Saturday 27th March 2021 (at Maghrib) will mark the night of 15th Sha’ban, also referred to as Laylat al-Bara’ah, Laylat an-Nisf min Sha’ban, and Shab-e-Barat.
The importance of the 15th night of Sha’ban is a subject of debate among Muslims. Some celebrate the night with special prayers and fast the following day, while others say that this practice is not from the Sunnah.
The reality is that scholars consider the hadiths about 15th Sha’ban as being sound (Sahih), good (Hassan) and weak (Dha’if). However, due to the fact that there are numerous hadith, and the weakness of many of the hadith is not severe, the virtue of this night is accepted as authentic by scholars.
Ibn Taymiyyah (rh) says, ‘So many ahadith and reports exist regarding the excellence of the 15th night of Sha’ban that one is compelled to accept that this night does possess some virtue’. This is the general consensus of scholars regarding this night.
So what are the blessings of 15th Sha’ban, and how can you take advantage of them?
Allah (swt) forgives many of His servants on this night
The main blessing of this night is that Allah pours His mercy and forgiveness upon earth from Maghrib until Fajr. The Prophet (saw) described the extent of His forgiveness in powerful language in numerous narrations:
The Prophet (saw) said, ′Allah gazes at His creation on the fifteenth night of Sha’ban and then forgives all His slaves except for two types of people: those who attribute partners to Allah and those who have rancour for their fellow Muslims’. [Ahmad]
