Da'eef (weak) hadeeths, Dought & clear, - * Accumulate Voluntary Fasts and Make Them up in Sha‘ban?

How sound is the following hadeeth (narration): "The Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to fast three
days every month, and sometimes he would delay that until a year's
fasts accumulated and he would fast Sha'ban?"
Praise be to Allah
This hadeeth was narrated from the Mother of the Believers, 'Aishah
(may Allah be pleased with her) who said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used
to fast three days every month, and sometimes he would delay that
until a year's fasts accumulated and sometimes he would delay it until
he fasted Sha'ban.
This was narrated by at-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, 2/320. He
said: Ahmad told us: 'Ali ibn Harb al-Jandeesaboori told me: Sulayman
ibn Abi Hawthah told us: 'Amr ibn Abi Qays told us: from Muhammad ibn
'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, from his brother 'Eesa, from his father
'Abd ar-Rahman, from 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said.
Then he quoted it, then he said: This hadeeth was not narrated from
'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Layla except via this isnad (chain of
narrators), and 'Amr is the only one who narrated it. End quote.
This is a da'eef (weak) isnad because of Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman
ibn Abi Layla – the famous faqeeh (jurist) – of whom Imam Ahmad said:
He had a poor memory and his narration of hadeeth was inconsistent.
Shu'bah said: I have never seen anyone with a poorer memory than Ibn
Abi Layla. 'Ali ibn al-Madeeni said: He had a poor memory and his
hadeeth is weak. Hence the scholars classed this hadeeth of his as
da'eef.
Al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Its isnad includes Muhammad ibn Abi Layla and there are some
reservations concerning him. End quote.
Majma' az-Zawaid, 3/195
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ibn Abi Layla is da'eef. The hadeeth of the door and the one that
follows it are indicative of the weakness of what he narrated. End
quote.
Fath al-Bari, 4/252
Ash-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Its isnad includes Ibn Abi Layla, who is da'eef. End quote.
Nayl al-Awtar, 4/332
The scholars differed concerning the reason why the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) fasted most of Sha'ban and there are
many opinions, including the one mentioned above, but the evidence for
it is not sound. Perhaps the first one who narrated it was Ibn Battal
in his commentary on Saheeh al-Bukhari (4/115). He also mentioned
other opinions that were narrated by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah
have mercy on him) and added to them, then he said:
More appropriate than this is what is mentioned in a hadeeth that is
sounder than what has been mentioned above. It was narrated by
an-Nasai and Abu Dawood, and classed as saheeh (authentic) by Ibn
Khuzaymah, from Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) who
said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, I have not seen you fasting in any
month more than you do in Sha'ban. He said: "That is a month that
people are heedless of, between Rajab and Ramadan, but it is a month
in which deeds are taken up to the Lord of the Worlds, and I like my
deeds to be taken up when I am fasting."
End quote from Fath al-Bari, 4/215
And Allah knows best.

Da'eef (weak) hadeeths, Dought & clear, - * Should he fast on the fifteenth of Sha’baan even if the hadeeth is da'eef?

