Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamualaikum,

If we cannot fast in the month of Ramadan due to legitimate reasons and wishes to re-pay in the following month of Syawal, can we fast with the intention of replace the days we missed (which is Wajib) and at the same time indicate that we want to fast to get the rewards of

fasting in the month of Syawal (which is not a must but highly encouraged for 6 days in the month of Syawal... rewards equivalent to fasting the whole year!).

My question is whether they can be done simultaneously. Thank you

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Missed fasts

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 185: Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down: this Book is a perfect guidance for mankind and consists of CLEAR teachings which show the right way and are a Criterion of the Truth and falsehood. Therefore, from now on, whosoever witnesses it, it is obligatory on him to fast the whole month. But if one be ill or on a journey, he should make up for the same number by fasting on other days (of the year).

The atonement of missing any of the obligatory fasts in the month of Ramadan is to make up the missed fast on any other day of the year. Thus, if one has missed an obligatory fast in the month of Ramadan, there is absolutely no harm if one performs the atonement of the missed fast in the month of Shawwaal.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 3.124b

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari reported that the Prophet (saws) said: "Whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal will be [rewarded] as if he had fasted the entire year."

Related by Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood and Ibn Maajah.

Your Question: My question is whether they can be done simultaneously.

If one has missed some of the obligatory fasts of Ramadan, and wishes to perform the fasts of atonement in the month of Shawwaal, and subsequently wishes to perform the six voluntary fasts of Shawwaal, there is absolutely no harm. But the two, atonement of the obligatory fasts missed and the six voluntary fasts of Shawwaal, cannot be done simultaneously or in lieu of one another, for the atonement of the missed obligatory fasts must be distinct from the voluntary fasts.

If for example one has missed three fasts of Ramadan, he must first make up the three missed fasts of Ramadan and if he wishes to fast the six voluntary fasts of Shawwaal, he must do an additional six fasts for a total of nine fasts.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan