RULING ON FASTING ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAYS
ASSEMBLED BY MALLAM ABBA ABANA, KUBWA, ABUJA, NIGERIA
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THURSDAY 7th AUGUST 2019 CE and 6th DHUL
HAJJ 1440 AH
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and Messenger.
PREAMBLE
What is the ruling on fasting on
Saturdays and Ashoora at times other than Ramadaan? What if the day of
‘Arafah or Ashoora happens to be a Friday
or Saturday? Praise be to Allaah. It is makrooh to single out Saturday
or Friday for fasting,
because of the report narrated by al-Tirmidhi (744), Abu Dawood (2421) and Ibn
Maajah (1726) from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn… that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not fast on Saturdays apart
from days when you are obliged to fast.
FASTING ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
Abu Hurayrah quotes the Prophet as
saying:
None of you should fast on Friday
unless he fasts a day before or after it.
According to a Rivayah of Muslim:
"Do not
single out Friday night rather than other nights for praying at night and do
not single out Friday for fasting rather than other days unless it forms part
of a fast that one of you is fasting." (Bukhari, Sawm: 63; Muslim, Sıyam:
147,148; Abu Dawud, Sawm: 50; Tirmidhi, Sawm: 42)
Abdullah Ibn Busr as-Salmi related
from his sister as-Samma (may Allah be pleased with her):
Rasulullah (pbuh) said:
"Do not
fast on Saturday, unless it is part of what Allah has prescribed for you. If
you could not find anything to eat but a grape skin or a piece of wood, you
should chew it." (And after all you should not be fasting). (Abu Dawud,
Sawm: 51; Tirmidhi, Sawm: 43; Ibn Majah, Siyam: 38)
1.0 WHAT IS THE
RULING ON FASTING ON SATURDAYS AT TIMES OTHER THAN RAMADAAN? WHAT IF THE DAY OF
‘ARAFAH HAPPENS TO BE A SATURDAY?
It is makrooh to single out Saturday
for fasting, because of the report narrated by al-Tirmidhi (744), Abu Dawood
(2421) and Ibn Maajah (1726) from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Busr, from his sister, that
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not fast on Saturdays apart from days
when you are obliged to fast. If any one of you cannot find anything other than
grape stalks or the twigs of a tree, let him chew it (to make sure that he is
not fasting).”Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwa’ (960). Abu ‘Eesa
al-Tirmidhi said: This is a hasan hadeeth. What is makrooh in this case is for
a man to single out Saturday for fasting, because the Jews venerate Saturday.
End quote.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said in al-Mughni (3/52): Our companions said: It is makrooh to single
out Saturday for fasting … what is makrooh is singling out that day. If he
fasts another day along with it, then it is not makrooh, because of the hadeeth
of Abu Hurayrah and Juwayriyah. If it coincides with a day that a person
regularly fasts, it is not makrooh.
What is meant by the hadeeth of Abu
Hurayrah is the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (1985) and Muslim (1144) from
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say:
“No one of you should fast on Friday, unless he fasts (a day) before it or
after it.”
The hadeeth of Juwayriyah was
narrated by al-Bukhaari (1986) from Juwayriyah bint al-Haarith (may Allaah be
pleased with her), that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
entered upon her on a Friday and she was fasting. He said; “Did you fast
yesterday?” She said, “No.” He said: “Do you intend to fast tomorrow?” She
said: “No.” He said: “Then break your fast.”
This hadeeth and the one before it
clearly indicate that it is permissible to fast on a Saturday at times other
than Ramadaan, for the one who fasts the Friday before.
It is proven in al-Saheehayn that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The most beloved of fasting to Allaah is
the fast of Dawood; he used to fast one day and not the next.”
In this case it is bound to happen
that he will sometimes fast on a Saturday on its own. So it may be understood
from this that if Saturday coincides with a day that he habitually fasts, such
as ‘Arafah or ‘Ashoora’, there is nothing wrong with fasting on that day, even if
it is on its own.
