Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim, today’s topic of discussion is the Hadith about the Meaning, Virtues, and Namaz of Shab e Barat and many other things related to Shabe Barat.
What is the meaning of Shab e Barat?
Shab is a Persian word. It means night or night. The word Barat is also originally Persian. It means fate. The two words together will mean, fate-night.
Many people make the mistake of thinking that the word “barat” is Arabic because there is no word for “barat” in the Arabic language.
If the word Barat is considered a corruption of the Arabic word Baraat, then its meaning would be – severance or liberation. But this meaning is unacceptable here for several reasons:
1. Since the previous word is Persian, the word Barat will also be Persian, it is natural.
2. No one in the long tradition of the Arabic language has described the middle night of Sha’ban as the Night of Bara’at.
3. Some have named Laylatul Qadr in the month of Ramadan as Laylatul Bara’at, not the middle night of Sha’ban.
In Arabic, this night is called Laylatun Nisfi Min Sha’ban – the middle night of the month of Sha’ban.
The virtues of Shab-e-Barat
Some hadiths have been narrated about the virtues of the middle night of Sha’ban:
1. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
“One night I went out to look for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and found him in the remaining graveyard. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me, ‘Do you think that Allah and His Messenger will wrong you?’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! I thought that you had gone to another wife.’ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, ‘Allah descends to the nearest heaven on the night of Sha’ban and forgives more people than the wool on the flocks of the tribe of Kalb.’”
Imam Ahmad narrated the hadith in his Musnad (6/238), and Tirmidhi narrated it in his Sunan (2/121, 122) and said, “I heard Imam Bukhari call this hadith weak.” Similarly, Imam Ibn Majah narrated the hadith in his Sunan (1/444, hadith no. 1389). All the scholars of hadith agree that the chain of transmission of the hadith is weak.
2. It was narrated from Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“Allah Almighty comes at midnight in Sha’ban and forgives all of His creation, except for the polytheists and those who are involved in quarrels.” This hadith was narrated by Imam Ibn Majah in his Sunan (1/455, hadith no. 1390) and by al-Tabarani in his Mujam al-Kabir (20/107, 108).
Allamah Busiri said that the chain of transmission of the hadith narrated by Ibn Majah is weak. Regarding the hadith narrated by At-Tabarani, Allamah Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Majma’ad-Zawa’id (8/65): “All the narrators of the chain of transmission of the hadith narrated by At-Tabarani are strong.” Ibn Hibban also narrated the hadith in his Sahih. In this regard, see Mawareed al-Zam’an, Hadith No. 1980, p. 486.
3. It was narrated from Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“When the midnight of Sha’ban comes, then you should pray all night and fast that day, because on that day, at sunset, Allah descends to the lowest heaven and says, ‘Is there anyone who asks for forgiveness that I may forgive? Is there anyone who asks for sustenance that I may provide for, Is there anyone in trouble that I may seek refuge with? Is there anyone like that, Is there anyone like that?’ He continues to say this until dawn.”
The hadith was narrated by Imam Ibn Majah in his Sunan (1/444, hadith no. 1388). Allamah Bursiri (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book Jawaid Ibn Majah (2/10), that among the narrators of this hadith is Ibn Abi Subrah, who used to fabricate hadiths. Therefore, the hadith is fabricated.
From the above discussion, it is clear that all the hadiths narrated regarding the virtues of the midnight of Sha’ban are weak or fabricated, and therefore not acceptable.
The learned scholars agree that no ruling can be proven by weak hadiths. They have imposed several conditions for acting on weak hadiths. The conditions are as follows:
1. The main point of the hadith should not contradict any other authentic hadith but rather should be based on a sound foundation.
2. The hadith should not be accepted if it is completely weak or fabricated.
3. When acting upon the hadith, it is believed to be proven by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
It cannot be done because if one believes that it is proven by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), one will be guilty of lying to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and as a result, Hell will become inevitable.
4. The hadith must be about the virtues of an action. It cannot be about rulings (obligatory, recommended, forbidden, disliked), etc.
5. The Hadith can be relied upon in the case of a private act between a servant and his master. However, one cannot call upon another to act upon this Hadith.
If we examine the above hadiths in the light of these conditions, we see that the last hadith narrated by Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) among the above hadiths is fabricated. Therefore, acting upon it is not permissible according to the consensus of the scholars of the Ummah.
