Traditional Scholarship & Modern Misunderstandings
Understanding The Ahle al-Sunnah - By Abu Ammar

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11) Celebrating Milaad un Nabi

When we celebrate Milad, we gather, in order to send salutations (durud) to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), give charity to the poor (sadaqa), and to remember the wilada (birth) and virtues of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). The Ahl as-Sunna does not say that one must celebrate Milad only on the 12^th of Rabi' al-Awwal; in fact it can be celebrated at any time of the year. Generally Milad an-Nabi is celebrated, on the 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal, by Muslims all over the world. In every Muslim country, there is a public holiday for Milad an-Nabi, except one country, but even in that country the people celebrate the Milad individually.

The birth of the anbiya has been mentioned in the Qur'an; for example, Adam, Musa, 'Isa, and Yahya (peace be upon them). Furthermore, if it is wrong to talk about the birth of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), then why has Allah Most High mentioned it in the Qur'an?

Evidence of Milad an-Nabi from the Qur'an

Allah Most High says in the Holy Qur'an:

"Say: 'In the bounty of Allah,and His Mercy, therein let them rejoice.' That is better then what they amass"

[Sura Yunus, verse 58]

In this verse, Allah Most High tells us that we should be happy when we receive blessings and mercy from Him. Without doubt, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the greateset mercy and blessing of Allah Most High.

Allah Most High says in the Qur'an:

"And we sent you not but as a mercy for all the worlds"

[Sura al-Anbiya', verse107]

Allah Most High says in the Qur'an:

"Oh Prophet! The communicator of unseen news. We have sent you as a present beholder and bearer of glad tidings and a warner.

And an inviter towards Allah by His command and a brightening sun.

And give glad tidings to the believers that for them is a great bounty."

[Sura al-Ahzab, verses 44-47]

Allah Most High says in the Qur'an:

"...remind them of the Days of Allah..."

[Ibrahim, verse 5]

Hafiz Ibn Kathir and Qadi Shawkani write that:

" 'the Days of Allah' refers to the day on which Allah Almighty has done a favour on mankind. For example, the freedom of Banu Isra'il from the slavery of Fir'awn"

[Ibn Kathir,Tafsir Ibn Kathir; Qadi Shawkani, Fath al-Qadir]

Allah's greatest favour on mankind was the birth of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). This means that the Milad of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is one of the "Days of Allah", therefore we should remember it.

Hafiz Ibn Rajab writes that:

"It is recommended to fast on those days on which Allah Most High has sent blessings on us. The greatest favour which Allah Almighty has bestowed us with, is the sending down of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Allah Most High says in the Qur'an:'I have favoured you among nations and sent to you a Prophet from among you'

[Ibn Rajab, ltaa'if-ul-ma'rif, page 111]

Some Other Evidences of Milad

Our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) celebrated the birth of his son Ibrahim by freeing a slave.[Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, 'Birth of Ibrahim']

Imam Muslim writes that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was asked about the fast on Mondays that he kept. The Prophet replied, 'This is the day of my birth'

[Muslim, 'Kitab as-Sawm']

This proves that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) kept fast on Mondays to show gratitude for his birth.

Imam al-Bukhari writes that:

" When Abu Lahab died, someone from his household saw him in a dream and asked him what happened in the grave. He said, 'I am being punished severely, but on Mondays I get water from the finger with which I am freed Thuwayba [Abu Lahab's slave] '",

[Bukhari, 'Kitab an-Nikah']

Friday is a special day for Muslims because this is the day that Allah created Adam (peace be upon him).

[Muslim, 'Book of Jumu'a'; also Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, vol.1, 'Story of Adam']

Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes that Abu Lahab freed Thuwayba on the day that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was born.

[Ibn Kathir, Sirat an-Nabi, 'Birth of the Prophet']

This proves that a kafir, Abu Lahab, was happy on the day of the birth of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and was rewarded by having his punishment reduced. If this is true, then indeed Allah will bless a Muslim who rejoices the birth of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). This hadith has been used by many 'ulema to justify the celebration of Milad.

Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani writes:

"Sohaily said that 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the uncle of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), had the above dream. Apart from this, other muhaddithin have also attributed this dream to 'Abbas"

[Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, chapter on 'Nikah']

A person may ask, 'When did 'Abbas have this dream? Was it before or after he embraced Islam?'The answer to this is that he had this dream after coming into the fold of Islam [Sira Ibn Hisham]. Abu Lahab died after the Battle of Badr, before which 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) embraced Islam.