Al-Haafiz stated in al-Fath that an
exception to the prohibition on fasting on Friday is made if a person
habitually fasts on a certain day, such as ‘Arafah, and it coincides with
Friday.
The same applies to Saturday. We
have quoted the words of Ibn Qudaamah concerning that above.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said:
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT DIFFERENT SCENARIOS MAY APPLY WITH REGARD TO
FASTING ON A SATURDAY.
1 – It may be obligatory, such as
observing a Ramadaan fast during Ramadaan or making it up later on, or
observing a fast as expiation (kafaarah), or instead of offering a sacrifice
when performing Hajj tamattu’, and so on. There is nothing wrong with that so
long as he does not single it out deliberately thinking that there is some
virtue in that.
2 – If he fasts on the Friday
before, there is nothing wrong with it, because the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to one of the Mothers of the Believers
who was fasting on a Friday: “Did you fast yesterday?” She said: “No.” He said:
“Are you going to fast tomorrow?” She said, “No.” He said: “Then break your
fast.” The words, “Are you going to fast tomorrow?” indicate that it is
permissible to fast Saturday along with Friday.
3 – If it happens to be one of the
days when it is prescribed to fast, such as Ayyaam al-Beed (the 13th, 14th and
15th of each hijri month), ‘Arafah, ‘Ashoora’, six days of Shawwaal for one who
has fasted Ramadaan, and the ninth of Dhu’l-Hijjah. There is nothing wrong with
that, because he is not fasting because it is Saturday, rather it is because it
is one of the days when it is prescribed to fast.
4 – When it happens to be a day when
he habitually fasts, such as a person whose habit is to fast alternate days,
and the day that he fasts happens to be a Saturday, then there is nothing wrong
with it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said when
he forbade fasting one or two days before Ramadaan begins: “except a man who
(habitually) observes a fast, in which case let him fast.” This is similar.
5 – If he singles it out to observe
a voluntary fast for one day only. This is what is forbidden, if the hadeeth
forbidding it is proven to be saheeh.
End quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il
al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (20/57).
2.0 RULING ON SINGLING OUT FRIDAY FOR FASTING
It was proven in al-Saheehayn in the
hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he said: “I heard
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘None of you should fast on a Friday unless
he fasts the day before or the day after.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1849,
Muslim, 1929). Muslim narrated in his Saheeh that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Do
not single out the night of Jumu’ah [i.e., Thursday night] from among other
nights for praying qiyaam al-layl, and do not single out Friday from among
other days for fasting, unless it is a fast that one of you regularly
observes.” (al-Siyaam, 1930)
In al-Saheeh it was narrated from
Juwayriyah bint al-Haarith (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered upon her on a Friday when
she was fasting. He asked her, “Did you
fast yesterday?” She said, “No.” He asked, “Are you going to fast tomorrow?”
She said, “No.” He said, “Then break your fast.” Hammaad ibn al-Ja’d said, “I
heard Qutaadah say, Abu Ayyoob told me that Juwayriyah spoke to him and he told
her to stop her fast and she did so.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Sawm, 1850).
Ibn Qudaamah said: “It is makrooh to
single out the day of Friday for fasting, unless that coincides with a fast
which one usually observes, such as a person who fasts alternate days, and a
day that he fasts coincides with Friday, or a person who has the habit of
fasting on the first or last day of the month, or the middle day of the month.”
