What should NOT be done on this night!

Every effort should be made to attain the pleasure of Allah on this night and throughout our lives.

1. As discussed previously, the Night of Bara’at is a night in which special blessings are directed towards the Muslims. Therefore, this night should be spent in total submission to Allah Ta’ala, and one should refrain from all those activities, which may displease Allah Ta’ala. Although it is always incumbent upon every Muslim to abstain from sins, yet this abstinence becomes all the more necessary in such nights, because committing sins on such an occasion is tantamount to responding to divine blessings with disobedience and felony. Such an arrogant attitude only invites the wrath of Allah Ta’ala. Therefore, one should strictly abstain from all types of sins, as these deprive one of the blessings of this night.
2. On this night some people indulge in some activities, which they regard as necessary for the celebration of the Night of Bara’at, like cooking some special type of meal, or illuminating houses or masjids, or improvised structures. All such activities are not only baseless and innovated in the later days by ignorant people, but in some cases they are pure imitation of some rituals performed by non-Muslim communities. Such imitation in itself is a sin; performing it in a blessed night like the Night of Bara’at makes it worse. Muslims should strictly abstain from all such innovations.
3. The acts of worship like Salaah; recitation of the Quran and Zikr should preferably be performed on this night individually, not collectively. The Nafl Salaah should not be performed in congregation. Rather this night is meant for worshipping Allah in solitude. It is the time to enjoy the direct contact with the Lord of the Universe, and to devote one’s attention to Him and Him alone. These are the precious hours of the night in which nobody should intervene between one and his Creator, and one should turn to Allah with total concentration, not disturbed or intermitted by anyone else.

That is why Rasulullah ﷺ observed the acts of worship on this night in total seclusion, not accompanied by anyone, not even by Sayyidah Aishah (RA), and that is why all forms of optional worship (Nafl Ibadah), should be observed individually.

Unfortunate people

It is understood from the Ahadith that even on this great night, some unfortunate individuals are deprived of Allah’s forgiveness. They are:

1. Idolaters
2. Those who harbour enmity against others
3. Those who consume alcohol
4. Those who disobey their parents
5. Those who wear their trousers, kurtas, lungis, etc. below their ankles
6. Those who commit murder
7. Those who sever family ties.

We can thus gauge the severity of these sins and need to abstain from them at all times.

Some strange and innovative practices associated with Shabe Bar’aat

The occasion of Shabe Bara’at has become synonymous with some baseless beliefs and practices to mention just a few:

1. a) Burning Bright Lights and Candles: There is no substantiation for these acts, which are pure innovation. The Muslims of India being in close contact with the Hindus probably began imitating them in their practices, thus resulting in imitation of their celebration practices. Maa thabata bis sunnah p. 215
2. b) Preparing of Sweetmeats: Some consider this compulsory. Without it there can be no Shabe Bara’at. This is absolutely baseless. Some say that this act gains significance from the fact that on the occasion of Uhud when the blessed tooth of Rasulullah ﷺ became Shaheed, he had some Halwa. Others say that Hazrat Hamza (RA) was martyred on this day and the sweetmeats are in commemoration of him. These are fabricated and concocted theories. How can it ever be possible when it is a known fact that the battle of Uhud in which Hazrat Hamza (RA) was martyred took place in Shawwaal and not Sha’baan.
3. c) Souls visit families: Some people firmly believe that the souls of the deceased visit their families’ homes and see whether any food has been prepared in their honour or not. Some people feel that if a person dies before Shabe Bara’at, he is not counted amongst the dead. These are baseless ideologies that clearly contradict Ahadith.
4. d) Distribution of Food: Some feel that it is compulsory to distribute food on this night with the intention of Isale Sawaab. There is no link between this practice and the significance of the night. No special acts of charity, etc. have been prescribed for this night. Fataawa Imdadiyya vol, 4 pg 27