Khutba on Nisf Sha’ban

الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي يغفر لعباده في ليلة نصف شعبان، ويقضي فيها لذلك العام، قدر كل إنسان وجانّ، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير،  ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدٌى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.

قال الله عز وجل في كتابه الكريم: حم وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنْذِرِينَ فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ أَمْرًا مِنْ عِنْدِنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِينَ رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ رَبِّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُوقِنِينَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ رَبُّكُمْ وَرَبُّ آَبَائِكُمُ الْأَوَّلِينَ 

Allah says in His Noble Quran, the translation of which is, “We sent it down on a blessed night; We are constantly giving warning. During it every wise decree is specified by a command from Our presence. We are constantly sending out as a mercy from your Lord. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing: the Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything in between them, if you are people with certainty. There is no god but Him – He gives life and causes to die – your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers, the previous peoples.”
These ayats and the ‘blessed night’ to which they refer are understood by the majority of the mufassirun to refer to the laylatu qadr in Ramadan, since it mentions the Qur’an being sent down and other ayats specifically state that that happened in Ramadan on the laylat al-Qadr, for Allah says:

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآَنُ

the translation of which is, “The month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was revealed”; and He says:

إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ

the translation of which is, “Truly we sent it down on the Night of Power.”
However, there are a number of other mufassirs, including ‘Ikrimah, the freedman of Ibn Abbas, who interpreted the ayats to refer to a night in the middle of this month, commonly known as laylat nisf ash-shaban ‘the night of the middle of Sha’ban’, or laylat al-bara’a – the night of emancipation or freedom from the Fire. ‘Ikrimah said,

“هي ليلةُ نصفِ الشعبان، يُبرَمُ فيها أمرُ السنةِ ويُنسخ الأحياءُ من الأمواتِ، ويُكتب الحاجُ فلا يُزاد فيهم أحدٌ ولا يُنقص منهم أحد.”

“It is the night of the middle of Sha‘ban, when Allah arranges the affairs of the year.  He transfers [some of] the living to the list of the dead, and records those who will go on hajj [that year], neither adding anyone to them nor leaving anyone out.” In other words, in the opinion of ‘Ikrimah and others, the night of the middle of Sha’ban – the night of the coming Monday – is that blessed night when Allah’s decree is made specific, particularly with respect to people’s lifespans. This is confirmed by a number of hadith from the Messenger of Allah, including one narrated by A‘ishah, in which she asked the Prophet why he fasted so much in the month of Sha‘ban and he replied, 

إن الله يكتب فيه على كل نفس ميتةٍ تلك السنةَ فأحبُ أن يأتيَني أجلي وأنا صائم

“In this month, Allah writes down the death of everyone who will die during the coming year and I would like my destiny to reach me while I am fasting.”
And another narrated by her, and transmitted by as-Suyuti in his tafsir, in which the Prophet said,

يفتح الله الخير في أربع ليال، ليلة الأضحى والفطر، وليلة النصف من شعبان، ينسخ فيها الآجال والأرزاق ويكتب فيها الحاج، وفي ليلة عرفة إلى الأذان ". 

“There are four nights upon which Allah opens the gates of goodness: the night of the Eid of Adha, the night of the Eid of Fitr, the night of the middle of Sha’ban upon which  people’s lifespan and provision is written down as well as those who will make Hajj that year, and night of Arafa until the adhan of Subh.”
And, in another hadith narrated by Usamah ibn Zayd, the Prophet said,

هو شهرٌ يُعرض فيه حسابُ الأعمال على رب العالمين، فأحب أن تُعرَض أعمالي وأنا صائم

“Sha‘ban is a month in which the deeds of mankind are presented before the Lord of all the worlds, so I would like my deeds to be presented whilst I am fasting.”
However, the majority of scholars still took the position that the night on which the  Decree is decided is the laylat al-qadr, so in order to combine the two sets of hadith, Ibn Abbas and others took the position that there were two stages to the Decree being decided, the first one taking place on the Night of Bara’a and the second on the laylat al-Qadr. Ibn ‘A jiba mentions in his tafsir:

