Why he fasted so much in a month nobody notices
Usamah had noticed and asked him directly.
ذَلِكَ شَهْرٌ يَغْفُلُ النَّاسُ عَنْهُ بَيْنَ رَجَبٍ وَرَمَضَانَ وَهُوَ شَهْرٌ تُرْفَعُ فِيهِ الأَعْمَالُ إِلَى رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ فَأُحِبُّ أَنْ يُرْفَعَ عَمَلِي وَأَنَا صَائِمٌ
Dhālika shahrun yaghfulu-n-nāsu ʿanhu bayna rajabin wa ramaḍān, wa huwa shahrun turfaʿu fīhi-l-aʿmālu ilā rabbi-l-ʿālamīn, fa-uḥibbu an yurfaʿa ʿamalī wa anā ṣāʾim
That is a month people overlook, between Rajab and Ramadan. It is a month in which deeds are raised to the Lord of the worlds, and I love that my deeds be raised while I am fasting.
Where this comes from
Shaʿbān sits between a sacred month and the month of fasting, and gets lost between them. He fasted it precisely because it was the overlooked one. He wanted his file handed up on a day he was already fasting.
The full narration
Usamah bin Zaid said:"I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I do not see you fasting any month as much as Shaban.' He said: 'That is a month to which people do not pay much attention, between Rajab and Ramadan. It is a month in which the deeds are taken up to the Lord of the worlds, and I like that my deeds be taken up when I am fasting
Source
Sunan an-Nasā'ī · 2357
- Abu Ghuddah: Hasan
- Al-Albani: Hasan
- Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad Hasan