as it is a part of the people's heritage in some countries? To clarify
further, some groups in our country have a customof distributing
sweets to children and they told us that it is just to express joy at
the approach of Ramadan. Is there anything wrong with celebrating this
night if the celebration is limited only to distributing sweetsto
children?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not prescribed in Islam to celebrate the night of the fifteenth
of Sha'baan, whether that is by spending the night in prayer, dhikr
and reading Qur'aan, or by distributing sweets or giving food to
people and so on.
It is not known in the saheeh Sunnah that this night is to be singled
out for acts of worship or customs.
The night of the fifteenth of Sha'baan is just like any other night.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:
It is not permissible to celebrate the occasion of Laylat al-Qadr or
any othernight, or to hold celebrations on other occasions such as the
night of the fifteenth of Sha'baan, the night of the Mi'raaj, or the
Prophet's birthday (Mawlid) and so on, because these are innovations
that have been introduced into the religion and were not narrated from
the Prophet(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or any of his
Companions. And he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"Whoever does an action that is not part of this matter of ours (i.e.,
Islam) will have it rejected." And it is not permissible to help
others to hold these celebrations by giving money or gifts or
distributing cups of tea, and it is not permissible togive speeches
and lectureson these occasions, because that comes under the heading
of approving of them and encouraging them. Rather it is obligatory to
denounce them and not to attend them. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 2/257-258
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
We have some customs that we grew up with and that have been passed
down to us, on some occasions, such as making cakes and cookies on Eid
al-Fitr, and preparing platters of meat and fruit on the night of the
twenty-seventh of Rajab and the fifteenth of Sha'baan, and different
kinds of sweets that must be prepared on the day of 'Ashoora'. What is
the Islamic ruling on that?
He replied:
As for expressing joy and happiness of the days of Eid al-Fitr and Eid
al-Adha, there is nothing wrong with that if it is within the limits
prescribed in Islam, such as preparing food and drink and the like. It
isproven that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "The days of at-Tashreeq are days of eating and drinking and
remembering Allah, may He be glorified and exalted." This refers to
the three days following Eid al-Adha, when the people offer their
sacrifices and eat from the meat and enjoy the blessings that Allah
has bestowed upon them. Similarly, on Eid al-Fitr there is nothing
wrong with expressing joyand happiness so long as it does not overstep
the limits set by Islam.
As for expressing joy on the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab or
the fifteenth of Sha'baan or the day of 'Ashoora', this issomething
for which thereis no basis. Rather it is forbidden and the Muslim
should not attend if he is invited to such celebrations. The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Beware of newly
invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation
(bid'ah), and every innovation is a going astray."
The night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab is what some people claim is
the night of the Mi'raaj during which the Messenger (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) was taken up to Allah, may He be glorified
and exalted. There is no proof of this date from a historical point of
view, and everything for which thereis no proof is false, and that
which is built on falsehood is also false. Even if we assume that this
event took place on that night, it is not permissible for us to
introduce on that date anyof the symbols of festivals or acts of
worship, because no such thing is proven from the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) or from his Companions who were the
closest of people to him and the keenest of people to adhere to his
Sunnah and follow his path.
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