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The fasting of the Prophet ﷺ in Sha’ban
The rank of Sha’ban among the months
The link between the fast of Sha’ban and the fast of Dawud عليه السلام
Reasons for the Prophet’s ﷺ frequent fasting in Sha’ban
Worship in Sha’ban when the people are heedless
Other reported wisdoms for fasting in Sha’ban
Completing the three days fast of each month
Making up missed Ramadan fasts in Sha’ban
Sha’ban as preparation and training for Ramadan
A final encouragement for Sha’ban
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The fasting of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the year, the week and the months
The fasting of the Prophet ﷺ on the days of the week
The fasting of the Prophet ﷺ in the months of the year and the virtue of Sha’ban
Summary
The fasting of the Prophet ﷺ in Sha’ban
Sha’ban is described as the month in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to fast more than in any month apart from Ramadan. He never completed any month with fasting besides Ramadan, but he would fast most of Sha’ban so that it was said that he fasted all of it. (Bukhari 1971; Muslim 1157; Nasai 4/199)
Sayyidah Aishah رضي الله عنها and Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها both mention that he fasted Sha’ban almost entirely and joined it to Ramadan, while other narrations from Aishah and Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهم clarify that he did not complete any month of fasting besides Ramadan. (Tirmidhi 736; Abu Dawud 2336, 2431; Nasai 4/200 – hasan)
The imams such as Ibn Al Mubarak understood this to mean that he fasted the greater part of Sha’ban, not every single day. Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه therefore disliked that anyone else should fast a whole month other than Ramadan. (Abd Al Razzaq, Musannaf 4/292 – 7855)
The rank of Sha’ban among the months
Although there is a hadith that says the best fasting after Ramadan is in Allah’s month Muharram, Ibn Rajab explains that the correct understanding is that Sha’ban has a special rank above the sacred months. Reports mention that the Prophet ﷺ was asked about the best voluntary fast after Ramadan and he indicated Sha’ban in honour of Ramadan, even though some of these chains are weak. (Tirmidhi 663 – daif)
Other narrations show that fasting in Shawwal is better than fasting in the sacred months, and Sha’ban is better than Shawwal because it comes before Ramadan and because the Prophet ﷺ fasted it more than he fasted other months. (Ibn Majah 1744)
By this, Ibn Rajab concludes that the best voluntary fasting is what surrounds Ramadan, before and after, since it joins on to the obligatory fast just as the regular sunnah prayers join on to the obligatory prayers and complete their deficiencies. The hadith that praises fasting in Muharram is understood to speak about unrestricted voluntary fasting in general, while the fasting of Sha’ban and Shawwal is connected directly to Ramadan and thus has its own special excellence.
The link between the fast of Sha’ban and the fast of Dawud عليه السلام
The Prophet ﷺ described the fast of Dawud عليه السلام, fasting one day and breaking the fast the next, as the best pattern of fasting. (Bukhari 1979; Muslim 1159; Nasai 4/209). Yet he himself did not restrict his practice to that pattern. Instead, when all his fasting is gathered together, including his fasting in Sha’ban, his frequent fasting on Monday and Thursday, the day of Ashura and the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah, his total fasting amounts to fasting half the time or more. (Ahmad 6/80; Nasai 4/202–203; Ibn Majah 1739; Tirmidhi 745)
He would spread out his fasting across the most virtuous times and leave other days free so that he remained strong for what was more excellent than voluntary fasting, such as conveying the message, teaching, and striving in the path of Allah. His intention was to maintain the merit of fasting half the time while keeping his strength for duties that were even higher in rank.
Reasons for the Prophet’s ﷺ frequent fasting in Sha’ban
Sha’ban as a month of heedlessness
One of the main reasons given is that Sha’ban falls between Rajab, one of the sacred months, and Ramadan, the month of fasting, so many people become heedless in it. Some people assume that fasting in Rajab is better than fasting in Sha’ban simply because Rajab is sacred, and they neglect Sha’ban. The reports from Aishah رضي الله عنها mention that when people spoke to the Prophet ﷺ about those who fasted Rajab, he drew their attention back to Sha’ban. (Ibn Wahb, from Muawiyah ibn Salih, from Azhar ibn Saad, from his father, from Aishah – thiqah according to Ibn Hibban)
Ibn Rajab uses this to lay down a principle: some times, places and people are famous among creation for their virtue, while other times, places and people may have a greater rank with Allah though most people do not realise it.
Many are busy with what is famous and miss what is even more excellent. In this, he points to the special merit of filling neglected times with obedience.
The early generations used to revive the period between Maghrib and Isha with salah and dhikr and called it an hour of heedlessness. They also praised standing in the middle of the night when most people are asleep, and remembering Allah in places where heedlessness is common, such as the markets.
The Prophet ﷺ praised those who wait for the night prayer in the masjid when most of creation are not waiting for it, and he longed to delay Isha to half the night if not for the hardship upon his ummah. (Bukhari 862; Muslim 639; Abu Dawud 420; Nasai 1/267, 1/298). The same principle applies to fasting in Sha’ban when most people neglect it: obedience in a time of heedlessness carries a distinct reward.
Worship in Sha’ban when the people are heedless
Ibn Rajab brings many examples to explain why worship in times of general negligence is so weighty. He mentions reports about remembering Allah in the marketplace, and sayings of the early righteous who would fast or stand in salah when others were occupied with their desires. They likened the one who remembers Allah among the heedless to someone defending an army that has fled or to a green tree among bare trees in harsh cold.
Other narrations show that Allah may protect a whole town or a whole group because of a small number of His obedient servants. Some of the early Muslims saw in their dreams that punishment was withheld from a people because of a single worshipper who remained steadfast. Ibn Rajab connects this to verses mentioning that Allah repels people by means of other people, explaining that this can include repelling punishment from the disobedient by means of the obedient. (Muslim 145; Tirmidhi 2631; Muslim 2948; Tirmidhi 2202; Bazzar and others)
All of this supports the understanding that filling Sha’ban with fasting and other acts of obedience while many people are heedless becomes a cause for personal mercy and also a means of averting harm from others.