وروي عن ابن عباس: قال: إن الله يقضي الأقضية كلها ليلة النصف من شعبان، ويسلمها إلى أربابها ليلة القدر. قيل: وبذلك يرتفع الخلاف أن الأمر يبتدأ في ليلة النصف من شعبان، ويكمل في ليلة السابع والعشرين من رمضان

“It has been narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said, “Allah decrees the decree for all things on the night of the middle of Sha’ban, then hands them over to those he has placed in charge of them on the Laylat al-Qadr.” It is said, “By this, the difference of opinion is lifted, since it shows that the matter begins on the night of the middle of Sha’ban and is completed on the  twenty-seventh night of Ramadan.” And az-Zamakhshari narrated the following in his tafsir, al-Kashshaf: 

وقيل: يبدأ في استنساخ ذلك من اللوح المحفوظ في ليلة البراءة، ويقع الفراغ في ليلة القدر، فتدفع نسخة الأرزاق إلى ميكائيل، ونسخة الحروب إلى جبريل، وكذلك الزلازل والصواعق والخسف، ونسخة الأعمال إلى إسماعيل صاحب سماء الدنيا وهو ملك عظيم ونسخة المصائب إلى ملك الموت.

“It is said that the copying down of the decree into the lawh al-mahfuz (preserved tablet) begins on the night of bara’a and is completed on the night of qadr when the book of provision is given to Mika’il; the book of wars is given to Jibril, as well as that of earthquakes, thunderstorms and other natural disasters; the book of deeds is given to Ismail, the guardian of the lowest heaven, an immense angel; and the book of deaths is given to the Malak al-mawt – the angel of death.”
Thus, there is a significant body of opinion that this month of Sha‘ban, and indeed this night of bara’a, is the time when our destiny for the coming year is mapped out. It is when our deeds are placed before the Lord of the Worlds, so we must make sure we are in the best of states when that happens. We must understand its significance in the way that the Prophet did when he said,

أُحِبُّ أَنْ يُرْفَعَ عَمَلِي وَأَنَا صَائِمٌ

“I would like my actions to be taken up while I am fasting.” And when he said,

أحب أن يكتب أجلي وأنا في عبادة ربي وعمل صالح

“I would like my appointed time to be written while I am worshipping my Lord and doing right action.”  And we must pray that having a praiseworthy state on the day when our fate is decided will weigh heavily in the balance for us and will mean that we are in a good state on the day that we die and that we are granted husn al-khatima – the best of seals. Thus, it is important for us to fill this night, and indeed this entire month with good deeds of every sort.

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيمالحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته.

There are a number of special qualities that the night of the middle of Sha’ban, and indeed the whole of the month of Sha’ban, possess, and which we as Muslims must strive to take advantage of during that limited window of opportunity within which they are offered to us.
The first is what we mentioned in the first khutba, that it is the night upon which the Decree is decided and one’s actions are taken up and presented before Allah. And so it behooves us in to be in the best of states when that happens. The Prophet said about Sha’ban,

ذاك شهر ترفع فيه الأعمال وأحب يرفع عملي وأنا صائم

“That is a month in which actions are raised up to Allah, so I would like my actions to be raised up while I am fasting.”
The second is that it is a month that people tend to forget about. The Prophet said, when asked by Aisha why he fasted so much during Sha’ban:

شعبان شهر يغفل الناس عنه بين رجب ورمضان

“Sha’ban is a month that people forget about, lying as it does between Rajab and Ramadan.” Everyone knew the importance of Rajab, given that it is one of the four Sacred Months and everyone knew that Ramadan is important, given that it is the month of the obligatory fast, but Sha’ban tended to get overlooked and forgotten about. And the fact that the Messenger of Allah saw that as a reason for filling it with good action shows that there is great benefit to be found in times and places that most people tend to ignore. And many of the great men of Allah throughout the ages have taken advantage of this, doing their dhikr in the marketplace, or filling the time between Maghrib and Isha with prayer. 
So, the fact that people overlook it and forget its worth is itself one of the Month’s great qualities. And that is because it aids you in keeping your actions hidden from the eyes of people and protects you from riya. And as we all know, the action that is hidden is worth more than the action which is done openly. Allah says:

