--- title: "Sermon on Bara'at Night: A Night of Forgiveness" description: "A sermon on Bara'at Night: the 15th of Sha'ban, the 'blessed night' on which yearly decrees are written, Allah's offer of bara'at (a certificate of freedom), and the worship of this night." canonical: "https://getvaaz.com/en/blog/baraat-night-sermon" locale: "en" published: "2026-05-14" updated: "2026-05-14" author: "VAAZ Team" source: "VAAZ — getvaaz.com" --- # Sermon on Bara'at Night: A Night of Forgiveness > **Quick answer:** A sermon on Bara'at Night addresses the 15th night of Sha'ban — held in classical Islamic tradition as the 'blessed night' on which yearly decrees are written. Allah forgives those who repent on this night; the believer revives the night with istighfar, salah, and du'a to obtain bara'at (a certificate of freedom) from the burden of sin. In the middle of Sha'ban there is a special night — Bara'at Night. Classical Islamic tradition recognizes this night as "the night yearly decrees are written" and as the widest gate of forgiveness for believers. The word *bara'at* means "a certificate of freedom from debt, fault, or responsibility" — this night is the opportunity to be freed of the burden of sin. This sermon explores the meaning of Bara'at Night, its place in the Quran and hadith, the "middle of Sha'ban" tradition, and how to spend the night. ## What Does "Bara'at" Mean? The word *bara'at* in Arabic means "a certificate of freedom from debt, fault, or responsibility." Bara'at Night — *Laylat al-Bara'ah* — is the night of release from the burden of sin through Allah's forgiveness. In the classical Islamic tradition this night carries five distinct names: 1. **Laylat al-Bara'ah** — the Night of Freedom 2. **Laylat ar-Rahmah** — the Night of Mercy 3. **Laylat as-Sakk** — the Night of the Certificate (the written record) 4. **Laylat al-Mubarakah** — the Blessed Night 5. **Laylat al-Qismah** — the Night of Allotment / Decree These five names show different facets of the night: forgiveness, mercy, the record, blessing, and decree. ## Bara'at Night in the Quran The Quranic basis for Bara'at Night is most often related to Surah ad-Dukhan. Some commentators say this verse refers to Laylat al-Qadr, others to Bara'at Night: > By the clear Book, indeed We sent it down on a blessed night — indeed We are warners. On that night every wise matter is distinguished by command from Us. Ad-Dukhan 44:2-5 "Every wise matter is distinguished" — that is, yearly decrees are determined on this night. While the majority of scholars (jumhur al-'ulama) say this verse refers to Laylat al-Qadr, some scholars (especially Muqatil b. Sulayman, and certain representatives of the Shafi'i school) hold that it refers to Bara'at Night. For this reason Bara'at Night is also called *Laylat al-Mubarakah* (the blessed night). ## Hadith Sources on Bara'at The best-known hadith on Bara'at Night is: > Allah descends to His creation on the night of the middle of Sha'ban (the 15th) and forgives all His creation except the polytheist and the one who harbors enmity against another. This hadith is found in Ibn Majah and scholars differ on its authenticity — some hadith scholars classify it as weak, others as hasan. Yet the meaning of the hadith is supported by other narrations, so hoping for Allah's wide forgiveness on Bara'at Night is good for the believer. 'A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would go into long sajdah in the middle of Sha'ban and pray: "O Allah, I take refuge in Your forgiveness from Your punishment, in Your pleasure from Your wrath" . ## Two Cases of Not Being Forgiven In the Ibn Majah hadith there is a notable note: "except the polytheist and the one who harbors enmity." Two persons are not forgiven even on Bara'at Night: 1. **The polytheist:** one who continues in shirk against Allah. 2. **The one carrying enmity:** one who harbors a grudge against a Muslim brother, in dispute with them. This second point is very important: a believer who wishes to be forgiven on Bara'at Night must hold no grudge against anyone in the heart. If you are in conflict with a brother, if there is someone you are not speaking to — attempting to make peace before this night is the most beautiful preparation for Bara'at Night. ## The "Middle of Sha'ban" Tradition The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast much in Sha'ban. 