In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
With pens of longing and the ink of love,
We inscribe lines more precious than gold,
Describing the Master of Creation, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Prophetic Characteristics (Shama'il).
Chapter: What has been narrated regarding the fasting of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
From ‘Abdullah ibn Shaqiq, who said:
I asked ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, about the fasting of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
She said:
"He would fast until we would say, 'He has fasted [continuously].'"
"And he would break his fast until we would say, 'He has ceased fasting.'"
She added:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, never fasted a full month since he arrived in Medina,"
"Except for Ramadan."
In this hadith:
The Mother of the Believers, ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was asked about the fasting of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Meaning: Did he fast continuously or not?
The intent here is voluntary fasting.
She replied:
"He would fast until we would say, 'He has fasted [continuously].'"
Meaning: He would continue fasting for several days,
Until some of us would say to others,
Or we would contemplate to ourselves and say, "He has passed [the point of breaking his fast],"
"And he continues to fast."
And he would remain in that state.
And her saying, "And he would break his fast until we would say, 'He has ceased fasting,'"
Meaning: He would continue for days without fasting,
Until we would say, "He will likely spend the remainder of the month without fasting."
And her saying:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, never fasted a full month since he arrived in Medina except for Ramadan,"
Contains an indication that the sequence of his fasting
Was less than fasting an entire month,
Except in Ramadan;
For he fasted it completely because it is an obligatory duty.
And her saying, "Since he arrived in Medina,"
She specified this time by mention,
Because it was the time when fasting was made obligatory,
And the rulings [of Islam] became numerous.
From Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him,
That he was asked about the fasting of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
And he said:
"He would fast from the month,"
"Until we thought he did not wish to break his fast from it."
"And he would break his fast until we thought he did not wish to fast any part of it."
"And you would not wish to see him praying at night,"
"But you would see him praying,"
"Nor sleeping,"
"But you would see him sleeping."
In this hadith is [evidence of] moderation and balance.
There is no continuous fasting,
Nor is there continuous abstention from fasting.
Rather, it is both fasting and breaking the fast.
He would begin the month fasting,
And continue in it,
Until one would think he would complete the entire month fasting.
And he would break his fast, peace be upon him, and continue in that state,
Until one would think he would continue without fasting until the end of the month.
And his saying:
"And you would not wish to see him praying at night,"
"But you would see him praying,"
"Nor sleeping,"
"But you would see him sleeping,"
Meaning: The Prophet, peace be upon him, was
Balanced in his nights;
He gave sleep its due,
And prayer its due.
There was neither excess nor negligence.
And Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
Was asked about the fasting of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Only.
Yet he answered the questioner regarding his inquiry,
And added goodness to it,
Because he knew he was in need of it.
This is from the generosity of imparting knowledge.
From Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him,
Who said:
"The Prophet, peace be upon him,"
"Would fast until we would say,"
"'He does not wish to break his fast from it.'"
"And he would break his fast until we would say,"
"'He does not wish to fast from it.'"
"And he never fasted a full month since he arrived in Medina,"
"Except for Ramadan."
And from Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
"I never saw the Prophet, peace be upon him,"
"Fasting two consecutive months,"
"Except for Sha‘ban and Ramadan."
And from ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
"I never saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,"
"Fasting in a month,"
"More than his fasting for Allah in Sha‘ban."
"He would fast Sha‘ban, except for a little,"
"Rather, he would fast all of it."
In the hadith of Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her,
That she never saw the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Fasting two consecutive months,
Except for Sha‘ban and Ramadan.
As for his fasting, peace be upon him,
Of Ramadan completely,
That is a clear matter.
As for Sha‘ban,
What is established from him, peace be upon him,
Is the fasting of most of it, not all of it.
And we have recently passed the hadith of ‘A’ishah and Ibn ‘Abbas,
That he, peace be upon him,
Never fasted a full month since he arrived in Medina,
Except for Ramadan.
Thus, the statement of Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her,
"Fasting two consecutive months,"
Means the majority of Sha‘ban and the entirety of Ramadan.
