“إذا انتصف شعبان فلا تصوموا حتى يكون رمضان”
(حم 4) عن أبي هريرة.
It is narrated from the words of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
‘When half of the month of Sha’ban has passed, do not fast until Ramadan comes‘
This hadith was narrated by Ahmad 2/442, Abu Daud 2337, at-Tirmidhi 738, al-Nasai in Sunan al-Kubra 2911, Ibn Majah 1651.
Sheikh al-Albani called the hadith authentic. See Saheeh al-jami ‘al-saghir 397.
Note: Sheikh Ibn Baz was asked the question: In the book Saheeh al-jami’ I read hadith number 397, which Sheikh al-Albani said was authentic.
This hadith: narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When half of the month of Sha’ban has passed, do not fast until Ramadan comes.”
There is also another hadith, in this collection it is numbered 4638, about which Sheikh al-Albani said that it is reliable.
This hadith: transmitted from ‘Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said: “The most favorite months for fasting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) were the sha’ban, which he combined with Ramadan.” How to understand these hadiths correctly?
Answer: With the name of Allah, all praise be to Allah, to proceed: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) kept fasting for the whole month of Sha’ban, or maybe left fasting for a small part of it, as is reliably confirmed in the hadiths from ‘Aisha and Umm Salam … As for the hadith with the prohibition to fast after half of the Sha’ban, it is reliable, as the eminent scholar, Sheikh Nasiruddin al-Albani said about it. The prohibition referred to in the hadith is the prohibition to start fasting after the middle of the month of Sha’ban. And the one who keeps fasting for most of the month, or the entire month – this affair coincides with the sunnah. And success is from Allah. See “Majmu ‘al-Fataawa wa makalat”, vol. 15, Magazine “Da’wa” No. 1437 of 03.11.1414.
Question: Dear Sheikh, is fasting in the second half of the Sha’ban month an unwanted or forbidden act?
Answer: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When half of the month of Sha’ban has passed, then do not fast.” This is an authentic hadith. Therefore, in accordance with this authentic hadith, the one who did not fast at the beginning of the month should not keep it even after half a month has passed. Moreover, he should not fast at the end of the month in accordance with the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Do not precede Ramadan with fasting for a day or two days, and if a person is fasting (on these days for another reason), then let him keep it. “ And the one who had a fast these days because of the custom of performing another Sunnah, then there is no problem. If it is his custom to fast on Monday and Thursday, then there is no problem if he keeps that fast on those days. Or his custom is to fast every other day, then there is no problem either. And as for the fact that he should start fasting after half of Sha’ban only because of this month, this is not permitted. And if he keeps the fast, starting from the 14th day, or 15 … Or 13, then there is no problem, since it covers most of the month. If he fast for the whole month or for most of it, then there is no problem, and if he does not fast for the first half, and then begins to fast in the second half, this is exactly what is prohibited. See “Fatawa Nur `Ala Al–Darb“.
Khadeeja