أُسَامَةُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَمْ أَرَكَ تَصُومُ شَهْرًا مِنَ الشُّهُورِ مَا تَصُومُ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ . قَالَ « ذَلِكَ شَهْرٌ يَغْفُلُ النَّاسُ عَنْهُ بَيْنَ رَجَبٍ وَرَمَضَانَ وَهُوَ شَهْرٌ تُرْفَعُ فِيهِ الأَعْمَالُ إِلَى رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ فَأُحِبُّ أَنْ يُرْفَعَ عَمَلِى وَأَنَا صَائِمٌ.»
[رواه أحمد، النسائي، أبو نعيم]
Usamah bin Zaid said: I said “Oh Messenger of Allah, I have not seen you fast in any month that which you do in Shabaan. He (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said, “That is a month that the people are negligent of which falls between Rajab and Ramadan. The deeds are raised up in it to the Lord of the Worlds. So, I like for my deeds to be raised up while I am fasting.”
[Reported by Ahmad, an Nasaa’i and Abu Na’im]
As we all can see after reading this hadeeth, that the month of Sha’baan is not one that we should be ignoring. As Muslims we need to be trying to adhere to that which was from the sunnah of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), and that he was diligent about upholding.
We see that worship during this month was very important to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, as his followers, it should be just as important to us. We should be striving to do as he did. We should be trying to increase in our worship, especially in fasting. It is already known that his way (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was the best way. There is no getting closer to Allah or being more pleasing to Him other than that which was from the sunnah of His beloved Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).
In this hadeeth, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) informed us about something special that happens in this month. He (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) told us that in it, our deeds are raised to Allah. Subhanna Allah. Think about that for a minute. All that wrong deeds that we have done, all the lies that were told, all that sins that were committed with our tongues and limbs. All of these things are going to be raised up to Allah. Yet we have the opportunity of when these deeds are being raised up, to be of those that are leaving off our food, drink and desires for no other reason than to please our Lord. When our deeds are put forth, regardless of what they have been, we can be in a state of real devotion to Allah. Do you not see that this would be a good situation in which to place ourselves at this time?
It is one thing not to know about the coming of this month, or even knowing that it has started. Though, once it is brought to our attention, we need to be diligent in trying to get from the abundant amount of benefit that is available. We should no longer be of those that don’t care about what we are doing while our deeds are being raised. Trying to gain Allah’s forgiveness and pleasure should be on the top of our lists as Muslims. In this particular hadeeth, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) has not only explained how it can be done, but also was the first to take advantage of it himself. So, if it was important enough for him (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) to take on this practice, knowing his position with Allah, how much more are we in need of adhering to this valuable piece of advice ourselves.
May Allah forgive us for our sins, plant our feet firm upon His religion and make us from those that see the importance of this beautiful opportunity… Allahuma ameen.
