It was narrated from Qasim Abu I Abdur-Rahman that he heard Mu'awiyah bin Abu Sufyan on the pulpit saying: "The if Messenger of Allah P.B.U.H 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:" (Da'if)