This is clarified by the second hadith of ‘A’ishah,
Where she said:
"I never saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,"
"Fasting in a month more than his fasting for Allah in Sha‘ban."
"He would fast Sha‘ban, except for a little,"
"Rather, he would fast all of it."
It is narrated from Ibn al-Mubarak that he said regarding this hadith:
"It is permissible in the speech of the Arabs, if one fasts most of the month, to say,"
"'He fasted the whole month.'"
And it is said:
"So-and-so stood [in prayer] his entire night,"
While he only stood for most of it,
Perhaps he had dinner and was occupied with some of his affairs.
So this hadith explains the first hadith.
The wisdom behind increasing the fasting in Sha‘ban
Is what was narrated from Usamah ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said:
"I said, 'O Messenger of Allah,'"
"'I have not seen you fasting in any month as you fast in Sha‘ban.'"
He said:
"'That is a month people are heedless of,'"
"'Between Rajab and Ramadan.'"
"'And it is a month in which deeds are raised to the Lord of the Worlds,'"
"'So I love that my deeds be raised while I am fasting.'"
And from ‘Abdullah, who said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,"
"Would fast three days from the beginning of every month."
"And he rarely would not fast on Friday."
In this hadith:
That ‘Abdullah—meaning Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him—
Said:
"The Prophet, peace be upon him,"
"Would fast three days from the beginning of every month."
The intent by "the beginning of the month" is its start,
Or he means the "bright days" (al-ayyam al-ghurr),
Meaning the white days (the 13th, 14th, and 15th).
And he, peace be upon him, would fast three days of every month,
From its beginning, or from its middle,
Or from its end,
Together or separately.
And his saying:
"And he rarely would not fast on Friday,"
Meaning that he, peace be upon him,
Would frequently fast on Friday.
This does not mean
That he would single it out for fasting,
Rather, he would fast it joined to what was before it or after it,
As there is a prohibition narrated from him against singling out Friday for fasting.
Or perhaps that was one of his specific characteristics, peace be upon him,
Like the continuous fasting (wisal).
And from Mu‘adhah, who said:
"I said to ‘A’ishah,"
"'Did the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, fast three days of every month?'"
She said, "Yes."
"I said, 'From which part would he fast?'"
She said:
"'He did not care from which part he fasted.'"
In this hadith:
It is left to the servant regarding the three days recommended to be fasted each month,
That he may fast them at the beginning, the middle, or the end.
For this reason, ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
"He did not care from which part he fasted."
And from ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
"The Prophet, peace be upon him, would seek to fast on Mondays and Thursdays."
And from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,
That the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"Deeds are presented on Monday and Thursday,"
"So I love that my deeds be presented while I am fasting."
In the first hadith of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
That the Prophet, peace be upon him, would seek and anticipate fasting on Mondays and Thursdays.
The wisdom in that,
As it came in the second hadith of Abu Hurayrah,
Is that deeds are presented on them to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
So he, peace be upon him, loved that his deeds be presented while he was fasting.
It was also narrated that he, peace be upon him, was asked about fasting on Monday,
And he said, "That is the day I was born."
This is another wisdom for fasting on Monday.
And from ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
"The Prophet, peace be upon him, would fast from the month,"
"Saturday, Sunday, and Monday,"
"And from the other month,"
"Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday."
In this hadith is a clarification that he, peace be upon him,
Would fast three days of every month.
And if these days were, for example, the white days,
Then they differ from one month to another.
In one month, they correspond to Saturday, Sunday, and Monday,
And in another month, they correspond to Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday,
And so on.
'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, reported:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
would not fast more in any month than he did in Sha'ban.
'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, also reported:
'Ashura' was a day that the Quraysh used to fast during the pre-Islamic period.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to fast it as well.
When he arrived in Medina, he continued to fast it and commanded others to do so.
Then, when Ramadan was made obligatory,
Ramadan became the mandatory fast,
and 'Ashura' was left aside;
so whoever wished fasted it, and whoever wished did not.
