He only wants to Forgive and Give! Nisfu Shaban: The Middle Night of Sha’ban – Sh. Faid Said
Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) is the Most Merciful and Compassionate, and as He has mentioned in Surah Al-A’raf (156):
“…My Mercy encompasses all things.”
Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) says in the next two ayahs (Surah Al-A’raf, 157-8):
“Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they, who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him – it is those who will be the successful. Say, [O Muhammad], “O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, [from Him] to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death.” So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered prophet, who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him that you may be guided.”
From His Rahma, He sent us His Rahma, as Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) said in the Qur’an: “We did not send you other than as a Mercy to all the worlds.”
The Rahma of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) is clear and evident, as we are able to see it and feel it in Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him).
Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) described Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) as Basheer, the one who Glad Tides, as Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) mentioned this in Surah Al-Ahzab (45-47):
“O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And one who invites to Allah , by His permission, and an illuminating lamp. And give good tidings to the believers that they will have from Allah great bounty.”
“Allah Guides to His Light whom He Wills.” (Surah An-Nur)
It is from the Rahma of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) that Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) glade tides us, and one of these glad tidings is the night of the 15th of Shaban, tonight; and as Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) has given us this glad tiding, we have to take it, enjoy it and make the most of it.
Muadh ibn Jabal (radiallah anhu) narrates that Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) said that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) looks at all of His Creation on the middle night of Shaban, and He forgives all of them, except for the mushrikeen, those who associate others with Allah (subhana wa ta’ala), and the mushahin, those who have hatred towards others.
[Narrated in Imam Al-Bayhaqi in Shuab al Iman (3674); At-Tabarani in Al Mu’jim al Kabir (215), Al Mu’jim al Ausad (6976), and Musnad Ash-Shamiyeen (198,203,3497)]
This Hadith has been narrated by many of the Sahaba, some of which vary in the content of the narration. The narration of Muadh ibn Jabal (radiallah anhu) has been also narrated by:
- Abu Musa Ashari (radiallah anhu): ibn Majah (Chapter of the Blessings of the Night of Nisfu Shaban)
- Abu Hurrairah (radiallah anhu), with slightly different words: Al Bazzar (Musnad),Imam Haythami
- Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (radiallah anhu): Imam Bayhaqi (Shuab al Iman, 3668), Al Bazzar (80), Ad-Daylami (Musnad al Firdous, 8017)
- Awf (radiallah anhu): Al Bazzar (Musnad, 22754), ibn Abi Shayba (30479), Abdur Razzaq (Musanaf, 7923), Al Bayhaqi (Shuab al Iman, 3672)
The same Hadith has also been narrated differently by other Sahaba:
Abdullah ibn Amr al Aas (radiallah anhu) narrated this Hadith, but instead of “mushrikeen” he narrated that the two types of people that would not be forigiven are those with hatred and anyone who has killed an innocent human being. [Imam Ahmad, 6353]
Also, this Hadith was narrated by Abi Thalaba (radiallah anhu), who narrated that on this night, Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) forgives the mu’mins, gives time to the disbelievers and leaves the people with hatred alone until they correct themselves. [Al Bayhaqi, Shuab al Iman (3673); At Tabarani, Al Mu’jim al Kabir (590,593); Ibnu Qainah, Mu’jim al Sahaba (264)]
Uthman ibn Al Aas (radiallah anhu) narrated that Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) said that during the night of the middle of Shaban, it will be asked: Is anyone is asking for forgivness so He (subhana wa ta’ala) can Forgive, is anyone asking for their needs so He (subhana wa ta’ala) can Give; except for two groups of people, those who commit zina and those who are mushrikeen. [Bayhaqi, 3673]
These are some of the Hadith that were revealed, among the many, regarding the special night of Nisfu Shaban.
We advise ourselves and our brothers and sisters to look at this Hadith and see the Rahma of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala); He only wants to Forgive and Give!
His name is al Ghaffar, the All Forgiving!
His name is Al Mu’ti, the Giver!
He is Al Karim, the Most Generous! We see His Subtle Kindness, as He is Al Latif.
How can we not love Him?
He is the One who reminds us by Nights, and is the grantor of those Nights of khair!
He tells us this is our Night! And the blessing of it is from Him (subhana wa ta’ala)!
May Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) make us worthy of His Blessing.
Also, from the Hadith that were mentioned, we see the importance and greatness of this Night. Even though we apologize that we did not send this message earlier, we see, however, the Lutf of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala), that maybe if we sent this message earlier, it would be forgotten amongst the endless needs of this dunya!
The common action that we see in the Hadith, that is not forgiven, is hatred, which is the cause of envy and the worst of crimes. It is as if Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) is telling us, this is the action I do not forgive; this is the act that causes My anger!
How can our hearts be a vessel for the love of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) if there is room in the vessel for hate!
We are not saying people should not get upset or anger; there are moments where we as humans experience these emotions. However, Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) warned us in a Hadith he mentioned to a Sahabi that a man asked Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) for wasiyah, to which Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) said “Do not get angry! Do not get angry! Do not angry!” [Narrated in Bukhari and Muslim]
Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) also mentioned that anger is from shaytan, and that shaytan is made from fire, and nothing extinguishes fire better than water, so perform wudu when you are angry.
Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned to Abu Dharr (radiallah anhu), speaking about anger, that if someone is angry and they are standing, they should sit, until the anger dissipates; and if the anger still persists, to then lie down.
Here we see that Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) is guiding us away from hatred, to love. We see what the Quraysh did to him, but yet he was making dua for their forgiveness and guidance, and not only that, but he was making excuses for them!
If we are really followers of Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him), as is mentioned in Surah An-Nisa (80): “He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah…”, then we should embody and live forgiveness and care for others.
Looking again at the Hadith, the only thing that will prevent us from the forgiveness of this Night is hatred!
Let us try, on this Night, to forgive everyone, in order to gain the forgiveness of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). Let us make this night a night of dhikr, dua and istighfar. Let us call each other, ask about each other, and replace negative thoughts of one another with something positive.
As Syedina Abdullah ibn Omar (radiallah anhu) mentioned, if you see something you do not like in your brother, look for excuses until you get to seventy, after which there may be an excuse you are unaware of!
May Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) Forgive us, Accept us and Gather us with Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him).
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