“I asked ‘Aishah about the fasting of the Prophet (saw). She said: ‘He used to fast until we thought he would always fast. And he used to not fast until we thought he would always not fast. I never saw him fast more in any month than in Sha’ban. He used to fast all of Sha’ban; he used to fast all of Sha’ban except a little.’”

Al-Bukhari reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah, “Complete the days of Sha’ban as thirty days.”

“The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to join Sha’ban to Ramadan.”

‘When it is the middle of Sha’ban, do not fast until Ramadan comes.”

“He used to fast all of Sha’ban, until he joined it to Ramadan.”

“I heard ‘Aishah say: ‘I used to owe fasts from the month of Ramadan, and I would not make them up for until Sha’ban came.’”

“Allah looks down on the night of the middle of Sha’ban and forgives all His creation, apart from the idolater and the Mushahin.” Another chain from Abu Musa, from the Prophet (saws) with similar wording.

“The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to say from the pulpit, before the month of Ramadan: ‘Fasting will begin on such and such a day, but we are going to start fasting earlier, so whoever wants to start fasting earlier (i.e., in Sha’ban), let him do so, and whoever wants to wait until Ramadan begins, let him do so.’”

“The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘When it is the night of the middle of Sha’ban, spend its night in prayer and observe a fast on that day. For Allah descends at sunset on that night to the lowest heaven and says: ‘Is there no one who will ask Me for forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Is there no one who will ask Me for provision, that I may provide for him? Is there no one who is afflicted by trouble, that I may relieve him?’ And so on, until dawn comes.’”

Ibn 'Umar (RAA) narrated, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H.) say, "Start fasting after you have seen it (i.e. the new crescent) and end the fast (at the end of the month) when you see it. If it is overcast and cannot be seen, then estimate its sighting (i.e. presume that Sha‘ban lasted for thirty days)." Agreed upon. Muslim narrated, "If it is too overcast to be seen then presume that it (Sha'ban) lasted for thirty days."In another narration by al-Bukhari, "wait, until thirty days of it (Sha’ban) have passed."

'A’isha (RAA) narrated, ‘The Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H.) used to fast until one would say, he never breaks his fast (i.e. he never stops fasting), and he would abandon fasting (at other times) until one would say that he never fasts. And I never saw the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H.) fast for a complete month except for the month of Ramadan, and I never saw him fast in a month more than he did in the month of Sha’ban.” Agreed upon and the wording is from Muslim.

“I missed the Prophet (saw) one night, so I went out looking for him. I found him at Al-Baqi’, raising his head towards the sky. He said: ‘O ‘Aishah, were you afraid that Allah and His Messenger would wrong you?’” She said: “I said: ‘No, it is not that, but I thought that you had gone to one of your other wives.’ He said: ‘Allah descends on the night of the middle of Sha’ban to the lowest heaven, and He forgives more than the numbers of hairs on the sheep of Banu Kalb.’”

Ibn ‘Umar reported the Apostle of Allaah(saws) as saying “The month consists of twenty nine days, but do not fast till you sight it (the moon) and do not break your fast till you sight it. If the weather is cloudy, calculate it thirty days. When the twenty-ninth of Sha’ban came, Ibn ‘Umar would send someone (who tried) to sight the moon for him. If it was sighted then well and good, in case it was not sighted and there was no cloud and dust before him (on the horizon) he would not keep fast the next day. If there appeared (on the horizon) before him cloud or dust, he would fast the following day. Ibn ‘Umar would end his fasting alone with the people and did not follow this calculation.”