The first hadith is weak, and the second hadith is also weak according to most scholars, although some scholars have expressed the opinion that its narrators are strong. However, the strength of the narrator alone does not prove that the hadith is authentic.
In short: The first and second hadiths are weak. They are not very weak or fabricated. As such, there is some evidence that there is a virtue in this night.
It is from this source that many hadith scholars have expressed the opinion that the midnight of Sha’ban has virtues, among them are:
Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). [Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned it in his Iqtida’i Sirat al-Mustaqim (2/626)]
Imam Awzai (may Allah have mercy on him). [Imam Ibn Rajab narrated it from him in his book Latay-e-Ma’rif (p. 144)]
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) (Iqtida’i Sirat al-Mustaqim 2/626,627, Majmu Fatawa 23/123, 131, 133, 134)
Imam Ibn Rajab Al-Hambali (may Allah have mercy on him) (see his Lata’iful Ma’arif, p. 144)
The famous hadith scholar Allama Nasiruddin Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him). (Chilatul Ahadith As-Sahihah 3/135-139)
The above-mentioned hadith scholars and many others have expressed the opinion that this night is the night of virtue.
But if we read the first and second hadiths mentioned above, we will see that Allah Almighty descends to the nearest heaven and calls us to seek forgiveness – this is the statement presented in the two hadiths. It is clearly stated in the authentic hadiths that,
“Allah descends to the nearest heaven in the last third of every night and calls out: Is there anyone who calls upon Me and I will respond to his call? Is there anyone who asks Me for something and I will give it to him? Is there anyone who asks for My forgiveness and I will forgive him?” (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith No. 1145; Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 758)
So we do not see anything extra in these two hadiths. So we do not see any special merit of this night. That is why Shaykh Abdul Aziz Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) and many others have denied the extra virtue of this night.
What is the fate of this night?
No, this night is not the Night of Fortune. The reason behind calling this night the Night of Fortune is the misinterpretation of verses 3 and 4 of Surah Ad-Dukhan. That is:
“Indeed, We have sent it down (the Quran) on a blessed night; indeed, We are the warners; in it are decreed all matters of wisdom.” [Surah Ad-Dukhan, Verses 3-4]
In the interpretation of these two verses, most commentators say that this verse refers to the Night of Power in Ramadan. There are four names for Laylatul Qadr: 1. Laylatul Qadr, 2. Laylatul Bara’at, 3. Laylatussof 4. Laylatul Mubarakah. It is narrated only from Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said that this verse refers to the midnight of Sha’ban. This is an unacceptable narration.
Allama Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “In the verse in question, the blessed night refers to Laylatul Qadr, as Allah the Almighty says,
“We revealed this Quran on the Night of Decree.” [Surah Al-Qadr, verse: 1] Allah the Almighty also says,
“Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed.” [Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse: 185]
Whoever states that this night is the middle night of Sha’ban, as narrated from Ikrimah, has taken a very far-fetched view, because the clear statement of the Quran declares it to be in the month of Ramadan. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir (4/137))
Similarly, Allama Shawkani also expressed this opinion. (Tafsir Fathul Qadir (4/709)
So the lucky night is Laylatul Qadr, which is the odd-numbered night of the last ten days of Ramadan.
This also proves that although Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) disagreed with the interpretation of this verse, he did not name the night of the middle of Sha’ban as Laylatul Bara’at.
Acts of Shab e Barat
There are three opinions among scholars regarding the ruling on observing the midnight of Sha’ban:
1. It is permissible to perform prayers and other acts of worship in the congregation in the mosque on the middle night of Shaban. The famous Tabi’i Khalid ibn Midan and Luqman ibn Amir would wear beautiful clothes, apply perfume, and go to the mosque with people and pray on this night. This view has also been narrated by Imam Ishaq ibn Rahwiyyah. (Latayful Ma’rif, p. 144)
They did not present any evidence for their view. Allama Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said as evidence for their view: Various narrations came to them on this matter from the Israelites, that is, from the previous nations, and they acted according to them. However, various weak hadiths mentioned earlier will be used as their evidence.
2. It is permissible to perform individual worship at midnight in Sha’ban. Imam Awzai, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and Allama Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on them) hold this view.
Based on the general hadiths that describe the virtues of this night, they consider it permissible to worship individually in their opinion.
Third, such worship is completely an innovation, whether it is done individually or collectively. Imam Ata ibn Abi Rabah, Ibn Abi Mulaika, the jurists of Medina, the students of Imam Malik, and many others have held this view. Even Imam Awzai, who is famous as the Imam of Sham, i.e. the Syrians, has declared such worship in the mosque to be an innovation.
The argument in favor of their opinion is:
1. There is no clear evidence regarding the virtues of this night. It is not proven in the authentic hadith that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed any specific worship on this night. Similarly, nothing has been narrated by any of his companions. It has not been narrated by anyone except three of the Tabi’een.
Allama Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: There is no evidence that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or his companions prayed on the night of Sha’ban, although it has been narrated from some specific Tabi’een from Sham. (Latayyaful Ma’rif: 145)
Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Some weak hadiths are not permissible to rely on in describing the virtues of this night, and all the hadiths narrated about praying on this night are fabricated, and scholars have warned about this.
2. Hafiz Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him), who narrated from some of the Tabi’een that this night has virtues, said that the evidence for all of those Tabi’een was that they had some Israeli narrations about this.
So we see that the evidence for those who observed this night is that the Israeli narration came to them. Our question is: How can the Israeli narration be evidence for this ummah?
3. The contemporary eminent jurists and scholars of hadith from the Tabi’i from whom the news of celebrating this night has come have condemned their actions. Among those who condemned them is Imam Ata ibn Abi Rabah, who was the best mufti of his time, and about whom the companion Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Gather yourselves before me to ask questions, while you have Ibn Abi Rabah with you.”
So if there was any evidence in favor of those who celebrated that night, they would have certainly presented it against Ata ibn Abi Rabah and tried to prove the correctness of their actions, but it has not been proven that they did so.
4. It has been mentioned before that in all the weak hadiths that have mentioned the virtues of that night, only the revelation of Allah and forgiveness on that night have been proven, and nothing else has been mentioned. Allah Almighty calls for this revelation and seeks forgiveness every night. Which is not related to any specific night or night. Apart from this, there is no command to perform any additional worship in the weak hadiths either.
5. And those who have commented that it is permissible to perform acts of worship individually on this night have no evidence for their opinion because it is not narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or from any of his companions that they performed any form of worship on this night, either individually or collectively.
On the contrary, many general Shariah evidences prohibit setting aside this night for worship, including:
Allah says,
“This day I have perfected your religion for you.” [Surah Al-Ma’idah, verse: 3] The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
“Whoever innovates something in our religion that is not in it, it will be rejected.” (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith No. 2697)
He also said,
“Whoever does something for which there is no command in our religion, it is unacceptable.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 1718)
Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: And the opinion of Imam al-Awza’i (may Allah have mercy on him) who preferred individual worship on this night, and that of Hafiz ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him), is very surprising and rather weak; because it is not permissible for a Muslim to introduce something into the religion until it is proven permissible through the evidence of the Sharia. Whether he does it individually or collectively – in a group. Whether he does it secretly or openly. Because all the evidence that has come to deny and warn against innovation is generally against it. (At-Tahazir Minal Bid’ah: 13)
6. Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) also said: It is narrated in Sahih Muslim from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Do not single out the night of Friday for prayer or other prayers, and do not single out the day of Friday for fasting, except when it happens to fall on a day when someone is fasting.” (Muslim, Hadith No. 1144, 148) If it were permissible to single out any night for worship, then it would have been permissible to single out the night of Friday for worship, because the hadith about the virtue of Friday states:
“The best of the days on which the sun rises is Friday.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 584). So since the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade setting aside Friday for prayer, it is not permissible to set aside other nights for worship. However, if there is clear evidence regarding a particular night, that is a different matter. And since it is permissible to stand up and pray on Laylatul Qadr and the nights of Ramadan, there are clear Hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) regarding these nights.
Shab e Barat Namaz
The practice of reciting Surah Qulhu Wallah (Surah Ikhlas) ten times in each rak’ah of one hundred rak’ahs of prayer at midnight in Sha’ban is completely an innovation.
