this is what i found.
Regarding celebrating 'Shab-e-barat'
By Shaykh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz - The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia
Praise be to Allah Who has perfected for us His religion and completed His favours upon us. May peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad(SAW), Prophet of repentance and mercy.
To proceed, Allah (SWT) says in the Qur'an, the meaning of which is:
"This day, I have perfected for you your religion , completed my favours upon you and chosen for you Islam as your religion." (AI-Ma'idah 5:4)
"What! Have they partners who have established for them some religion without the permission of Allah." (Ash-Shura 42:21)
``A'isha (RA) reported Prophet(SAW) as saying "Whoever innovates Anything in this religion of ours which is not of it, it is to be rejected." (Bukhari & Muslim)
In another narration the Prophet (SAW.) said ,
"Whoever does an action which we have not commanded, it will be rejected." (Muslim)
Jaabir reported that the Prophet (SAW) used to say in Jumu'ah Khutbah,
"To proceed with: The best speech is the book of Allah, the best guidance and example is that of the prophet (SAW) and the worst of all things are the innovations, and every innovation is deviation." (Muslim)
There are many Qur'anic verses and sayings of the Prophet (SAW) which clearly and categorically affirm that Allah (SWT) has perfected the Deen and completed His favours upon the Ummah and that Allah did not cause his Prophet (SAW) to die until lie had rigorously conveyed everything that Allah had transmitted to him concerning the religion be it in words or actions. Furthermore, the Prophet (SAW) made it clear that whatever people innovate after him whether in words or actions and then attribute to the religion of Islam, it must be rejected as Bid'ah (Innovation) even it the intentions are sincere.
The companions of the Prophet and the scholars of Islam following them were well aware of this fact and subsequently condemned all types of innovations and warned people against them, as has been expounded in the works of those who wrote on the topics of Sunnah and Bid'ah, like lbn Waddah, AI Turtusi, Abi Shama and others.
Among the things which people innovated is the celebration of the night of 15th Sha'ban and the singling out of this particular day for fasting, although there is no proof in support of this. There are certain Hadiths regarding this matter all of which are so weak that they cannot be used as justification. Hadiths concerning the virtues of prayer on this night are Mawdu' (fabricated) as explained by scholars, some of whom we will quote later on Insha-Allah. Although there are certain traditions attributed to the predecessors and some Syrian scholars in support of this issue, the vast majority of scholars of the Ummah regards the celebrating of this night as a Bid'ah. They also agree that all the hadiths regarding this matter are Da'eef (weak), and some of them are fabricated. Among the scholars who draw attention to this point is AI-Hafiz lbn Rajab al-Hambali in his book Lata'if AI Ma'arif and in others. Weak hadiths may only he used to support those matters of ``Ibadah (worship), which are already based on authentic proofs. Hence any Da'eef hadith used to support this practice are irrelevant. This important principle regarding the use of Da'eef Hadiths has been elucidated by Shaykh ul-lslam lbn Taymiyyah (Rahimahullah).
There is a consensus among all the scholars of Islam that, whenever a dispute arises amongst the people, then it incumbent upon them to refer to the Holy Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) and whatever the verdict is from either of these sources. That is the Shari'ah which must be followed, and whatever opposes them must be rejected. Anything considered as '``Ibadah, which has no mention in the Qur'an or the authentic Sunnah is a Bid'ah and therefore practising it, let alone preaching it's virtues, is forbidden.
"Oh you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the messenger and those charged with authority among you. If you differ in anything among yourselves refer it to Allah and his messenger, if you do believe in Allah and the Last Day; that is best and most suitable for final determination." (Surah An Nisa' 4:59)
"Whatever it be wherein you differ, the decision thereof is with Allah" (Surah AI-Shura 42:10)
"Say: if you do love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins." (Surah Aali-'Imran 3:31)
"But no, by thy Lord, they can never attain real faith until they make thee the judge in all disputes among them, and find in their souls no resistance against thy decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction." (Surah An-Nisa' 4:65)
Apart from this, there are many ayats (verse) in the Holy Qur'an which make it compulsory to refer all disputes to the Qur'an and the authentic hadiths. Then be satisfied with the verdict, which is actually Iman, and is beneficial to mankind in this world and far better regarding the ultimate outcome in the hereafter.
