Question:
Is
it permissible to fast after halfway through
Sha�baan? Because I heard that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
forbade fasting after halfway through Sha�baan.
Praise
be to Allaah.
Abu
Dawood (3237), al-Tirmidhi (738) and Ibn Naajah
(1651) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
�When Sha�baan is half over, do not fast.�
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi,
590.
This
hadeeth indicates that it is not allowed to fast
after halfway through Sha�baan, i.e., starting
from the sixteenth day of the month.
But
there are reports that indicate that it is
permissible to fast at this time. For example:
Al-Bukhaari
(1914) and Muslim (1082) narrated that Abu
Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
�Do not anticipate Ramadaan by fasting one or
two days before it begins, but if a man habitually
fasts, then let him fast.�
This
indicates that fasting after halfway through
Sha�baan is permissible for someone who has the
habit of fasting, such as a man who regularly
fasts on Mondays and Thursdays, or who fasts
alternate days, and the like.
Al-Bukhaari
(1970) and Muslim (1156) narrated that
�Aa�ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her)
said: �The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used
to fast all of Sha�baan, he used to fast
Sha�baan except a few days.� This version was
narrated by Muslim.
Al-Nawawi
said: In the words, �He used to fast all of
Sha�baan, he used to fast Sha�baan except a
few days� the second phrase explains the first,
and indicates that the word �all� means
�most of�.
This
hadeeth indicates that it is permissible to fast
after halfway through Sha�baan, but only for
those who are continuing after fasting before
halfway through the month. The Shaafa�is
followed all of these ahaadeeth and said:
It
is not permissible to fast after halfway through
Sha�baan except for those who have a habitual
pattern of fasting, or who are continuing after
fasting before halfway through the month.
According
to most of the scholars, the prohibition here
means that it is haraam.
See
al-Majmoo�, 6/399-400; Fath al-Baari,
4/129
Some,
such as al-Ruyaani, suggested that the prohibition
here is to be understood as meaning that it is
makrooh, not haraam.
Al-Nawawi
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Riyaadh
al-Saaliheen (p. 412):
�Chapter
on the prohibition on anticipating Ramadaan by
fasting after halfway through Sha�baan, except
for one who is continuing after fasting before
halfway through the month or who has a regular
pattern of fasting such as fasting on Mondays and
Thursdays�.
The
majority of scholars are of the view that the
hadeeth which forbids fasting after halfway
through Sha�baan is da�eef (weak), and based
on that they said that it is not makrooh to fast
after halfway through Sha�baan.
Al-Haafiz
said: The majority of scholars said that it is
permissible to observe voluntary fasts after
halfway through Sha�baan and they regarded the
hadeeth concerning that as da�eef. Ahmad and Ibn
Ma�een said that it is munkar. (From Fath al-Baari).
Among those who classed it as da�eef were al-Bayhaqi
and al-Tahhaawi.
Ibn
Qudaamah said in al-Mughni that Imam Ahmad
said concerning this hadeeth:
It
is not sound. We asked �Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Mahdi
about it and he did not class it as saheeh, and he
did not narrate it to me. He used to avoid talking
about this hadeeth. Ahmad said: al-�Ala� is
thiqah and none of his ahaadeeth are regarded as
munkar apart from this one.
The
al-�Ala� referred to here is al-�Ala� ibn
�Abd al-Rahmaan who narrated this hadeeth from
his father from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be
pleased with him).
Ibn
al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) responded
in Tahdheeb al-Sunan to those who classed
this hadeeth as da�eef and said that this
hadeeth is saheeh according to the conditions of
Muslim. Even though al-�Ala� is the only one
who narrated this hadeeth, that is not regarded as
detrimental to the hadeeth, because al-�Ala�
is thiqah; in his Saheeh, Muslim narrated a
number of ahaadeeth from him, from his father from
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him).
Many Sunnahs are narrated from the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) only
through one person who is thiqah, but they have
been accepted and followed by the ummah.
Then
he said:
With
regard to those who think that there is a
contradiction between this hadeeth and the
ahaadeeth which speak of fasting in Sha�baan,
there is no contradiction. Those ahaadeeth speak
of fasting half of it along with the previous
half, and of habitual fasting during the second
half of the month, whereas the hadeeth of
al-�Ala� speaks of the prohibition on fasting
deliberately only after the month is halfway over,
not about fasts that a person observes regularly
or that are a continuation after fasting during
the first part of the month.
