Shaʿban, Laylat al-Bara’ah and the Book of Fate by Hajja Amina Adil Sultanق

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

Hajja Amina Adil Sultanق’s Suhbah

This is the eighth month of the Islamic year, Shaʿban.

Whoever prays twelve rakat in the first night of this month, reciting “Qul Hu” five times after the Fatiha, will be granted the rewards of twelve thousand martyrs for his prayer, and his sins will not be recorded for forty days.

Should he die during these forty days, he will be rewarded as if he had died a martyr. The recommended hour for this prayer is between the prayer times of Maghrib and Isha.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever wishes to follow me and to reach my rank and rewards should fast three days during Sha’ban.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ used to fast especially during the month of Sha’ban.

He was asked why he preferred to fast in this month, and he replied: “This month is neglected by most people. Everyone knows that Rajab is the month of Allah ﷻ and tries to fast as much as possible during Rajab. Come Sha’ban, and many people think, ‘Soon it will be the holy month of Ramadan when we will be fasting continuously,’ and so the fast of Sha’ban is not much observed. But Sha’ban is the month when the Book of Fate is written and when the good and bad events of the coming year are decreed. That is why I fast, so that my Lord, when He comes to write my destiny, will find me fasting.”

This rewriting of the Books of Fate occurs in the fifteenth night of Sha’ban, two weeks before the beginning of Ramadan. This is a tremendously holy night. The Angel of Death is not permitted to seize the souls of men between Maghrib and Isha of this night.

During this night everyone’s destiny for the coming year will be decided, whether he is to live or to die, whether he is to marry and have children, whether he will find wealth or poverty. Therefore fasting on the day preceding and on the day following this holy night is highly recommended.

It is customary to pray one hundred rakat in the fifteenth night of Sha’ban. After the Fatiha one recites “Qul Hu” ten times in every rakah, or else one may pray ten rakat, reciting one hundred “Qul Hu” after the Fatiha. But it seems preferable to pray one hundred rakat. After every set of two rakat, one gives taslim, as salamu alaykum wa rahmatu Allah ﷻ.

The fifteenth night of Sha’ban is also called laylat al-baraa, and it is one of the five nights of the year in which the numb heart is quickened and restored to life once more. To spend a holy night in wakefulness and prayer fills the heart with new life. The life of the heart is faith, and unbelief is its death.

Even if faith seems to have vanished from the whole world, it lives on in the hearts of men and can be revived at any moment. Therefore it is of greatest benefit for us to enliven these holy nights through our prayers as best we can.

The Islamic year has five such nights: the fifteenth night of Sha’ban, laylat al-baraa; the twenty seventh night of Ramadan, laylat al-qadr; the nights before both of the Eid celebrations; and every Thursday night. Whoever is particularly mindful of his prayers during these nights, his faith will be revived in his heart, and it will be infused with fresh strength.

However, the Holy Prophet ﷺ also recommended not to fast after the fifteenth of Sha’ban up until the beginning of Ramadan, excepting those who have made it their custom to fast every Monday and Thursday during the months of Rajab and Sha’ban.

It is makruh, undesirable, to fast after the fifteenth of Sha’ban, because people ought to gather their strength for the obligatory fast of Ramadan. But for those used to fasting on these days there is no objection.

Once, on the thirteenth of Sha’ban, the angel Jibril (AS) appeared to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and said to him: “O Prophet of Allah ﷻ, pray and make supplication for your nation that Allah ﷻ Almighty might preserve them from Hell.”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ did as the angel commanded him to do, remaining wakeful throughout the night and praying incessantly for his nation, his Ummah. When the sun had risen, the angel came to him and said: “O Prophet of Allah ﷻ, I bring you good tidings: Allah ﷻ Almighty has forgiven one third of your nation.”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ asked: “What of the remaining two thirds?” The angel replied: “I can say nothing about them.”

That following night, the fourteenth night of Sha’ban, the angel came again to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and urged him to again pray for his nation that Allah ﷻ Almighty might preserve them from the fires of Hell.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ again spent all night praying and supplicating on behalf of his nation. In the morning the angel appeared to him and informed him that Allah ﷻ Almighty in His endless grace had granted his prayers and released another third of the Prophet’s nation.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ then asked: “And what of the last third?” “I can say nothing about that,” replied the angel.

But the third night, the fifteenth night of Sha’ban, the angel again came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and said: “O Muhammad ﷺ, this is the night of the fifteenth of Sha’ban, a holy night of incomparable mercy. In this night Allah ﷻ Almighty sends down many times the amount of mercy onto the people on the earth. Look up and behold the heavens.”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ lifted his head and gazed at the sky, and he was shown the celestial gates opened wide, all eight gates of Paradise. Each gate was guarded by an angel, and each angel cried out: “O our brother Jibril (AS), what is this special night?” “This is the night of mercy and forgiveness,” he replied, speaking to the Holy Prophet ﷺ, “so spend this night in prayer and beseech your Lord for forgiveness, and exhort your nation to pray as well.”

Then the Holy Prophet ﷺ heard the angel of the first heaven as he chanted: “Happy is he who repents during this night.” And he heard the angel of the second heaven as he chanted: “Happy is he who spends this night in prayer.” He heard the angel of the third heaven chanting: “Happy is he who performs ruku in this night.” And he heard the angel of the fourth heaven singing: “Happy is he who makes sajda during this night.” The angel of the fifth heaven he heard saying: “Happy is he who praises his Lord in this night.” The angel of the sixth heaven he heard saying: “Happy is he who performs good deeds during this night.” Thus he heard the angels of all the heavens praise the blessedness of this holy night.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ asked the angel Jibril (AS) how long the blessings of this night would last, and Jibril (AS) answered: “Up until the crack of dawn.”

For this reason we should try to spend as much time as we can in worship during this night, for baraa means forgiveness and acquittal.

One night Aishaر, the Holy Prophet’s wife, awoke and found the Prophet ﷺ not at her side. She rose to look for him, but he was not to be found in any of the other wives’ homes. She then called at the house of his daughter Fatimaر and asked for him. He was not there either. Together they set out to look for him but could find him nowhere. Finally Aliر, may Allah ﷻ bless his face, his son in law, said: “I know where to find him,” and he led them to the place which is nowadays called Jannat al-Baqi, a graveyard. The Holy Prophet ﷺ used to go there frequently when he was alive.

There they found him, squatting in a corner. They perceived his light, which rose up to heaven like a pillar. They approached him and Fatimaر called out: “Father, father,” but he did not respond. As they drew closer, they found him prostrating himself on the ground in sajda, tears streaming from his eyes. They fell down beside him and also began to weep.

Finally they asked him: “O Prophet of Allah ﷻ, what have you seen? Is it a revelation? Or have you received tidings of a great calamity? Is the wrath of Allah ﷻ upon us, or the enemy before the gates?” “No,” replied the Holy Prophet ﷺ, “it is neither a revelation, nor the enemy, nor the wrath of Allah ﷻ. But you must know that tonight is the night of baraa, the night of pardon and acquittal, and all prayers and supplications are heard and accepted during this night. I pray to Allah ﷻ to make my nation safe from the fires of Hell. Come and help me pray for this.”

So they all prayed together during this night. Aliر, Fatimaر, Hasanر and Husaynر, and Aishaر remained in prayer together until the break of dawn.

How should we, who are barely able to pray for ourselves, be deserving of the prayers of these pure and sacred souls? May Allah ﷻ forgive us and reward them with a thousand fold of blessings, and send mercy and guidance to the wayward nation of Muhammad ﷺ.

Al-Fatiha.

•⁠ ⁠Hajja Amina Adil Sultanق

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