Hafiz ibn Rajab remarked in his book Lata'if Al-Ma'arif after his previously quoted statement, that, 'Some of the followers of the companions like Khalid bin Ma'dan and Makhul and Luqman bin 'Amir used to respect the 15th of Sha'ban by offering extra prayers at night. It is said that they were influenced by certain Judaic traditions. (All those who hold this night in esteem are in fact following this isolated tradition). Gradually this practice spread to many parts of the Muslim World and thus created confusion and differences of opinion among the people. Some accepted it, among whom were zealous worshippers from Basra, but most of the scholars of Hijaz rejected it and condemned it, like 'Ata and lbn Abi Mulaika, as did all the scholars of Madina as reported by, Abdur Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslani and the Maliki School of Fiqh (thought) and all Agreed as Bid'ah. However, the scholars of Syria (who supported this issue) differed in how the 15th of Sha'ban should be celebrated. The first group regarded the celebration of this night in the mosque collectively as Mustahab (recommended). Among them were Khalid bin Ma'dan, Luqman bin 'Amir and others, who would dress specially for the occasion and hasten to the masque wherein they would remain awake throughout the night. Ishaq bin Rahawayhi endorsed this practice and said that celebrating this night collectively in the mosque is not a Bid'ah (reported by Harb Al-Kirmani in his treatise on religious opinions).
However, another group regarded celebrating this night through prayer, story-telling and supplication collectively in the mosque as Makhruh (discouraged) and it was not Makhruh for a person to pray individually at home and this is the opinion of Awza'i, the Imam, Faqih and scholar of Syria, and this is the nearest to the truth.' He (Ibn Rajab) further stated that there was no report from Ahmad bin Hanbal regarding the 15th of Sha'ban, but there are those who tried to deduce from his opinions that there was a recommendation in celebrating this night. However, according to another view it was deduced that there was no recommendation, on the basis that Ahmad bin Hanbal stated that there was no evidence to support celebrating the nights of the two 'Eids. A further view reported that Ahmad bin Hanbal regarded the celebration of this night as Mustahab, because Abdur Rahman bin Zayd used to practise it and he is from among the Tabi'een (Second generation of Muslims). lbn Rajab continues that there is absolutely evidence from either the life of the Prophet (SAW) or any of his companions regarding 15th Sha'ban, but rather from the aforementioned Tabi'een and Syrian scholars. Here, Ibn Rajab is emphasising that celebrating 15th Sha'ban was completely unknown in the time of the Prophet (SAW) and his companions. Awza`i's view that one can celebrate this night by offering prayers individually at home and lbn Rajab's supporting for this view is strange and weak, because no Muslim is allowed to innovate anything in the religion that is not established by the proofs from Shari'ah, whether the practice is done individually or collectively, openly or secretly, taking into consideration the comprehensive statement of the Prophet (SAW), 'Anyone who does an action which we have not commanded, it is to be rejected" (Muslim), ... and other proofs regarding Bid'ah and warnings against it.
The Imam Abu Bakr AI-Turtusi has remarked in his book AI-Hawadith Wal Bid'ah that lbn Waddah has reported from Zaid bin Aslam as saying, "None of our scholars (Fuqhaha) gave any consideration or attention to the 15th Sha'ban nor the hadith of Makhool, neither did they give this night precedence over other nights." lbn Mulaika bin Zayyad AI-Numayri was asked whether or not the reward of the night of 15th Sha'ban was equal to that of Lailat AI-Qadr. He replied that were anyone to utter this in front of him he would strike them with a stick.
The great scholar Ash-Shawkani has stated in his book AI Fawa'id Al-Majmu'ah that, the hadith, '0 `Ali, whoever prays one hundred rak'ah on the night of the 15th Sha'ban reciting Surah al-Fatihah and Surah al-lkhlas 11 times, certainly all his needs will be fulfilled', is fabricated as is self evident from its wording and the unlimited reward claimed. Furthermore all the transmitters are also unknown. In his, AI-Mukhtasar he stated, "The hadith relating to the prayer in the night of 15th Sha'ban is Batil (false) and the hadith of lbn Hibban saying, '0 `Ali, stay awake during the night of 5th Sha'ban and fast the following days' is Da`eef."
