The Month of Sha‘ban by Hajja Rukiye Sultan

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

Madad Ya Sayyidi Ya Rasul Allah ﷺ, wa Mashayikhina Sheikh Nazim Adil Al-Haqqaniق, Sheikh Muhammad Ar-Rabbaniق

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuhu

Tariqatuna as-sohbah, wa-l khayru fi-l jam‘iyyah.
Our Way is through sohbah, and all goodness is in gathering.

The next month is the month of the Prophet ﷺ, Sha‘ban.
“Allahumma barik lana fī Rajab wa Sha‘ban wa ballighna Ramadan.”
This is the du‘a of the Prophet ﷺ.

So the second holy month is Sha‘ban. It will start next week insha’Allah.

On the first night of the month of Sha‘ban, there are twelve rak‘at to pray. In each rak‘ah you read one Fatiha and five Ikhlas, Qul Huwa Allahu Aḥad. After you finish, you read whatever du‘a you like. Allah ﷻ rewards you and you are given the thawab, the reward, of a shahid, a martyr.

The thawab of one shahid saves seventy people of his family on the Day of Judgement from Hell. That is the reward of a shahid, and it is very high. So when you pray these twelve rak‘at, Allah ﷻ writes for you the reward of twelve thousand martyrs. You are rewarded as if you worshipped for twelve years, and also your sins are washed away as if you are a newborn on this night when you pray these twelve rak‘at.

It was the Prophet’s ﷺ most beloved month. He used to fast a lot in this month. Hadrat ‘A’ishaر said:
“Except for Ramadan, I never saw him ﷺ fast more in any month than in the month of Sha‘ban.”

The Prophet ﷺ advised to fast in this month. He said:
“People are getting slower. In Rajab they got excited, worshipping so much and doing a lot. But in Sha‘ban they slow down because they are trying to get ready for Ramadan. That is why I want to keep up in this month.”

There is a hadith sharf in which the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Man arada an yalqani fal-yasumhu wa law thalatha ayyam.”
Whoever wants to meet me and be with me should fast in Sha‘ban, even if it is only three days.

The night of the middle of Sha‘ban, Laylat al-Bara’ah, is a very holy night. It is the night of the New Year in the Heavens. All the books of human beings, the books written by the angels on your right and left, are closed, and the angels are given new books to begin writing in.

On this night we read three times Surat Yasin, and there is a du‘a for it also. Most of you know about this. Insha’Allah when the time comes, you can follow Mawlana Shaykh Mehmetق or look in your books for the du‘a of this night. There are so many rewards.

We pray one hundred rak‘at on this night, Laylat al-Bara’ah.

There is one great Awliya’ who said that on this day, the fifteenth of Sha‘ban, even the jinn, the birds, the animals, the wild animals, the fish and the whales in the sea all fast on this day. It is a very holy day.

SubhanAllah, we had an incident in Damascus. We had a cat. On the fifteenth of Sha‘ban we were fasting and we had a guest, a new Muslim lady, who was also fasting with us. On that day our cat was crying so much, meow, meow, meow. My mother put food for her, but she did not eat it. Even meat, she did not eat it. Milk, she did not drink it.

At Maghrib time, we sat for iftar and the cat ran to the food and started to eat. My mother, Hajjah Anneق, noticed this and said:
“SubhanAllah, they say that the wild animals and the birds and all creatures fast on this day, and this cat is a proof.”

The new Muslim lady cried so much when she saw this. SubhanAllah, we saw it with our own eyes. The cat did not eat anything the whole day, and at Maghrib time she was also making iftar. So this is a very holy day and a very holy night.

The Prophet ﷺ encouraged believers to stay awake on this night for worship and to fast on the day of the fifteenth of Sha‘ban, and also to make du‘a, because Allah ﷻ opens the doors of the Heavens on that night.

The Prophet ﷺ was praying for his Ummah on the thirteenth of Sha‘ban, and Jibril (AS) came and said:
“One third of your Ummah has been forgiven.”

On the second day he was praying, Jibril (AS) came and said:
“Two thirds of your Ummah has been forgiven.”

On the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘ban, the Prophet ﷺ was praying for his Ummah, and Jibril (AS) said:
“They are all forgiven, for you.”

So ma sha’Allah, we must stay awake on this night and ask Allah ﷻ, because all the doors of the Heavens are open. There is also the munadi, the heavenly caller, calling people to pray to their Lord and ask Him.

Whoever asks for good, Allah ﷻ will give them good.
Whoever asks for dunya, Allah ﷻ will give them dunya.
Whoever asks for akhirah, Allah ﷻ will give them akhirah.
Whoever asks for health, Allah ﷻ will give them health.

Whoever asks for anything, Allah ﷻ will reward them and answer them, for the barakah of this night and for the barakah of the Prophet ﷺ.

We are very lucky to be from the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ. Our Prophet ﷺ loved us so much. Insha’Allah we hope to love him ﷺ also and to be with him on the Day of Judgement.

Of course we can never love him ﷺ as much as he ﷺ loves us, because we do not have his great heart and the power of Habib Allah ﷺ. But insha’Allah even one drop of his love ﷺ will make us safe and happy, with him in this world and in the Hereafter.

Al-Fatiha.

• Hjh Rukiye Sultan

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