History of Shab e Barat Namaz
This prayer was first introduced in the year 448 AH. A man named Ibn Abil Hamra from the city of Nablus in Palestine came to Baitul Muqaddas. His recitation was melodious. When he stood up for prayer at midnight in Sha’ban, a man stood behind him, then a third man joined him, then a fourth man. Before he could finish the prayer, a large group of people came and joined him.
The following year, many joined him and prayed. This established the practice of praying in Masjid al-Aqsa. Over time, this prayer became so common that many began to consider it a Sunnah. (Tartusi, Hawadis wa Bid’ah, pp. 121, 122, Ibn Kathir, Bid’ah wan Nihaya 14/247, Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Manar al-Munif, pp. 19)
Rules for Shab e Barat Namaz
According to tradition, the method of this prayer is to recite Surah Ikhlas ten times in each rak’ah, after Surah Fatiha, for a total of one hundred rak’ahs of prayer, so that Surah Ikhlas is recited 1000 times. (Ehyaye Ulumuddin 1/203)
This type of prayer is a complete innovation. Because the description of this type of prayer has not been mentioned in any book of hadith. The hadiths that are mentioned in some books about it have not been mentioned in any book of hadith. And so Allama Ibn al-Jawzi (Mawdu’at 1/127-130), Hafiz al-Iraqi (Takhreezul-Ihya), Imam Nawawi (Al-Majmu’ 4/56), Allama Abu Shammah (Al-Bays p. 32-36), Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, (Iqtida’i Siratul-Ikhlas)
Mustaqeem 2/628), Allama Ibn Arraq (Tanzihush Shari’ah 2/92), Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, Allama Suyuti (Al-Amr Bil Ittaba p. 81, Al-La’alil Masnu’a 2/57), Allama Shawkani (Fawa’idul Majmu’a p. 51) and many others have declared these to be “fabricated hadiths”.
Ruling on the Shab e Barat Namaz
According to the scholars who have the right knowledge, this type of prayer is an innovation; because the Messenger of Allah did not pray this type of prayer, nor did any of his caliphs, nor did the companions pray this type of prayer. None of the Imams, namely Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafi’i, Ahmad, Thawri, Awza’i, La’is, and others, prayed this type of prayer or advised people to pray it. The hadiths that some people mention in describing this type of prayer are fabricated according to the consensus of the scholars of the Ummah. (For this, see: Ibn Taymiyyah Majmu’l Fatawa 23/131, 133, 134, Iqtida’i Sirat al-Mustaqim 2/628, Abu Shamah: Al-Bayth pp. 32-36, Rashid Rida: Fatawa 1/28, Ali Mahfuz, Ibda’ pp. 286, 288, Ibn Baz: Attaha’ir Minal Bid’a pp. 11-16)
Fasting on Shab e Barat Namaz
Answer: It is proven in many authentic hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he used to fast the most in the month of Sha’ban. (For this, see: Sahih Bukhari, Hadith No. 1969, 1970, Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 1156, 1161, Musnad Ahmad 6/188, Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith No. 2431, Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, Hadith No. 2077, Sunan Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 657)
Therefore, if someone fasts in the month of Sha’ban, it will be Sunnah. Fasting any day except the last day of Sha’ban is permissible and rewarding. However, when fasting, one should remember that since the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fasted in the month of Sha’ban, one is following his example.
Or if someone has a rule to fast on the days of the month, i.e., the 13th, 14th, and 15th of the month, he can also fast. But fasting only on the 15th of Shaban would be an innovation because there is no basis for this fast in Sharia.
May Allah grant us the ability to follow in the perfect footsteps of His Messenger. Amen!
Note: If it were permissible to celebrate or observe the midnight of Sha’ban, then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would have informed us about it. Or he would have done it. And if he had done something like that, the Companions would have narrated it to the Ummah.
They were the best people in the world after the Prophets, the most admonishers, they did not hide anything. (At-Tahazir Minal-Bida’ 15, 16) Based on the above discussion, we know from the Quran, Hadith, and the sayings of the accepted scholars that celebrating the midnight of Sha’ban, whether through prayer or any other act of worship, is the most heinous innovation according to most scholars. It has no basis in the Sharia. Rather, it began only after the era of the Companions. Sufficient for those who want to follow the truth is what Allah and His Messenger have commanded in religion.
