Virtues of Sha’baan...

15th Sha’baan, the day when Allah will write all about our next year… the night when Allah comes to a very nearer point for human beings and calls if we want anything, if we want anything to be changed in our fate, if we want forgiveness, it’s the night when we will ask and Allah will grant us (InshaAllah!)! I got this mail from Umair bhai few days ago, I want to share it with everyone here : )
Huzoor sallalahu alaihi wa salam said, Shaban is my month, Ramadhan is Allah’s month and those who prepare well in sha’baan his ramadhan will be full of blessings and be more beneficial. There are certain virtues of this month, it is also called shahr-ut-tawbah; acceptance of repentance in this month, blessings are increased for muslims in this month and this is why one should increase his/her ibadah in this month.
The buzurg have said that those who prepare well in this month will attain easily the blessings of Ramadhan, this is why Holy Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa salam fasted the most in this month after Ramadhan. The unique thing about this month is that there is one night on the 15th of sha’ban, the night between the 14th and 15th day. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala has called that night ‘laylatul mubaraka’ barkat waali raat. The greatest night after layla-ul-qadr is shab-e-baraat, and Hadhrat Atta bin Yassaar RA reported, Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi wa salam said that when this night of 15th sha’baan arrives, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala tells the angel of death those who will pass away i.e. form one shaban to next. Those who are to pass away are told, those who will get rizq etc all these are mentioned.
Some people think that if this is told now, then what about what has already been written on loh-e-mahfooz? The difference is that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala Knows everything before all, the meaning of this is that the angel of death is told whose souls are to be taken out from one sha’baan to the next. Huzoor sallallahu alaihi wa salam has said that when the 15th of sha’baan passes, certain people pass it in transgression, so much so that their names are added to the list of those to die that year. In the same way, the peoples rizq is told. Just as the government makes a 5 year budget or an annual budget, and when this is accepted during the year it is released through certain projects. In the same way a budget of our entire life has been made, from birth till death our life has been allocated on the loh-e-mahfooz. Then they are released every year on the 15th shabaan, it has already been allocated and it is released every year. So why has this night been mentioned, everything has already been allocated, it is just being relased, so why mention this?Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala says ‘everything has been allocated and it is released annually on the 15th night of sha’baan, now also know this that I am the owner (Malik) of the loh-e-mahfooz. If someone sits with a sincere heart and cries for forgiveness then what is written, I can delete and add to it. If this was not the meaning, then this night would not have been disclosed.
Huzoor sallallahu alaihi wa salam has said there are two things which can change destiny, one is dua and other is sadqah. So the point to note is that if these decisions were not to be changed, then neither these nights would be made nor told to us. Laylat-ul-qadr was made and told that it is hidden within five nights and with shab’aan we are told the night, laylat-ul-qadr is of higher status, this is a degree lower and it is clearly disclosed so that however much obedience one wishes to do they can on this night. Laylat-ul-qadr is of higher status, first it was hidden within the entire month, Aqa sallallahu alaihi wa salam sat itekaf for the entire month of Ramadhan searching for the night of Power to tell his ummah. So then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala removed the first 10 days and told that you will find that night in the last 20 nights of Ramadhan. So then Aqa sallallahu alaihi wa salam sat itekaf for 20 days, and made a request to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala that these 20 nights of itekaf will be too much for my ummah, so then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala made it the last 10 nights. But still Aqa sallallahu alaihi wa salam knew this would be difficult for his ummah, so Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala said ok, my beloved, the itekaf will remain 10 days, but will have to remain awake in 5 nights and search for the night of Power within those 5 nights. If Allah Willed He could have also revealed the magestic night but He Knows that whatever becomes easy for us we do not consider its importance, we do not value it. We only value those things which we get with great difficulty and we only value something when it is lost or when it is taken away from us. We can see this in our daily lives, for example, parents are alive today and children disobey them, they are disrespectful and they get angry when they are disciplined by their parents. They don’t value their parents because they don’t realise how much of a blessing they are. Just by looking at them and smiling one is awarded with Paradise; Paradise can be achieved so easily through them.
So we do not value those blessings of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala that are given to us so easily as much and we don’t appreciate them. Thus Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala disclosed this one night of sha’baan and kept one hidden within 5 nights. Now we can even observe from the two nights, how many people value the 15th night of sha’baan and how many people search for the night of Power. There is a difference of earth and sky and it is because one has been easily given and the other has been hidden; one has to make an effort to find the night of Power.
So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala disclosed this night so his servants could pray, do extra ibadah, read tasbeehs, seek forgiveness and ask for rizq, pray for extension of your life, pray for emancipation from the Hell Fire in the akhirah, pray that your bad destiny is converted to good so that you may live a pious life. These are the prayers which should be sought on this night.
Hadhrat Maaz bin Jabal RA reports that Huzoor sallallahu alaihi wa salam said that there are 5 nights if spent in worship, will clear the way to Jannah. Among those nights one is the 15th of Sha’baan, whoever remains awake during this night in worship has made his path straight towards Jannah. Aqa sallallahu alaihi wa salam said, Jannah becomes wajib for such a person. It means these nights are so blessed, and there is such a great chance of acceptance, that if anyone seeks forgiveness with sincerity, even if the persons sins are equal to the water in the ocean, they will be forgiven and Jannah will become wajib for that person.
