Question:
- What is the ruling on the fast performed in the month of Sha’baan?
Answer:
- Fasting is it Sunnah. Doing it often is also from the Sunnah, so much that A’isha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “I didn’t see him fasting more then in Sha’baan” (Narrated by al Bukhari). Therefore, we know that it is recommended to fast a lot in the month of Sha’baan because of this hadeeth.
- The people of knowledge say that fasting in the month of Sha’baan is like the Sunnan that is done for the obligatory prayers, kind of like it is something that is tied in with the month of Ramadan. This is why it is the Sunnah to fast in the month of Sha’baan. Also it is from the Sunnah to fast six days or Shawaal, just like the Sunnan that are prayed before the obligatory prayer and after it. In the fast of Sha’baan there is another benefit. It is to prepare the soul and to get it ready for the fast that is coming in Ramadan. This makes it easy to do.
[Taken from Fatawah Arkan al Islam by Sheikh Uthaimeen]
[Translated by Abu Abdillah Abdul Lateef]
