (ﷺ) used to say in his Friday sermon:
وَعَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ رَضِيَ اَللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: { كَانَ رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ - صلى الله عليه وسلم -إِذَا خَطَبَ, احْمَرَّتْ عَيْنَاهُ, وَعَلَا صَوْتُهُ, وَاشْتَدَّ غَضَبُهُ, حَتَّى كَأَنَّهُ مُنْذِرُ جَيْشٍ يَقُولُ: صَبَّحَكُمْ وَمَسَّاكُمْ, وَيَقُولُ: “أَمَّا بَعْدُ, فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ اَلْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اَللَّهِ, وَخَيْرَ اَلْهَدْيِ هَدْي ُ 1 مُحَمَّدٍ, وَشَرَّ اَلْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ } 2 رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ.
1 - وضبطت في “أ”، بضم الهاء، وفتح الدال، وهو كذلك في “الصحيح”.
2 - وقول النووي -ومن تابعه ممن أخرج البلوغ- بأن قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم: “وكل بدعة ضلالة” هو من العام المخصوص، لا دليل عليه، وانظر “اقتضاء الصراط المستقيم” لشيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية رحمه الله.Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah (RA): Whenever Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) delivered a Khutbah (religious talk), his eyes would become red, his voice rose and his anger would become intensified, as if he (ﷺ) was like one warning an army and saying, “The enemy has made a morning attack on you. The enemy has made an evening attack on you.” He (ﷺ) would also say “Amma ba’du, the best of speech is embodied in the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. And the most evil of affairs are their innovations and every innovation is misguidance.” (Bulugh al-Maram)
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مَنِيعٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ هَارُونَ، أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَجَّاجُ بْنُ أَرْطَاةَ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ فَقَدْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَيْلَةً فَخَرَجْتُ فَإِذَا هُوَ بِالْبَقِيعِ فَقَالَ ” أَكُنْتِ تَخَافِينَ أَنْ يَحِيفَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكِ وَرَسُولُهُ ” . قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّكَ أَتَيْتَ بَعْضَ نِسَائِكَ . فَقَالَ ” إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَنْزِلُ لَيْلَةَ النِّصْفِ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا فَيَغْفِرُ لأَكْثَرَ مِنْ عَدَدِ شَعْرِ غَنَمِ كَلْبٍ ” . وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقِ . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى حَدِيثُ عَائِشَةَ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ مِنْ حَدِيثِ الْحَجَّاجِ . وَسَمِعْتُ مُحَمَّدًا يُضَعِّفُ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ وَقَالَ يَحْيَى بْنُ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ مِنْ عُرْوَةَ وَالْحَجَّاجُ بْنُ أَرْطَاةَ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ مِنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ .
Aishah narrated: “I could not find the Messenger of Allah one night. So I left and found him at Al-Baqi. He said: ‘Did you fear that you had been wronged by Allah and His Messenger?’ I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I thought that you had gone to one of your wives.’ So he said: ‘Indeed Allah, Mighty and Sublime is He, descends to the lowest Heavens during the night of the middle of Sha’ban, to grant forgiveness to more than the number of hairs on the sheep of (Banu) Kalb.'” (Jami` at-Tirmidhi)
The weakness of this hadith has been stated by Imam Tirmidhi himself, and all other scholars of hadith have also declared this narration to be weak.
Third Evidence:
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
وَعَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ” إِذَا كَانَتْ لَيْلَةُ النِّصْفِ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ فَقُومُوا لَيْلَهَا وَصُومُوا يَوْمَهَا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَنْزِلُ فِيهَا لِغُرُوبِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا فَيَقُولُ: أَلَا مِنْ مُسْتَغْفِرٍ فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ؟ أَلَا مُسْتَرْزِقٌ فَأَرْزُقَهُ؟ أَلَا مُبْتَلًى فَأُعَافِيَهُ؟ أَلَا كَذَا أَلَا كَذَا حَتَّى يطلع الْفجْر “. رَوَاهُ ابْن مَاجَه
‘Ali reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When the middle night of Sha’ban comes, spend the night in prayer and fast during the day, for in it God most high comes down at sunset to the lowest heaven and says, ‘Is there no one who asks forgiveness so that I may forgive him ? Is there no one who asks provision so that I may provide him? Is there no one afflicted so that I may relieve him? Is there not such and such? Is there not such and such?’ till the dawn comes.” Ibn Majah transmitted it. (Mishkat al-Masabih)
Fourth Evidence:
وَعَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى الْأَشْعَرِيِّ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَيَطَّلِعُ فِي لَيْلَةِ النِّصْفِ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ فَيَغْفِرُ لِجَمِيعِ خَلْقِهِ إِلَّا لِمُشْرِكٍ أَوْ مُشَاحِنٍ» . رَوَاهُ ابْن مَاجَه
وَرَوَاهُ أَحْمَدُ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ وَفِي رِوَايَته: «إِلَّا اثْنَيْنِ مُشَاحِن وَقَاتل نفس»Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God most high looks down on the middle night of Sha’ban and forgives all His creatures, except a polytheist or one who is hostile.”
Ibn Majah transmitted it, and Ahmad transmitted it from ‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As. His version has, “except two, one who is hostile and a murderer.” (Mishkat al-Masabih)
In this hadith, one narrator, Abdul Rahman bin Azrab, is unknown (i.e., his condition is not known), and another narrator, Al-Dahhak bin Ayman, is also unknown.
(Taqrib, page 590)
Then why do some scholars mention the virtue of the fifteenth night of Sha‘ban?
Here an important principle of Hadith is mentioned:
A weak hadith, if:
- It is not severely weak,
- It is narrated through multiple routes,
- It does not contradict any authentic principle,
then it is considered acceptable in matters of virtuous deeds (Fada’il al-A‘mal).
On this basis, some scholars of hadith said that:
Overall, there is some basis for the virtue of the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘ban, although no single narration alone is strong enough to be used as proof.
Shab-e-Barat in the View of the Imams and Early Scholars
Allama Shawkani (رحمه الله) said:
The hadith reported by Ibn Hibban from Sayyiduna Ali (رضي الله عنه) that when the fifteenth night of Sha‘ban comes, pray during its night and fast during its day — is weak.
Allama Shawkani further said:
The narration reported in Musnad Daylami and others about praying one hundred rak‘ahs on the fifteenth night of Sha‘ban and reciting Surah Al-Ikhlas ten times in each rak‘ah, along with its many virtues, is fabricated (mawdu‘). This hadith is reported through three chains, and in all three chains most of its narrators are unknown or weak. Similarly, the narration about reciting Surah Al-Ikhlas thirty times in twelve rak‘ahs is fabricated, and the narration mentioning reciting it fourteen times is also fabricated.
(Al-Mukhtasar by Al-Shawkani)
Imam Nawawi (رحمه الله) wrote in his book Al-Majmu‘:
“The prayer known as Salat al-Ragha’ib, which is performed between Maghrib and Isha on the first Friday of Rajab as twelve rak‘ahs, and the prayer of the fifteenth night of Sha‘ban in which one hundred rak‘ahs are prayed — both of these prayers are innovations and against the Shari‘ah.”
Allama Ibn Baz (رحمه الله) said:
“Among the innovations introduced by people is celebrating the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘ban and specifying that day for fasting. There is no reliable evidence for this. Some hadiths regarding its virtue have been reported, but they are not reliable. Whatever has been reported regarding praying on this night is all fabricated, as many scholars have pointed this out. Some reports are also narrated from some of the early scholars of Sham and others, but the matter upon which the majority of scholars agree is that celebrating this night is an innovation, and all the hadiths reported regarding its virtue are weak, and some are fabricated. Among the scholars who pointed this out is Hafiz Ibn Rajab. He mentioned in his book Lata’if al-Ma‘arif and elsewhere that weak hadiths may only be acted upon in matters of worship when there is some basis for them established by authentic evidence. However, there is no basis at all for celebrating the fifteenth night, so weak hadiths cannot be accepted as evidence for this matter.”
Allama Ibn Rajab (رحمه الله) said:
“There is no hadith regarding the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘ban and its virtue that is reliable, nor is there any authentic hadith regarding the decree of deaths being decided or changed on this night. Therefore, you should not pay any attention at all to these unreliable narrations.”
The Practice of the Early Pious Generations (Salaf al-Salihin)
Among the Tabi‘in, some scholars (for example, Makhul and Khalid bin Ma‘dan) used to perform individual worship on this night, but collective worship, illuminations, and specific prescribed prayers are not proven from the Salaf.
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) said:
“Multiple reports have been narrated regarding the virtue of the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘ban; therefore, performing individual worship on this night is permissible, but innovations are not permissible.”
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