Shaykh
Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked
about the hadeeth which says that fasting after
halfway through Sha�baan is not allowed. He
said:
This
is a saheeh hadeeth as Shaykh Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani
said. What is meant is that it is not allowed to
start fasting after halfway through the month. But
if a person fasts most or all of the month, then
he is following the Sunnah.
Majmoo�
Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz,
15/385).
Shaykh
Ibn �Uthaymeen said in his commentary on Riyaadh
al-Saaliheen (3/394):
Even if the
hadeeth is saheeh, the prohibition in it does not
mean that this is haraam, rather it is simply
makrooh, as some of the scholars have understood
it to mean. But whoever has the habit of fasting
regularly should fast, even if it is after halfway
through Sha�baan.
In
conclusion:
It
is not allowed to fast during the second half of
Sha�baan, and that is either makrooh or haraam,
except for the one who has the habit of fasting
regularly or who is continuing after fasting
during the first half of Sha�baan. And Allaah
knows best.
The
reason for this prohibition is that continually
fasting may make a person too weak to fast in
Ramadaan.
If
it is said that if he fasts from the beginning of
the month he will become even weaker, the response
is that whoever fasts from the beginning of
Sha�baan will have gotten used to fasting so it
will be less difficult for him to fast.
Al-Qaari
said: The prohibition here means that it is
disliked, as a mercy to this ummah lest they
become too weak to fulfil their duty of fasting
during Ramadaan in an energetic fashion. But those
who fast all of Sha�baan will become used to
fasting so it will not be difficult for them.
And
Allaah knows best.
Taken
from
http://63.175.194.25/topics/Ruling_on_fasting_on_Shabaan/Ruling_on_fasting_on_the_second_half_of_Shabaan.shtml
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Prohibition
on anticipating Ramadan by fasting one or two days
before it begins
Question:
I
heard that it is not permissible for us to fast
before Ramadaan. Is that true?
Answer:
Praise
be to Allaah.
There
are ahaadeeth narrated from the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which
forbid fasting in the second half of Sha�baan,
except in two cases:
1
� Those who have a habitual pattern of fasting,
such as a man who usually fasts on Mondays and
Thursdays � he may continue to do so even in the
second half of Sha�baan.
2
� If he joins fasts in the second half of
Ramadaan to the first half, i.e., if he started to
fast in the first half and continues to fast until
Ramadaan begins, this is permissible. See question
no. 13726.
These
ahaadeeth include the following:
Al-Bukhaari
(1914) and Muslim (1082) narrated that Abu
Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
�Do not anticipate Ramadaan by fasting one or
two days before it begins, but if a man habitually
fasts, then let him fast.�
Abu
Dawood (3237), al-Tirmidhi (738) and Ibn Maajah
(1651) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
�When Sha�baan is half over, do not fast.�
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi,
590.
Al-Nawawi
said:
The
words of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), �Do
not anticipate Ramadaan by fasting one or two days
before it begins, but if a man habitually fasts,
then let him fast,� clearly indicate that it is
not allowed to anticipate Ramadaan by fasting one
or two days before it begins, for those who do not
have a habitual pattern of fasting or who are not
continuing to fast after starting to fast before
(in the first half of Sha�baan). If one is not
continuing to fast or does not have a regular
pattern of fasting, then it is haraam.
Al-Tirmidhi
(686) and al-Nasaa�i (2188) narrated that
�Ammaar ibn Yaasir (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: �Whoever fasts on the day concerning
which there is doubt has disobeyed Abu�l-Qaasim
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).�
See Question no. 13711.
Al-Haafiz
said in Fath al-Baari:
It was
understood from this that it is haraam to fast the
day of doubt, because the Sahaabah would not say
such a thing based on personal opinion.
The day of
doubt is the thirtieth of Sha�baan if the new
moon cannot be seen because of clouds etc. It is
called the day of doubt because it could be the
thirtieth of Sha�baan, or it could be the first
day of Ramadaan. It is haraam to fast on this day,
unless it coincides with a day on which a person
habitually fasts.
Al-Nawawi
said in al-Majmoo� (6/400) concerning the
ruling on fasting the day of doubt:
If a person
observes a voluntary fast on this day, and he has
a reason for doing so, such as having the habit of
fasting every day, or of fasting alternate days,
or fasting on particular days such as Mondays, and
it happens to coincide with that day, then it is
permissible for him to fast on this day; there is
no difference of opinion among our companions
regarding that. The evidence for that is the
hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah: �Do not anticipate
Ramadaan by fasting one or two days before it
begins, but if a man habitually fasts, then let
him fast.� If he does not have a reason, then it
is haraam for him to fast on this day.