إِنْ تُبْدُوا الصَّدَقَاتِ فَنِعِمَّا هِيَ وَإِنْ تُخْفُوهَا وَتُؤْتُوهَا الْفُقَرَاءَ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ

the translation of which is, “If you make your sadaqa public, that is good. But if you conceal it and give it to the poor, that is better for you,” And that is especially true of fasting – the more secret you keep your voluntary fasts the more reward for them you get. Indeed, some of the men of Allah used to fast without even their families knowing, taking the food that was set before them and giving it to the poor on the way to the market, so their families would assume they had eaten it and everyone else would assume they had eaten at home.
The third quality of this night is that it is a night upon which Allah forgives His slaves and frees them from the Fire. Indeed, that is the reason it is called the night of bara’a – the night when people’s slates are wiped clean. Al-Khazin narrates in his tafsir from Aisha that the Prophet said:

إن الله تبارك وتعالى ينزل ليلة النصف من شعبان إلى سماء الدنيا فيغفر لأكثر من عدد شعر غنم بني كلب

“Allah descends to the lowest heaven on the night of the middle of Sha’ban and forgives a number of people greater than the hairs of the sheep of the Banu Kalb.” And the Banu Kalb were known for possessing vast amounts of sheep. And Ka’b is narrated as having said,

إن الله تعالى يبعث ليلة النصف من شعبان جبريلَ عليه السلام إلى الجنة فيأمرَها أن تتزينَ ويقول : إن الله تعالى قد أعتق في ليلتك هذه عددَ نجوم السماء وعددَ أيام الدنيا ولياليها وعدد ورق الشجر وزنةَ الجبال و عددَ الرمال

“Allah sends Jibril on the night of the middle of Sha‘ban to the Garden, where he commands it to beautify and ready itself, saying, ‘On this night of yours, Allah has set free a number of people equivalent to the number of stars in the sky, the number of days and nights in this world, the number of leaves on the trees, the weight of the mountains and the number of grains of sand.” The like of this has been narrated by Abu Hurayra from the Prophet.
But this forgiveness is not for everyone, for there are certain categories of people who are denied it and excluded from it. In one hadith, Abu Musa al-Ash’ari narrated that the Prophet said,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَيَطَّلِعُ فِي لَيْلَةِ النِّصْفِ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ فَيَغْفِرُ لِجَمِيعِ خَلْقِهِ إِلا لِمُشْرِكٍ أَوْ مُشَاحِنٍ

“Allah looks over His creation on the night of the middle of Sha’ban and forgives them all, except for those who are guilty of shirk and those with rancour in their hearts.” And, in another, narrated by Abu Tha’laba, the Prophet said:

إذا كان ليلةُ النصفِ من شعبان اطّلعَ اللهُ إلى خلقِه فيغفرَ للمؤمنين ويمليَ للكافرين ويدعَ أهلَ الحقد بحقدِهم حتى يدعوه

“On the night of the middle of Sha‘ban, Allah looks over His creation, and forgives the believers, leads the unbelievers on, and leaves the people of rancour and resentment to their resentment until they leave it behind.” 
He does not forgive shirk – associating anyone or anything with him – because it is the greatest form of wrong action and the one and only unforgiveable sin. Allah says:

 إن الله لا يغفر أن يشرك به ويغفر ما دون ذلك لمن يشاء

the translation of which is, “Allah does not forgive anything being associated with Him but He forgives whoever He wills for anything other than that.” And every one of us must be on our guard against shirk, for it is all too easy to fall into. It does not just mean worshipping idols or worshipping the sun or trees, but rather ascribing power or influence to anything other than Allah. So believing that  it is the medicine that heals you, or the food that nourishes you is a form of shirk, since it is Allah and Allah alone who does those things. Allah says in surat ash-Shu’ara, relating the words of Ibrahim:

إِلَّا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ الَّذِي خَلَقَنِي فَهُوَ يَهْدِينِ وَالَّذِي هُوَ يُطْعِمُنِي وَيَسْقِينِ وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ وَالَّذِي يُمِيتُنِي ثُمَّ يُحْيِينِ وَالَّذِي أَطْمَعُ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لِي خَطِيئَتِي يَوْمَ الدِّينِ

the translation of which is, “Except for the Lord of all the worlds: He who created me and guides me; He who gives me food and gives me drink; and when I am ill, it is He who heals me; He who will cause my death, then give me life; He who I sincerely hope will forgive my mistakes on the Day of Reckoning.
As for rancour, that is what develops in our hearts when we hold grudges against our fellow Muslims and refuse to forgive them. That is what develops when we let our anger against them fester and avoid their company. And it is unforgiveable because it destroys not just your own heart, but also the trust and cohesion of the society in which you live. In order to be eligible for forgiveness, you must be prepared to forgive yourself. The Prophet said,

من لا يَرحمْ لا يُرحم

“He who does not show mercy will not be shown mercy.” It is rancour and resentment and nothing else that causes one to become both split off from the jama’a and split off from the mercy of Allah, so purify your hearts of it, overlook the faults of your brothers, forgive them and seek their company even when you feel you do not want to. So take advantage of  this great occasion, the night of bara’a, to obtain the mercy and forgiveness of Allah – and fill it with istighfar and with whatever is pleasing to Him. 
We ask Allah to make us amongst those to whom He grants forgiveness and whom He frees from having to endure the torments of the Fire. We ask Him to grant us the strength to benefit from this night and this month and accept all our good actions during it and overlook all our bad actions and shortcomings. We ask Allah to give us the best of seals. We ask Allah to grant us the best of seals. We ask Allah to grant us the best of seals. We ask Him to let us live as Muslims and dies as Mumins. And we ask that He forgive and have mercy on all of our parents, families teachers and shuyukh, and everyone who has gone before us. 

إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُهَا الذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ  أَجْمَعِينَ. 

وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ، وَعَنْ سَائِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً اِلأَنْصَارَ مِنْهُمْ وَالمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينَ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ سُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَهُمْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ المُسْتَقِيمِ، وَأَصْلِحْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى شَيْخِنَا، وَعَلَى أَمِيرِنَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أُمَرَاءِ وَزُعَمَاءِ المُسْلِمِينَ.  

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى المُسْلِمِينَ فِي هَذِهِ المَدِينَةِ، وَوَفِّقْهُمْ لِمَا تُحِبُّهُ وَتَرْضَاهُ يَا أَكْرَمَ الأَكْرَمِينَ. 

اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسِْلمِينَ (3) وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى.

رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقَِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ. 

اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تجْعَلِ الدُّنْيَا أَكْبَرَ هَمِّنَا وَلَا مَبْلَغَ عِلْمِنَا وَلَا تُسَلِّطْ عَلَيْنَا بِذُنُوبِنَا مَن لاَّ يَخَافُكَ وَلَا يَرْحَمُنَا

اللَّهُمَّ أَصْلِحْ لَنَا دِينَنَا الذِي هُوَ عِصْمَةُ أَمْرِنَا وَأَصْلِحْ لَنَا دُنْيَانَا التِي فِيهَا مَعَاشُنَا وَأَصْلِحْ لَنَا آخِرَتُنَا التِي إِلَيْهَا مَعَادُنَا وَاجْعَلِ الحَيَاةَ زِيَادَةً لَنَا فِي كُلِّ خَيْرٍ وَاجْعَلِ المَوْتَ رَاحَةً لَنَا مِن كُلِّ شَرٍّ

إِنَّ اللهَ يَامُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَقُومُواْ إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللهُ.