What should one make of religious customs such as Shab-e-Barat?

For Muslims, what counts is what was practised as religion in the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and his rightly guided successors. Customs such as Shab-e-Barat were unknown then and have no basis in that time.

Over the centuries many customs have arisen among Muslims, with special nights, celebrations and fasting days. Shab-e-Barat, a night in the month of Sha'ban, is one of them. Many Muslims stay awake that night in prayer and fast the following day.

The standard is simple. Whatever counts as religion must have its roots in the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and his rightly guided successors. What was practised then matters to us. What was invented later is not part of the faith, even if it looks pious. The hadith above warns against exactly such innovations.

For Shab-e-Barat and similar nights there is no such basis. They are mentioned only in writings composed many centuries after the Holy Prophet (saw). If this night were truly special, we would know it from his life and the lives of his companions.

Behind such customs there is often the wish for a shortcut to Paradise. One lives all year as one pleases, then stays awake for one night and hopes that everything is forgiven. But no prophet has ever offered such a shortcut. All of them called people to patience, perseverance and serious inner effort.

The path to God is a task for a whole lifetime, not for a single night. Whoever devotes themselves to it faithfully to the end may hope to have reached the goal. Prayer and fasting are good at any time. But they draw their value from sincerity, not from a special date.