Fatwa of Scholars for Milad

Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya writes:

"Those people who celebrate Milad through the love and respect of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), will be rewarded by Allah"

[Iqtida as-Sirat al-Mustaqim, page 294]

He also writes that:

"If someone celebrates Milad with the love and respect of Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), he will have a 'big reward'... In Muslim communities, Milad an-Nabi gatherings are only done with the respect and love for the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)"

[Iqtida as-Sirat al-Mustaqim, page 297]

Hafiz Ibn Kathir wrote that:

"There was once a King, Abu Sa'id Malik Muzaffar - a man of good deeds.In his kingdom, wherever he saw a lack of water, he would build a well. He also established many Islamic study centres. Every year, he would spend half a million dinars on hosting a gathering of his people to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)

[Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, vol. 13, 'Story of King Abu Sa'id']

Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab writes:

"Thuwayba, who was the freed slave of Abu Lahab, fed Rasolallah milk. Abu Lahab freed Thuayba at the time when she informed him that a son has been born at his brother's house. After the death of Abu Lahab he was seen in a dream, in which he said 'I am in severe punishment but this is lessened on Mondays'. He showed his forefinger and said 'I will suck from it because it was with this finger that I freed Thuwayba when she informed of the birth of the Prophet, and she also fed the Prophet milk'.

"Ibn Jawzi states: 'Abu Lahab is that kafir who has been specially referred to in the Qur'an. If such a person can be rewarded for celebrating the Milad of the Prophet, then imagine how great the reward would be for a Muslim when he celebrates it'"

[Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, M., Mukhtasar Sirat ar-Rasul, 'Milad an-Nabi']

The above is evidence that celebrating the birthday of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the form of a gathering is permissible. Otherwise Hafiz Ibn Kathir would not have referred to it as a good deed and Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya would not have said that there would be a "big reward" for doing so.

Some people have the opinion that King Abu Sa'id introduced the celebrating of this occasion. This is not true because Hafiz Ibn Kathir states that in the 5th Century after hijra (AH), a king named Malik Shah also celebrated it with a gathering

[Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, 'Biography of Malik Shah']

Some people even argue that the Holy Prophet was not even born on the 12^th Rabi' al-Awwal. This argument is baseless as Hafiz Ibn Kathir has discussed this in Sirat an-Nabi. He states that the majority of the scholars agree that the Prophet was born on the 12^th of Rabi' al-Awwal. The evidence of the people who do not accept this is weak [Sirat an-Nabi, vol.1, 'Birth of the Prophet]

Muhammad ibn Ishaq states that the Prophet was born on the 12^th of Rabi' al-Awwal. [Sira Ibn Hisham, chapter on 'Birth of the Prophet']. Ibn Ishaq was a Tabi'i and was born in 75 AH. His book is the oldest book available on Sira in Islamic history. The first book of Sira was written by Musa ibn 'Uqba. This book is no longer avaiable for reference.

The Ahl as-Sunna celebrate the Milad of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) with love and respect. If someone does not celebrate it, we do not call them a kafir because the matter of Milad does not affect the 'aqida of a person. The celebrating of this should not cause any divisions among Muslims.

Hafiz Salah ad-Din Yusuf (a great follower of Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya and Shaykh an-Najdi) writes:

"On the birth date of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), to give charity to the poor or to build a masjid - we agree in this type of celebration of Milad"

[Yusuf, Salah ad-Din, Milad-un-nabi, page 92]

Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes: "On the day of the birth of Prophet(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) Shaytan cried a lot"

[Ibn Kathir, Sirat an-Nabi, 'Birth of the Prophet']

From Ibn Kathir's narration we can see that to feel unhappy on the birthday of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the way of Shaytan, not the way of a Muslim!

Some Questions Raised Concerning the Milad

(Q) Although the Prophet was born on the 12^th of Rabi' al-Awwal, he also died on the same date. How then can the 12^th of Rabi' al-Awwal be a happy day?

(A) Mourning for someone's death should not be more than three days, except for a woman who has lost her husband. The Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) death was over 1400 years ago, so the period of mourning has passed. But, after someone dies, his death is remembered by reciting the Qur'an, remembering his merits, giving alms, and making du'a' for him. Even if the period of mourning for the Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) death exists, all the actions mentioned above are included when people gather for Milad an-Nabi. For this reason, there is no need to separate the celebration of the Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) birth, and the mourning of his death.

(Q) How can there be an 'Id Milad an-Nabi when there are only two 'Ids (al-Fitr and al-Adha)?