It is reported in the book of La'li that praying one hundred rak'ah on the 15th Sha'ban while reciting Surah al-Ikhlas ten times in each rak'ah is all but fabricated due to the fact that in all three narrations of this hadith the transmitters are either weak or unknown. In the hadith which states for one to read twelve rak'ah reciting Surah al-Ikhlas thirty times in each rak'ah is fabricated. Another hadith recommending fourteen is also fabricated.
A good number of Fuqhaha have been deceived by these Hadiths like the author of Ihyaa `Ulum ad-Deen (Imam AI-Ghazali) and others and some commentators on the Qur'an.
All the hadiths pertaining to prayers on this night are either false or fabricated regardless of their criteria. My last statement does not contradict At-Tirmidhi's hadith in which ```A'isha reports the Prophet (SAW) visiting Jannat al-Baqi` (famous grave-yard of Madina) on the night of 15th Sha'ban in which Allah (SWT) descends to the lowest Heaven to forgive the sins, even if they were to exceed the number hairs on the sheep of the tribe of Kalb, as I was referring to specific prayers offered on the night of 15th Sha' ban. It is worth noting that this hadith, as well as being weak, also has a break in its chain of narrators.
AI-Hafiz AI-'Iraqi said the hadith concerning prayers on this night is falsely attributed to the Prophet (SAW) and It is a lie against him.
Imam An-Nawawi, in his book AI-Majmu`ah says:
"The prayer known as Salat-ar-Ragha`ib which consists of twelve rak'ah offered between Maghrib and 'Isha on the first Jumu'ah of the month of Rajab, and the one hundred rak'ah offered on the 15th Sha'ban are the worst kind of Bid'ah."
One should not be deceived by the fact that these prayers have been mentioned in the book of Qut al-Quloob and lhyaa 'Ulum ad-Deen or the hadith quoted in there because they are false. Similarly, one should not be fooled by those Fuqhaha who fail to obtain a clear understanding of this issue and then proceed to write books recommending these prayers, no doubt they are at fault.
Imam Abu Muhammad Abdur-Rahman bin Isma'il AI-Maqdasi has written an extremely competent book on this topic refuting both the above mentioned books. Furthermore, the refutations of countless scholars on the same are too numerous to be quoted. However, I hope that what I have already quoted is sufficient for the sincere seeker of truth. It is manifestly obvious from Qur'an, hadith and the quotations of scholars that celebrating the 15th Sha'ban, offering special prayers or any specific '``Ibadah on this night and fasting the following day is the most contemptible type of Bid'ah innovated after the period of the companions.
Abu Hurayrah reported the Prophet (SAW) as saying:
Don't single out the night of Jumu'ah for praying its day for fasting except if the day happens to coincide with ones habitual fasting. (Muslim)
From this hadith we can deduce that had any night been singled out for special prayers, it would have been the night of Jumu'ah, for according to authentic hadiths this Is the best of days on which the sun rises. It is evident that since the Prophet (SAW) forbade singling out the night of Jumu'ah for any special prayer, why should any other night be preferred for this without reliable proof.
Since special prayers in the night of Lailat ul-Qadr and the other nights of Ramadan are sanctioned by the Shari'ah, the Prophet (SAW) has left personal examples as reported in the Two Sahih (Bukhari & Muslim)
The Prophet (SAW) said that whoever prays in the night of Ramadan with sincere faith and hope of reward, Allah will forgive him all his previous sins. Similarly, had there been any special prayers or celebrations sanctioned by the Shari'ah for the 15th Sha' ban, the first Jumu'ah of Rajab or for the night of Mi'raaj, the Prophet (SAW) would definitely have either mentioned or practised them himself. Had this practice occurred, it would certainly have been reported by the companions and hence transmitted to the Ummah, as they are the best of people and most sincere after the Prophets, may Allah be please with them.
It has now been made perfectly clear from the quotations of the scholars that no evidence can be attributed to the Prophet (SAW) or his companions regarding the virtue of the first Jumu'ah of Rajab and the 15th Sha'ban, so It must be concluded that these two nights are something innovated in Islam and singling them out with any particular '``Ibadah is the worst type of Bid'ah. Similarly, the 27th of Rajab, which some people believe to be the night of Isra and Mi'raaj', should not be celebrated. It is forbidden to single out this night for specific '``Ibadah or celebrate it in any form or manner as proven from the above mentioned proofs.
