As-salaam alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wabarakatuh, All praise is due to Allaah the Creator and Sustainer of everything that exist in the heavens and the earth; seen and unseen. May His peace and blessings be upon the best of His creatures; Muhammad ibn Abdullah, his household, companions and those who follow his footsteps till the Day of Judgement [Aaminj.
Out of the mercies of Allaah is that He has made some deeds compulsory on us. Through these deeds, we earn His mercies both in this world, and more importantly, in the Hereafter. But as humans, we are not perfect and therefore can not do without mistakes and shortcomings when performing these compulsory acts. Therefore, as an extension of His mercies on us, he made for us voluntary deeds through which we can earn extra rewards just as they, serve as fillers for those compulsory deeds that we did not do perfectly. In this edition, we shall be looking at voluntary fasting as an example; when and how to do them, the different types that we have and the forbidden types.
Talha bin Ubaidullah narrated that, "A man from Najd with unkempt hair came to Allaah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and we heard his loud voice but could not understand what he was saying, till he came near and then we came to know that he was asking about Islam. Allaah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "You have to offer prayers perfectly five times in a day and night." The man asked, "Is there any more (praying)?" Allaah's Messenger replied, "No, but if you want to offer the Nawafil prayers (you can)."
Allaah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) further said to him: "You have to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan." The man asked, Is there any more fasting?" Allaah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, "No, but if you want to observe the Nawafil fasts (you can.)" Then Allaah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) further said to him, "You have to pay the Zakat (obligatory charity)." The man asked, "Is there any thing other than the Zakat for me to pay?" Allaah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, "No, unless you want to give alms of your own." And then that man retreated saying, "By Allaah! I will neither do less nor more than this. Then Allaah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "If what he said is true, then he will be successful (i.e. he will be granted Paradise)." (Bukhari)
Are Obligatory deeds enough? From this hadith, we see that for most of the actions of the limbs in Islaam, Allaah in His Infinite Mercy has made some deeds mandatory on us and He has made optional, some deeds that are similar to the compulsory ones. This is so that when we do them (the mandatory deeds) and He bestows His Mercy on us, He will accept them and then admit us to Paradise. But would it be enough for us to just perform the obligatory deeds and leave off the optional ones? That may not be a wise decision to make. It is like somebody aiming to score 50% in an exam, what if he missed the mark? There would be little option than to fall into the failure zone. If he had aimed for 100%, even if he missed the 100% mark, he would might still be within the pass mark zone.
And this is precisely the import of the words of AIIaah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that, "A man may complete the salaah and only have recorded for himself one-tenth or one-ninth or one-eighth or one seventh or one-fifth or one-fourth or one third or one half. "(Abu Dawud) He also said, "The first thing about which the people will be called account out of their actions on the Day, of Judgment is prayer. Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to the angels - though He know better: Look into the prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly. If it is perfect, that will be recorded perfectly. If it is defective, He will say: See if there are optional prayers offered by My servant. If there are optional prayers to his credit, He will say: Compensate the obligatory prayer by the optional prayer for My servant. Then all the actions will be considered similarly. ""(Abu Dawud)
Getting Closer To Allaah
From the two previous ahadiths, it is clear that one may not be getting the full reward for his salaah due to a shortcoming of his in performing the prayers. He may have lost concentration sometime; he may have been involved in show off at other times etc. So Allaah will look at his optional prayers to complete what is due from him of obligatory salaah. How would someone who did not offer optional salaah be able to make up for this shortcoming?
And this is how all his deeds will be judged, including fasting, hajj etc. AIlaah's Messenger (peace and blessings of AIlaah be upon him) said, "Allaah said, I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (or doing extra deeds besides what is Obligatory) till I love him "(Bukhari).
