The Merits of Shaʿbān

Faḍāʾil al-Ashhur al-Thalātha|Volume 1|Book 2|Chapter 1

The Merits of Shaʿbān

حدثنا محمد بن الحسن رحمة الله عليه، قال: حدثنا الحسين بن الحسن بن أبان، عن الحسين بن سعيد، عن الحسين بن علوان، عن عمرو بن خالد، عن أبي جعفر (عليه السلام)، قال: كان رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله) يصوم شعبان وشهر رمضان يصلهما وينهي الناس أن يصلوهما وكان يقول: هما شهر الله وهما كفارة لما قبلهما وما بعدهما من الذنوب.

Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan narrated to us, saying that al-Ḥusayn b. al-Ḥasan b. Abān narrated to him, among others, from al-Ḥusayn b. Saʿīd, from al-Ḥusayn b. ʿUlwān, from ʿAmrū b. Khālid, from Abī Jaʿfar al-Bāqir , who said: “The Messenger of Allāh used to fast in the months of Shaʿbān and Ramaḍān together while forbidding the people from doing the same, and he would say: “These two are the month of Allāh and an expiation for sins that have occurred before and after them.” [1]

[1] The apparent contradiction here can be resolved through the following 3 explanations for the Prophet's صلى الله عليه وعلى آله behaviour: 1. To prevent people from believing that fasting in the months of Shaʿbān and Ramaḍān together, without an intermission, was an obligation, and thereby to prevent them from creating an innovation in the religion. 2. To indicate that what the Messenger of Allāh صلى الله عليه وعلى آله himself was doing constitutes an act of special devotion. 3. The weaknesses and circumstances of people, compared to the strength of body and character of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله, meant that he was required to enact protective legislation.

The Merits of Shaʿbān

Book 2, Chapter 1

The Merits of Shaʿbān

Hadith #8