Other reported wisdoms for fasting in Sha’ban
Lifespans being written in Sha’ban
It is reported with a weak chain from Aishah رضي الله عنها that the Prophet ﷺ said he loved to fast in Sha’ban because in that month the name of everyone who will die in the coming year is written for the Angel of Death, and he wished that his name be written while he was fasting. Similar mursal and stopped reports are mentioned. Ibn Rajab notes the weakness of these chains and explains that such reports cannot overrule clear authentic texts, but he still records them as an additional meaning that some transmitted regarding Sha’ban. (Abu Yala 8/312; Majma Az Zawaid 3/192; Firdaws 2/73; Ibn Abi Ad Dunya; Ibn Jarir; Ibn Abi Hatim; Ibn Kathir, Tafsir 7/245 – mursal, daif)
Completing the three days fast of each month
Another explanation is that the Prophet ﷺ used to fast three days in every month and sometimes delayed these days until they were gathered in Sha’ban. Some narrations mention that Aishah رضي الله عنها wished to fast with him but could not do so until he himself fasted, so she would fast with him in Sha’ban when he made up what he had delayed of these monthly fasts. (Tabarani, Al Awsat; Majma Az Zawaid 3/192)
This is joined to the authentic report in Sahih Muslim that he used to fast three days in every month and did not mind from which part of the month he fasted. Ibn Rajab reconciles these narrations by explaining that at times he may not have completed three days in some months, so he would then complete what was missing in Sha’ban, or that he delayed the three additional days while still fasting Monday and Thursday, then made up those three days in Sha’ban. (Muslim 1190; Abu Dawud 2453; Tirmidhi 763)
From this, Ibn Rajab draws a general rule: the Prophet ﷺ would persist in his voluntary acts, and if any were missed he would make them up, just as he made up missed rawatib and missed night prayer. When Sha’ban came, if any voluntary fasts from the year remained, he would complete them before Ramadan.
Making up missed Ramadan fasts in Sha’ban
Sayyidah Aishah رضي الله عنها herself used Sha’ban to make up what remained upon her of obligatory fasting from Ramadan, because she would be prevented from fasting during Ramadan by menstruation and then occupied with serving the Prophet ﷺ during the rest of the year. She mentioned that she could not make up her fasts except in Sha’ban because of this, and Ibn Rajab notes that a woman does not fast while her husband is present without his permission. Thus Sha’ban became the time for her to complete what remained of the previous Ramadan, in parallel to the Prophet ﷺ making up his missed voluntary fasts.
Ibn Rajab then reminds that whoever enters Sha’ban while still owing fasts from the previous Ramadan should complete them before the next Ramadan if he is able, and it is not permissible to delay them until after another Ramadan without a valid excuse. He sets out the well known positions of the imams about whether feeding the poor is also required if there is sinful delay.
Sha’ban as preparation and training for Ramadan
Beyond these specific reasons, Ibn Rajab explains that fasting in Sha’ban is like practising for Ramadan. By fasting in Sha’ban the believer becomes familiar with fasting, tastes its sweetness, and enters Ramadan with energy and ease rather than hardship.
Because Sha’ban is an introduction to Ramadan, similar practices are recommended in it, especially fasting and recitation of the Qur’an, so that the self and the heart are prepared to receive Ramadan and to be ready for the obedience of Allah.
Reports from the salaf show how they treated Sha’ban in this way. When Sha’ban began, the Muslims would turn to the mushafs and recite the Qur’an, and they would distribute the zakah of their wealth in advance to strengthen the poor and the weak for fasting in Ramadan.
Salamah ibn Kuhayl said that people used to call Sha’ban the month of the reciters, and Habib ibn Abi Thabit and Amr ibn Qays would close their shops in Sha’ban and devote themselves to reciting the Qur’an. It is narrated from Al Hasan ibn Sahl that Sha’ban complained of being placed between two great months, so Allah made its share the recitation of the Qur’an. (Hilyat Al Awliya 5/100; Siyar Alam An Nubala 6/250)
A final encouragement for Sha’ban
Ibn Rajab closes with a heartfelt call to those who have wasted noble times. Rajab has already passed, and now the blessed month of Sha’ban has arrived. Whoever has neglected these noble months should wake up, repent sincerely, and seek safety from the Fire.
He urges the believers to repair what has passed with repentance, to fill Sha’ban with fasting, recitation and charity, and to make their main concern seeking rescue from the Fire. In this way Sha’ban becomes a bridge of preparation and purification before entering the honourable month of Ramadan.
The fasting of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the year, the week and the months
This hadith includes mention of the fasting of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ throughout the whole year, his fasting on the days of the week, and his fasting in the months of the year.
As for his fasting throughout the year, sometimes he would continue fasting for a period and sometimes he would continue not fasting for a period. He would fast until it would be said that he would never break his fast, and he would refrain from fasting until it would be said that he would not fast. This was also narrated from him by Aishah, Ibn Abbas, Anas and others.
In the two authentic collections it is narrated from Aishah رضي الله عنها that she said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to fast until we would say that he would not break the fast, and he would refrain from fasting until we would say that he would not fast.”
And in them it is narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he fasted, would fast until someone would say, ‘By Allah, he will not break his fast,’ and when he refrained from fasting he would refrain until someone would say, ‘By Allah, he will not fast.’”
And in them it is narrated from Anas that he was asked about the fasting of the Prophet ﷺ, so he said, “I never wished to see him fasting in a month except that I saw him, and I never wished to see him not fasting in a month except that I saw him.
