Shab e Bara’at – Following Weak Hadith

The deviants claim – unsurprisingly – that Shab e Barā’at (or Laylat al-Nisf min Shaʿban) is a bidʿah, insisting that it has no basis from the Sunnat and that the aḥādīth in relation to it are ḍaʿīf (weak: narrations that do not fall within the category of ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan). However, to their dismay, Shab e Barā’at does indeed have a basis from the Sunnah. There are many aḥādīth that prove the excellence and virtue of this night and are found in many reputable books of Ḥadīth, such as in Shuʿab al-Īmān, which has an entire chapter regarding fasting on the 15th day of Shaʿbān, consisting of 21 aḥādīth; and Sunan Ibn Mājah, which also has a chapter regarding the 15th of Sha’ban, consisting of three aḥādīth.
However, because these aḥādīth are simply not found in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, and are categorised as ḍaʿīf, the ignorant deviants have resorted to rejecting the excellence of Shab e Barā’at altogether and have labelled gathering or worshiping abundantly on such a night as bidʿah.

Firstly, why does worshipping and gathering, two things that are in essence permissible on any day, become an innovation and incorrect when done on a specific day with a specific purpose?

Secondly, no muḥaddith (note: al-Albānī is neither a credible source nor a muḥaddith), has ever written that if a Ḥadīth is not to be found in Bukhārī or Muslim, then it is by default not ṣaḥīḥ. Those who have studied the principles of Ḥadīth (uṣūl al-Ḥadīth) know very well that there is no such a principle. Furthermore, if scholars expressly write that a particular Ḥadīth is ‘not ṣaḥīḥ’, this also does not suggest that the Ḥadīth is automatically to be categorised as mawḍuʿ (fabricated or a forgery).

According to the principles of Ḥadīth, if the chain of narration (sanad) does not meet the criteria set out by the muḥaddithīn for it to be classed as ṣaḥīḥ, then they may well assert that this particular Ḥadīth is ‘not ṣaḥīḥ’, meaning that it does not meet the requirements to be classed as ṣaḥīḥ. But unless they state explicitly that such a Ḥadīth is mawḍuʿ, the Ḥadīth will belong to one of the other categories. As there are not merely two categories for classifying Ḥadīth: ṣaḥīḥ or mawḍuʿ, a Ḥadīth can be placed within many other categories, such as ḥasan or ḍaʿīf (Refer to Muqaddimah Ibn al-Ṣalāh, page 8 and Tadrīb al-Rāwī 1/75-76).

Can a ḍaʿīf Ḥadīth be acted upon?
It is well-established among the scholars that ḍaʿīf is not tantamount to mawḍuʿ. A Ḥadīth that has been categorised as ḍaʿīf is still to be regarded as a Ḥadīth, while a mawḍuʿ report is rejected and not technically considered to be a Ḥadīth. A mawḍuʿ report is not to be acted upon as it is a rejected report whereas a ḍaʿīf narration can be acted upon, albeit in limited circumstances.

It is unanimously accepted by the scholars that a ḍaʿīf Ḥadīth is accepted in matters that concern faḍā’il (virtues) and manāqib (merits). For example, if a ḍaʿīf Ḥadīth states that if a person does such and such, he will receive a certain amount of reward, or a ḍaʿīf Ḥadīth mentions the excellences of a Prophet or a companion, that Allāh has blessed them with such and such a rank or excellence, then a ḍaʿīf Ḥadīth will be accepted and acted upon. The Ḥadīth regarding Shab e Barā’at may have been categorised as ḍaʿīf, but they are still Aḥādīth nonetheless, and according to the muḥaddithīn, ḍaʿīf narrations can be acted upon when they concern virtues of deeds (faḍā’il al-aʿmāl) and when they do not contravene the rules of the Sharīʿah.I

Imām al-Nawawī states in Sharḥ Arbaʿīn:

“The ḥuffaẓ of Ḥadīth and scholars of the religion agree that in virtues of deeds, it is permissible to act upon a ḍaʿīf Ḥadīth.”

[Sharh Arbaʿīn al-Nawawī, page 4]

Imām Abū Ṭālib Muḥammad ibn Alī al-Makkī states in his book, Qūt al-Qulūb fī Muʿāmalat al-Maḥbūb:

“Aḥādīth regarding virtues of deeds and excellences of the companions will be accepted and taken in every case, whether they be maqtūʿ or mursal – they will not be opposed and neither will they be refuted; this has been the practice of the pious predecessors (salaf)”

[Qūt al-Qulūb fī Muʿāmalat al-Maḥbūb 1/178]

(maqtūʿ: a narration whose chain ends at a tābiʿī | mursal: a saying of a tābiʿī who says: “the Messenger of Allāh has said …”)

Imam Muḥaqqiq ʿAla’l Iṭlāq ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Humām writes in Fatḥ al-Qadīr:

“In virtues of deeds, a ḍaʿīf Ḥadīth will be acted upon, so long as it is not mawḍuʿ.”

[Fath al-Qadīr 1/303]

Imām al-Nawāwī writes:

“The scholars from among the muḥaddithīn, jurists and others have stated that it is permissible and mustaḥabb (desirable) to act upon a ḍaʿīf Ḥadīth when it concerns virtues, encouragement [of good] and warnings [against evil acts], provided that it is not fabricated.”

[Kitāb al-Adhkār, page 7]

Mullā Alī al-Qārī states in Mawduʿāt al- Kubra, after classifying the Ḥadīth in relation to wiping the neck in wuḍū’ as ḍaʿīf:

“In virtues of deeds, it is agreed upon that a ḍaʿīf Ḥadīth will be acted upon. It is for this very reason that our scholars have stated that wiping the neck [in wuḍū] is mustaḥab or Sunnat.”

[Mawduʿāt al- Kubra, page 63]

The author of Mazāhir e Ḥaq (an Urdu translation and commentary of Miskhkāt Sharīf by a Wahhābī), after mentioning Imām al-Bukhāri’s stance that the Ḥadīth regarding Shab e Bara’at is ḍaʿīf, writes:

“Although this Ḥadīth is ḍaʿīf, to act upon a ḍaʿīf Ḥadīth when it concerns virtues of deeds is permissible.”

[Mazahir e Ḥaq]

Therefore, their claims and objections regarding Shab e Bara’at are erroneous: firstly, the objection that considering the night to have special excellence and virtue is bid’ah, is incorrect as there are Aḥādīth regarding the excellences of this night; secondly, the objection that as the Aḥādīth are ḍaʿīf, they cannot be acted upon, has also been disproven with the principles set out by the scholars; and finally, their objection that worshiping abundantly on this particular night is unsubstantiated, is also proven to be incorrect, as it is in essence permissible and justified according to the Sharī’ah to worship whenever one wishes to do so, and because it is permissible and mustaḥabb to act upon weak Aḥādīth when it concerns virtues of deeds, it is therefore permissible to reap the rewards by worshipping abundantly on such a night, even if the Aḥādīth in relation to it are ḍaʿīf.

And Allāh knows best.
Muhammad Kalim

[This article is a revised and edited version of the article posted on 12 June 2014]