A sermon on the innovation of the middle of Sha'ban.
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The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, and that is sufficient, and peace be upon His servants whom He has chosen. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, to Him belongs all praise in the Hereafter and the first life. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, the chosen one and the intimate friend, may Allah send blessings and peace upon him, his family, his Companions, and whoever follows their guidance, and may He send abundant peace.
As for what follows:
O servants of Allah, some people give special honor to the night of the middle of Sha'ban and distinguish it with many or few prayers, and they also distinguish the day of the middle with fasting. However, this has no basis in the authentic Sunnah. No hadiths have come from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding distinguishing the night of the middle with standing in prayer; rather, the hadiths on this matter are fabricated and falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as many scholars of verification have explicitly stated. Likewise, the day of the middle is not distinguished by fasting, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not distinguish it with fasting, nor did he encourage distinguishing it with fasting. Yes, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to fast frequently in this month, which I mean Sha'ban, until he would fast it except for a little. Some people, when the day of the middle comes, prepare food and give it in charity to the poor and the neighbors. There is no doubt that giving food in charity is among the best of deeds, but it is not distinguished by a specific day or place except by evidence from the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). There is no evidence in the Book or the Sunnah that the day of the middle of Sha'ban is distinguished by increasing charity and food. Likewise, it is not permissible to make it a festival where relatives gather at one another's homes, adorn themselves, and rejoice, because this has not come from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). It is known that the legislated festivals are three, with no fourth: the Festival of Breaking the Fast, the Festival of Sacrifice, and the weekly festival, which is the day of Friday.
O my brothers, know that any effort you make that has no basis in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), by which you seek to draw near to Allah, will only increase your distance from Allah. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against innovations with a severe warning, and he said (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him): We have sufficient in what is authentic from the Shari'ah of Allah, and we ask Allah the Exalted to help us to act upon it.
And know that the best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The worst of matters are their newly invented ones, and every newly invented matter in the religion of Allah is a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance. So hold fast to the community, agree upon the Sunnah, and do not divide in the religion of Allah, lest you fail and your strength be lost.
And increase in sending prayers and blessings upon your Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), for whoever sends prayers upon him once, Allah will send prayers upon him ten times.
O Allah, send prayers and blessings and bestow favor upon Your servant and Your Prophet Muhammad. O Allah, grant us the love of him and following him, outwardly and inwardly. O Allah, cause us to die upon his religion. O Allah, gather us in his group. O Allah, admit us into his intercession. O Allah, let us drink from his pool. O Allah, gather us with him in the Gardens of Pleasure, with the prophets, the truthful ones, the martyrs, and the righteous.
As for what follows:
O servants of Allah, some people give special honor to the night of the middle of Sha'ban and distinguish it with many or few prayers, and they also distinguish the day of the middle with fasting. However, this has no basis in the authentic Sunnah. No hadiths have come from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding distinguishing the night of the middle with standing in prayer; rather, the hadiths on this matter are fabricated and falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as many scholars of verification have explicitly stated. Likewise, the day of the middle is not distinguished by fasting, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not distinguish it with fasting, nor did he encourage distinguishing it with fasting. Yes, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to fast frequently in this month, which I mean Sha'ban, until he would fast it except for a little. Some people, when the day of the middle comes, prepare food and give it in charity to the poor and the neighbors. There is no doubt that giving food in charity is among the best of deeds, but it is not distinguished by a specific day or place except by evidence from the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). There is no evidence in the Book or the Sunnah that the day of the middle of Sha'ban is distinguished by increasing charity and food. Likewise, it is not permissible to make it a festival where relatives gather at one another's homes, adorn themselves, and rejoice, because this has not come from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). It is known that the legislated festivals are three, with no fourth: the Festival of Breaking the Fast, the Festival of Sacrifice, and the weekly festival, which is the day of Friday.
O my brothers, know that any effort you make that has no basis in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), by which you seek to draw near to Allah, will only increase your distance from Allah. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against innovations with a severe warning, and he said (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him):
Beware of newly invented matters
إياكم ومحدثات الأمورAnd know that the best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The worst of matters are their newly invented ones, and every newly invented matter in the religion of Allah is a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance. So hold fast to the community, agree upon the Sunnah, and do not divide in the religion of Allah, lest you fail and your strength be lost.
And increase in sending prayers and blessings upon your Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), for whoever sends prayers upon him once, Allah will send prayers upon him ten times.
O Allah, send prayers and blessings and bestow favor upon Your servant and Your Prophet Muhammad. O Allah, grant us the love of him and following him, outwardly and inwardly. O Allah, cause us to die upon his religion. O Allah, gather us in his group. O Allah, admit us into his intercession. O Allah, let us drink from his pool. O Allah, gather us with him in the Gardens of Pleasure, with the prophets, the truthful ones, the martyrs, and the righteous.