I never wished to see him standing at night except that I saw him, and I never wished to see him sleeping at night except that I saw him.”
And in Muslim it is from him that he said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to fast until it would be said, ‘He has fasted, he has fasted,’ and he would break his fast until it would be said, ‘He has broken his fast, he has broken his fast.’”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to censure the one who fasted every day of his life continuously and did not break the fast, and he informed about himself that he did not do that.
In the two authentic collections it is narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr that the Prophet ﷺ said to him, “Do you fast during the day and stand in prayer at night?” He replied, “Yes.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “But I fast and I break my fast, and I pray and I sleep, and I have relations with women. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me.”
And in them it is narrated from Anas that a group of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ said, some of them, “I will not marry women.” Some of them said, “I will not eat meat.” Some of them said, “I will not sleep on a bed.”
That reached the Prophet ﷺ, so he delivered a sermon and said, “What is wrong with people who say such and such? As for me, I pray and I sleep, and I fast and I break my fast, and I marry women. So whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me.” (Reported by Al Bukhari in The Book of Fasting, chapter concerning what is mentioned about the fasting of the Prophet ﷺ and his breaking the fast, hadith number 1971, and by Muslim in The Book of Fasting, chapter about the fasting of the Prophet ﷺ, hadith number 1157, and by An Nasai 4/199 in The Book of Fasting, chapter about the fasting of the Prophet ﷺ.)
In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad there is, from a man among the companions, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mentioned a slave woman belonging to Banu Abd Al Muttalib who would stand at night and fast during the day.
So the Prophet ﷺ said, “As for me, I sleep and I pray, and I fast and I break my fast. Whoever follows me is from me, and whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me. Every action has its initial vigour and then a period of slackening.
So whoever’s slackening is towards a Sunnah has been guided, and whoever’s slackening is towards an innovation has gone astray.” (Reported by Ahmad 5/409, and Al Haythami mentioned it in Majma Al Zawaid 3/193 and said, it was reported by Ahmad and its narrators are the narrators of the authentic collection.)
Ikrimah and others said that Uthman ibn Mazun, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Al Miqdad and Salim the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, along with a group, devoted themselves wholly.
They sat in their houses, kept away from women, and made forbidden to themselves the good foods and clothing, except what those who wandered in the earth among the Children of Israel would eat and wear. They intended to castrate themselves and agreed to stand at night and fast during the day. Then there was revealed about them the saying of Allah the Exalted:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُحَرِّمُوا طَيِّبَاتِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَلَا تَعْتَدُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ
“O you who have believed, do not make unlawful the good things that Allah has made permissible for you, and do not overstep the limits; indeed Allah does not love those who overstep the limits.”
In the authentic collection of Al Bukhari it is that Salman visited Abu Ad Darda. The Prophet ﷺ had made brotherhood between them. Salman saw Umm Ad Darda in a state of neglect of normal adornment, so he said to her, “What is the matter with you in this state of neglect?”
She said, “Your brother Abu Ad Darda has no need of the world.”
When Abu Ad Darda came, he brought food close to Salman and said, “Eat.” He replied, “I am fasting.” Salman said, “I will not eat until you eat.” So he ate.
When night came, Abu Ad Darda got up to stand in prayer and Salman said to him, “Sleep.” So he slept. Then he went to get up, and Salman said to him, “Sleep.”
When it was towards the end of the night, Salman said, “Now get up.” So they both stood and prayed. Then Salman said to him, “Indeed your self has a right over you, your Lord has a right over you, and your family has a right over you, so give each one who has a right its right.”
Likewise the Prophet ﷺ said to Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al As when he used to fast every day and stand in prayer every night, so he forbade him from that and commanded him to fast the fast of Dawud عليه السلام, to fast one day and to break his fast one day. He said to him, “There is nothing better than that.”
The prohibitions against fasting every day and the strictness mentioned about that have been reported. All of this shows that the best fasting is not that which is continuous without break, rather the best fasting is that in which fasting alternates with breaking the fast. This is the correct view among the sayings of the scholars, and it is the madhhab of Ahmad and others.
It was said to Umar that a certain man fasts every day. Umar began to strike his head with the end of a spear he had in his hand and saying, “Eat, O lifetime, eat, O lifetime.” Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated it.
The Prophet ﷺ himself pointed to the wisdom in this when he said concerning fasting every day, “He did not fast and he did not break his fast.” That is, such a person does not taste the hardship of fasting nor the loss of food, drink and desire, because fasting has become for him a familiar habit. Perhaps he would even be harmed by leaving it.
If he instead fasts at times and breaks his fast at times, he attains through fasting his aim of leaving those desires while his self still longs for them, and that is better than leaving them when his self has no longing for them.
From that also is his saying ﷺ about Dawud عليه السلام, “He used to fast one day and break his fast one day, and he would not flee when he met the enemy.” He indicated that his fasting did not weaken him from meeting his enemy and striving in the path of Allah.
For this reason it is narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said to his companions on the day of the Conquest, and it was in Ramadan, “This is a day of fighting, so break your fast.” So they broke the fast. And Umar, when he would send forth a detachment, would say to them, “Do not fast, for maintaining strength for fighting in the path of Allah is better than fasting.” (Narrated by Ibn Saad in his Tabaqat 2/141 from Ubayd ibn Umayr as a mursal report.)
So the best fasting is that which does not weaken the body so much that a person becomes unable to fulfil what is better than fasting, such as the obligations of Allah the Exalted or the rights of His servants that are due upon him. If the fasting weakens him from something that is more excellent than it, then leaving that fasting is better.
The first of that is that fasting may weaken him from prayer, remembrance, and knowledge. It has been said concerning the prohibition of fasting on Friday and the day of Arafah for the pilgrim at Arafah that fasting may weaken a person from remembrance and supplication on those two days.
