Camp Booth of Sha’ban.

Camp Booth of Sha’ban. 

Shaban is one of the virtuous months as it comes straight after rajab (one of the sacred months) and before Ramadan, the month of mercy, forgiveness & most importantly the month of Quran. 

For this reason the prophet peace be upon him planned well at the start of this blessed month & prepared for Ramadan. Furthermore he called this month “the month of ghaflah (neglect)”, as it came in the Hadith 

Usamah ibn Zaid reported: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, I do not see you fasting any month as much as you fast during Sha’ban.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “It is a month people neglect between the months of Rajab and Ramadan. It is a month in which the deeds are raised to the Lord of the worlds and I like for my deeds to be raised while I am fasting.”

Source: Sunan al-Nasā’ī 2357

So what are the virtues of this blessed month as mentioned in the Hadith ?

1: It is a month which people neglect.

As it comes right after Rajab & before Ramadan. As we all know rajab is one of the sacred months where Allah, Glory be to Him, mentioned in the Quran : 

{إِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ مِنْهَا أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ فَلَا تَظْلِمُوا فِيهِنَّ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَقَاتِلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ كَافَّةً كَمَا يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ كَافَّةً وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِينَ} [التوبة: 36]

Interpretation of the meaning: “Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them. And fight against the disbelievers collectively as they fight against you collectively. And know that Allah is with the righteous [who fear Him].” [Surat At-Taubah: 36]

The four sacred months , three of them follow one another & one is before Sha’ban and they are as follows;

1: Dhu al - Qidah

2: Dhu al - Hijjah

3: Muharram 

4: Rajab 

Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, ordered us to “ Not wrong ourselves during them “ how can one wrong him/herself ? By falling into sins, so be cautious when these months enter & be well prepared. As the good deeds are multiplied, scholars also say “ the sins are too will be multiplied for it is a sacred month. 

In Rajab also people tend to relate the journey al Isra and Mir’aj where our beloved prophet may the blessing & mercy of Allah descend upon him, was taken to the seventh heaven accompanied by Gibreel peace be upon him. Although there are different opinions between the scholars that this blessed journey occurred in Rajab. Regardless people tend to focus more on this month, therefore neglecting Sh’aban. It also comes before Ramadan where people prepare them selves except few not spiritually rather by worldly matters such as getting shopping done, cleaning the house, planning for eid & so on. You see now how it is a month of neglect?! 

Another interesting point that I just heard few days ago from a lecture is that 1400 years ago our prophet warned us not to neglect this month & now You will see that this months always comes either before a holiday or a start of a term ,  start of summer ect therefore causing people to neglect it subhanallah! 

2: Deeds are raised. 

In a authentic Hadith the prophet peace be upon him stated that “ The deeds are raised during this month which should draw your attention & be extra aware of this month. Before elaborating on this point let’s first touch basis on an important point that deeds are submitted to Allah, Glory be to Him, daily , weekly & annually. 

Daily submission:

Deeds are raised daily to Allah, Glory be to Him, two times  after Fajer & Aser where night & day angles meet as stated in this Hadith : 

Abu Huraira narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "there come around you consecutively angels in the night and angels in the day, and they meet in the Fajr and Asr prayers; those who spent the night among you ascend to heaven, Allah asks them and He knows best: in what state did you leave My slaves? So they say: we left and they were praying and we came back to them and they were praying".

Weekly submission:

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 1261 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah The Prophet peace be upon him said: “A man's deeds are reported on Mondays and Thursdays and I prefer that I should be observing the fast when my deeds are reported.”

Annually submission which is mentioned on the above Hadith , ..."It is a month in which the deeds are raised to the Lord of the worlds” which means your deeds all year around are raised during this month , isn’t time we think how will it be received by our lord Subhanahu wa taala?

3: The sunnah of the prophet peace be upon him was to fast the majority of this month if not all. Why? For the reasons stated above 

It’s a month people neglect & the deeds are raised to Allah swt. Another good reason is also to prepare for Ramadan especially for those of us who don’t continuously fast Mondays, Thursday’s & three days of each month. 

After that long introduction we finally come to the main point behind this article which is to take our soul to a camp booth & prepare spiritually before Ramadan enters during these minimal days left . Even though it is less then a month but at least you tried & strived to do your best before Ramadan. May Allah, Glory be to him, make you among those mentioned in this verse :

{وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ}  [العنكبوت: 69]

 Interpretation of the meaining: “And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good.” [Surat al Ankabout 69]

It has being said “ plant your seeds ( good deeds) in Rajab , water them in Sh’aban , so you may harvest in Ramadan.”
 

Insha’allah you had some deeds planted during the month of Rajab so it’s time you water them or add some few good deeds during this month, here are some important deeds you will definitely need to harvest during Ramadan. 

1: Fasting 

Prepare to fast now either once a week such as Monday or Thursday. It is even better if you can fast both days as it was stated in the Hadith that deeds are raised twice weekly. 

2: Reading Quran ;  what a great way to prepare for the month of Quran by reading more Quran with contemplation especially those Surah you read numerous times in prayers like Fatiha, ayatul Kursi, juz Amma.

3:  Night prayer; even if it means you pray two rakaah before you go to bed or set an alarm half an hour before fajer. Start now so your limbs get used to praying long prayers during traweeh & tahjud. 

4: Pray obligatory prayers on time; believe me once you fix your prayers & put into order everything else in your life will be in order. No wonder the first deed we will be judged upon on the day of judgment is prayer & if you pass it then you will pass all your other deeds too in shaa ALLAH. 

It was narrated in the Hadith Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The first action for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded. If they are lacking, then he will have failed and lost.

5: Voluntary prayers "nawafel"; once you have done best you can in completing obligatory prayers then add nawafel so it may fill the gabs that you had in your prayers like going off track or not praying with kusuuh. 

It was mentioned in the same Hadith above :

”  If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, then the Almighty Lord will say: See if my servant has any voluntary prayers that can complete what is insufficient in his obligatory prayers. The rest of his actions will be judged in the same way.”

Other good deeds you should also focus on from now & make it your goal to attain them before ,during & after Ramadan are ; 

giving more sadaqah, family discussion around this blessed month, preparing for Ramadan & feeding the poor. To wrap it up don’t leave any Khair that you know that will please Allah swt unless you have a hand in it. May Allah swt make us among those who witnessed Ramadan & attained its forgivenesses.