Article by: Shaikhul Hadeeth, Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi (RA)
The Malaaikah are issued instructions for the whole year on this one particular night of the year. They are assigned duties for the year and informed that such and such things have been decreed for such and such person. Many a man is engrossed in sports and pastimes whilst, in the heavens above, orders have gone out for his arrest. It has been decreed that he will suffer death and no one can intercede with Allah Ta’ala, or appeal to Him, to change His decree! Nor can the decreed hour of a man’s death be delayed by even a minute! A Hadith reports Ibne Abbaas (radiyallahu anhuma) as saying:‘You will notice that a person is walking about in the bazaars, though his name has been recorded in the list of those who are destined to die in that year.”
Abu Nadhrah (radiyallahu anhu) says: “On this night, the angels are assigned their duties for the whole year. Orders are issued about the means of welfare apportioned for the year, about the evils to be suffered, about the sustenance to be provided, about the people destined to die, about the afflictions and about the high or low prices of commodities.”‘Ikramah (radiyallahu anhu) says, “On the middle night of Sha’ban (Laylatul Bara’ah), all the events decreed for the year are assigned to the angels. The lists of people destined to die, and of those who will perform Hajj during the year are handed over to the angels. No changes can be made to these lists’ According to another Hadith, Rasulullah [sallallahu alayhi wasallam]once said: “(On this night), the angels are given the names of people who are going to die during the year from one Sha’baan to the next, with the specific hours of death destined for each person. Many a man gets married in this world and a child is born to him while, in the heavens above, his name has been recorded in the list of the dead.”
Hadhrat Aaishah (radiyallahu anha) says: “Rasulullah [sallallahu alayhi wasallam] used to fast very frequently during Sha’baan, for it is in this month that a list is prepared of those who are destined to die during the year. Many a man is engaged in getting married while, in the heavens above, his name has been recorded among the dead; or, again, a man is preparing for Hajj while his name has been enlisted among the dead.” Another Hadith reports that once Hadhrat Aaishah (radiyallahu anha) asked Rasulullah [sallallahu alayhi wasallam] why he fasted more frequently in the month of Sha’baan, to which he replied: “In this month, a record is made of those who are destined to die during the year and I wish that, when my name is recorded in the list of the dead, I should be fasting.”
A Hadith says that, every year, on the middle night of Sha’baan, Allah Ta’alainforms Izraeel (alayhis salaam), the Angel of Death, about all those who are destined to die during the year.
[Fazaail-e-Sadaqaat Page 653-654]