It is noteworthy that the night of the Prophet (SAW) journey is not known according to the genuine opinions of the scholars and claiming that 27th Rajab is the night of the Isra and Mi'raaj is a false claim as it has no foundation in the authentic hadiths. "The best of things are the predecessors on guidance and truth, and the worst of things are those innovated."
I ask Allah (SWT) to give us the strength to hold on to the Sunnah and remain steadfast on it and be cautious of anything which opposes it. Allah (SWT) is the Most Generous and Most Benevolent. Peace and blessings be upon his slave and Messenger, Muhammad (SAW).
That bit I cannot agree with. If there are hadith, there are hadith.
There may be other explanations etc too, but as long as no one is sinning on the night, but doing legitimate things like praying salaah, reading the qur'an, doing dua, why does it irritate people when people do this?
There is also a hadith that is someone starts a new practice and other people follow, the initiator is also rewarded. This would however not apply to the 15th of Sha'ban as people generally use ahadith to show its validity.
When it comes to using ahadith, sahih ahadith etc are required for acts of law - things that make something fardh or haraam, but for "benefits" or such things, such stringent requirements were not followed by the early scholars.
The same article mentions that there are, but their chain of narration is not considered "sahih".
The fact that Imam Nawawi also mentioned the ahadith also shows that this is not a new innovation, as well, he was a long long time ago and it is something that has been carried forward fromone generation to the next.
(When it comes to the issue of weak ahadith, I think a good analogy is parents. A fabricated parent is not a real parent. A sahih/strong parent will enforce his will, make you do the right thing. A weak one will be able to offer guidance but without the power to force you. However no one will call the weak, frail parent "not a parent".)
What people do with such articles is demotivate others and tell them not to pray nawaafils, not to read the qur'an, not to do dua. Surely that is wrong?
The issue of bid'ah only comes up if people try to enforce the worship as fardh etc, or if someone tries to prohibit it as haraam etc as in those cases, there is nothing in the evidences to make them either.
If people want to pray,they should pray. If they don't, that is up to them too.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
One thing about people who use this to "apologise" to others etc: We should try to be excellent to each other every day.
At the same time sometimes you need a kick, an excuse to move forward and if this be it, then so be it. (I know I aint perfect for one.)
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
ok, but why choose THIS night? Allah comes down from the 7th heaven EVERY night. and the whole of sha'ban (including its nights) is suppose to be blessed (in some way or another, i dont have the facts)
I dont think this applies to a NEW practise, made from scratch that has no basis in the sunnah. ISnt it about reviving a sunnah?
Ive never heard of this before. Do you have any proof? I always thought hadiths were used for every matter of life.
that doesnt make it right. It's like listening to music. Most people do it. its still wrong.
Good analogy, but wouldnt you choose the strong parent over the weak parent, whenever? Ahadiths are considered weak when their transmition is faulty, there might be a liar, or someone with bad memories, or just holes in the transmission, why would you choose this hadith over one where there is no liar and which has being recognize as a strong/sahih hadith?
I dont think that was the author's intention. and its not demotivating nothing. Its just telling the person not to hold THIS night as holy as there is no backing from the Qur'an and sunnah to back it up. There ARE other nights that ARE holy.
again, can i have backing for this? for me a bid'ah is a bid'ah, regardless of what it is about. I dont believe that there are "good" and "bad" bid'ahs.
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
People are humans. They are not perfect. their actions can wane and be like on a roller coaster.
Some times they need an excuse to do good, to better themselves. Its like how there are 5 daily prayers, but still firday is a special day. and still there is ramadan every year.
People are not always constant and while constantness is a desireable quality, sometimes people need excuses to set themselves right.
This is just like how the tenth of Muharram is a perfect time to teach people of Imam Hussain (ra) and otehr times of the years, maybe when the battle of badr etc happened, it is perfect to tell people what hapened then. Same with uhud and any other events. These can be taught at other times, but when they are done at specific times, there can be greater acceptance and understanding.
Reading nawaafil, doing dua, readig the qur'an are not new acts.
While not proof, this should be a good read on the subject - weak ahadith have always been considered enough for "fada'il" and its a relatively new thing to not accept them.
bad example. But he posted a hadith. Its not for us to decide if it is right or wrong when there are evidences from the qur'an and sunnah.
