Hadith on the Benefits of Fasting in Sha`ban
قالت عائشة رضي الله تعالى عنها: لم يكن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يصوم شهرا أكثر من شعبان فإنه كان يصوم شعبان كله , وكان يقول : خذوا من العمل ما تطيقون فإن الله لا يمل حتى تملوا , وكان أحب الصلاة إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ما دوُوِم عليها و إن قلَّت , و كان إذا صلى صلاة داوم عليها
رواه البخاري ومسلم
رواه البخاري ومسلم
‘Ā’isha said, “The Prophet never fasted in any month more than in the month of Sha'ban.. And he used to say:
Do those deeds which you can do easily, as Allah will not get tired (of giving rewards) till you get bored and tired (of performing religious deeds).
The most beloved prayer to the Prophet was the one that was done regularly (throughout the life) even if it were little. And whenever the Prophet offered a prayer he used to offer it regularly.1
تقول أم المؤمنين السيدة عائشة رضي الله تعالى عنها: ما استكمل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صيام شهر قط إلا شهر رمضان وما رأيته في شهر أكثر صياما منه في شعبان
رواه البخاري و مسلم و أبو داود و النسائي و الترمذي و غيرهم
رواه البخاري و مسلم و أبو داود و النسائي و الترمذي و غيرهم
‘Ā’isha said, "Never did the Messenger of Allāh completed the fasting of a month except for Ramadān. And I have never seen Him in a month fasting more therein except Sh‘abān."2
And she said:
Allah's Apostle used to fast till one would say that he would never stop fasting, and he would abandon fasting till one would say that he would never fast. I never saw Allah's Apostle fasting for a whole month except the month of Ramadan, and did not see him fasting in any month more than in the month of Sha'ban.3
و لمسلم "كان يصوم شعبان كله , كان يصوم شعبان إلا قليلا"
It is related, "He used to fast the whole of Sh‘abān except a few days."4
كما ذكره العلامة الإمام الحافظ زين الدين ابن رجب الحنبلي في كتابه" لطائف المعارف فيما لمواسم العام من الوظائف ".
Ibn al-Mubārak (ra) says that the Prophet (s) didn’t complete fasting the entire month of Sha‘bān, but that he used to fast most of it as ‘Allāmah al-Imām al-Hāfizh Zayn ad-Dīn bin Rajab al-Hanbalī said in his book, Latā‘if al-Ma‘ārif.
عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ شَقِيقٍ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِعَائِشَةَ -رضي الله عنها-: أَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ -صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- يَصُومُ شَهْراً كُلَّهُ؟قَالَتْ: مَا عَلِمْتُهُ صَامَ شَهْرَاً كُلَّهُ إِلاَّ رَمَضَانَ,
‘Abd-Allāh bin Shaqīq said:
I asked ‘Ā`ishah (ra) if the Messenger of Allāh ÿ used to fast an entire month? She said, "I don’t know him to have fasted an entire month except Ramadān."5
Notes
1 narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslims.
2 Narrated by Al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwud, Nisā`ī at-Tirmidhī and others.
3 Narrated by al-Bukhārī.
4 Narrated by al-Bukhārī.
5 Narrated by Muslim.