lievers for their good works during the blessed month. This
is why it is virtuous to devote some time on this blessed
night in worship, which is proven through many inauthentic
hadith. In one hadith, the Prophet a said, “Whoever
stands in worship for the two nights of Eid hoping for
reward from Allah, his heart will not die the day hearts will
die (i.e. the Day of Judgment) (Ibn Majah; fi man qama laylat
al-eidayn). Here, ‘stand in worship’ does not necessarily
mean to pray but to establish some worship in remembrance
of Allah. Death of the hearts refers to hearts being
terrorized by the convulsion of the finalHour, which is a
terrible thing. It is ‘the day you will see it, every suckling
female will forget that which she suckles, and every female
having pregnancy shall abort her fetus, and you will see
people as if they are drunk, while they are not drunk, but
Allah’s torment is (so) severe’ (22:1-2). A little worship on
this night will provide succor for the heart against the terrors
of this Final Day.
Though the transmission of this hadith is wobbly, it in
no way takes away from the virtue and importance of
this night. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the narration is
propped up by ‘Ubada bin al-Samit’s g transmission in
Mu‘jam al-Ausat (1/57), Abu Darda’s g mauquf narration in
Shu‘ab al-Iman (Iltimas laylat al-qadr fi al-witr min al-‘ashr),
a narration by Abu Umama al-Bahili g in al-Targhib wa
al-Tarheeb (Fasl fi fadl laylat al-eidayn), and a mursal narration
by Kurdus in Ma‘rifat al-Sahaba (3/1716). Secondly, the
eminent Salaf gave distinction to this night and ruled that
it is desirable and virtuous to engross oneself in worship
on this night. Imam Shafi‘i said, “It has been reported to
us that the du‘a is accepted on five nights: on the night of
Jumu‘a, on the night of Eid al-Ad-ha, on the night of Eid
al-Fitr, the first night of Rajab, and the 15th night of Sha‘ban.
I consider whatever I have mentioned about these nights as
desirable without viewing it as obligatory (Kitab al-Umm,
Bayan al-‘ibadat laylat al-eidayn). The great tabi‘i and grand
disciple of the sahabi Abdullah bin Mas‘ud g, Ibrahim
Nakh‘ai, said, “They consider it desirable for the person in
i‘tikaf to spend the night of Eid al-Fitr in his masjid until
he departs from there in the morning (Ibn Abi Shayba; man
kana yuhibbu an yaghdua al-mu‘takifu). This is possibly why
Ibn ‘Abbas k was emphatic about takbir of Eid al-fitr being
recited from the night of Eid instead of from the morning
after on the way to Eid salat so that the night is enlivened
with one form of worship. He said, “It is wajib upon the believers
after seeing the crescent of Shawwal to say the takbir
until they have prayed their Eid salat” (Tafsir al-Tabari;
3/185). The unanimity of all four madhha’ib on the virtue
of this night supports the hadith principle that inauthentic
hadith can be used to establish the virtue of an act.
Imam Nawawi, in at least three of his books, including the
commentary of Sahih Muslim, echoes the same opinion
and says, “Know that it is desirable to revive the nights
of the two Eid with the remembrance of Allah, salat, and
other such devotions…” (Al-Adhkar; al-adhkar al-mashr‘ua
fi al-‘eidayn). Allama Ibn Hajj al-Maliki, citing the Maliki
position says, “Reviving the noble nights with the worship
of the Maula is desirable; it is something that is known and
noted” (al-Mudkhal; al-Mausam al-mash-hur yaum ‘ashura).
The great jurist of the Hanbali school, Mansur bin Yunus
al-Bahuti, says, “Reviving the night of the 15th of Sha‘ban
is the same in ruling as reviving the nights of Eid (Kashf
al-Qina‘ ‘an Matan al-‘Iqna‘; fasl salat al-duha). Ibn Nujaym
of the Hanafiyya says, “And of the desirables is to revive the
ten nights of Ramadan, the two nights of Eid, the ten nights
of Dhu al-Hijja, and the 15th night of Sha‘ban as the hadith
narrate” (al-Bahr al-Ra’iq; al-salat al-mashru‘at kullu yaum).
Let not the anticipation of Eid al-fitr make us forgetful of
the night before and its virtue. Even a short time in any
devotion, recitation of the Quran, two rak‘a of nafl salat, or
a du‘a will suffice to gain the blessings of this night.
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