30 Days till Ramadan

Alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah ‎ﷻ, the holy month of Sha’ban will be upon us on

Monday 15 March 2021

This means that there are 29 or 30 days left till the blessed month of Ramadan. Like last year, we will welcome the holy month of Ramadan in restrictions due to the Coronavirus. May Allah remove us of this virus. أمين

Sha’ban is one of the months that bear much significance for the believer.

Although most of the narrations on the virtues of Nisfu-Sha’ban are considered weak in their ‘chain of narration’ (sanad), there are so many that these narrations strengthen one another. Scholars of hadith such as Imam At-Tirmizi, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Imam Ibn Maajah and Imam At-Tabrani have narrated hadiths regarding this blessed night. 

The likes of Imam Taqiyuddin As-Subki, the prominent Shafiee scholar, have mentioned various names to signify this blessed night. These names are Laylatul Mubarakah (The Blessed Night) – Laylatu Takfeer Zunub (The Night of Expiating Sins) – Laylatul Bara’ah (The Night of Freedom from Hellfire) – and Laylatul Ghufran (The Night of Forgiveness).

Our beloved Prophet ﷺ said:

“Allah gazes at His creation on the fifteenth night of Sha’ban and then forgives all except for two types of people: those who attribute partners to Allah (shirk) and those who have rancour in their hearts for their fellow Muslims.”

Narrated by Imam At-Tabrani and Imam Ibn Hibban

Surely this is a glad tiding to those seeking for His forgiveness. Imagine that our shortcomings or acts that we are ashamed of are being forgiven. It is also important to note that forgiveness is only given to those who clear their hearts of attributing partners to Allah (shirk) and to those who do not have rancour or strong hatred for others.

If one finds it hard to clear his or her heart from rancour, then we are advised to try to forgive others, the best we can. Scholars would remind us to forgive others by making prayers for the other person. May Allah grant us a clear and calm heart.

Our scholars have reminded us to increase our acts of worship such as repentance in this month of Sha’ban, as shown beautifully by our beloved Prophet s.a.w, in hopes that we are able to maximise our acts of worship in the month of Ramadan.

Even if this Ramadan does not allow us the broad opportunities to perform our acts of worship like in previous years, there is still hope and other opportunities for us to focus on. Let us not wait for Ramadan to start striving for His mercy.