Is it permissible, even after finding out that a hadeeth is da'eef
(weak), to follow it, by way of doing righteous deeds? The hadeeth
says: "When it is halfway through Sha'baan, spend that night in prayer
and fast on that day." The fast is observed as a voluntary act of
devotion to Allaah, as is spending that night in prayer (qiyaam
al-layl).
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
What is narrated concerning the virtue of praying, fasting and
worshipping on the fifteenth of Sha'baan (al-nusf min Sha'baan) does
not come under the heading of da'eef (weak), rather it comes under the
heading of mawdoo' (fabricated) and baatil (false). So it is not
permissible to follow it or to act upon it, whether that is in doing
righteous deeds or otherwise.
A number of scholars ruled that the reports concerning that were
false, such as Ibn al-Jawzi in his bookal-Mawdoo'aat, 2/440-445; Ibn
Qayyim al-Jawziyyah inal-Manaar al-Muneef, no. 174- 177; Abu Shaamah
al-Shaafa'i inal-Baa'ith 'ala Inkaar al-Bida' wa'l-Hawaadith, 124-137;
al-'Iraaqi inTakhreej Ihyaa' 'Uloom il-Deen, no. 582. Shaykh al-Islam
[Ibn Taymiyah] narrated that there was consensus on the fact that they
are false, inMajmoo' al-Fataawa, 28/138.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said inHukm al-Ihtifaal
bi Laylat al-Nusf min Sha'baan(Ruling on celebrating the fifteenth of
Sha'baan):
Celebrating the night of the fifteenth of Sha'baan (Laylat al-Nusf min
Sha'baan) by praying etc, or singling out this day for fasting, is a
reprehensible bid'ah (innovation) according to the majority of
scholars, and there is no basis for this in sharee'ah.
And he (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
There is no saheeh hadeeth concerning the night of the fifteenth of
Sha'baan (Laylat al-Nusf min Sha'baan). All the ahaadeeth that have
been narrated concerning that are mawdoo' (fabricated) and da'eef
(weak), and have no basis. There is nothing special about this night,
and no recitation of Qur'aan or prayer, whether alone or in
congregation, is specified for this night. What some of the scholars
have said about it being special is a weak opinion. It is not
permissible to single it out for any special actions. This is the
correct view. And Allaah is the Source of strength.
Fataawa Islamiyyah, 4/511.
See also question no. 8907.
Secondly:
Even if we assume that the hadeeth is da'eef (weak) and not mawdoo'
(fabricated), the correct scholarly view is that weak ahaadeeth should
not be followed at all, even if they speak of righteous deeds or of
targheeb and tarheeb (promises and warnings). The saheeh reports are
sufficient and the Muslim has no need to follow the da'eef reports.
Nothing is known in Islam to suggest that this night or day is
special, either from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) or from his companions.
The scholar Ahmad Shaakir said: There is no difference between rulings
or righteous deeds; we do not take any of them from da'eef reports,
rather no one hast he right to use any report as evidence unless it is
proven to be soundly narrated from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) in a saheeh or hasan hadeeth.
Al-Baa'ith al-Hatheeth, 1/278.
And Allaah knows best.

Plural marriage and fair treatment of co-wives, Dought & clear, - * A wife giving up her right to maintenance; and is the first wife’s approval needed before one can marry a second wife?

Is it halal to have a second wife who says she does not need financial
support. If so, what if the first wife does not allow the
marriage..can a man still get married again?
Praise be to Allaah.
Maintenance is one of the rights of the wife which is an obligation
upon her husband. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allaah has
made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to
support them) from their means."
[al-Nisaa' 4:34]
If the woman foregoes this right, to which she is entitled – which is
her maintenance– then it is no longer obligatory upon her husband.
Ibn Qudaamah said: If she agrees to forego some part of her share (of
her husband's time) or her maintenance, or all of that, this is
permissible. (al-Mughni, vol. 7, p. 244).
With regard to the permission and approval of the first wife for a
plural marriage, this is not a condition and the husband does not have
to seek the permission of his first wife to marry a second. But it is
prescribed for him to be kind to her and to spend money and to say
kind words so as to calm her down and reduce her jealousy. The
Standing Committee was asked about the first wife's approval for one
who wants to marry another wife. Their response was:
It is not obligatory for the husband, if he wants to take a second
wife, to have the approval of the first wife, but it is the matter of
good manners and kind treatment that he should speak to her kindly in
such a way as to reduce the feelings of hurt which are natural in
women in such cases. That is by smiling at her, showing that he is
happy to see her, being kind, speaking nicely and by spending money on
her if necessary.
SeeFataawa Islamiyyah, vol. 3, p. 204

Plural marriage and fair treatment of co-wives, Dought & clear, - * He has two wives and he is not dividing his time among them fairly

Is it obligatory for a husband with two wives to designate specified
days for each wife. Also, is it permissable that he share the days
between the two. My husband presently has no designated days for us.
He comes to my home when he has finish his rounds at my co-wives
house. He then comes to my home to go to bed. This arrangement is
not acceptable to me. Were on the brink of divorce.
Praise be to Allaah.
The one who has more than one wife has to treat all his wives fairly.
One of the matters in which he must be fair is the division of his
time, i.e., he must give each wife a day and a night, and he must stay
with her on that night.
Al-Shaafa'i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "The Sunnah of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
the opinion of the majority of Muslim scholars indicate that a man has
to divide his days and nights between his wives [giving each a full
day and night], and that he has to be fair in doing so. (al-Umm,
5/158). And he said: I do not know of any (scholarly) disagreement
with the view that a man must share his time among his wives and do so
fairly. (al-Umm, 5/280).
Al-Baghawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If a man has more than
one wife, he has to treat them equally, if they are free [i.e., not
slaves], whether they are Muslims or from among the People of the Book
[i.e., Jewish or Christian]. If he does not treat them equally, then
he has disobeyed Allaah and he has to make it up to the one whom he
wronged. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever has two wives and
leans towards (i.e. favours) one of them (over the other), will come
on the Day of Resurrection with half of his body leaning." However
there is some dispute concerning its isnaad. (Narrated by Abu Dawood,
2/242; al-Tirmidhi, 3/447; al-Nasaa'i, 7/64; Ibn Maajah, 1/633;
classed as saheeh by al-Haafiz inBuloogh al-Maraam, 3/310, and
al-Albaani inIrwaa' al-Ghaleel, 7/80).
What is meant by this "leaning" is favouring in terms of actions; a
man will not be taken to task for the inclination of his heart if he
treats (his wives) equally in practical terms. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"You will never be able to do perfect justice between wives even if it
is your ardent desire, so do not incline too much to one of them…"
[al-Nisaa' 4:129]
What this means is that you will never be able to treat them equally
in your heart, so do not incline too much towards one of them, i.e.,
do not make your actions follow your whims and desires.
(Sharh al-Sunnah, 9/150-151)
Ibn Hazam (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Treating co-wives
equally is obligatory, most of all sharing one's nights between them.
(al-Muhalla, 9/175)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: He
has to treat his wives fairly according to the consensus of the
Muslims. In the fourSunansit was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever has
two wives…" He has to be fair in his division of time between them. So
if he stays with one of them for one night, or two or three, he should
stay with the other for the same number of nights, and he should not
give preference to one of them in his sharing of his time.
(Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 32/269)
Al-'Ayni said, commenting on the hadeeth, "Whoever has two wives…": It
was said that what was meant was that half of his body would be
leaning in a real sense, or that he would have no acceptable excuse
for favouring one wife over the other. The apparent meaning is that
this is in the real sense. This is indicated by the report of Abu
Dawood, "with half of his body leaning." The punishment fits the
crime, because he did not treat them fairly or he deviated from what
is right. Because of his being unfair and favouring one of them, his
punishment is that he will come before the witnesses on the Day of
Resurrection with one half of his body leaning.
('Umdat al-Qaari', 20/199. See alsoal-Mabsoot, 5/217).
Al-Shawkaani also understood this to mean that it is obligatory (to
treat co-wives fairly). Seeal-Sayl al-Jiwaar, 2/301;Nayl al-Awtaar,
6/216
Ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: We know
of no dispute among the scholars concerning the fact that it is
obligatory to treat co-wives equally when sharing one's time between
them. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):"and live with them
honourably" [al-Nisaa' 4:19], but favouring one of them is not
honourable.
Al-Mughni, 8/138
This husband has to fear Allaah and be fair in his division of his
time. The wife has to tell him of the ruling of sharee'ah concerning
what he is doing, and of the warning of mistreatment. She should
remind him of Allaah and the Hereafter, so that he will check himself
and be fair in his division of time. This is better than separating,
in sha Allah. And Allaah knows best.