The Reality of Fasting on 15th Shaʿbān and the Ruling on Its Qadāʾ
Reference: Ahkam wa Masail, Fasting Issues, Vol. 1, Page 281
❖ Question:
Should the fast of 15th Shaʿbān be observed? And if one does not fast on this day, is its qadāʾ (make-up fast) after Ramadan established by ḥadīth?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
◈ Fasting on the 15th of Shaʿbān specifically with the intention of “Shab-e-Barāt” is not established in Sharīʿah.
◈ There is a narration in Ibn Mājah regarding this, but it is weak (ḍaʿīf), and therefore cannot be taken as evidence or used as a basis for practice.
◈ However, authentic aḥādīth confirm that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would fast abundantly during the month of Shaʿbān.
◈ Moreover, authentic narrations also encourage fasting on the Ayyām al-Bīḍ (White Days) — i.e., the 13th, 14th, and 15th of every lunar month.
◈ Ruling on the Fast of 15th Shaʿbān
✔ Observing a fast on the 15th of Shaʿbān is permissible only as a nafl fast, without attributing to it any special virtue of “Shab-e-Barāt.”
✔ Thus, it should be kept with the intention of a voluntary fast, not a specific Sunnah or a distinguished fast for that date.
◈ Ruling on Qadāʾ of a Nafl Fast
✔ If someone intends a nafl fast and misses it, then making it up later will also be considered nafl.
✔ Its qadāʾ may be observed either before Ramadan or after Ramadan — both are permissible.
Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