(A) Allah Most High says in the Qur'an:

"Said 'Isa, son of Maryam,, 'Oh Allah, our Lord, send down to us a tray of food from the Heavens so that it may be an occasion of 'Id for the first and the last of us'"

[Sura al-Ma'ida, verse 114]

Imam al-Hakim writes that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "Friday is also an 'Id day". Once, in the Prophet's time, 'Id came on Friday and the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "Allah has given you two 'Ids today"

[al-Hakim, Mustadrak, 'Jumu'a';summary by Imam adh-Dhahabi]

Imam at-Tirmidhi writes:

"'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas was reciting the third verse of SurahMa'ida from the Qur'an. A Jew, sitting close by, heard it and said to 'Abdullah, 'If that verse which you recited was revealed to us, we would make that day an 'Id day'. 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas replied, 'When this verse was revealed, there were two 'Ids on that day. One of them was the Hajj day and the other Friday'"

[at-Tirmidhi , 'Tafsir'; and also Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Surah 5, verse 3]

From the references above, it is proved that the term "'Id day" does not specifically apply to the two 'Id days (al-Fitr and al-Adha) but instead, it could be used for any Islamic holy day. This means that we can refer to 'Milad an-Nabi' as ''Id-Milad an-Nabi'.

Books on Milad an-Nabi

Imam at-Tirmidhi, in his book, even gives the title of one of his chapters the name "Milad an-Nabi" [at-Tirmidhi, Shama'il]

Imam al-Waqidi (a second century scholar) also wrote a book entitled "Milad an-Nabi". The original copy can be found in Cairo.

Allama Ibn al-Jawzi wrote a book called "Milad an-Nabi" in which he gives very strong proofs permitting the celebration of Milad.

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12) To make the Intention to travel to our Prophet Muhammad's resting place

Whenever Muslims are fortunate enough to travel to Makka and Madina, i.e. for Hajj or 'Umra,after visiting the Ka'ba, they would then go towards Madina to visit our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) blessed resting place.

Some people argue that when they do go, they should not intend to see our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave, because it is not permissible. They argue that the people should only intend for salat in Masjid an-Nabawi (the green domed Mosque of the Prophet) and when they get there they can visit our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave as well.

The Ahl as-Sunna believe that it is permissible to make the intention to travel to visit our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave. We shall, with the help of Allah, provide proof that it is permissible to travel to our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave with intention to see his grave. Qadi Shawkani writes:

"Some of the highest scholars say that our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is alive in his grave" So then it would make it the same as travelling to see our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) when he was alive.

[Qadi Shawkani, Nayl al-Avtar, chapter on 'al-Hajj']

Proof from Qur'an

Allah Most High says in the Holy Qur'an:

"When they were unjust to themselves, they came unto thee and asked Allah'sforgiveness and the Messenger asked forgiveness for them they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning Most Merciful.

[Sura Al-Nisa verse 64]

From this we can say that it permissible to visit our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave.

Some people say that this aya was only applicable when our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was alive but not now. The answer to this doubt is that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is still alive in his grave and thus, to visit him at his grave is same as visiting him when alive.

Proof from Hadith

Imam Muslim writes when Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) went on Mi'raj he saw Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) standing in his grave performing salat [Muslim, Chapter on 'Fada'il Musa']

The Prophet's Companions Used to Travel to His Grave

Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya writes:

" 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) after returning from a journey would visit the grave of Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)"

[Ibn Taymiyya, at-Tawassul and Iqtida Sirat al-Mustaqim, chapter on 'Zirah Qabar an-Nabi'; Imam Muhammad, Muwatta, chapter on 'Hajj']

Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes:

"Ka'ab [a Tabi'i] said to 'A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) that 70,000 angels visit the grave of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the morning and in the evening, who recite durud on our Prophet"

[Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Sura al-Ahzab, under verse 56]

Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya has a statement, found in his book called ar-Rad al-akh-Nai, that it is not permitted to travel to visit the grave of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Ibn Taymiyya's proof is derived from the hadith about travelling: "You can travel to the three Mosques, i.e. Haramayn in Makka, Masjid an-Nabawi in Madina and Masjid Aqsa in Jerusalem."The real meaning of this hadith would be that no one can claim that prayer in one Mosque is more rewarded than another.The understanding of Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya is wrong about visiting our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave.

