One would agree that from the most unfortunate things possible is to be the rightful recipient of some good news – a present maybe, a gift of money, a bequest etc – but then one remains unaware of this fact, or doesn't pay attention to all the phone calls informing him of such glad tidings. So there's your present waiting for you, and you're not really aware of its full worth or value – no one else is going to claim it on your behalf and if you knew its real significance, you'd never leave it to waste! Yet the Prophet (peace be upon him) told us, as narrated by Al-Imam al-Bayhaqi, that: “Sha'ban is a month between Rajab and Ramadan, much neglected by people. In it, the actions of all servants are raised to the Lord of the Worlds; I love that my actions are not presented except that I am fasting.” Here is a man, the wisest and most eager of creation to obtain all possible good, who saw this blessed month of Sha'ban very differently to many of us. He (peace be upon him) would never leave it to waste, rather he would be seen fasting almost the entire month of Sha'ban, only ever surpassed by the fasting of the whole of Ramadan. So why exactly is that? There are numerous authentic reports that detail how the majority of Sha'ban was spent by our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) in a state of fasting; a state which heightens our God-consciousness, makes us aware of our desires and the need for their control, makes us aware of the problems and difficulties of so many poor people around the world when we feel those pangs of hunger. The fasting one becomes very mindful of their tongue and how they abuse by it, their eyes and how they deviate from righteousness, their hearts and how much filth enters it without willful control. All in all, there is nothing more conducive to sincerely worshipping our Master, the Lord of the Worlds than doing so whilst fasting. But doesn't that occur whenever someone is fasting? Why then the month of Sha'ban? With Ramadan just around the corner, where many of us really do ‘make it or break it' for the rest of the year due to the quality of our ‘Ibadah (worship) in it, it becomes paramount to prepare properly for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After all, do you know whether you'll ever be blessed enough to greet another one? Weren't the Sahabah (Companions) described by Ma'la Bin Fadhl as those people who spent six months of the year asking Allah to accept their ‘Ibadah of their previous Ramadan and the next six months asking just to be allowed to reach the next one? So often do many of us think we can just turn up to the show in Ramadan, take a seat and watch the game, see the team win and go home happy at the end. What a huge mistake. Spending 30 odd days of Ramadan refraining from food and drink from morning to night isn't the second pillar of Islam known as Siyam. No – I think people might be getting a bit confused there, don't you? That's just a hungry and thirsty person, someone who in reality, has just wasted his time. Rather as the Prophet (peace be upon him) advised us, we need to avoid all the well-known slips of the tongue, eyes, heart and really just our desires in general in order to be one who fulfils the conditions of Ramadan. We need to make sure that we adorn our fasting with all other possible extra good actions such as praying extra Nawafil (voluntary prayers), giving charity, re-establishing family ties, increasing our social and Da'wah (presenting Islam to non-Muslims) work, displaying generosity to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, extra Dhikr (remembrance), memorization of the Qur'an etc. Surely that is the whole point here – that we fast so as to be more aware of our actions and that they are presented to Allah in their best possible light. Only with such a high quality day of fasting can we really have hoped to achieve the desired consequence – that all our previous sins are forgiven and that we enter His Garden with His pleasure, if Allah wills it. But don't think such a day is easy to come by. Rather it is the exception although it shouldn't be like that. Hence the greatness of Sha'ban, that blessed opportunity to see whether we can make the mark, the mock exam before the impending finals, the last practice in front of the mirror before the key interview – although each practice is important itself, mistakes that are made here are blessed ones if they are learned from and not repeated at the key moment. This has to be our aim in the remaining days of Sha'ban. Try and make it a real and sincere practice effort for Ramadan which is only a few weeks away – keep a note of all your external and internal actions during the day whilst you refrain from food and drink and be horrified at the amount of rubbish we espouse from our bodies on a daily basis. It's going to be a major wake-up call and all praise is due to Allah for that – I would rather that I'm rudely awoken today than be found in a drunken stupor during Lailat'-ul