This hadith indicates
that the Quraysh used to fast the day of 'Ashura' in the pre-Islamic period,
meaning before his mission, peace be upon him.
'Ashura' is the tenth day of the month of Muharram.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
There is no doubt that the Quraysh used to venerate this day,
and they used to cover the Ka'bah on it.
Fasting it was part of their complete veneration of it.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, arrived in Medina,
he found the Jews venerating that day and fasting it.
He asked them about it,
and they said: "It is the day on which Allah saved Moses and his people from Pharaoh."
He, peace be upon him, said:
"We have more right to Moses than you do."
So he fasted it and commanded that it be fasted, confirming its veneration and emphasizing it.
His statement, "Then, when Ramadan was made obligatory,"
meaning Ramadan became the mandatory fast,
and 'Ashura' was left aside,
so whoever wished fasted it, and whoever wished did not,
provides evidence that the fasting of 'Ashura' in the beginning
was a matter of obligation.
Then, when Ramadan was made obligatory,
the fasting of 'Ashura' became recommended, not mandatory.
The Sunnah regarding the fasting of 'Ashura'
is to fast the ninth day along with it, to differ from the Jews,
based on what came in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both,
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"If I remain until next year, I will surely fast the ninth."
It is authentically established regarding the virtue of fasting 'Ashura'
that it expiates the sins of the past year.
'Alqamah reported:
I asked 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
"Did the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
single out any specific days?"
She replied, "His practice was consistent.
And who among you can endure what the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, could endure?"
This hadith is general regarding all acts of worship,
and is not restricted to the chapter of fasting.
Perhaps the author, may Allah have mercy on him,
included it in this chapter to derive benefit from it
regarding the Prophet's, peace be upon him, consistency
in the voluntary fasts he used to observe,
since the practice of the Prophet, peace be upon him, was consistent—
meaning he would persist in it.
Regarding 'Alqamah's question:
"Did the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
single out any specific days?"
meaning with a specific act of worship
that he would not perform on other days.
'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, replied:
"His practice was consistent,"
meaning constant.
"And who among you can endure what the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, could endure?"
meaning, who among you can endure in worship
what he, peace be upon him, could endure,
whether in quantity or quality,
in terms of humility and submissiveness,
and devotion and sincerity?
For Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
had favored His Prophet
with patience, steadfastness, and striving
in a way that no one else could endure.
Thus, he was the most perfect of the servants of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
in servitude to Allah,
in consistency in action,
and in excellence therein.
'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
reported:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, entered upon me
while a woman was with me.
He asked, "Who is this?"
I said, "So-and-so;
she does not sleep at night [due to prayer]."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Take upon yourselves only those deeds that you can endure.
For by Allah, Allah does not grow weary
until you grow weary."
And the most beloved of deeds
to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
were those which the person would perform consistently.
This hadith indicates
that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
entered upon 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
and there was a woman from her people with her
named al-Hawla' bint Tuwayt,
may Allah be pleased with her.
He asked about her,
and she was informed,
and she said,
"She does not sleep at night,"
meaning she stays awake in the worship of Allah the Exalted,
through prayer, dhikr, recitation, and the like.
He, peace be upon him, said:
"Take upon yourselves only those deeds that you can endure,"
meaning: commit only to those deeds that you can perform in quantity and quality,
without harm or hardship.
"For by Allah, Allah does not grow weary until you grow weary,"
meaning: whatever deed you perform,
Allah will reward you for it.
So do as much as you are able,
for Allah does not grow weary of rewarding you
until you grow weary of the deed.
And her statement:
"And the most beloved of deeds to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
were those which the person would perform consistently,"
meaning even if they are few,
for a small, consistent deed
is better than a large, interrupted one.
And because with the consistency of the small,
obedience continues and bears fruit.
Abu Salih reported:
I asked 'A'ishah and Umm Salamah,
"Which deed was most beloved to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him?"
They replied:
"That which is performed consistently, even if it is small."
The hadith has more to follow, if Allah wills.
And Allah knows best.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon all his family and companions.