Shaykh Ibn
�Uthaymeen said in his commentary on the hadeeth
�Do not anticipate Ramadaan by fasting one or
two days before it begins��:
The
scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) differed
concerning this prohibition and whether it meant
that this is haraam or makrooh. The correct view
is that it means it is haraam, especially on the
day of doubt.
Sharh
Riyaadh al-Saaliheen,
3/394.
Based on
this, fasting in the second half of Sha�baan
falls into two categories:
1-
Fasting
from the sixteenth until the twenty-eighth. This
is makrooh, except for those who have a habitual
pattern of fasting.
2-
Fasting
on the day of doubt, or one or two days before
Ramadaan begins. This is haraam, except for one
who has a habitual pattern of fasting.
And Allaah
knows best
Taken
from
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Question:
On
the night of the thirtieth of Sha�ban we went
out to sight the crescent, but the weather was
cloudy so we could not see it. Should we fast the
thirtieth day of Sha�baan, because it is a day
concerning which there is some doubt?
Answer:
Praise
be to Allaah.
This
is what is called the �day of doubt�, because
there is doubt concerning it � is it the last
day of Sha�baan or the first day of Ramadaan?
Fasting on this day is haraam because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
�Fast when you see the new moon and break your
fast when you see the new moon, and if you are not
sure, then complete the number of Sha�baan as
thirty days.� (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1909).
�Ammaar
ibn Yaasir said: �Whoever fasts on the day
concerning which there is doubt has disobeyed
Abu�l-Qaasim
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).�
This was narrated by al-Tirmidhi and classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi,
553.
Al-Haafiz
ibn Hajar said: �It was understood from this
that it is haraam to fast the day of doubt,
because the Sahaabah would not say such a thing
based on personal opinion, so a report such as
this has the same status as a marfoo� hadeeth.
The
scholars of the Standing Committee said concerning
the day of doubt, �The Sunnah indicates that it
is haraam to fast this day.� (Fataawa al-Lajnah,
10/117)
Shaykh
Muhammad ibn �Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said, after mentioning the difference of
opinion concerning the ruling on fasting the day
of doubt: �The most correct of these views is
that it is haraam, but if it is proven to the
ruler that it is obligatory to fast this day and
he commands the people to fast, then no one should
go against his opinion, and that means that no one
should show that he is not fasting on that day,
rather a person (who has a different opinion) may
not fast, but he should do so secretly.�
Al-Sharh
al-Mumti�, 6/318
Taken
from
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Fasting
on the Day of Doubt with the intention of making
up a missed Ramadaan fast
Question:
I know that
the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did
not allow fasting on the Day of Doubt, and he
forbade fasting two days before Ramadaan, but is
it permissible for me to make up missed Ramadaan
fasts on these two days?
Answer:
Praise
be to Allaah.
Yes,
it is permissible to make up missed Ramadaan fasts
on the day of doubt and one or two days before
Ramadaan.
It
was proven that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
forbade fasting the day of doubt, and he forbade
anticipating Ramadaan by fasting one or two days
before it begins, but this prohibition does not
apply to a person who has a habitual pattern of
fasting, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
�Do not anticipate Ramadaan by fasting one or
two days before it begins, but if a man habitually
fasts, then let him fast.� Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
1914; Muslim, 1082. So if a person is used to
fasting on Mondays, for example, and that
coincides with the last day of Sha�baan, then it
is permissible for him to observe that as a
voluntary fast and it is not forbidden for him to
do so.
If it is
permissible to observe a voluntary fast that one
does regularly, then it is more appropriate that
it should be permissible to make up a missed
Ramadaan fast, because that is obligatory, and
because it is not permissible to delay making up
missed fasts until after the following Ramadaan.
Al-Nawawi
said in al-Majmoo�, 6/399:
Our
companions said: It is not correct to fast on the
day of doubt when it is uncertain that Ramadaan
has begun, and there is no difference of scholarly
opinion on this point� But if a person fasts it
to make up for a missed fast, or in fulfillment of
a vow, or as an act of expiation (kafaarah), then
it is permissible, because if it is permissible to
observe a voluntary fast on that day for one who
has a reason to do so, then it is more appropriate
that one should be allowed to observe an
obligatory fast. This is like the time when
it is forbidden to pray (when one may nevertheless
offer a prayer for which there is a reason). And
if a person still owes some missed Ramadaan fasts,
then he has to observe those fasts, because the
time for making it up has become very short.
Taken
from
