Shab-e-Barat
Also called
Type Observed by Date 2021 Date Observances |
Lailatul Biraat, Lailatul Dua, Mid Shaban
Islamic Muslim World 15th Shaban Sunday 28 March, 2021 (Expected) Offering optional prayers, Reciting Quran |
Mid-Sha'ban is the 15th day of the Muslim month of Sha'ban while Laylat al Baraat (Arabic: ليلة البارات) is a Muslim holiday celebrated on the 14th night of the month of Sha'aban.
The month of Sha’ban is the eighth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. The fifteenth night of this month is known as Laylatul Bara’ah or Laylatun Nisfe min Sha’ban in the Arab world. In India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Afghanistan, etc., it is known as Shab-e-barat. The night of the 15th starts at sunset on the 14th and ends at sunrise on the 15th.
In this night ALLAH frees all His sinful servants who were destined for Jahannam. A person's life in the coming year, his sustenance, and whether or not they will have the opportunity to perform Hajj (Pilgrimage) shall be decided on this night. The names of the souls of all those who are born and of all those who are to depart from this world are determined. One's actions are raised and sustenance sent down.
The month of Sha’ban is the eighth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. The fifteenth night of this month is known as Laylatul Bara’ah or Laylatun Nisfe min Sha’ban in the Arab world. In India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Afghanistan, etc., it is known as Shab-e-barat. The night of the 15th starts at sunset on the 14th and ends at sunrise on the 15th.
In this night ALLAH frees all His sinful servants who were destined for Jahannam. A person's life in the coming year, his sustenance, and whether or not they will have the opportunity to perform Hajj (Pilgrimage) shall be decided on this night. The names of the souls of all those who are born and of all those who are to depart from this world are determined. One's actions are raised and sustenance sent down.
Significance
According to Muslim tradition, this night is called Shab-e-Baraat ("The night of freedom") because ALLAH frees all His sinful servants who were destined for Jahannam (The Muslim notion of Hell). A person's life in the coming year, his sustenance, and whether or not they will have the opportunity to perform Hajj (Pilgrimage) shall be decided on this night. The names of the souls of all those who are born and of all those who are to depart from this world are determined. One's actions are raised and sustenance sent down. For this reason it is sometimes called the "Night of Emancipation".
Other Names of The Event
Name |
Language |
Meaning |
Country Spoken |
Lailatul Biraat |
Arabic |
The night of freedom |
Arab world |
Lailatul Dua |
Arabic |
The night of prayer |
Arab world |
Nim Sha'ban |
Persian |
Half of Sha'ban |
Afghanistan and Iran |
Nisf Sha'ban |
Urdu |
Half of Sha'ban |
Arab world |
Nisfu Sya'ban |
Bahasa Indonesia |
Half of Sha'ban |
Malay speaking countries |
Shab-e-Bira'at |
Persian |
The night of freedom |
South Asia |
The Night in the View of Quran and Hadith
In the View of The Quran
ALLAH said in Sura Ad-Dukhan, Ayats No 1 to 6
Click on these pictures to read tafsir of these ayats
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بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
حم ﴿1﴾ وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ ﴿2﴾ إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ ۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنذِرِينَ ﴿3﴾ فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ ﴿4﴾ أَمْرًا مِّنْ عِندِنَا ۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِينَ ﴿5﴾ رَحْمَةً مِّن رَّبِّكَ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (6) 6 حم ﴿1﴾قسم اس روشن کتاب کی ﴿2﴾بیشک ہم نے اسے برکت والی رات میں اتارا بیشک ہم ڈر سنانے والے ہیں ﴿3﴾اس میں بانٹ دیا جاتا ہے ہر حکمت والا کام ﴿4﴾ہمارے پاس کے حکم سے، بیشک ہم بھیجنے والے ہیں ﴿5﴾تمہارے رب کی طرف سے رحمت، بیشک وہی سنتا جانتا ہے، (6)﴿6 Ha-Meem. (Alphabets of the Arabic language – ALLAH, and to whomever He reveals, know their precise meanings.) (1) By oath of this clear Book. (2) We have indeed sent it down in a blessed night – indeed it is We Who warn. (3) During it are distributed all the works of wisdom. (4) By a command from Us – indeed it is We Who send. (5) A mercy from your Lord; indeed He only is the All Hearing, the All Knowing. (6)
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In the View of Hadith
Ali bin Abu Talib (ALLAH Bless With Him) reported that ALLAH's Apostle (Peace Be Upon Him) said that
When it is the night of the middle of Sha’ban, spend its night in prayer and observe a fast on that day. For ALLAH descends at sunset on that night to the lowest heaven and says: ‘Is there no one who will ask Me for forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Is there no one who will ask Me for provision, that I may provide for him? Is there no one who is afflicted by trouble, that I may relieve him?’ And so on, until dawn comes.
(Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitab Iqamat Al-Salat, Hadith Number 1388, Classification of Hadith: Maudu)
Aishah (ALLAH Bless With Her) reported that
I missed the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) one night, so I went out looking for him. I found him at Al-Baqi’, raising his head towards the sky. He said: ‘O ‘Aishah, were you afraid that ALLAH and His Messenger would wrong you?’” She said: “I said: ‘No, it is not that, but I thought that you had gone to one of your other wives.’ He said: ‘ALLAH descends on the night of the middle of Sha’ban to the lowest heaven, and He forgives more than the numbers of hairs on the sheep of Banu Kalb.
(Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitab Iqamat Al-Salat, Hadith Number 1389, Classification of Hadith: Da’if)
According to various Hadiths, the following sins are so severe that they deprive worshippers of the blessings of this great night:
- To associate any partners to ALLAH, regarding His Being and Qualities
- To have enmity for one's fellow man
- Not fulfilling the rights of our close relatives and treating them unkindly
- To allow the trousers and pants to hang below the ankles
- To be disobedient to one's parents
- To drink wine
- To oppress and take bribes
- To be involved in witchcraft
- To inform people of the unseen, or to cast spells, or be involved in fortune telling
- To read palms in order to tell the future
- To play any musical instrument
- To play any game that requires the use of dice
Observance
On this night, perform Nawaafil, recite the Qur'an, Salawat, Kalima Tayyibah, and seek forgiveness.In the Indian subcontinent Muslims make sweets (especially Halwa or Zarda) to be given to the neighbors and the poor on the evening prior to the 15th of Sha'ban, but is deemed as an innovation to the faith by some Sunni scholars; some even consider it as a sin.Masajids and Houses are Decorated by lights.