Ibn Masud would fast little and he would say, “It prevents me from reciting the Qur’an, while reciting the Qur’an is more beloved to me.” So reciting the Qur’an is more excellent than fasting, as Sufyan Ath Thawri and other imams have clearly stated. In the same way, learning beneficial knowledge and teaching it are better than fasting.
The four imams have clearly stated that seeking knowledge is better than the optional prayer, and the prayer is better than the optional fasting. So knowledge is better than fasting even more so. Knowledge is a lamp by which a person is given light in the darkness of ignorance and desire. Whoever walks upon a path without a lamp is not safe from falling into a pit of destruction and being ruined.
Ibn Sirin said, “Some people abandoned knowledge and took up prayer niches, so they prayed and fasted without knowledge. By Allah, no one ever acted without knowledge except that what he corrupted was more than what he put right.”
The second type is when fasting weakens a person from earning a livelihood for his dependants or from carrying out the rights of his wife. In that case leaving the fast is better, and to this the Prophet ﷺ pointed with his saying, “Indeed your family has a right over you.”
Among the wisdoms is what he ﷺ indicated with his saying, “Indeed your self has a right over you, so give each one who has a right its right.” He indicated that the self is a trust with the son of Adam from Allah, and he is commanded to fulfil its right. From its right is to be gentle with it until it delivers its owner to his destination.
Al Hasan said, “Your selves are your mounts to your Lord, so make your mounts sound and they will carry you to your Lord.” Whoever lets his self take its share of the permissible in order with that intention to strengthen it upon acts of obedience is rewarded for that, just as Muadh ibn Jabal said, “Indeed I seek reward for my sleep just as I seek reward for my standing in prayer.”
Whoever falls short concerning his self until it becomes weak and harmed is an oppressor to it, and to this the Prophet ﷺ pointed with his saying to Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al As, “Indeed if you do that, your self will become bored and your eye will sink in.” The meaning of “it will become bored” is that it will tire and weaken. The meaning of “the eye will sink in” is that it will become hollow and sunken.
An Arab came to him, accepted Islam then came to him the following year having changed and the Prophet ﷺ did not recognise him. When he realised who he was he asked him about his condition. He said, “After you I have not eaten food during the day.” The Prophet ﷺ said to him, “Who commanded you to torture yourself?”
Whoever tortures his self by putting on it what it cannot bear of fasting and the like, that may then lead to the weakness of his body and his mind, so that what he loses from the excellent acts of worship is more than what he gains by torturing his self with fasting.
The Prophet ﷺ used to take a middle path in giving his self its right and was most just regarding it. He would fast and break his fast, stand and sleep, marry women, and eat what he found of good things, such as sweet dishes and honey and the meat of chicken. At times he would go hungry until he tied a stone to his stomach.
He said, “My Lord offered to make the valley of Makkah of gold for me, so I said, ‘No, my Lord. Rather I prefer that I be hungry one day and full one day. When I am hungry I humble myself to You and remember You, and when I am full I praise You and show gratitude to You.’” (Part of a hadith whose chain has preceded. It has several wordings. Al Bukhari reported it, hadith number 1979, in The Book of Fasting, chapter about the fasting of Dawud عليه السلام, and Muslim reported it, hadith number 1159, in The Book of Fasting, and An Nasai 4/209 in The Book of Fasting.)
He chose for himself the most excellent of conditions so that he gathered between the station of gratitude and the station of patience and the station of contentment.
From that also is what he ﷺ pointed to in his saying to Abdullah ibn Amr, “Perhaps a long life will be granted to you.”
He meant that the one who burdens himself in youth with excessive striving in worship, his youth may carry that as long as it remains, but when youth goes and old age and weakness come, he becomes unable to carry that. If he forces himself and continues he may destroy his body, and if he stops he will have lost the most beloved deeds to Allah the Exalted, which is continuity in action.
For that reason the Prophet ﷺ said, “Take from actions what you are able to handle, for by Allah, Allah does not grow weary until you grow weary.” And he said, “The most beloved actions to Allah are those that are done consistently, even if they are few.” (This meaning is established in the books of the authentic Sunnah. Al Bukhari reported it, hadith number 43, in Faith, chapter “The most beloved religion to Allah is that which is done consistently”, and 1151 in The Night Prayer, chapter about what is disliked of severity in worship, and 6465 in Ar Riqaq, chapter about moderation and consistency in action.
Muslim reported it, hadith number 782, in Prayer, chapter concerning the virtue of consistent actions from the night prayer. Abu Dawud reported it 1/315 in The Night Prayer, chapter concerning what is commanded of moderation in the prayer.
Ibn Al Athir collected it in Jami Al Usul 1/306 and explained, “He does not grow weary until you grow weary,” that what is meant is that Allah never grows weary, whether you grow weary or not, just as one says, “I will not do this until the crow turns white,” meaning never. Or that Allah does not cut off His bounty from you until you leave asking Him.)
So whoever performs an action that his body can manage throughout his life, in his strength and his weakness, his path is straight. Whoever takes on what he cannot bear, it may lead to illness that prevents him from action entirely, or he may become bored and fed up, so he cuts off the action and becomes like the one who pushes his mount until it collapses; it neither completes the journey nor remains with him.
The fasting of the Prophet ﷺ on the days of the week
As for the fasting of the Prophet ﷺ from the days of the week, he would seek out fasting on Monday and Thursday.
He said, “Indeed on Monday and Thursday Allah forgives every Muslim, except for two who have forsaken one another. He says, ‘Leave these two until they make peace.’” (Reported by Ibn Majah, hadith number 1740, in The Book of Fasting, chapter about fasting Monday and Thursday. In Az Zawaid it is said, its chain is authentic and rare. In its chain is Muhammad ibn Rafaah whom Ibn Hibban mentioned among the trustworthy, and Ad Dahhak ibn Makhlad alone narrated from him, while the rest of the chain is upon the condition of the two authentic collections.