(al-Mughni, vol. 3, p. 53)
Al-Nawawi said: “Our companions (i.e. the Shaafa’is) said: it is makrooh to single out
the day of Friday for fasting, but if one joins it with the day before or the
day after, or it coincides with a day which he habitually fasts, or he vowed to
fast the day that his sick loved one was cured, or the day So and so returns,
and that day happens to be a Friday, then it is not makrooh (al-Majmoo’ Sharh
al-Muhadhdhab, vol. 6, p. 479)
Shaykh al-Islam (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: “The Sunnah says that
it is makrooh to single out Rajab for fasting, and it is makrooh to single out
Friday (for fasting).” (al-Fataawa al-Kubra, vol. 6, p. 180)
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: “As for Friday, it is not Sunnah to fast on
this day, and it is makrooh to single it out for fasting.” (See al-Sharh
al-Mumti’, vol. 6, p. 465)
Excluded from this prohibition is
one who fasts the day before or after, or if it coincides with days that he
habitually fasts, such as one who fasts al-Ayyaam al-Beed (the 13th, 14th and
15th of each hijri month), or who has the habit of fasting a specific day such
as the Day of ‘Arafat, and it coincides with a Friday. From this it may be
understood that it is permissible for a person who has vowed to fast on the day
when So and so returns, for example, or the day when So and so recovers from
sickness, to observe that fast if that day happens to be a Friday. (See Fath al-Baari by Ibn Hajar).
The same applies to one who has
fasts to make up from Ramadaan. “It is
permissible for a Muslim to fast on a Friday to make up a day from Ramadaan,
even if he fasts the Friday on its own.” (Fatwa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, vol. 10,
p. 347)
Similarly, if ‘Ashoora’ or Arafaat
coincides with a Friday, he may fast, because his intention is to fast
‘Ashoora’ or ‘Arafaat, not to fast on a Friday. And Allaah is the Source of
strength.
3.0 HOW IS THE FAST OF DAWOOD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) OBSERVED, AND HOW CAN
THAT BE RECONCILED WITH THE PROHIBITION ON FASTING ON FRIDAYS?
Firstly: It is narrated in
al-Saheehayn from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr (may Allaah be pleased with him) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best fasting
is the fast of Dawood: he used to fast one day and not the next.” This
statement does not contradict the fact that it is not allowed to fast on
Fridays, because the prohibition on fasting on Fridays applies to one who
singles out a Friday rather than any other day. But the one who observes the
fast of Dawood – fasting alternate days – is not singling out a Friday for
fasting.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih
al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The hadeeth of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr
(may Allaah be pleased with him) indicates that if fasting on a Friday or
Saturday coincides with a day one usually fasts, without intending to single
that day out for fasting, then there is nothing wrong with it, because if he
fasts alternate days, then that will coincide with some Fridays and Saturdays.
Thus it becomes clear that fasting on these days is not haraam. Otherwise the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have said: Fast one
day and not the next, so long as that (fasting) does not coincide with a Friday
or Saturday. Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 6/476.
Secondly: With regard to your
question about the ruling on singling out Friday for fasting in the law of
Dawood (peace be upon him):
We do not know anything about the
practical rulings of the law of Dawood (peace be upon him) with regard to
whether it was forbidden to fast on Fridays or other days. What we do know is
that every Prophet has a law and a way, but their belief was one and the same,
although their laws differed.
Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“To each
among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way”[Holy Quran Chapter al-Maa'idah
5:48]
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah
(may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The
Prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion
is the same.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3259; Muslim, 2365.
What this hadeeth means is that the
religion of the Prophets is one, which is Tawheed or belief in the Oneness of
Allaah and that He alone is entitled to worship, even though their laws may
differ. This is like brothers who have the same father but different mothers
(which is what is meant by paternal brothers). Source: Islam Q&A, 47819
And Allaah knows best.
SOURCES
1) islamqa.info/.../ruling-on-fasting-on-saturdays
2) islamqa.info/en/downloads/answers/81621
3) futureislam.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/ruling-on...
4) abdurrahman.org/2012/11/22/must-read-rulings-on...
5) questionsonislam.com/.../fasting-friday-and-saturday
6) www.nairaland.com/2682327/what-ruling-fasting...
8) https://islamqa.info/en/answers/47819/how-is-the-fast-of-dawood-peace-be-upon-him-observed-and-how-can-that-be-reconciled-with-the-prohibition-on-fasting-on-fridays
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