I want to know what where the days in the arabic months that Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) used to fast on. i heard that they where the 13, 14, and 15 of every months. is that right.
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:
i want to know what
where the days in the arabic months that Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him)
used to fast on. i heard that they where the 13, 14, and 15 of every months. is
that right. where those the days. and i also heard that he used to fast on
every mondays and thursdays of the week. is that right. Jazakallah
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Answer:
Voluntary and prohibited days of
fasting
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.
Keeping
voluntary fasts to earn the pleasure of Allah Subhanah is a meritorious act of
worship in Islam, and one may keep a voluntary fast on any day except some
specific days which are prohibited by Allah’s Messenger (saws).
Amr al-'Ashari reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saws)
say: "Verily, Friday is a day of Eid
for you, so do not fast on it unless you fast the day before or after it."
Related by al-Bazzar.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 3.120a
Hadrat Umar (r.a.) said: "The Messenger of Allah (saws) has
forbidden fasting on the two days of Eid (Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha). Concerning the Eid of breaking the fast, it is
for you to break your fast [of Ramadan]; and on the Eid of sacrifice, you
should eat from what you sacrifice."
Related by Ahmad, an-Nasa'i, atTirmidhi, Abu Dawud, and Ibn
Majah.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah (saws) sent
'Abdullah ibn Hudhaqah to announce at Mina: "You are not to fast the days
of ‘tashreeq’ (the three days after the Eid ul-Adha). They are days of eating,
and drinking, and remembering Allah."
Related by Ahmad.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.629 Narrated
by Abdullah bin Amr
Allah's Messenger (saws) was informed that I have said: "By
Allah, I will fast all the days and pray all the nights as long as I live."
On that, Allah's Messenger (saws) asked
me: "Are you the one who says: 'I will fast all the days and pray all the
nights as long as I live?' " I
said, "Yes, I have said it." He
(saws) said, "You cannot do that! So fast (sometimes) and do not fast (sometimes).
Pray and sleep. Fast for three days a month, for the reward of a good deed is
multiplied by ten times, and so the fasting of three days a month equals the
fasting of a year." I said, "O
Allah's Messenger (saws)! I can do (fast) more than this." He (saws) said, "Fast on every third
day." I said: "I can do (fast) more than that." He (saws) said: "Fast on alternate days
and this was the fasting of Prophet Dawood (a.s.) which is the most moderate
sort of fasting." I said, "O Allah's Messenger (saws)! I can do
(fast) more than that." He (saws) said,
"There is nothing better than that!"
In light
of the above guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws), the believers must
abstain from fasting on:
Fridays,
for the day of Friday is a day of Eid for the believers.
The days
of the Eid-ul-Fitr and the Eid-ul-Adha.
The three
days of ‘tashreeq’ after the Eid-ul-Adha (when performing the Hajj pilgrimage)
It is not
permissible for a believer to keep continuous fasts.
Apart
from the above listed prohibited days, one may keep voluntary fasts as often
and as many as one wishes and is easy for them.
Your Question: i want to know what
where the days in the arabic months that Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him)
used to fast on.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 3.127
The Prophet would fast most of the month of Sha'ban. 'Aishah
said: "I never saw the Messenger of Allah fast a complete month save for
Ramadan, and I have never seen him fast more in a month than he did in
Sha'ban."
Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Usamah ibn Zaid inquired: "O Messenger of Allah (saws), I
never find you fasting in any month like you do during the month of
Sha'ban." The Prophet responded: "That is a month the people neglect.
It comes between Rajab and Ramadan. It is a month in which the deeds are raised
to the Lord of the Worlds. I love that my deeds be raised while I am
fasting."
Related by Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, and by Ibn Khuzaimah.
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 1267 Narrated
by Abu Dharr
The Prophet (saws) said: ‘If you observe fast on three days in a
month, then make them the days of the 13th, 14th and 15th nights of the moon.’
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 3.128a
Abu Dharr al-Ghafari reported: "The Messenger of Allah
ordered us to fast for three days of every month--that is, on the days of the
full moon (the 13th, 14th, and 15th of the lunar month). And he (saws) said:
'It is like fasting the whole year.'"
Related by an-Nasa'i and by Ibn Hibban.
It is related that the Prophet would fast on Saturday, Sunday,
and Monday of one month and on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the next
month. He (saws) would also fast for three days at the beginning of the month,
or on the first Thursday and the next two Mondays of the month.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 3.128
Abu Hurairah reported that the most the Prophet (saws) would fast
would be on Mondays and Thursdays. He (saws) was asked about that and he (saws)
said: "The actions are presented to the Lord on every Monday and Thursday.
Allah forgives every Muslim or every believer, except for those who are
boycotting each other. He (Allah Subhanah) says [about them]: 'Leave them!'"
Related by Ahmad.
Muslim relates that the Prophet (saws), when asked about fasting
on Monday, said: "That is the day on which I was born and the day on which
I received Revelations."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 1261 Narrated
by Abu Hurayrah
The Prophet (saws) said: ‘A man's deeds are reported (to the Lord
Most Exalted) on Mondays and Thursdays, and I prefer that I should be observing
the fast when my deeds are reported.’
In light
of the above established and authentic narrations it was the Sunnah of the
Messenger of Allah (saws) to observe regular voluntary fasts on:
The
majority of the month of Shaabaan.
The 13th,
14th, and 15th days of the lunar month.
At times
he (saws) would fast the Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays of one month; and the
next month he would observe fast on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
The
Mondays and Thursdays of the week.
Sahih Muslim Hadith 2581 Narrated
by Aisha
Abu Salamah reported: I asked Aisha about the fasting of the
Messenger of Allah (saws). She said: ‘He (saws) used to observe fast (at times
so continuously) that we said: “He (saws) has fasted (never to break his
fasting!)”; and he (saws) did not observe fast till we said: “He (saws) has
given up perhaps never to fast!”, and I
never saw him observing (voluntary fasts) more in any other month than that of
the month of Sha'ban. (It appeared as if) he (saws) observed fast throughout
the whole of the month of Sha'ban except a few (days).’
The
Messenger of Allah (saws) used to rotate his regular voluntary fasts from time
to time, so much so that at times the companions believed he (saws) had fasted
continuously never to break his fasts; and at times he (saws) did not fast for
so long a period that the companions believed that he (saws) had given up
fasting! Praise be to Allah Subhanah Who
appointed His Messenger (saws) and made the following of the deen of Islam easy
for the believers.
In light
of the above guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws), one may observe
voluntary fasts as often and as many as one wishes and is easy for them. If one wishes to observe regular voluntary
fasts for their Lord, they may fast any three days of the month, preferably the
13th, 14th and 15th of the lunar month. If one wishes to do more, then one may fast
two days a week, preferably on Mondays and Thursdays. If one wishes to fast even more, then one may
fast any three days of the week; and the absolute maximum and best fasting is
the fasts of the Noble Prophet Dawood (a.s.) who would fast every other day and
there is no better fasting than that.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me alone.
Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in
Islam,
Wister