Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. What is the ruling of fasting for the whole month of Sha’ban? صيام شهر شعبان كله

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions.   Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.   As to what follows:   In response to your question, we say:   The Sunnah states that it is recommended to fast in Sha’ban. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast the month of Sha’ban or most days in it. The Sunnah mentioned all of that, as has been stated in the hadith of ‘Aisha (peace be upon her) in the Sahihayn that she said, “I did not see the Prophet (peace be upon him) fasting more in any other month than he did in  Sha'ban.” [al-Bukhari (1959) and Muslim (1156)]. Before that she had said, “I did not see the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) completing the fast of a month, but that of Ramadan, and I did not see him fasting more in any other month than in Sha'ban” [Muslim (1156)]. In some narrations it is stated, “He (the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast the whole of Sha’ban” [an-Nasai (2180)].  The narration which states that he “used to fast the whole of Sha’ban” is interpreted in view of the rest of the narrations which indicate that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast for the major part of Sha’ban, but he did not fast for the whole month.  Some narrations state “and I did not see him fasting in any month more than in the month of Sha'ban” [al-Bukhari (1969) and Muslim (1156)]. This indicates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast for a major part of the month but he did not complete it. Some narrations of the hadith of ‘Aisha state, “He used to fast Sha’ban except a little.” Other narrations state “I did not see the Prophet (peace be upon him)  fast in any other month more than in Sha’ban.” This indicates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast for many days in Sha’ban but he did not complete a whole month of fasting except Ramadan. All these hadiths show that it is Sunnah to fast in Sha’ban, and to fast frequently in this month. Whoever has a habit of fasting one day should fast more than one day in this month, and whoever has a habit of fasting three days he should fast more, even if it is one day more. The important thing is that this Sunnah should be achieved by a person’s fasting for more days than he usually does. If Allah grants a person the ability to fast more days in the month of Sha’ban except for a few days; then this is what the Sunnah from the Prophet  (peace be upon him) states. Some scholars have said that the reason for fasting in this month is that it is between Rajab and Ramadan. Rajab is a revered month because it is a sacred month, and Ramadan is a month of fasting, worship and obedience, thus people are oblivious of doing good in Sha’ban, therefore fasting should occur in this month. This is what some scholars have stated and some weak hadiths have been transmitted on this issue. Another reason mentioned by the scholars is an intangible reason. They said, “Fasting in Sha’ban prepares the self and trains it for fasting in Ramadan, thus Ramadan comes and the self would ready and prepared for starting this compulsory duty. This is similar to the voluntary prayer which precedes the compulsory prayer so that a person will be ready for starting the compulsory prayer and perform it with concentration and attentiveness. This is what the fasting of Sha’ban does; it is for getting ready. This readiness, as is apparent in the statements of the pious predecessors is not limited to fasting only. That is why it was transmitted that some of predecessors using to call Sha’ban the month of the reciters of the Qur’an. This is because they used to recite the Qur’an very much in this month as a means of getting ready for Ramadan, It appears that this is the meaning that a number of scholars alluded to by increasing good deeds in this month as a means of following the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him). However, to be absolutely certain that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast because of this needs clarity in evidence, and the evidences only mentioned fasting.   There is also the last reason; which is that some scholars stated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to miss fasting in some month like three days, and he would not be able to make up for these days, and he would  fast these days in Sha’ban. Thus he would fast in Sha’ban the voluntary fasts that he had missed in the previous months.