Islamic Calendar: A Comprehensive Guide to the Months"

Shaban

called because in this month the Arabs used to disperse (Tasha'aba) in search of water, or it was said that they dispersed to carry out raids and forays. Or it was said that it is so called because it Sha'aba (branches out or emerges) i.e., it appears between the months of Rajab and Ramadan. The plural forms of the word Sha'ban are Sha'banat and Sha'abin.

Fasting in Sha'ban

'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: "The Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to fast until we thought he would never break his fast, and not fast until we thought he would never fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allah fasting for an entire month except in Ramadan, and I never saw him fast more than he did in Sha'ban." (Reported by Al-Bukhari, no. 1833; Muslim, no. 1956).

According to a report Reported by Muslim (no. 1957): "He used to fast all of Sha'ban, he used to fast all but a little of Sha'ban."

A group of scholars, including Ibn al-Mubarak and others, may Allah have mercy on them, thought that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not fast all of Sha'ban, but he fasted most of it. This is supported by a report in Sahih Muslim (no. 1954) narrated from 'Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: "I never knew of him - meaning the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) - fasting for any entire month apart from Ramadan." According to another report also Reported by Muslim (no. 1955), 'Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: "I never saw him fast for any entire month from the time he came to Madinah, apart from Ramadan."

It was reported in al-Sahihayn that Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: "The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not fast any entire month apart from Ramadan." (Reported by Al-Bukhari, no. 1971, and Muslim, no. 1157). Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, regarded it as Makruh (disliked) to fast any entire month apart from Ramadan. Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "He observed more voluntary fasts in Sha'ban than in any other month, and he used to fast most of Sha'ban."

Usamah ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: "I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I do not see you fasting in any other month like you fast in Sha'ban.' He (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: 'That is a month to which people do not pay attention, between Rajab and Ramadan, and it is a month in which deeds are lifted up to the Lord of the worlds. I like for my deeds to be lifted up when I am fasting.'" (Reported by an-Nasai, see Sahih al-Targhib wa'l-Tarhib, page 425). According to a report Reported by Abu Dawud (no. 2076) she said: "The most beloved of months for the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to fast in was Sha'ban, and his fasting in Sha'ban was continuous with his fasting in Ramadan." (Classed as Sahih by al-Albani, see Sahih Sunan Abu Dawud, 2/461).

Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "Fasting in Sha'ban is better than fasting in the Sacred Months, and the best of voluntary fasts are those that are (observed in the months) closest to Ramadan, before or after. The status of these fasts is like that of al-Sunan al-Rawatib which are done before and after Fardh (obligatory prayers) and which make up for any shortfall in the number of obligatory prayers. The same applies to fasts observed before and after Ramadan. Just as al-Sunan ar-Rawatib are better than other kinds of voluntary prayers, so fasts observed (in the months) before and after Ramadan are better than fasts at other times."

The phrase "Sha'ban is a month to which people do not pay attention, between Rajab and Ramadan" indicates that because it comes between two important months, the Sacred Month of Rajab and the month of fasting, people are preoccupied with those two months and they do not pay attention to Sha'ban. Many people think that fasting in Rajab is better than fasting in Sha'ban, because Rajab is one of the Sacred Months, but this is not the case.