A night of forgiveness, two weeks before Ramadan
In Lahore the mosques are strung with lights. In Istanbul, people send each other kandil greetings and someone's grandmother bakes kandil simidi. Wherever you are, the night of mid-Sha'ban tends to come with the same feeling: Ramadan is close, and you would like to arrive at it lighter.
Bara'ah means release or acquittal, and the name carries the hope behind the night, to be freed of your sins by Allah's forgiveness. It falls on the night before the 15th of Sha'ban, the month before Ramadan. In Turkey it is the last of the kandil nights before Ramadan, after Regaib and Miraç.
Sha'ban itself has a clear virtue. Aisha said she never saw the Prophet ﷺ fast more in any month than in Sha'ban, apart from Ramadan (Bukhari 1969).
From the Quran
۞قُلۡ يَٰعِبَادِيَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسۡرَفُواْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمۡ لَا تَقۡنَطُواْ مِن رَّحۡمَةِ ٱللَّهِۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغۡفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًاۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلۡغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
What the narrations say
Several hadiths speak of the night of mid-Sha'ban. The best known says that Allah looks upon His creation on that night and forgives all of them, except one who associates partners with Him and one who holds hatred for another (Ibn Majah and others).
Many hadith scholars grade the narrations about this night as weak. Some accepted that one, about forgiveness, as sound because it comes through many routes. Narrations describing particular prayers for the night, or a fast on the 15th specifically, are graded weak or worse by most.
So scholars differ. Some, including many in Turkey and South Asia, hold that spending the night in extra worship is good. Others say it should not be singled out at all. The specific prayers with a set number of rak'ahs that circulate for this night have no reliable basis.
A calm way to spend the night
Whichever view you follow, nothing stops you from worshipping on any night of the year. In the last third of every night, Allah descends to the lowest heaven and asks: who will call on Me, that I may answer him? Who will ask of Me, that I may give him? Who will seek My forgiveness, that I may forgive him? (Bukhari 1145). This night is one of those nights.
- Pray Isha, and if you can, some night prayer before Fajr, as you could on any night.
- Ask Allah for forgiveness, specifically, for the things you know you did.
- Let go of a grudge. If the narration about this night is right, the one holding hatred is the one left out.
- Read some Quran with its meaning, as a way of warming up for Ramadan.
- Fast some days of Sha'ban, as the Prophet ﷺ did, or use these weeks to make up any Ramadan days you still owe.
A dua for any night
The dua below isn't specific to this night. The Prophet ﷺ called it the master of seeking forgiveness, and taught it for the morning and the evening (Bukhari 6306). It fits a night people spend asking to be forgiven.
A dua for this day
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ، وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي، فَاغْفِرْ لِي، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
Allahumma anta Rabbi, la ilaha illa anta, khalaqtani wa ana 'abduka, wa ana 'ala 'ahdika wa wa'dika mastata'tu, a'udhu bika min sharri ma sana'tu, abu'u laka bi-ni'matika 'alayya, wa abu'u laka bi-dhanbi, faghfir li, fa-innahu la yaghfirudh-dhunuba illa anta.
O Allah, You are my Lord. There is no god but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I hold to Your covenant and Your promise as much as I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge before You Your favour upon me, and I acknowledge my sin. So forgive me, for no one forgives sins except You.
Questions people ask
Is Laylat al-Bara'at mentioned in the Quran?
Not by name. Some early commentators linked “a blessed night” in Surah Ad-Dukhan (44:3) to the middle of Sha'ban, but most commentators, Ibn Kathir among them, say that verse refers to Laylat al-Qadr in Ramadan.
Are the hadiths about the 15th of Sha'ban authentic?
Many scholars grade them weak. Some accepted one, that Allah forgives His creation on that night except the one who associates partners with Him and the one who holds hatred, as sound through its many routes. Narrations describing special prayers or rewards for the night are considered weak or fabricated by most.
Should I fast on the 15th of Sha'ban?
Fasting in Sha'ban is a sunnah; the Prophet ﷺ fasted much of it (Bukhari 1969). The narration that singles out the 15th is graded very weak. The 15th is also one of the three “white days” in the middle of every lunar month, which the Prophet ﷺ encouraged people to fast (Tirmidhi and Nasa'i), so fasting it as part of those is fine.