'A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: > I never saw the Messenger of Allah fasting more in any month than in Sha'ban; he would fast all of Sha'ban. For this reason, fasting on the days before Bara'at Night — especially the 13th, 14th, and 15th of Sha'ban (the *ayyam al-bid*, the white days) — is a good deed in line with the Sunnah. That Bara'at Night is called "the middle of Sha'ban" reminds us to make a personal accounting fifteen days before Ramadan. We are at the midpoint of one month of spiritual preparation; what have we done, what have we not done? ## What to Do This Night For the believer wishing to revive Bara'at Night spiritually: **1. Extended istighfar:** how wide Allah's forgiveness is on this night is reported. Sayyid al-Istighfar, the dhikr "Astaghfirullah al-'Adhim," and the du'a "Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbu'l-'afwa fa'fu 'anni" may be recited again and again. **2. Quran recitation:** ad-Dukhan, Ya-Sin, al-Mulk, al-Waqi'ah. A longer recitation is also good. **3. Night prayer:** 2, 4, 8, or more raka'at of voluntary salah after 'Isha. In each raka'ah, after al-Fatihah, short surahs such as al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, and an-Nas may be read. **4. Du'a:** personal du'as, for family, for Muslims, for the ummah. This night is a time when du'a is especially accepted; it is fitting to bring every need before Allah. **5. Reconciliation:** not staying at odds with anyone on the night when bara'at will be received. A phone call, a message, an apology — these small steps are the very meaning of Bara'at. **6. Sadaqah:** a good deed, a help — one of the actions the Prophet (peace be upon him) wished to be done on this night. **7. Gratitude:** giving hamd to Allah for the past year on the night the yearly decree is written — supplicating for goodness in the year to come. ## The Concern of Bid'ah and the Middle Path Some scholars say arranging special worship ceremonies for Bara'at Night is bid'ah — this view especially opposes the invented "Bara'at salah" of 100 raka'at as a fixed special prayer. This position is correct: such invented worship does not conform to the shar'i Sunnah. But: performing on this night the voluntary salah you would normally perform on any night, reading the Quran, repenting, making du'a — these are always good. The intention should not be "I have a rule-bound special worship for this night" but "I am reviving this night for forgiveness." ## Living Bara'at With VAAZ The [VAAZ app's](https://getvaaz.com/en) [du'a archive](https://getvaaz.com/en/dua) categorizes Sayyid al-Istighfar, blessed-night supplications, and du'as for forgiveness. The [Quran reader](https://getvaaz.com/en/quran/ad-dukhan) provides Surah ad-Dukhan in Arabic and translation. The [99 Names collection](https://getvaaz.com/en/asma-al-husna) includes Al-Ghaffar, Al-'Afuww (the Pardoner), and At-Tawwab (the Acceptor of Repentance) — Names that fit this night's atmosphere. For the practice of tawbah, see [A Sermon on Tawbah](https://getvaaz.com/en/blog/sermon-on-tawbah); for the other Blessed Nights, see [A Sermon on Regaib Night](https://getvaaz.com/en/blog/regaib-night-sermon), [A Sermon on Mi'raj Night](https://getvaaz.com/en/blog/miraj-sermon), and [A Sermon on Laylat al-Qadr](https://getvaaz.com/en/blog/laylat-al-qadr-sermon). Bara'at Night is the believer's receipt of bara'at from Allah at this point in their life — freedom from sins, from the weight of responsibility, from the burdens of the past. The price of this bara'at is cheap: a sincere istighfar, a du'a from the heart, a heart that holds no grudge. The servant who pays this price comes into Ramadan cleansed. ## References 1. The Qur'an, Ad-Dukhan 44:2-5, Diyanet translation. 2. Ibn Majah, Kitab al-Iqamat as-Salat, Hadith No. 1390. 3. al-Tirmidhi, Kitab as-Shifa'at, Hadith No. 739. 4. Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab as-Sawm, Hadith No. 1969. ## Frequently Asked Questions --- Source: [VAAZ — getvaaz.com](https://getvaaz.com/en) · This is the agent-facing Markdown edition of the page; the canonical edition lives at the `canonical` URL above. Full index: https://getvaaz.com/llms.txt