Wisdom behind Fasting

In this section,we will discuss Why did Prophet Muhammad (Peace & Blessings of Allah Be Upon Him) fast so much in the month of Sha'ban.

Whenever we discuss a topic where there exists difference of opinion among scholars, read the section properly & till the end as we reconcile the difference and infer the most authentic view and approach while discussing the opinions or at the end of the section.

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The scholars differed as to the reasons why the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) fasted so much in Sha'ban. Their various opinions are as follows:

1. That he had been unable to fast three days out of every month because he was travelling or for some other reason, so he made them all up together in Sha'ban. When the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) began to do some voluntary action, he would persist in it, and if he missed it, he would make it up later.

2. It was said that his wives used to make up the days that they missed of Ramadhan in Sha'ban, so he used to fast because of that. This is the opposite of what was reported from ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that she used to delay making up days that she had missed in Ramadhan until Sha'ban because she was too busy with the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to fast.

3. It was said that it was because this is a month which people do not pay attention to.

This is the most correct view, because of the Hadith of Usamah, may Allah be pleased with him, quoted above, in which it says: “That is a month to which people do not pay attention, between Rajab and Ramadhan.” (Reported by an-Nasai, see Sahih at-Targhib wat-Tarhib, p. 425)

When Sha'ban began, if the Prophet still had some voluntary fasts outstanding that he had not fasted, he would make them up during Sha'ban so that his voluntary fasts would be complete before Ramadhan came.

Similarly, if he had missed some Sunnah prayers or he had missed Qiyam al-Layl, he would make it up.

Making up Missed Fasts in Sha'ban? 👍

‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, used to make the most of this opportunity to make up any obligatory Ramadhan fasts that she had missed because of menstruation; during other months she was too busy with the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to fast.

We should also note here that anyone who has any missed fasts to make up has to make them up before the next Ramadhan comes.

It is not permissible to delay it until after the following Ramadhan except in cases of necessity (such as a valid excuse that continues between the two Ramadhans).

Whoever is able to make them up before the (second) Ramadhan and does not do so, has to make them up after the (second) Ramadhan and in addition to that, he has to repent and to feed one poor person for each day that he missed.

This is the view of Malik, ash-Shafi’i and Ahmad.

Let's Train for Ramadhan! 💪

Another benefit of fasting in Sha'ban is that it is a kind of training for the Ramadhan fast, in case a person finds it difficult to fast when Ramadhan starts; if he fasts in Sha'ban he will have gotten used to fasting and he will feel strong and energetic when Ramadhan comes.

Sha'ban is like an introduction to Ramadhan and it has some things in common with Ramadhan, such as fasting, reciting Quran and giving in charity.

Sha'ban is the Month of the Reciters? 🤔

Salamah ibn Suhayl, may Allah have mercy on him, used to say:

“The month of Sha'ban is the month of reciters (of the Quran).

” Habib ibn Abu Thabut, may Allah have mercy on him, used to say, when Sha'ban came:

“This is the month of reciters (of the Quran).

” When Sha'ban came, ‘Amr ibn Qays al-Mala’I, may Allah have mercy on him,

"used to close his store and devote his time to reading the Quran."