I said, "Messenger of Allah, I have not seen you fast in any month as much as you fast in Shaban."He replied, "That is a month people neglect, between Rajab and Ramadan. It is a month in which deeds are raised to the Lord of the worlds, and I love for my deeds to be raised while I am fasting."
قلت: يا رسول الله، لم أرك تصوم من شهر من الشهور ما تصوم من شعبان؟ قال: ذاك شهر يغفل الناس عنه بين رجب ورمضان وهو شهر ترفع فيه الأعمال إلى رب العالمين، فأحب أن يرفع عملي وأنا صائم.
Ahmad narrated it (21753), and Diya narrated it from him in Al-Mukhtarah (1356), from Abdul-Rahman bin Mahdi, who said, Thabit bin Qays Abu Ghusn told us, Abu Saeed Maqburi told me, Usama bin Zayd told me, and he mentioned it.Its chain of transmission is hasan because of Thabit bin Qays, for he is a subject of disagreement, though his hadith is hasan.