The assumption is that you have to choose, that they contradict. If they do not contradict, but compliment each other, then you can follow both. Like if one parent tells you to eat and another specifies a specific food to eat, you can listen to both.
For it to be bid'ah it has to be new. Not only is there suggestion from albeit weak ahadith here, but more - reading nawaafils, reading the qur'an, doing dua - the ingredients of what people do here is not wrong.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
DId anything special happened on 15th of Sha'ban? i dont think so. There's nothing wrong with what you're saying. its just that as time goes on people's intention change (because of ignorance) they might start to think its Obligatory to do eg: talking about Al-badr. or believe that there is special reward to it, reward that the prophet told us about, when there isnt.
Nowt wrong with the worship. the thing is the intention.
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
with issues of ignorance, they are best dealt with knowledge, not through bans.
Teaching people the errors of their ways there would be the same effort or less than trying to enforce a ban which many would ignore and others would question.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
No banning. Just you not practising it. and explaining to others why you arent.
what about praying is a specific way and reciting specific things. That's bid'ah, isnt?
.
As we've said before if there is a weak hadith and there are some saheeh hadith to back it up then its alright. does this work the other way round? Like if there is a weak hadiths surrounded by fabricated hadiths, what do you do? (this is the case for the quote above)
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
you cannot do anything there aprt from ignoring the fabricated ones. They do not make the other hadith weaker (but may have been the source from where something was taken).
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
As soon as I saw the name 'Shaykh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz', I said I'm not even gonna bother reading your post.
this Hadith is weak. and there doesnt seem to be any other hadith about this subject. so what do you do? Fast and stay awake? ANd this IS a minor issue. So maybe it's "do it if you want to". im fine with that
i think our ideas is reconciling in my head#
would you agree if i say that "ok, this night might be special. But i think the extravagant worship is wrong"
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
Just wanted to mention - hadith(s) being weak in no way means that it cannot be acted upon.
According to Imam al-Nawawi, “The ulema have said, both the fuqaha, the hadith experts and others is that it is permitted, rather recommended to act in virtuous deeds, in acts of exhortation and warning [when you encourage something or warn against it]. It is permitted to act upon weak hadith as long as they are not fabricated” (or excessively weak as some have said).
Yep, read that somewhere yesterday.
But does "celebrating" 15th Sha'ban falls under this category?
Can i ask WHY 15th of Shaban? And no other day? did anythig special happened?
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
From a link You passed to me and i think its pretty good. I've emboldened some of the point that i thought were important.
So this kinda solved it all for me. I now have no problem with people holding the 15th of Sha'ban as special. Before i did some research i put everyone in the same bag, as in, if they do anything on 15th of Sha'ban then it's Bid'ah. But now ive open my eyes and i;ve realised that ok, you're allowed to hold 15th of Shaban as special (nothing wrong with that as there is a difference in opinion on this matter) but some people do specific prayers and this is what I think is wrong and is a bid'ah. <--this is a way too simplified version of this whole thing but i'm having difficulties putting it into words
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
Why wouldn't it fall under this category?
The major scholars who have come before and passed away have allowed extra worship on this night, even ibn Taymiyyah has allowed it:
If a person prays that night alone, or in a select congregation, as many groups (tawaif) of the Early Muslims used to do, it is very good.
As for gathering in the mosque for a particular fixed prayer, such as gather for 100 rakats in which 1,000 QulhuwaAllahuAhad are read every time, this is a reprehensible innovation, which none of the imams have allowed. [Ibn Taymiyya, al-Fatawa al-Kubra, 2; 222-138]
So I don't know why Salafi's have a problem with it especially when they look up to him for fiqhi matters, even when they're his controversial ones. In the Hanafi school, Imam Haskafi has also allowed it:
"Among the recommended [prayers] are on. . . . the nights of the two Eids, the middle of Sha`ban, the last ten of Ramadan, and the first [ten] of Dhul-Hijjah." [Durr al-Mukhtar]
And what's with 'celebrating' - it's extra worship.
Why 15th Shaban....because there are hadith relating to it. Simple as, what don't you understand?... If it's allowed then why are people such as Bin Baaz against it?
Can we now not postpone this argument 'til next year?
I had thought the previous post had got to the position that "its not a big issue, people ahve differed historically, but it does not matter really as it is minor".
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
Sure, fine with me.