Hadhrat Abdullah bin Umar RA reports that Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa salam said, ‘there are five such nights in which prayers are not rejected. One is the thursday nights, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is so Merciful, He has bestowed this blessing upon us every week. Hadhrat Abdullah bin Umar RA used to hold a dhikr gathering every week on Thrusday nights, this is the practise of the blessed Sahabah RA and then after them, the taba’een did the same. They would arrange weekly mehfils to do dhikr, ibadah and istighfaar and this practise is still being done today. But today, people have made this day for wedding ceremonies, instead of sitting for dhikr and istighfaar, people are indulging in haraam activities, singing etc. Weddings have become too lavish, so many new customs and traditions are included as part of the wedding. So much money is spent on oil to burn and mehndi, but nowadays, instead of oil we are burning money. The amount of money spent on oil can pay for four weddings for the poor.
Aqa sallallahu alaihi wa salam told us about this night so that we could spend it in ibadah (worship) and seeking forgiveness.
Attish Baazi and lighting fireworks on this night is haraam, because this is not a night of expressing happiness like weddings. This is a night to refrain from sinning, a night to seek forgiveness and a night where one can easily attain Jannah.
Huzoor sallallahu alaihi wa salam said there are five nights on which the prayer is never denied, one of which is Thursday night and a greater night is the 15th of Sha’baan; shab-e-baraat. The others are in Rajab, Ramadhan and the eid days.
Huzoor sallallahu alaihi wa salam said, whoever repents sincerely on this night, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala descends to the sky, straight at the time of maghrib when the sun begins to set. He comes close to His people and stays there till fajr. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala says all night, ‘is there anyone who repents, so that I may forgive him?’, ‘Is there anyone who asks for rizq (livelihood), so that I may give him rizq’, ‘is there any questioner, that I may answer his questions?’. Whoever asks a question, seeks forgiveness, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala answers him and forgives him. There are a few people who are not forgiven, they are not even forgiven on laylat-ul-qadr.
1. The mushrik, until he leaves shirk he is not forgiven.
2. Mashahim - (person who has jealousy and strong hatred for another in his/her heart). So that type of person will not be forgiven, not on this night (shab-e-baraat) nor laylat-ul-qadr, until his heart is free from this hatred and jealousy.
3. The third type of person who will not be forgiven is the murderer, until he repents sincerely and stops killing.
4. One who breaks off blood relations, it is apparant today that people do not fulfil the rights of their relatives and yet give sadqah in large amounts to far off places. They spend lavishly but do not even help to provide the basic necessities for their relatives. The rights of relatives are even greater than the rights of neighbours; relatives have the first right to zakah. So that person who breaks ties with relatives, will also not be forgiven.
5. One who wears their clothes with pride, the indication is towards pride, at the times of ignorance people used to drape their clothes below their feet and onto the land as a sign of pride. So the one who has pride will also not be forgiven until he is free from this.
6. The one who drinks alcohol will also not be forgiven.
7. The one who backbites.
So these are the types of people who are not forgiven even on those nights when Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is guaranteeing forgiveness, so how will it be possible for such people to be forgiven throughout the normal days of the year? There is only one solution for these people to be forgiven and that is to leave their evil ways, make their lives pure from these things such as shirk, breaking off ties, murder, drinking alcohol, having pride and backbiting. If one is able to make themselves pure from these seven things then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala says they will be forgiven.
Wazaif which buzurg adopt through the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa salam:
1. Tilawat-e-Qur’aan-e-Paak (Recitation of Holy Qur’an): Surah Yaseen (minimum 3 times), Surah Ad-Dhukhaan (minimum 3 times), buzurg have said if it is not possible to recite the entire Surah then the first 8 ayahs 30 times is sufficient.
2. 100 - 1,000 times Dua of Hadhrat Yunus AS - Laa ilaha ila anta Subhanaka inni quntum min-az-zalimeen.
3. 100 times istighfaar - astaghfirullah-al-azeem alazi la illaha ila huwal hayyul qayyum wa atoobu ilaih
4. 100 times (minimum) of Durood Shareef - Allahumma saley ala Sayyidina wa Mowlana Muhammadin wa ‘ala aalihi wa sahbihi wa Barik wa Salim.
5. Salat-ut-Tasbeeh (4 nafl) and also 8 extra nafl rak’ats with niyyah of qiyyam-ul-layl
6. Halqa-e-dhikr (Do mehfil-e-naat first and then dhikr)
7. Dua (read in between nawafil, after salat-ut-tasbeeh and can even repeat on tasbeeh). This is the dua which Huzoor sallallahu alaihi wa salam told Ummul momineen Hadhrat Aisha RA for laylat-ul-qadr but buzurg have also said for sha’baan:
Allahumma inaka afuwwn kareemun tuhibbul afwa fa-fu’ani or this can be shortened to Allahumma inaka afuwan. (according to the hadeeth)
These are just some of the main points from the lecture entitled ‘Shab-e-Baraat ki Fazeelat aur Aadaab’ by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri.