Why is the night of Nisfu Shaban not that special? Because, the evidence about the day of Nisfu Shaban is weak, even considered a false tradition. So, if we as Muslims believe in it and perform the acts of worship recommended in the proposition specifically to privilege Nisfu Shaban, then we have committed heresy.
Nisfu Shaban
Nisfu Shaban is a compound word taken from the Arabic words, nisfu and sha’ban. Nisfu means to have reached the middle or half. While Sha’ban means the month of Shaban or the 8th month in the Hijri calendar. So, Nisfu Syaban is the middle or the middle of the month of Sha’ban in the Hijirah year.
Among the heresies commonly practiced by many people is to privilege the night of Nisfu Shaban by holding certain commemorations and specializing in certain practices. For example, praying hundreds of rak’ahs of voluntary prayers and fasting on Nisfu Shaban.
In fact, there is not a single evidence that can be used as a basis for these activities. There are traditions about the blessings of the night of the fifteenth of Shaban, but these traditions are daif (weak), so they cannot be used as a basis. As for the traditions concerning the virtue of praying on the last day of Shaban, they are false.
The Beginning of the ‘Special’ Nisfu Shaban
Ibn Rajab in his book entitled Lathaiful Ma’arif, explains that the Tabiin from the Levant-Khalid bin Ma’daan, Makhul, and others-had glorified the ritual of worship on the night of Nisfu Shaban. Then, people also took the virtue and honor from the Tabiin.
When this Nisfu Shaban ritual spread throughout the world, Muslims disagreed. Some accepted and approved of it, while others rejected it. Those who accepted it were the scholars of the school of Basra and others, while those who rejected it were the majority of the scholars of Hijaz (Saudi Arabia). The scholars of the Hijaz are unanimously agreed that this is heresy.
Ibn Rajab explained that there are two narrations that explain why the night of Nisfu Shaban is commemorated. These narrations are about the two nights of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. One narration says that it is not recommended to commemorate the two nights of Eid in congregation, because this was never done by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his Companions. Another narration is of the view that it is mustahabb to commemorate these nights. This is because Abdurrahman ibn Yazid ibn Aswad did it, and he was a Tabiin.
Similarly, with the night of Nisfu Shaban, the Prophet never did it or established it, including the Companions. It was only the decree of the Tabiin of the Sham jurists. Al-Hafizh Ibn Rajab then said that there is no single decree about commemorating the night of Nisfu Shaban, either from the Prophet or the Companions.
False Evidence about the Night of Sha’ban
The daif or false arguments about the specialty of the night of the fifteenth of Shaaban include:
“When the night of Nisfu Shaban comes, pray at night and fast during the day.”
“Whoever prays one hundred rak’ahs on the night of the Nisfu Shaban, reciting in each rak’ah Al-Fatihah and Qul Huwallahu Ahad ten times, Allah will fulfill all his needs…”
“Whoever recites on the night of Nisfu Shaban ‘Qul Huwallahu Ahad’ a thousand times, surely Allah will send for him a hundred thousand angels giving him good news.”
In a book entitled Al-Hawadith wal Bida, Imam Abu Bakr Ath-Thurthusyiy said:
“It was narrated by Wadhdhah that Zayd ibn Aslam said: ‘We have never seen any of our elders and jurists attending the celebration of the night of the fifteenth of Sha’ban, paying no heed to the da’eef hadith, nor seeing any superiority in that night over other nights’.”
Al-Hafiz al-‘Iraqi, an eminent scholar of hadith and a leading scholar of the Shafi’i school of thought, explains that the hadith describing the prayer on the Night of Sha’ban is a lie and a fabrication against the Prophet.
In Al Majmu’, Imam Nawawi said: “The prayer that is often known as the Raghaib prayer has twelve rak’ahs to be prayed between Maghrib and Isha on the night of the first Friday of Rajab, and one hundred rak’ahs to be prayed on the night of Nisfu Shaban, both of which are innovations and falsehoods”.
One should not be fooled by these two traditions just because they have been mentioned in the books Quutul Quluub and Ihya’ Ulumuddin. This is because they are basically false.
Read also: Habits and Prohibitions of the Prophet in the Month of Sha’ban, the Days Leading up to Ramadan
The Night of the Fate of Sha’ban is Just Like Any Other Night
Friends, with the above explanation, it is clear to us that actually the night of the Nisfu Shaban is not that special. There is no valid evidence that recommends praying sunnah prayers or other prayers on the night of Nisfu Shaban, or fasting during the day. They are all heresies, with no basis in Islamic law.
A number of traditions about the virtues of the night of Nisfu Shaban mention that Allah descends to Earth to His servants on this night. In fact, the descent of Allah is not only on the night of the Nisfu Shaban. As mentioned in the hadith narrated by Bukhari & Muslim, Allah descends to the heavens of the world every night during the last third of the night, not only on the night of the Nisfu Shaban. Therefore, the night of the last day of Sha’ban is not special; it is the same as any other night.
If the night of Nisfu Shaban is indeed special and religion recommends to “celebrate” it with certain rituals or worship, then it must be the Prophet Muhammad himself who showed it clearly and clearly that he did it. If this had happened, the Companions would have told us, they would not have hidden it. This is because they are the best of people and the most knowledgeable after the prophets. Wallahu ‘alam.
May Allah swt always grant us His guidance, so that we can hold fast to the Qur’an and Sunnah. (RQA)