Standing in prayer on the night of the middle of Sha'ban and fasting its day
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Question: Is there any Qur'anic text or Prophetic hadith that indicates standing in prayer on the middle of Sha'ban and fasting its day? And if such a text exists, is there a specific manner for standing in prayer on the night of the middle of Sha'ban? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with all good?
Answer: No reliable evidence has been established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specifically regarding standing in prayer on the night of the middle of Sha'ban, nor regarding fasting on the fifteenth day of Sha'ban. The night of the middle of Sha'ban is like any other night. Whoever has the habit of standing in prayer and performing the late-night voluntary prayer does so on this night just as he does on other nights, without it having any special distinction. This is because designating a specific time for a type of worship requires valid evidence. If there is no valid evidence, then designating certain times for a type of worship becomes a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance. Likewise, no evidence has been established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that necessitates the permissibility of fasting on the fifteenth day of Sha'ban, or the middle of Sha'ban.
Since nothing has been established specifically regarding it, designating it for fasting is a religious innovation,Because the religious innovation is: unless there is evidence from the Book of Allah, or from the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), by which its doer claims to draw near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic); because acts of worship are based on divine legislation and require evidence from the Lawgiver.
As for the hadiths that have been narrated on this subject, they are all weak, as the scholars have explicitly stated. They do not establish the foundation of a worship, neither by standing in prayer on that night nor by fasting on that day. However, if it is a person's habit to fast the white days (the 13th, 14th, and 15th of the lunar month), he fasts them in Sha'ban just as he does in other months. Or if it is his habit to fast on Mondays and Thursdays and that coincides with the middle of Sha'ban, there is no blame on him for fasting according to his habit, not as something specific to this day. Likewise, if a person used to fast a lot in Sha'ban, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to fast and fast a lot in this month, but he did not single out this day, which is the fifteenth, he did not single it out for fasting; rather, it is included incidentally.
The result: It has not been established specifically regarding the night of the middle of Sha'ban any evidence that necessitates keeping it awake by standing in prayer. Nor has it been established regarding the fifteenth day of Sha'ban any evidence that necessitates singling it out for fasting. What some people, especially the common folk, do on this night, or on this day, all of this is a religious innovation. It is obligatory to forbid it and warn against it. In the established acts of worship from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), such as prayers and fasting, there is sufficient provision for these innovations. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
Answer: No reliable evidence has been established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specifically regarding standing in prayer on the night of the middle of Sha'ban, nor regarding fasting on the fifteenth day of Sha'ban. The night of the middle of Sha'ban is like any other night. Whoever has the habit of standing in prayer and performing the late-night voluntary prayer does so on this night just as he does on other nights, without it having any special distinction. This is because designating a specific time for a type of worship requires valid evidence. If there is no valid evidence, then designating certain times for a type of worship becomes a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance. Likewise, no evidence has been established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that necessitates the permissibility of fasting on the fifteenth day of Sha'ban, or the middle of Sha'ban.
Since nothing has been established specifically regarding it, designating it for fasting is a religious innovation,Because the religious innovation is: unless there is evidence from the Book of Allah, or from the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), by which its doer claims to draw near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic); because acts of worship are based on divine legislation and require evidence from the Lawgiver.
As for the hadiths that have been narrated on this subject, they are all weak, as the scholars have explicitly stated. They do not establish the foundation of a worship, neither by standing in prayer on that night nor by fasting on that day. However, if it is a person's habit to fast the white days (the 13th, 14th, and 15th of the lunar month), he fasts them in Sha'ban just as he does in other months. Or if it is his habit to fast on Mondays and Thursdays and that coincides with the middle of Sha'ban, there is no blame on him for fasting according to his habit, not as something specific to this day. Likewise, if a person used to fast a lot in Sha'ban, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to fast and fast a lot in this month, but he did not single out this day, which is the fifteenth, he did not single it out for fasting; rather, it is included incidentally.
The result: It has not been established specifically regarding the night of the middle of Sha'ban any evidence that necessitates keeping it awake by standing in prayer. Nor has it been established regarding the fifteenth day of Sha'ban any evidence that necessitates singling it out for fasting. What some people, especially the common folk, do on this night, or on this day, all of this is a religious innovation. It is obligatory to forbid it and warn against it. In the established acts of worship from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), such as prayers and fasting, there is sufficient provision for these innovations. And Allah the Exalted knows best.