The night
Friday 22 January, after Maghrib
The Islamic day begins at sunset, so the night comes before its day.
Shab-e-Barat 2027, the night of 15 Shaban.
The 15th of Shaban 1448 is Saturday 23 January 2027, so the night of mid-Shaban begins after Maghrib on Friday 22 January 2027. Here is what the hadith say about it and how scholars have understood them.
The night of 15 Shaban begins in
--Days
--Hours
--Minutes
--Seconds
Counting to 6 pm your time on Friday 22 January 2027. The night begins at Maghrib where you are.
Umm al-Qura date
Saturday 23 January 2027
The date in Saudi Arabia and the countries that follow its calendar.
If the month starts a day later
Night of Saturday 23 January
Where the month began a day later by local moon sighting, as often in South Asia.
Guide
The night of mid-Shaban, what is authentic and what is not.
Shab-e-Barat (Laylat al-Nisf min Shaban, the night of mid-Shaban) is the night before the 15th of Shaban. In 2027 it is the night of Friday 22 January 2027, with the 15th on Saturday 23 January. In Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, where Shaban often begins a day later by local sighting, it may be the night of Saturday 23 January. Scholars have differed on its virtue for over a thousand years, so here are the reports and the views, stated as fairly as we can.
The hadith, with their gradings
| Report | Source | Grading |
|---|---|---|
| "Allah looks at His creation on the night of mid-Shaban and forgives all of them, except a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah) or one who holds hatred (mushahin)." | Sunan Ibn Majah 1390 from Abu Musa; also Ibn Hibban and others from several Companions | Each chain has weakness. Al-Albani graded it sahih by its many routes (al-Silsilah al-Sahihah 1144); others, including some Hanbali and Salafi scholars, consider all routes weak. |
| Aishah found the Prophet ﷺ at al-Baqi on this night, and he said Allah forgives more people than the hairs of the flocks of the Banu Kalb. | Jami at-Tirmidhi 739 | Weak. Tirmidhi reported that al-Bukhari judged it weak. |
| "When it is the night of mid-Shaban, stand in prayer at night and fast its day." | Sunan Ibn Majah 1388, from Ali | Very weak or fabricated: its chain includes Ibn Abi Sabrah, who was accused of forging hadith. |
| The 100-rakah prayer (salat al-alfiyyah) with set surahs. | Late books of virtues | Fabricated. Al-Nawawi called it a blameworthy innovation. |
What is authentic about Shaban as a whole: Aishah said she never saw the Prophet ﷺ fast more in any month, other than Ramadan, than in Shaban.1 Usamah ibn Zayd reported that it is a month people neglect, between Rajab and Ramadan, in which deeds are raised to Allah.2
The views of the scholars
Hanafi position
The night has virtue, and it is mustahabb (recommended) to spend some of it in worship individually: voluntary prayer, Quran, dhikr, istighfar and dua, as al-Shurunbulali lists among the nights worth reviving.3 Gathering in the masjid for special congregational prayers on this night is makruh. No set number of rakahs or special prayer is established. Fasting the 15th rests on a weak report, but it is good to fast it as part of the white days (13 to 15) or the general Shaban fasting. Mufti Taqi Usmani and the Deoband scholars hold this middle position.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Imam al-Shafi'i mentioned in al-Umm that dua is said to be answered on five nights, including mid-Shaban. Al-Nawawi condemned the 100-rakah prayer as an innovation while not denying the night's general virtue.
- Maliki
- Many early scholars of the Hijaz, among them Ata and Ibn Abi Mulaykah, and, as Ibn Rajab reports, the jurists of Madinah, rejected giving the night any special status. The Maliki school generally regards gatherings for it as an innovation.
- Hanbali
- Two views are reported from Imam Ahmad. Ibn Rajab (Lata'if al-Ma'arif) and Ibn Taymiyyah acknowledged that many of the early Muslims honoured the night and allowed individual worship in it. Many later Hanbali and Salafi scholars, such as Ibn Baz, regard singling it out for worship as an innovation.
What has no basis
- The belief that each person's fate for the year is decided on this night. Most scholars explain the "blessed night" of Surah Ad-Dukhan (44:3) as Laylat al-Qadr, since the Quran was sent down in Ramadan.
- A fixed number of rakahs with set surahs, and the 100-rakah prayer.
- Fireworks, lighting up graves or homes, and treating halwa or special food as part of the worship.
- Gathering at graveyards as a yearly ritual. Visiting graves is a sunnah at any time.
A balanced way to spend the night
- Pray Isha and Fajr in congregation, and pray tahajjud in the last third of the night (see tahajjud time).
- Seek forgiveness, and mend ties with anyone you hold a grudge against, since the hadith excludes the one who holds hatred.
- Make up missed fasts before Ramadan, and fast in Shaban as the Prophet ﷺ did, without fasting the last day or two before Ramadan.
- Respect others who follow a different view, since sound scholars have held both.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1969; Sahih Muslim 1156.
- Sunan an-Nasa'i 2357, graded hasan.
- Al-Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah, on the nights in which reviving is recommended; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar. Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani's position is from his published talks on Shaban.
- Ibn Rajab, Lata'if al-Ma'arif, the section on Shaban; al-Nawawi, al-Majmu, on salat al-raghaib and the alfiyyah prayer. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard works.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
Good to know.
When is Shab-e-Barat 2027?
By the Umm al-Qura calendar, 15 Shaban 1448 is Saturday 23 January 2027, so Shab-e-Barat is the night of Friday 22 January 2027. In Pakistan, India and Bangladesh it may be the night of Saturday 23 January, depending on the moon.
Is Shab-e-Barat mentioned in the Quran?
No. The night is not named in the Quran. Most scholars say the blessed night of Surah Ad-Dukhan (44:3) is Laylat al-Qadr, not mid-Shaban.
Is there an authentic hadith about 15 Shaban?
The hadith that Allah forgives His creation on this night except the mushrik and the one who holds hatred (Ibn Majah 1390) was graded sahih by al-Albani through its many routes, though each chain is weak. Other reports, such as the one about fasting its day, are very weak.
Is it sunnah to fast on 15 Shaban?
The specific hadith is very weak. But fasting the 15th is good as one of the white days (13, 14 and 15) and as part of fasting in Shaban, which is authentic.
Is Shab-e-Barat a bidah?
Scholars differ. Many Hanafi scholars recommend individual worship on the night and dislike special congregational rituals. Many Salafi scholars regard singling it out as an innovation. Both views are held by sound scholars.