He used to devote that night to prayer, and sound ḥadīths attest to fasting in the month of Shaʿbān.

Among the scholars—some of the early generations (1) from the people of Madinah and others from the later periods—are those who denied its virtue and cast doubt on the reports transmitted about it, such as the ḥadīth:

“Indeed, on that night Allah forgives more people than the number of hairs on the sheep of (the tribe of) Kalb.” (2)

They said that it is in no way superior to other nights.

Yet many—indeed most—of the people of knowledge (3) from our school and elsewhere hold that it is distinguished, and this is indicated by the explicit statement (4) of Aḥmad (5). The multiplicity (6) of ḥadīths on the subject, together with corroborating reports from the early generations, support this view. Some of its merits are recorded in the Musnads and Sunan (7), even though other fabricated items have been attached to the topic.