Imam Ahmad also narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to most often fast on Monday and Thursday. It was said to him regarding that and he said, “Indeed the works are presented on Monday and Thursday, so He forgives every Muslim, or every believer, except for two who have forsaken one another. He says, ‘Delay these two.’”
It is narrated with a weak chain from Abu Umamah that the Prophet ﷺ said, “The works are raised on Monday and Thursday, so He forgives those who seek forgiveness, and the people of rancour are left with their rancour.” (Reported by Ibn Adi in Al Kamil 6/2441 from Abu Umamah, from Ibn Masud, from the Prophet ﷺ. In its chain is Mutarrah ibn Yazid who has been judged weak.)
Ali ibn Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn Abbas concerning the saying of the Exalted,
مَا يَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ
“That man does not utter a word except that with him is an observer ready to record.”
He said, “Everything he speaks of good and evil is written, so much so that they even write his saying, ‘I ate, I drank, I went, I came, I saw.’ Then when it is Thursday, what he spoke and what he did are presented. So what is in it of good or evil is confirmed, and the rest is wiped out.” Then he recited the saying of the Exalted:
يَمْحُو اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيُثْبِتُ وَعِنْدَهُ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ
“Allah erases whatever He wills and confirms whatever He wills, and with Him is the Mother of the Book.”
Ibn Abi Hatim and others reported this. (Reported by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir 4/224. The verses are in Surah Qaf verse 18 and Surah Ar Rad verse 39.)
This indicates the particularity of Thursday with the presentation of works in a way that is not in other days.
Ibrahim An Nakha’i used to weep to his wife on Thursday and she would weep to him and he would say, “Today our works are presented to Allah the Exalted.” (He is Ibrahim ibn Yazid ibn Al Aswad An Nakha’i, Abu Imran Al Kufi, from the great followers, truthful, a jurist and preserver of hadith, the jurist of the people of Kufa, he died in the year ninety six. See Tadhkirat Al Hufadh 1/73, Tahdhib At Tahdhib 1/177, and Sifat As Safwah 3/86.)
This is a specific presentation in these two days besides the general presentation every day, for that is a constant presentation morning and evening.
It is narrated from Ibn Masud that he said, “The measure of each of your days with your Lord is twelve hours. Your works from yesterday are presented to Him at the beginning of the day today. He looks into them for three hours,” and he mentioned the rest of it.
Ad Dahhak used to weep at the end of the day and say, “I do not know what has been raised of my work.”
O you whose work is presented to the One who knows what is kept secret and what is even more hidden, do not send up counterfeit coins, for the Examiner has sharp sight.
The fasting of the Prophet ﷺ in the months of the year and the virtue of Sha’ban
As for the fasting of the Prophet ﷺ in the months of the year, he used to fast from Sha’ban what he did not fast from other months.
In the two authentic collections it is narrated from Aishah رضي الله عنها that she said, “I never saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ complete the fast of a month except Ramadan, and I never saw him in any month more frequently fasting than in Sha’ban.” In a wording of Al Bukhari it is added, “He used to fast all of Sha’ban.”
In a narration of An Nasai from Aishah she said, “The most beloved month to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for him to fast was Sha’ban. He used to join it to Ramadan.”
From her and from Umm Salamah it is also that they both said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to fast all of Sha’ban except a little. Rather he used to fast all of it.”
A number of scholars, among them Ibn Al Mubarak and others, held that the Prophet ﷺ did not fully complete fasting all of Sha’ban, but rather he fasted most of it.
And in another wording of Muslim from her she said, “I do not know that the Prophet ﷺ recited the Qur’an all in one night, nor that he fasted a complete month except Ramadan.” And in another wording from her, “I never saw him spend a night in prayer until morning, and I never saw him fast a complete month consecutively except Ramadan.”
In the two authentic collections from Ibn Abbas he said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not fast a complete month except Ramadan.” (Reported by Al Bukhari, hadith number 1971, in The Book of Fasting, chapter about what is mentioned of the fasting of the Prophet ﷺ and his breaking the fast; and by Muslim, hadith number 1157, in The Book of Fasting, chapter about the fasting of the Prophet ﷺ; and by An Nasai 4/199 in The Book of Fasting, chapter about the fasting of the Prophet ﷺ.)
Ibn Abbas used to dislike that a person fast a complete month other than Ramadan.
Abdur Razzaq narrated in his Musannaf from Ibn Jurayj from Ata that he said, “Ibn Abbas used to forbid fasting the entire month and say, ‘Let him not fast all of it, but let him leave some days of it. He would forbid fasting specific days every time they came, and he would forbid fasting fixed days, and he would say, do not fast fixed days.’” (Al Musannaf 4/292, hadith number 7855. In it is, “Do not fast a fixed fast.”)
If it is said, “How is it that the Prophet ﷺ singled out Sha’ban with the voluntary fast in it when he said, ‘The best fasting after Ramadan is the month of Allah Al Muharram’?”
The answer is that a group of people answered this with answers that are not strong, because they assumed that fasting Al Muharram and the sacred months is better than fasting Sha’ban, as the Shafiis and others have clearly said. The correct view is the opposite, that fasting Sha’ban is better than fasting the sacred months.
This is an explicit text that fasting Shawwal is better than fasting the sacred months. Shawwal is only better because it comes right after Ramadan, just as Sha’ban is before it, and Sha’ban is better for the fasting of the Prophet ﷺ in it than Shawwal. When fasting Shawwal is better than fasting the sacred months, then it is even more fitting that fasting Sha’ban be better than them.
So it becomes clear by this that the best voluntary fasting is that which is close to Ramadan, before it and after it, and that attaches to the fasting of Ramadan because of its closeness to it. Its place with the fasting of Ramadan is like the place of the regular Sunnah prayers with the obligatory prayers before and after them. They are joined to the obligations in virtue and they complete the deficiency that occurs in the obligations.
In the same way is the fasting that comes before Ramadan and after it. Just as the regular Sunnah prayers are better than the unrestricted voluntary prayers, so too fasting that is connected to Ramadan is better than fasting far from it. By this his saying is carried, “The best fasting after Ramadan is Allah’s month, Al Muharram.”
What is meant is unrestricted voluntary fasting. As for what comes before Ramadan and after it, that is joined to Ramadan in virtue, just as his saying at the end of that hadith, “The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer,” is understood. What is meant is the excellence of the night prayer over unrestricted voluntary prayer, not over the regular Sunnah prayers according to the majority of scholars, contrary to some Shafiis.
If it is said, “But the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘The best fasting is the fasting of Dawud. He used to fast one day and break his fast one day,’ and yet he did not fast like that. Rather, he used to fast continuously for a period and break his fast continuously for a period, and he used to fast Sha’ban and every Monday and Thursday.”
The answer is that the fasting of Dawud عليه السلام, which the Prophet ﷺ preferred over other types of fasting, has been explained in another hadith as “fasting half the time”. The fasting of the Prophet ﷺ, when all of it is combined, amounts to fasting half of the time or more. Along with what has already been mentioned, he used to fast the day of Ashura and nine days of Dhul Hijjah.
He used to spread out his fasting and not fast one day and break his fast one day, because he used to choose the virtuous times for fasting. It does not harm that his fasting and breaking the fast be spread out so that sometimes the break is more than one day and sometimes fasting is more than one day, as long as the intention is to strengthen himself thereby for what is more excellent than fasting, like conveying the message, delivering it, striving for it and fulfilling its rights.
When Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al As became old, he would sometimes continue not fasting in order to strengthen himself for fasting, then he would return to fasting what he had left so that he would maintain the state upon which the Prophet ﷺ parted from him, of fasting half the time. Thus the Prophet ﷺ attained the reward of fasting half the time and more by his spread out fasting, and he attained the reward of continuous fasting by desiring that, and what prevented him from it was his preoccupation with what is more important and more excellent. Allah knows best.
From what we have mentioned the reason becomes clear for his fasting of Sha’ban rather than other months. In it there are further meanings, and the Prophet ﷺ himself mentioned two meanings of them in the hadith of Usamah.
One of them is that it is a month in which people are heedless between Rajab and Ramadan. He indicated that when it is surrounded by two great months, the sacred month and the month of fasting, people are preoccupied with them from it so it becomes neglected. Many people assume that fasting Rajab is better than fasting Sha’ban because it is a sacred month, but it is not so.
His saying “people are heedless about it between Rajab and Ramadan” indicates that some times, places or persons whose virtue is well known may have others that are better than them, either absolutely or because of a specific quality that most people do not realise. So they busy themselves with the famous one and miss attaining the virtue of that which is not famous among them.
In this is evidence for the recommendation of filling the times when people are heedless with acts of obedience, and that this is beloved to Allah the Exalted. A group from the Salaf used to like reviving the time between Maghrib and Isha with prayer and would say, “It is an hour of heedlessness.”
Likewise the excellence of standing in the middle of the night because of the widespread heedlessness of many people at that time from remembrance. The Prophet ﷺ said, “If you are able to be among those who remember Allah at that hour, then be so.” For this very reason the Prophet ﷺ wished to delay the night prayer to half the night, but he only left that due to fearing hardship for the people.
When he came out to his companions while they were waiting for the night prayer he said to them, “None among the people of the earth is waiting for it other than you.” This indicates the virtue of being alone in remembering Allah at a time when no one else is found doing so. (This is part of a hadith reported by Al Bukhari, 862 in The Times of Prayer, chapter concerning sleeping before the night prayer for the one who is overcome, and by Muslim, hadith number 639, in The Mosques, chapter about the time of the night prayer and its delay, and by Abu Dawud, hadith number 420, in The Times of Prayer, chapter concerning the time of the last night prayer, and by An Nasai 1/267 and 1/298 in The Times, chapter concerning the last time of the night prayer.
Muslim reported it with the wording from Ibn Umar, “We waited one night for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for the night prayer. He came out to us when a third of the night had gone by or more. We do not know whether something kept him busy in his family or something else. Then he said, ‘None among the people of this earth is waiting for this prayer other than you. If it were not that I would cause hardship for my nation I would have commanded them to pray it at this time.’ Then he ordered the caller to give the iqamah.”)
For the same reason the excellences of mentioning Allah in the markets have come in the hadith raised to the Prophet ﷺ and in the stopped reports from the Salaf, to the point that Abu Salih said, “Allah laughs at one who remembers Him in the market.” The reason is that He is remembered in a place of heedlessness among the people of heedlessness.
In the hadith of Abu Dharr that is raised it is that the Prophet ﷺ said, “There are three whom Allah loves. A group travelled during the night until when sleep became more beloved to them than anything equal to it they lay down, then one of them got up and began to beseech Me and recite My verses.
And a group who were in an army who fled, then one of them advanced until he met the enemy and remained patient until he was killed. And a group to whom a beggar came and asked and they did not give to him, then one of them slipped away and gave to him in secret.”
These three separated themselves from their companions in dealing with Allah secretly between them and Him, so Allah loved them. In the same way the one who remembers Allah in a time of heedlessness among the people, or the one who fasts in days when people are heedless of fasting, resembles them.
There are many benefits in reviving a neglected time with obedience. Among them is that it is more hidden, and hiding the voluntary actions and keeping them secret is better, especially fasting, for it is a secret between the servant and his Lord. For this reason it has been said that there is no showing off in it.