So observing the optional deeds is a way of getting closer to AIlaah, and thereby earning His love, and there is nothing better than being loved by Allaah. Virtues of fasting The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of AIlaah be upon him) said, "By the One in Whose hand my self is, the smell of the breath of a man fasting is better with Allaah than the scent of musk. Allaah says, "He leaves his desires and his food and drink for my sake, Fasting is for me and I reward it, every good action is rewarded by ten times its kind, up to seven hundred times, except fasting, which is for Me, and I reward it. "(Muwatta)
Abu Umama (RA) narrated that "(once) I said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), Please command me to perform an act from which Allaah may give me profit? Keep to fasting, replied the Prophet. There is nothing like it." (Nasai) AIlaah's Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "Fasting and the Quran intercede for a man.
Fasting says, 0 my Lord, I have kept him away from his food and his passions by day, so accept my intercession for him. The Quran says, 1 have kept him away from sleep by night, so accept my intercession for him. Then their intercession is accepted. "(Tirmidhi)
Forbidden days and types of fasting Besides the Compulsory fast in Ramadaan, a Muslim may fast on any day he likes, apart from some days that has been made prohibited for fasting. Before talking about the different optional fasts, let us look at those days that we have been prohibited from fasting.
Eid Days
Umar bin AI-Khattab [RA] said: "Allaah's Messenger has forbidden people to fast on the day on which you break fasting (the fasts of Ramadan) and the day on which you eat the meat of your sacrifices {the first day of Id ul Fitr and Id ul-Adha)." (Bukhari)
Days of Tashriq (3 days following eid aladha, i.e. 11th 12th 13th of Dhul Hijjah): Allaah's Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The days of Tashriq are the days of eating and drinking.' (Muslim)
Fridays alone: The Prophet said, "None of you should fast on Friday unless he fasts a day before or after it. "(Bukhari)
Everyday of the year: Umar (RA) said: "Messenger of Allaah, what is the position of one who perpetually observes fasts? Thereupon he said: He neither fasted nor broke it."(Muslim)
Wife fasting without husband's permission: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "A women should not fast (optional fasts) except with her husbands permission if he is at home (staying with her)." (Bukhari)
Saturdays
Some scholars that it is not permissible to fast on Saturday. They base their evidence on the saying of the Prophet [peace and blessings be upon him] that says "Do not fast on Saturday except what has been made obligatory on you; . and if one of you can get noting but a grape skin or apiece of wood from a tree, he should chew it. [Abu Dawood]
Majority of the scholars consider the ruling abrogated or otherwise consider it permissible to fast on Saturday!. The various optional fasts available. Narrated AbuQatadah: Someone came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: How do you observe fast? The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) felt annoyed.
When Umar [RA] noticed his annoyance, he said: We are well pleased with Allaah as our .Lord, with Islam as our Code of Ufe, and with Muhammad as our Prophet. We seek refuge with Allaah from the anger of Allaah and that of His Messenger.
Umar [RA] continued repeating these words till his (the Prophets) anger calmed down. Then Umar [[RA] said: Messenger of Allaah, what is the position of one who perpetually observes fasts? Thereupon he said: He neither fasted nor broke it, or he said: He fasted for two days and broke one day. Thereupon he said: Is anyone capable of doing it? He (Umar) said: What is the position of him who observes a fast for one day and breaks it on the other day?
Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet)said: That is the fast of David (peace be upon him). He (Umar) [RA] said: What about him who observes fast one day and breaks it for two days. Thereupon he (the Messenger of Allaah) said: I wish I were given the strength to observe that. Then he said: The observance of three days fast every month and that of Ramadan every year is a perpetual fasting seek from Allah that fasting on the day of Arafah may at one for the sins of the preceding and the coming years, and I seek from Allah that fasting on the day of Ashura may atone for the sins of the - preceding year. [Muslim]
In the month of Muharram: The Prophet, (peace and blessing of Allaah be upon him), said: The best fasts after the fasts of Ramadan are those of the Month of Muharram. "(Muslim)
The day of Ashura (10th of Muharram): Although Muharram is a sacred month as a whole, yet, the 10th day of Muharram is also singled out as one of the most beneficial days to fast. Ibn Abbas (RA) reported that when the Messenger of Allaah, (peace and blessing of Allaah be upon him), migrated to Madinah, he found that the Jews of Madinah used to fast on the 10th day of Muharram. They said that it was the day on which the Messenger of Allaah Musa (peace be upon him), and his followers crossed the Red Sea miraculously and the Firawn was drowned in its waters.
