The Significance of Shabe Baraat

1. The month of Sha’ban is the eighth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. The fifteenth night of this month is known as Laylatul Bara’ah or Laylatun Nisfe min Sha’ban in the Arab world. In India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Afghanistan, etc., it is known as Shab-e-barat. Some people believe that in Surah al-Dukhan (44:3-4) there is a reference to this night as Allah says, “We sent it (the Qur’an) down during a blessed night. We are truly warners. In that night is made distinct every affair of wisdom” But the night referred to here cannot be a Sha’ban night, because it is said here clearly that the Qur’an was revealed in this night. We know from the Surah al-Qadr (97) that the Qur’an was revealed in the night of Qadr and we also know from the Qur’an (Al-Baqarah 2:185) that the Qur’an was revealed in the month of Ramadan, so it is obvious that the night of the revelation of the Qur’an was in Ramadan, not Sha’ban, and that it was Laylatul Qadr not Shab-e-barat (or the Sha’ban night). Some people also say that in the 2nd year of Hijrah, the direction of Qiblah was changed from Jerusalem to Ka’bah (Makkah) on the 15th day of Sha’ban. This report is also not confirmed by authentic Ahadith.According to most of the scholars of Tafsir, the Qur’an has not mentioned anything about the Sha’ban night. There are some Ahadith that speak about the Middle of Sha’ban and its night. However, the scholars of Hadith say that most of the Ahadith concerning this night are not sound. They are weak (da’if) according to the criteria of the Muhaddithin. Imam al-Mundhiri (died in 656 A. H.) in his famous book Al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib (vol. 2, pp. 116-120) has reported fourteen Ahadith on the subject of this night. The following points can be summarized from those Ahadith:


The month of Sha’ban is a great month.
In this month Allah takes the account of His creation.
Because this month occurs between two other important months, viz. Rajab and Ramadan, many people do not pay enough attention to it.
The Prophet -peace be upon him- loved to fast during this month. He used to fast most of the month of Sha’ban.
After sunset during the night of Middle of Sha’ban, Allah in His great mercy and kindness turns towards His creation and asks, “Is there anyone who would seek My forgiveness and I forgive him/her? Is there anyone who is in need to ask Me and I provide for his/her needs. Is there anyone who in pain and seek My help and I help him/her? Is there? Is there? until the time of Fajr.”
The Prophet -peace be upon him- is said to have recommended prayers during this night and fasting during the following day.
It reported that the Prophet -peace be upon him- used to visit the Muslim cemetery on this evening and he used to pray for the deceased Muslims. These are the things that we learn from some Ahadith about the significance of this night. However, there are many practices and customs common in some Muslim countries, such as making a sweet dish (Halwa), doing fireworks (atish baazi) etc. These things have no meaning and no reference in Ahadith. There are also some superstitious beliefs about this night. For example, some people believe that the spirits (arwah) of the deceased visit their relatives during this night. Some believe that there is a special Tree in the heaven upon whose leaves are the names of all human beings, and whatever leaves drop during this night, those people are destined to die in this year. Some think that the decisions about the life and death of people are made during this night. All these beliefs and superstitions do not belong to the authentic teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah.We must try to follow the Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah of the blessed Prophet -peace be upon him. It is our duty as Muslims to take advantage of all good occasions to revive our faith, to purify our souls and to increase our love and devotion to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, but we must follow the Sunnah of the Prophet -peace be upon him. We must not do anything in our celebrations that is against his teachings.


Response:
Very briefly, there are three reasons why I feel that the case of those people is weak who consider that Shab-e-baraat has some significance in Islam.

One reason for this observation is that the hadith on which the entire understanding about the night is based is a weak one according to many experts of hadith.

The second reason is that the Qur'anic passage which is normally referred to for the purpose (the first few verses of surah Dukhan) is referring to Lailatul Qadr and no other night, because the night when the Qur'an was revealed was, according to surah Qadr, Lailatul Qadr. How could it then be possible to claim that Lailatul Mubarakah (the night mentioned in surah Dukhan which people claim to be Shab-e-Baraat) is a different night? To believe that would tantamount to believing that the two Qur'anic passages contradict each other.

A third reason for this understanding is based on the fact that Shab-e-baraat seems to be a regular, annual religious occasion in the sub-continent only. I came across at least one religious person from Dubai - in his thirties - who didn't know what this night was all about. The significance of this information is this that had the religious status of the night been beyond dispute, it would have been equally well known in all parts of the Muslim world, like Eids etc.

I hope you understand why I don't feel comfortable with the idea. However, I would not be as firm in contradicting the status of the night as I would do in some other cases which I consider as bid'at, because people do have at least some religious argument in the form of a hadith -- even if it is weak -- to plead their case.