What is the authenticity of the hadiths narrated concerning the virtue of the middle of Sha'ban night, who narrated them, and what is the refutation of the innovations related to this night?
Regarding Aisha's hadith about the virtue of the middle of Sha'ban night, Ibn al-Jawzi stated that it is fabricated (mawdu'). In contrast, the hadith of Mu'adh: "Allah looks at His creation on the night of mid-Sha'ban and forgives all of them except for a polytheist or one who harbors malice," its chain of narration was deemed good (hasan) by Al-Mundhiri. Some jurists recommended performing individual voluntary night prayers (tahajjud) on this night. However, gathering to revive it in the mosque is an innovation (bid'ah). Similarly, dedicating a specific prayer to it with a fixed number of rak'ahs or a particular recitation is a reprehensible innovation. Al-Nawawi explicitly stated the invalidity of Salat al-Ragha'ib and the prayer of the middle of Sha'ban night, and the hadith reported concerning them is baseless.
As for the hadith "Nothing can repel destiny except supplication," it merges two hadiths: the first has a weak chain of narration, while the second, "Nothing can avert divine decree except supplication, and nothing prolongs life except righteousness," is a good (hasan) hadith. Its meaning is that supplication is a means of attracting benefit and repelling harm; it addresses the causes of affliction and removes it.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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