Category Archives: Shaban
The Prophet’s (Prayers and Peace of Allah Be upon him) Sermon on the Last Day of Sha’ban
It has been reported by Bayhaqi, Shu’b-al-Iman Bahaar-e-Shariat that Hazrat Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) once said that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) delivered the following sermon on the last day of Sha’ban:
“O people, a mighty month has cast its protective shade to screen you. A blessed month in which there is a night that is better than a thousand months! Allah has made keeping the fast therein an obligatory religious duty and the observance of the night vigil therein a voluntary practice. If someone seeks to draw near [to the Lord] there in by setting just one example of good conduct, or performs just one religious obligation, that person will be exactly the same as someone who discharges seventy religious obligations during all the other months of the year.
It is the month of patient endurance, and the reward for patient endurance is the Garden of Paradise. It is the month of charitable sharing, and it is the month in which the sustenance of the true believer is increased. So, if someone provides a breakfast meal [Iftaar] for a person who is keeping fast, this will result in forgiveness for his sins, and in his emancipation from the Fire of Hell. The benefactor will also be granted a reward equivalent to that earned by the recipient of generosity, but without anything at all being deducted from the reward due to the latter.
Allah will grant this reward to anyone who gives some kind of breakfast nourishment to a person who is keeping the fast, even if it is merely dried dates, a drink of water, or a cup of diluted milk.
It is a month the beginning of which is mercy, the middle of which is a forgiveness, and the last part of which is a deliverance from the Fire of Hell. So, if a slave-holder lightens the burden borne by his slave* in this month, Allah will forgive him and grant him freedom from the Fire of Hell.
Furthermore, if someone provides a satisfying breakfast meal, in the course of this month, for a person who is keeping the fast, Allah (Exalted is He) will give the benefactor a drink from my Basin, after which he will never feel thirsty again.â€
Extracted from IECRC’s Ramadan: The Month of Patience, Empathy and Self Purification (includes essentials prayers related to Ramadan)
*Please note that slavery as understood by the modern world is prohibited in Islam. This refers to anyone who is under one’s payroll providing services.
Sighting the New Moon – The Crescent
It is a Sunnah (practice of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace of Allah  be upon Him) to sight  the new moon crescent for every lunar month. The crescent is usually sighted  a few minutes  after sunset in the Western horizon. Once sighted, the following prayer should be recited:
Allah is Greater. O Allah may the crescent come upon us in safety and faith and peace and Islam and in agreement with all that You love and pleases You. Our Lord and your Lord [O Crescent] is Allah.
On Lunar and Solar Eclipses – From the Malfuzat of Khwaja Uthman Haruni (ra)
The following is an excerpt taken from Session 2 of the Anees ul-Arwah–The Malfuzat of Khwaja Uthman Haruni (rehmatullahi alyhe)–as recorded by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (rehmatullahi alayhe):
Regarding the matter of eclipse of the Sun and Moon, their reality is so that the bondsmen of God inclines to prayer and piety out of fear of their Lord taking them to task. The master (may the mercy of God be upon him) said regarding the Sun and Moon eclipse that Ibn Abbass (may the mercy of God be upon him and his father) relates that during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) there occurred a Lunar Eclipse. So, someone asked the Final Messenger a question, upon which the Prophet (pace be upon him) responded that when humanity goes beyond its boundaries in wrong actions or sin then Lunar and Solar eclipses occur. The face of the Sun and that of the Moon are darkened so that creation may take heed (from the metaphor).
The Ilm Qiyaafah mentions that if a Lunar Eclipse occurs in the month of Muharram then in that that year there will be much bloodshed and corruption. If it occurs in the month of Rabi ul-Awwal then there will be increased famine, death and floods. If it occurs in the month of Rabi ul-Aakhir then change of leadership and anarchy will occur in the nation. If it occurs during the month of Jamadi ul-Awwal then there will be overflowing rain and unexpected death. In Jamadi ul-Aakhir there will be bumper crops , affordable prices, and people will have a higher quality of life. If it occurs in the month of Rajab on a Friday then in that year there I will be hunger, calamity, along with darkness in the sky. If it occurs in the month of Shaban, then there will be treaties between people and relative calm. If it occurs during the month of Ramadan, on the first Friday, then there will be increased events of thunder from the sky. In the month of Shawwal men-related sicknesses will be inflicted. If it occurs during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, then the rest of the year will be full of happiness and relative calm. If it occurs in the month of Muharram then the entire year will be in corruption, and humanity will find fault in others, people will destroy their hereafter and hypocritical wealthy people will be honored over others deserving of it.
After mentioning this, the master busied himself in worship and the people returned home and praise to God for that (lesson).
Translated by Sharaaz Khan
26 Shaban 1432 Hijri