Imam Abu Hanifa writes that when a person attends the grave of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) the person should face the grave and make du'a' [Abu Hanifa, Musnad, chapter on 'Hajj']

Qadi Shawkani writes:

"After our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) passed away, Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) moved to Sham [Syria]. One night, in his dream our Prophet (may Allay bless him and grant him peace) said, 'Oh Bilal, what kind of friendship is this that you do not come to see me?' When Bilal woke up in the morning, he made his way towards our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). At that time his intention was to go to our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave. Quite a lot of the Sahaba were alive at that time but none of them said that this was haram. This event is from a sanad jayyid [it was true]. From this we learn that to have intention to visit our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave is permissible

[Qadi Shawkani, Nail lau tahri, chapter on 'Hajj'; Hafiz Ibn al-Athir also writes this event as well]

Allama Ibn Jawzi writes:

"Our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:'To come and see me whilst I am alive,is called hijra, and it is the same as to come to see me after I have passed away'

[Talbis-Iblis, page 200]

Muslims have been Travelling to Visit Our Prophet's Grave From the Beginning and Will Do So Till the End

When Muslims reach our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave they read their salams and make du'a through wasila of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) - and they also make du'a that help us on the Day of Judgement, and this is all permissible.

Hafiz Ibn Qayyim writes:

"Whenever you are present at our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave, cry as much as you can when you are making your du'as.This is because on the Day of Judgement your tears will be weighed on the Scales. To visit our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave is the best thing you can do to receive a very high reward - more than anything other"

[Ibn Qayyim, Qasida Nu-numia, page 180]

Shaykh al-'Alawi al-Maliki writes:

"Some people have wrongly interpreted what Imam Malik has stated. He said that, 'I do not like people saying that I have visited the Ka'ba, or that I have visited our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave.'The answer to this is that Imam Malik did not say, 'Do not visit our Prophet's grave.' He did not like the word 'ziyara' as Ibn Rusan al-Maliki said that the word ziyara [visit] is used when addressing ordinary deceased, so this is not suitable for our Prophet"

[al-'Alawi al-Maliki, Shifa al-Fawar, page 130]

Hafiz al-'Asqalani writes:

"The scholars have said, 'How can Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya say that it is haram to visit our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave?'.In this instance the scholars have really rebuked Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya. And on this saying of Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya it created a lot of disagreement between the Umma as all the scholars agree unanimously that it is permitted to travel to visit our Prophet's grave. The evidence Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya gave was of Imam Malik saying that he did not like people saying that he has visited our Prophet's grave. However, the Maliki scholars have cleared this by saying that Imam Malik did not like the word ziyara being used. He was not against the actual visiting of the grave. Imam Malik knew that visiting our Prophet's grave is the best sort of worship you can do to become closer to Allah Most High. And he also knew that the whole of the Umma is together on this issue"

[al-'Asqalani, Ibn Hajar., Fath al-Bari, chapter on 'al-Masajid']

Qadi Shawkani says:

"There are a lot of different fatwas on visiting our Prophet's grave.It is permitted by the majority of them. In the eyes of the Malikis and some of the others, it is wajib to visit; to the Hanafis it is very close to being wajib. And yet, Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya says it is not permitted to travel to visit the grave intentionally.Some of the Hanbali scholars have rebuked Ibn Taymiah on this"

[Qadi Shawkani, Nayl al-Awtar, chapter on 'Hajj']

From all this we can say it is permitted to travel with the intention to visit our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) grave.Only Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya and some people are against it, so we cannot follow Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya's saying, but to follow the great majority of the scholars of our Umma.

I pray that AllahMost High take all the Muslims to Makka and Madina, and that on the Day of Judgement they may get help and intercession from our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) .Amin.

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13) The excellency of the 15th night of Shabaan

Many Muslims in various countries pray on the 15th night of Sha'ban, and ask for forgiveness of their sins and on the following day proceed to fast. To do this is in no way against the Qur'an or theSunna. There are many narrations that support its validity.

There is one night in the year when Allah Most High gives the knowledge to the angels about what is going to happen in the following year. For example, who is going to die, who will be born, who will be ill and how much food people will have in the year, etc.

Position of the 'Ulema

The majority of the scholars of Islam say:

"That night is Laylat al-Qadr in the month of Ramadan but the other scholars like 'Ikrimah, student of 'Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), say that the night is 15^th of Sha'ban. There is a hadith which Imam at-Tabari writes: 'The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, 'From Sha'ban to Sha'ban there is a decision made of who is going to die and who is to be married. And some people get married but their names are written in the death program'"

[at-Tabari, Tafsir Tabari, under Sura ad-Dukhan, verse 1]

This narration is 'Ikrmah's and the other scholars' statements prove that the 15^th night of Sha'ban is a holy night. Furthermore, there is no doubt that Allah Most High gives the full knowledge to the angels in the night of Laylat al-Qadr, which is in the month of Ramadan.

