Shaʽban (Arabic: شَعْبَان, Šaʿbān) is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. It is called the month of "separation", as the word means "to disperse" or "to separate" because the pagan Arabs used to disperse in search of water.[1]
The fifteenth night of this month is Mid-Sha'ban,[2] which coincides with the celebration of Shab-e-Barat in Muslim communities all over Asia.
Sha'ban is the last lunar month before Ramadan, and so Muslims determine in it when the first day of Ramadan fasting will be. In the second Hijri year (624), fasting during Ramadan was made obligatory during this month.[1]
Aisha, the wife of Muhammad, narrated that "(she) did not see him fasting in any month more than in the month of Sha'ban," except Ramadan.[6][7][8]
In another narration Muhammad said, "Do those deeds which you can do easily, as Allah will not get tired (of giving rewards) till you get bored and tired (of performing religious deeds)."[9]
The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Sha'ban migrates throughout the seasons. The estimated start and end dates for Sha'ban, based on the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia, are:[10]
^Strauss, Johann (2016-07-07). "Language and power in the late Ottoman Empire". In Murphey, Rhoads (ed.). Imperial Lineages and Legacies in the Eastern Mediterranean: Recording the Imprint of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Rule. Routledge. (ISBN1317118448, 9781317118442), Google BooksPT193.
^Youssof, R. (1890). Dictionnaire portatif turc-français de la langue usuelle en caractères latins et turcs. Constantinople. p. 82.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