Some of the Salaf fasted forty years and no one knew of it. He would go out from his house to his shop with two loaves of bread and give them in charity on the way, and he would fast, so his family would assume he had eaten them in the market and the people of the market would assume he had eaten in his house.
They used to like that the one who fasts should show outwardly what hides his fasting. Ibn Masud said, “When you wake up fasting then wake up using oil.” Qatadah said, “It is recommended for the fasting person to oil himself until the dustiness of fasting leaves him.”
Abu At Tiyah said, “I saw my father and the elders of the neighbourhood; when one of them fasted he would use oil and wear his best clothes.”
It is narrated that Isa ibn Maryam عليه السلام said, “When it is the day of the fasting of one of you, let him oil his beard and wipe his lips from his oil so that the onlooker sees that he is not fasting.”
One of the righteous became known for frequent fasting, so he strove to show his breaking of the fast to people to the point that he would stand on Friday when the people were gathered in the main mosque, take a jug and put its spout in his mouth and suck from it without swallowing anything. He would remain for some time like that so that people would see him and think he was drinking, while nothing would enter his throat.
How much the truthful ones hide their states, while the fragrance of truthfulness reveals them. The scent of fasting is more pleasant than the scent of musk; the hearts of the believers breathe it in even if it is hidden, and the longer its time continues the stronger its fragrance becomes.
How much does one hide love for you from others, while tears disclose the secrets of love. How much does he hide you while you tear down my veils. How can one hide the blaze of love.
No one ever hides an inner state except that Allah clothes him in its outer garment in public. Even if I hide the secret or say something else, can my inner secrets be hidden from the people of the hearts. That cannot be, for the inner secret speaks upon the face and the inner state of the heart is seen in the eye.
Another benefit is that it is harder upon the souls, and the best works are those that are hardest upon the souls. The reason is that the souls imitate what they see from others of their kind. When the wakefulness of the people and their acts of obedience become many, the people of obedience themselves become many due to the many who follow them, so the acts of obedience become easy.
When heedlessness and the people of heedlessness become many, the generality of people imitate them, so it becomes hard upon the souls of those who are awake to perform their acts of obedience because of the scarcity of those who follow their example in them. For this meaning the Prophet ﷺ said, “The one who acts among them will have the reward of fifty of you, for you find helpers upon good and they do not find helpers.”
He also said, “Islam began as something strange and it will return to being strange as it began, so good tidings to the strangers.” It was said, “Who are the strangers?” He said, “Those who are righteous when the people have become corrupt,” and in another wording, “Those who rectify what the people have corrupted.” (Reported by Muslim, hadith number 145, in Faith, chapter concerning the beginning of Islam as something strange, from Abu Hurayrah. At Tirmidhi also narrated it from Abdullah ibn Masud, hadith number 2631, in Faith, chapter number thirteen, and he said, “A good strange authentic hadith.” The author has a separate treatise on this hadith entitled “Kashf Al Kurba bi Wasf Hal Ahl Al Ghurba”.)
In Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Maqil ibn Yasar from the Prophet ﷺ that he said, “Worship during turmoil is like migration to me.” Imam Ahmad narrated it with the wording, “Worship in times of tribulation is like migration to me.” (Reported by Muslim, hadith number 2948, in The Book of Trials, chapter about the excellence of worship at the time of turmoil. At Tirmidhi also reported it, hadith number 2202, in The Book of Trials, chapter concerning what has come regarding turmoil and worship in it. Al Harj means turmoil at the end of time, the severity of killing and its abundance and confusion. See Lisanu Al Arab under the root.)
The reason for that is that people in times of trials follow their desires and do not refer back to religion, so their state resembles the state of the pre Islamic ignorant age. If one separates himself from between them holding fast to his religion, worships his Lord, follows what pleases Him and keeps away from what angers Him, then he is like the one who emigrated from the people of ignorance to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as a believer in him, following his commands and avoiding his prohibitions.
Another benefit is that the one who is alone in obedience among the people of sins and heedlessness may be the cause by which punishment is repelled from all of the people. It is as if he protects them and defends them.
In the musnad of Ibn Arfah there is a hadith from Ibn Umar that is raised, “The one who remembers Allah among the heedless is like the one who fights on behalf of those who flee.
The one who remembers Allah among the heedless is like a green tree among trees whose leaves have fallen in severe cold, and the one who remembers Allah among the heedless has his sins forgiven according to the number of every moist and dry thing, and the one who remembers Allah among the heedless knows his place in Paradise.” (Abu Nuaym reported the first part in Al Hilyah 6/181 with a difference in wording, and As Suyuti related it in Al Jami As Saghir, hadith number 4311, and indicated it is weak. Al Albani mentioned it in the weak Jami 3/166, hadith number 3037.)
Some of the Salaf said, “The one who remembers Allah among the heedless is like the one who protects a group who have fled. Were it not for those who remember Allah in times of heedlessness the people would perish.”
A group of the early people saw in their dreams that angels descended to various lands. Some of the angels said to others, “Destroy this town.” Others said, “How can we destroy it when so and so is in it standing in prayer?”
One of the early people saw in his dream someone reciting poetry and saying,
“Were it not for those who have a fixed share of prayers,
and others whose lot is continuous fasting,
your earth would have been smashed beneath you at dawn,
for you are an evil people who do not obey Us.”
In the Musnad of Al Bazzar there is from Abu Hurayrah, raised, “Be gentle with Allah, be gentle. Were it not for servants who bow, infants who suckle and animals that graze, punishment would be poured upon you in a shower.”
Al Haythami mentioned that Al Bazzar and At Tabarani in Al Awsat reported it with a wording, “Were it not for young people who are humble, elders who bow, infants who suckle and animals that graze, punishment would be poured upon you continuously then the earth would be flattened over you.”
