Sha’ban is the eighth month in the Islamic calendar and it is the last lunar month preceding the holy month of Ramadan (when fasting is made compulsory upon every matured and sane believer). The month is ascribed to the noble Prophet who used to observe supererogatory fasts in it and connect it to the obligatory fast of Ramadan.
The month of Sha’ban is indeed an avenue to attain proximity to God and a preparatory ground to acquire the superabundant blessings in the month of Ramadan.
Sha’ban is the eighth month in the Islamic calendar and it is the last lunar month preceding the holy month of Ramadan (when fasting is made compulsory upon every matured and sane believer).
The month is ascribed to the noble Prophet who used to observe supererogatory fasts in it and connect it to the obligatory fast of Ramadan. It is documented that Imam Ali Zain al-Abideen used to gather his companions at the beginning of Sha’ban and quoted the holy Prophet to have said: “Sha’ban is my month”. Then he added: “You should thus fast on this month as a sign of your love for your Prophet and as a sign of seeking nearness to your Lord…[1]”
Sha’ban is indeed an avenue to attain proximity to God and a preparatory ground to acquire the superabundant blessings in the month of Ramadan. Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that the month of Ramadan is like an ocean from whose water everyone gets an amount proportionate to his/her container.
The holy month of Ramadan is indeed a period full of boundless blessings and countless favours of God and they shall be reaped maximally only by those who had made necessary preparations in the preceding months (i.e. Rajab and Sha’ban). In other words, one’s preparation for the month of Ramadan determines the levels of the blessings, bounties and the divine favours to be reaped in this holy month.
In the light of this, some of the supererogatory acts of worship prescribed in the month of Sha’ban include: Fasting[2] (for the whole month or some selected days); seeking forgiveness of Allah (i.e. Istighfār); invocation of blessings (i.e. Salawāt) on the noble souls of the Prophet and his pure household; special supplications (i.e. Du’a) and supererogatory night prayers (Nawafil).
Notes:
[1] . Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zad al-Ma’ād, p. 47.
[2] . Someone who is having a reparatory (i.e. Qada’) or atonement (i.e. Kaffarah) fast of Ramadan should use the period to observe it, rather than observing the supererogatory fast of Sha'ban.