Holy Month of Shaban

04:28 Posted In , Edit This 7 Comments »
As we have entered the Month of Shaban lots of thoughts are coming to my mind regarding how I can improve myself as a Muslimah and become closer to Allah. Shaban is an opportunity to prepare oneself for Ramadan. The Prophet (PBUH) used to fast all of Shaban. “I never saw the Messenger of Allah, fasting in a month so profusely as he did the month of Shaban. He used to fast in that month leaving only a few days, rather, he used to fast almost the whole of the month”. (Reported by Aisha RA).

I think the best place to start is to examine how you pray. Ensure that your wudu follows the proper etiquettes and that you are following the right procedures for praying. One can increase the amount of time spent reading the Qu’ran (i.e.10 minutes a day and then keep increasing it) and making dikka. There is a fantastic pocket size dua book called Fortress of a Muslim which has duas ranging from when you feel pain to when it rains which one can start using if they want to have wider knowledge of the kind of duas one can make especially during Ramadan.

Use the opportunity Shaban brings to seek more knowledge. If you haven’t read it, try and get a copy of the Sealed Nector, which is a biography of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) life and is critically acclaimed by scholars. Shaban is an opportunity to examine oneself and reflect on past mistakes. Don’t dwell too much on the mistakes but use this thought process as a way to move forward and stop them happening again inshaAllah. I suppose for me its about the small things like not wearing my hijab when opening the front door or uncontrollably judging someone for wearing tight clothes with hijab! InshaAllah, I will continue to try and stop myself from doing these things and remember that in particular that this sister may have a stronger imam than I do!

Night of Bara’ah or ‘the night of freedom from the fire’ falls on 15th day of Shaban; Allah (SWT) comes down to the lowest heaven and asks his servants –“Is there any person repenting so that I forgive him, and any person seeking provision so that I provide for him, and any person with distress so that I relieve him, and so on until dawn”. (Reported by Ibn Majah) This is an opportunity to ask for forgiveness, make dua for good health, happiness and things you, your family and the Ummah needs in this life and the hereafter. This is a fantastic opportunity to revive the spirit and renew our closeness to Allah (SWT). May Allah accept your prayers, duas and intentions in this Holy Month.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks you for sharing this post-it was really good -it is a good opportunity to gain more knowledge during these months. thanks for recommending these books

Adventurous Ammena said...

masha'allah thanks for this sis

Anonymous said...

This was an inspiring post! i did not know that about Allah (swt) coming down to the lowest heaven on that day, i will definetly be making the best of this month!

Big Sis said...

JazakAllah khair sisters for the comments and may Allah accept your duas in this holy month.

kaiza shozey said...

by "the night oof freedom from the fire" are u referring to the night that is more valuable than a thousand months? lailathul qadhr? if so i have to protest on that point. im sorry but its an issue thats always bugged me and frustrated me. when ppl act like they are sure which night its going to be. all we know is that the prophet(SAW) was more steadfast in prayers during the last 10 nights of ramadan and some say its an odd night. but nevertheless so many countries are saying with confidence that its going to be a specific night on which there will be special programs and such. kids nowadays are growing up believing all this. :s

well, apart from that i enjoyed the rest of the post very much :)

Big Sis said...

JazakAllah kaiza shoaey for your comment. No, it's not more vaulable than a thousand months and you're right that it may fall on 14 or 15 with most scholars saying its 15. However, as its the month of Shaban we should make the most of it being a holy month not necessary making this particular night any special but using as means to be closer to Allah (SWT) and helping us to pray fajr everyday.

kaiza shozey said...

sorry for the late reply, but that is exactly what muslims nowadays are doing isnt it?