The Ruling on Fasting After the Middle of Sha'ban and the Authenticity of the Hadith Concerning It

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, in the month of Sha'ban, Muslims strive to fast, following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The brother Abdullah asks and says: If the middle of Sha'ban has passed, do we fast, or do we fast in accordance with the Prophetic hadith that was transmitted regarding this? And what is the authenticity of this hadith?

Answer:
Yes, the hadith is authentic. It states: . So fasting is from the beginning of Sha'ban until its midpoint. And if one continues fasting and fasts for most of Sha'ban, that is the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), for he used to fast for most of Sha'ban but did not complete it. With a note regarding what some of the common people do, which is giving special attention to the night of the middle of Sha'ban and fasting the day of Sha'ban specifically, the day of the middle of Sha'ban specifically. This has no basis. But if one is fasting before or fasting after, and the day of the middle of Sha'ban and the night of the middle of Sha'ban come as a consequence of what came before or what came after, in the performance of acts of worship, there is no harm in that. As for singling out the night of the middle of Sha'ban for standing in prayer and singling out the day of the middle of Sha'ban for fasting, that is an innovator, it has no basis, and nothing authentic is established regarding it from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).

The presenter:
(peace and blessings be upon him).