If we read all the narrations regarding Laylat al-Qadr and the 15^th night of Sha'ban we can reach the conclusion that the yearly program started on the 15^th night of Sha'ban and completed on Laylat al-Qadr. There might be a suspicion as to, 'Why does a year program take so long from Sha'ban to Ramadan?'The answer is that Allah knows best. No one can understand for sure the philosophy or wisdom behind Allah's work. He made the world in six days. Who knows why He took six days to make the world. To examine all of the above statements consult the following books: Tafsir Tabari, Fath al-Qadir, Tafsir al-Qurtubi, Tafsir al-Baghawi, Tafsir Mazhari, Tafsir Ma'ariful Qur'an, Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Tafsir Zia al-Qur'an - all under Sura ad-Dukhan, verses 1 to 5.

Excellency of 15^th Sha'ban

There are some other narrations that inform us about the excellency of the 15^th night of Sha'ban. Imam Ibn Majah states:

"It is narrated by Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stated, 'When it is the 15^th night of Sha'ban, do qiyam[stand in prayer] in the night, and fast in the morning, and ask for forgiveness because on that night Allah calls:'Is there anyone who is asking for forgiveness so that I can forgive them, who is in distress that I may relieve his distress. Is there anyone who needs provision that I may give it to him.'And this continues till the morning'"

[Ibn Majah, chapter on 'Salat']

Imam at-Tirmidhi writes:

"'A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: 'On this night the Prophet went to Jannat al-Baqi' to make du'a'; I followed him. The Prophet said to me: 'Allah puts His attention towards the first Heaven, and forgives the sins of the people, even if they were equivalent to the hairs of the goats of Bani Qalb [A tribe who at the time had a lot of goats]'"

[at-Tirmidhi, 'Kitab as-Siyam]

Imam al-Bukhari has objected upon one narrator but this is compensated by the fact that Ibn Majah has narrated it with different chains. Allama adh-adh-Dhahabi,and Hafiz Ibn Kathir quote from Hafiz Abu Zur'a that only 30 ahadith in Ibn Majah are weak [adh-Dhahabi, Tadhkirat al-Huffaz; Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, 'Biography of Ibn Majah']

Some other people have stated that more than 30 ahadith are da'if (weak) but the narrations we have are not amongst those 30, and that is why these ahadith can be used to support the validity of 15^th Sha'ban night.

Even Imam at-Tirmidhi's narration is weak but this does not belittle the subject when it concerns its merits and excellence - since weak narrations are still acceptable. However, we would like to ask those people who are so against the observance of 15^th of Sha'ban, whether they have even a weak hadith to disprove the prayers on the 15^th of Sha'ban? In reality they have no narration against the 15^th night of Sha'ban. If there are any they should produce it. Those who are against the 15^th night of Sha'ban usually ask, 'Why do you celebrate the 15th night of Sha'ban?' An appropriate answer might be, 'Why do all of the Saudi Arabian scholars celebrate Laylat al-Qadr on the 27^th night of Ramadan in Haramayn (Makka and Madina)? Did the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his Companions celebrate the Laylat al-Qadr on the 27^th night of Ramadan?' The answer is clearly, 'No, they did not.' So if this is permitted then the 15^th night of Sha'ban is permitted as well.

Ruling regarding 15^th of Sha'ban

The Ahl as-Sunna say that observing the 15^th night od Sha'ban is a permissible act, but it is not a Sunna. There is enough proof that if the majority of the Muslims consider it to be good then it is sufficient.As the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stated: 'The thing that a group of a Muslims says is good, it is accepted by Allah[ Mishkat, chapter on 'Istihsan']

Two great followers of Ibn Taymiyya and Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab an-Najdi, are Hafiz 'Abdullah Rawpari and Thana'ullah Amritsari, who both state that to worship on the 15^th night of Sha'ban is not a bid'a and the person who worships on this night will obtain reward for it. The narrations concerning this night are weak but this does not matter since weak ahadith are acceptable for virtuous actions

[Hafiz Rawpari, Fatawa Ahl al-Hadith; Amritsari, T., Fatawa Thana'iya, chapter on 'Fasting']

Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya writes:

"The excellency regarding the 15^th of Sha'ban is an area of dispute between the scholars; some of them say that there is no significance of this night, but Imam Ahmed recognises the excellency of this night, and our other Hanbali scholars also agree with Imam Ahmed.There are ahadith on this night being significant, some of them are from the Sunnan of at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and other books of ahadith as well"

[Ibn Taymiyya, Iqtida Sirat al-Mustaqim, page 203]

The people who reject the significance of this night argue that the Holy Qur'an was not revealed on this night so that is why there is no significance of this night. It is true that the Holy Qur'an was revealed in Ramadan, but the significance is due to the ahadith that tells us about the reward one will obtain if one worships on the 15^th night of Sha'ban.

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