On hearing this from the Jews, the Messenger of Allaah, (peace and blessing of Allaah be upon him), said, "We are more closely related to Musa, [peace be upon him}, than you, "and directed the Muslims to fast on the day of Ashura. (Abu Dawood) _ And the fast on this day was initially made obligatory on the Muslims before the fast of Ramadan became compulsory.
Aisha, Radi-Allaahu anha, has said: "When the Messenger of Allaah, (peace and blessing of Allaah be upon him), came to Madinah, he fasted on the day of Ashura and directed the people to fast. But when the fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory, the obligation of fasting was confined to Ramadan and the obligatory nature of the fast of Ashura was abandoned. Whoever so desires should fast on it and any other who so likes can avoid fasting on it." (Sunan Abu Dawud)
It is also advisable to fast the ninth of the month together with Ashura as this was the intention of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him). Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas (RA), "When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him) fasted on the day of Ashura and commanded that it should be observed as a fast, they (his Companions) said to him: Messenger of Allaah, it is a day which the Jews and Christians hold in high esteem. Thereupon the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) said: When the next year comes, insha Allaah, we would observe fast on the 9th (Muslim)
First ten days of Dhul Hijjah: The Prophet said, "No good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these (first ten days of Dhul Hijja)." Then some companions of the Prophet said, "Not even Jihad?" He replied, "Not even Jihad, except that of a man who does it by putting himself and his property in danger (for Allaah's sake) and does not return with any of those things." (Bukhari). Since fasting is also without doubt one of the good deeds that one can do, then one should take advantage of the blessed days to fast, for those who are not on the pilgrimage.
The day of Arafah (9th of Dul Hijjah): 6 days in Shawwal: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "He who observed the fast of Ramadan and then followed it with six (fasts) of Shawwal, it would be as if he fasted perpetually." (Muslim)
Mondays & Thursdays: The Prophet (peace and blessings. be upon him) said: :4 mans deeds are reported on Mondays and Thursdays and I prefer that I should be observing the fast when my deeds are reported. "(Tirmidhi).
3 days a month: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "The observance of three days fast every month and that of Ramadan every year is a perpetual fasting." (Muslim). And he explained why it would be so, he said, "Fast three days a month as the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times and that will be equal to year of fasting." (Bukhari) The three days can be done in various ways, one way is to do them on the three mid die days of the lunar month (i.e. 13th 15th) The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 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." (Tirmidhi).
One can also decide to fast the three days on Mondays, Thursdays, Mondays & Thursdays or any other combinations of days so long he as days to be avoided are avoided. Shaban Aisha, the wife of the Prophet,[peace and blessings be upon him] said, "The Messenger of Allah, [peace and blessings be upon him], used to fast for so long that we thought he would never stop fasting, and he would go without fasting for so long that we thought he would never fast again. I never saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, fast for a complete month except for Ramadan, and I never saw him do more fasting in anyone month than he did in Shaban. [Muwatta]
The best kind of fast: Narrated Abdullah bin Amr bin AI As (RA): Allaahs Messenger said to me, "O Abdullah! Have I not been informed that you fast during the day and offer prayers all the night." Abdullah replied, "Yes, O Allaah's Messenger!" The Prophet said, "Dont do that; fast for few days and then give it up for few days, offer prayers and also sleep at night, as your body has a right on you, and your wife has a right on you, and your guest has a right on you.
And it is sufficient for you to fast three days in a month, as the reward of a good deed is multiplied ten times, so it will be like fasting throughout the year." I insisted (on fasting) and so i was given a hard instruction. I said, "0 Allaahs Messenger! I have power." The Prophet said, "Fast like the fasting of the Prophet Dawud and do not fast more than that. " I said, "How was the fasting of the Prophet of Allaah, Dawud?" He said, "Half of the year," (i.e. he used to fast on every alternate day).
Afterwards when Abdullah became old, he used to say, "It would have been better. for me if I had accepted the permission of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (which he gave me i.e. to fast only three days a month). (Bukhari)