15 SHA'BAN THE NIGHT OF EMANCIPATION

The virtue of this night that is established from Ahadith is that from the very beginning of the night, Allah turns with special mercy and attention towards the creation and forgives those who repent and seek forgiveness. Every Muslim should therefore value this night. Turn towards Allah with sincere regret and shame over sins committed and make a promise never to return to sin again and seek forgiveness from Allah. Seek forgiveness for oneself and the rest of the Muslims, living and deceased. Have the firm hope and resolution in the heart that Allah will surely show mercy and forgiveness.

It is understood from the Ahadith that even on this night, some servants of Allah are deprived of His forgiveness. They are as follows:

Idolaters

Those who harbour enmity against others

Consumers of alcohol

Those who disobey their parents

Those who wear their trousers below their ankles

Those who commit adultery

Murderers

And those who sever family ties.

Tabrani, Baihaqi, Targhib-wat-Tarhib

We can thus gauge the severity of these sins and the need to perpetually abstain from them as they are so grave that even on an occasion when Allah's mercy comes to the fore, they still pose an obstacle to our forgiveness. Every Muslim should consider carefully and if he is involved in any of these sins, he should sincerely repent and seek forgiveness for his sin lest he be deprived of this night.

tomorrow Saturday, February 4 will be the 13th of rajab, which means the ayaame bidh (days of the full moon) fast will fall on:

✨ Saturday, February 4

✨ Sunday, February 5

✨Monday, February 6

It was narrated that Abu Dharr ‏رضي الله تعالى عنهsaid: The Messenger ﷺ of Allaah ﷻ said to me: “If you fast any part of the month, then fast the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth.”

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (761); al-Nasaa’i (2424).

This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi, and al-Albaani agreed with him in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 947.

at any given point of the year, muslims look forward to the arrival of ramadan and with just sixty days to go, the blessed month is truly fast approaching. however, these last 3 years have been unlike any other that any of us is old enough to remember. we’ve gone in and out of multiple quarantine and stay-at-home orders, some of us have lost our jobs, and others have unfortunately lost loved ones. in some way or another, we are all grappling with the struggles this global pandemic has wreaked upon our lives. in march 2020, muslims from around the world helplessly watched the heartbreaking scene as the masajid locked their doors, the kabah was barricaded, and janazahs were buried without ghusl. these past few years have been quite different than any other, in the most tragic of ways.

but our community is strong and resilient. as people lost their jobs and struggled to put food on the table for their families, the generosity of our brothers and sisters poured forward in an undeniable way. so many put themselves in harm’s way for the sake of their muslim brother and for the good of the community, from doctors and nurses in overrun hospitals to the volunteers that washed bodies and prayed janazah when we were plagued by the uncertainty of how exactly this deadly virus spreads. this spirit of sacrifice for the betterment of others is truly the light of the muslim community that shines through the darkest of times.

and even though we spent that ramadan at home, praying taraweeh alone, distancing our hearts as we refrained from hugging or shaking hands, ramadan did not lose its spiritual significance. yes, we missed being able to pray in jama’ah, to attend lectures and meet our brothers and sisters, but that ramadan proved something even more important. despite the fact that the masjid was closed and we prayed alone, we still worshipped Allah ﷻ. we still tried our best to please Him ﷻ. we still worked our hardest to make the most of our ramadan and multiply our rewards. this is proof that Allah ﷻ is not in the masjid, not even the kabah, but truly وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ .