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
15th Night of Shabaan
Many Muslims in various countries pray on the 15th night of Shabaan, 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 nor the Sunnah. There are many narrations that support its validity.
There is one night in the year when Allah (Soobha Nahu Wata’ala) 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.
The Majority of the scholars of Islam say:
That night is Laila-tul-Qadar in the month of Ramadan but the other scholars like Ikramah who is student of Abdullah bin Abbas (Radi allahu unho) says that night is 15th of Shabaan. There is a Hadith which Imam Tabari (Radi allahu unho) writes: Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] said, ‘From Shabaan to Shabaan there is a decision made of who is going to die, be married and some people get married but their names are written in the death program. [Tafsir Tabari, under Surah Dukhan, verse 1 by Imam Tabari]
This narration is Ikrama’s, the other scholar’s statements are proven that 15th night of Shabaan is a holy night but there is no doubt that Allah (Soobha Nahu Wata’ala) gives the full knowledge to the Angels in the night of Laila-tul-Qadar, which is in the month of Ramadan.
If we read all the narration’s regarding Laila-tul-Qadar and the 15th night of Shabaan we can reach the conclusion that the yearly program started on the 15th night of Shabaan and completed on Laila-tul-Qadar. There might be a suspicion as to ‘why does a year program take so long from Shabaan to Ramadan? The answer is Allah knows the best. No one can understand for sure the philosophy of Allah’s work. He made the worlds in six days. Who knows why He took six days to make the worlds. To examine all of the above statements consult these books:
“Tafsir Tabari, Fathul Qadeer by Qadi Shawkani, Tafsir Qurtabi, Tafsir Bagawi, Tafsir Mazhari, Tafsir Ma’ah riyful Qur’an, Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Tafsir Zia-ul-Qur’an under the verse of Surah Al- Dokhan verse 1 to 5â€
There are some other narrations that inform us about the Excellency of the 15th night of Shabaan.
Imam Ibn Majah states:
It is narrated by Ali (Radi allahu unho) that the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] stated; “ when it is the 15th night of Shabaan, do Qiyaam 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 (rizq) food that I may give it to him.’ And this continues till the morning.†[Ibn Majah chapter Salaah]
Imam Tirmidhi writes:
Aisha Radi Allahu unha said: “On this night the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] went to Jannat-ul-Baqee to make du’a, I followed him. The Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] 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 Bunn Qalb. (A tribe who at the time had a lot of goats)
[ Tirmidhi , Kitab-us-Siyaam]
Imam Bukhari has objected upon one narrator but this is compensated by the fact that Ibn Maja has narrated it with different narrations (chains).
Allama Dhahabi, and Hafidhh Ibn Kathir quoted from Hafidhh Abu Zurah that only 30 Hadith in Ibn Majah are weak. [Tadhkaratul- Hufaadh by Hafidhh Dha’ha’bi and Tareek Ibn Kathir biography Ibn Majah
Some other people have stated that more than 30 Hadith are da’eef, (weak) but the narrations we have are not amongst those 30, that is why these Hadith can be used to support the validity of 15th Shabaan night.
Even Imam 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 Mid Shabaan, wether they have even a weak hadith to disprove the prayers on the 15th of Shabaan? In reality they have no narration against the 15th night of Shabaan. If there are any they should prove it. Those who are against the 15th night of Shabaan usually say ‘Why do you celebrate the 15th night of Shabaan?’ The answer is why do all of the Saudi Arabian scholars celebrate Laila-tul-Qadar on the 27th of Ramadan in Haramain (Makkah and Madinah). ‘Did the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] and his companions’ celebrate the Laila-tul-Qadar on the 27th of Ramadan?’ The answer is no, they did not. So if this is permitted the 15th night of Shabaan is also permitted as well.
The Ahl-Sunnah say this is a permissible act, but it is not a Sunnah. 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 group of a Muslims says is good, it is accepted to Allah.
[ “Mishkat chapter Ihtisaamâ€]
Two great followers of Ibn Taymiyah and Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Al Najdi, are Hafidhh Abdullah Rawpari and Thanaa’ullah Amritsari, both state that to worship on the 15th night of Shabaan is not Bid’ah and the person who does Ibada (Worship) 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.
[Fatawa Ahl-e-Hadith by Hafidhh Rawpari and Fatawa Thanaa’iya by Thana’ullah Amritsari, chapter on fasting]
Hafidhh Ibn Tayymiya writes:
The excellency regarding the 15th of Shabaan 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, our other Hanbli Scholars also agree with Imam Ahmed. There are Ahadith on this night being significant, some of them are from Sunnan (Tirmizy, Ibn Majah) and the other Ahdeeth books as well
[Iqtidah Siratul Mustaqeem page 203 by Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyah]
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 because the Ahadeeth that tells us bout the reward one will get if he/She worshipped on15th night of Shabaan. We pray to Allah if everything stated is correct eccept it, but if there is any mistake may Allah forgive us. (Ameen)
by abu ammar
This was an excerpt from Traditional Scholarship and Modern Misunderstandings: Understanding The Ahle al-Sunna
By Abu Ammar
Taken from: Qadiri Shadhili (South Africa)