Then he said, “In its chain is Ibrahim ibn Khuthaym who is weak.” Al Bayhaqi reported it in As Sunan and said, “Ibrahim ibn Khuthaym is not strong, and it has a supporting chain that is also not strong.” (Majma Az Zawaid 10/227. The poet said thereafter, “Lest punishment be poured upon you painfully.”)
It has been said in explanation of the saying of the Exalted,
وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللَّهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ لَفَسَدَتِ الْأَرْضُ
“And were it not that Allah repels people, some by means of others, the earth would have been corrupted,”
that His repelling includes His repelling punishment from the disobedient by way of the obedient. Reports have come that Allah repels harm by a righteous man from his family, children and those around him.
In some reports Allah the Exalted says, “The most beloved servants to Me are those who love one another for My sake, those who walk upon the earth advising for My sake, those who walk on their feet to the Friday gatherings, those whose hearts are attached to the mosques and those who seek forgiveness at the times before dawn. When I wish to send punishment upon the people of the earth and I see them, I turn away the punishment from the people.”
Makhlul said, “As long as there are fifteen who seek forgiveness from Allah twenty five times each day, the people will not be destroyed by a general punishment.” The reports in this meaning are very many. (Makhlul ibn Abi Muslim Al Hadhali, Abu Abdullah, the scholar of the people of Syria in his time, a preserver of hadith, originally from Kabul, captured there and raised, then freed in Egypt. He travelled in search of hadith to Iraq and Madinah and then lived in Damascus. He died around the year one hundred and twelve. See Al Hilyah 1/177, Tadhkirat Al Hufaz 1/107.)
Another meaning has been reported, which is that the Prophet ﷺ used to fast three days from every month and sometimes he would delay that until he fasted in Sha’ban.
Both reports can be combined by saying that at times his fasting in some months would not reach three days, so he would complete what he missed of that in Sha’ban, or that he used to fast three days from every month in addition to Monday and Thursday, then delay the three days alone so that he would make them up in Sha’ban along with his fasting of Monday and Thursday.
In any case, the action of the Prophet ﷺ was continuous. If any of his voluntary actions were missed he would make them up, just as he would make up what he missed from the regular Sunnah prayers and what he missed of the night prayer in the day. When Sha’ban entered and he still owed some voluntary fasting from the year he had not yet fasted, he would make it up in Sha’ban before the entering of Ramadan.
Aishah would take advantage of his making up his voluntary fasting in Sha’ban to make up what she herself owed of obligatory fasting from Ramadan due to her fasting being interrupted in it because of menstruation. In the rest of the months she was occupied with the Prophet ﷺ, for a woman does not fast while her husband is present except with his permission.
Whoever enters Sha’ban and still has voluntary fasting from the year remaining, it is recommended that he complete it in Sha’ban so that his voluntary fasting between the two Ramadans is complete.
Whoever has obligatory fasting still owing from Ramadan, it is required of him to make it up after Ramadan with ability and it is not permissible for him to delay it until after another Ramadan without necessity. If he does so and the delay is due to a continuous excuse between the two Ramadans, he must make it up after the second Ramadan and there is nothing else upon him beyond the making up.
If the delay is without excuse, then one saying is that he both makes it up and feeds a poor person for each day along with the making up. This is the saying of Malik, Ash Shafii and Ahmad, following the reports that have come in that regard. Another saying is that he only makes it up and there is no feeding upon him, and this is the saying of Abu Hanifah. A third saying is that he feeds and does not make up, and this is weak.
It has been said regarding the fasting of Sha’ban another meaning, which is that fasting it is like training for the fasting of Ramadan, so that one enters the fasting of Ramadan with ease and familiarity and not with hardship and difficulty, for he would already have become used to fasting and tasted its sweetness and pleasure through fasting Sha’ban. Then he enters Ramadan with strength and energy.
Since Sha’ban is like the introduction to Ramadan, it was legislated in it that which is legislated in Ramadan of fasting and recitation of the Qur’an, so that the souls are prepared to receive Ramadan and become accustomed thereby to the obedience of Ar Rahman.
It has been narrated with a weak chain from Anas that he said, “When Sha’ban entered the Muslims would busy themselves with the mushafs and recite them, and they would bring out the zakah of their wealth to strengthen the weak and the poor for fasting Ramadan.”
Salamah ibn Kuhayl said, “They used to say, Sha’ban is the month of the reciters.” Habib ibn Abi Thabit, when Sha’ban entered, would say, “This is the month of the reciters.” Amr ibn Qays Al Mala’i, when Sha’ban entered, would close his shop and devote himself to reciting the Qur’an. (He is Habib ibn Abi Thabit Abu Yahya Al Qurashi Al Asadi, a trustworthy follower whose biography has already preceded. Amr ibn Qays Al Kufi Ath Thalathi Al Bazzar Abu Abdullah was trustworthy, precise and devout, from the allies of Allah. He died in the year one hundred and forty five. See Hilayat Al Awliya 5/100 and Siyar A’lam An Nubala 6/250.)
Al Hasan ibn Sahl said, “Sha’ban said, ‘My Lord, You have placed me between two great months, so what is my share?’ He said, ‘I have made in you the recitation of the Qur’an.’”
O you who have fallen short in the noble times and wasted them and filled them with evil deeds, how bad is what you have stored in them.
Rajab has gone by and you have not excelled in it,
and here is the blessed month of Sha’ban.
O you who have wasted the times out of ignorance of their sanctity, wake up and beware of your destruction.
You will soon be forced away from pleasures,
and death will forcibly empty your house.
Make up what you can of sins
with the repentance of one who is sincere and make your focus
upon seeking safety from the Fire,
for the best of the people of sins is the one who makes up what has passed.
Latāif al Ma’arif by Ibn Rajab Al Hanbali page 236–259
