Ibn Abbas explained the following Qur'anic verse: "O ye
who believe! fasting is prescribed for you as it was
prescribed for those before you" During the lifetime of
the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him), when the people offered
night prayer, they were asked to abstain from food and
drink and (intercourse with) women, they kept fast till
the next night. A man betrayed himself and had intercourse
with his wife after he had offered the night prayer, and
he did not break his fast. So Allah, the Exalted, intended
to make it (fasting) easy for those who survived, thus
providing a concession and utility. Allah, the Glorified,
said: "Allah knoweth what ye used to do secretly among
yourselves." By this Allah benefited the people and
provided concession and ease to them.
Explaining the verse; "For those who can do it (with
hard-ship) is a ransom, the feeding of one, that is
indigent," he said: This was a concession granted to the
aged man and woman who were able to keep fast; they were
allowed to leave the fast and instead feed an indigent
person for each fast; (and a concession) to pregnant and
suckling woman when they apprehended harm (to themselves).
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The month
consists of twenty-nine days, but do not fast till you
sight it (the moon) and do not break your fast till you
sight it. If the weather is cloudy, calculate it thirty
days. When the twenty-ninth of Sha'ban came, Ibn Umar
would send someone (who tried) to sight the moon for him.
If it was sighted, then well and good; in case it was not
sighted, and there was no cloud and dust before him (on
the horizon), he would not keep fast the next day. If
there appeared (on the horizon) before him cloud or dust,
he would fast the following day. Ibn Umar would end his
fasting alone with the people, and did not follow this
calculation.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The end of
Ramadan is on the day when you end it, and the 'Id
(festival) of sacrifice is on the day when you sacrifice.
The whole of Arafah is the place of staying, and the whole
of Mina is the place of sacrifice, and all the roads of
Mecca are the place of sacrifice, and the whole of
Muzdalifah is the place of staying.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to count
the days in Sha'ban in a manner he did not count any other
month; then he fasted when he sighted the new moon of
Ramadan; but if the weather was cloudy he counted thirty
days and then fasted.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Do not fast (for
Ramadan) before the coming of the month until you sight
the moon or complete the number (of thirty days); then
fast until you sight the moon or complete the number (of
thirty days).
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Do not fast one
day or two days just before Ramadan except in the case of
a man who has been in the habit or observing a fast (on
that day); and do not fast until you sight it (the moon).
Then fast until you sight it. If a cloud appears on that
day (i.e. 29th of Ramadan) then complete the number thirty
(days) and then end the fasting: a month consists of
twenty-nine days.
AbulAzhar al-Mughirah ibn Farwah said: Mu'awiyah stood
among the people at Dayr Mustahill lying at the gate of
Hims. He said: O people, we sighted the moon on
such-and-such day. We shall fast in advance. Anyone who
likes to do so may do it. Malik ibn Hubayrah as-Saba'i
stood up and asked: Mu'awiyah, did you hear the Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say something (about this
matter), or is this something on the basis of your
opinion? He replied: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
as saying: Fast the month (in the beginning) and in the
last.
AbuIshaq reported on the authority of Silah: We were
with Ammar on the day when the appearance of the moon was
doubtful. (The meat of) goat was brought to him. Some
people kept aloof from (eating) it. Ammar said: He who
keeps fast on this day disobeys AbulQasim (i.e. the
Prophet) (peace_be_upon_him).
AbdulAziz ibn Muhammad said: Abbad ibn Kathir came to
Medina and went to the assembly of al-Ala'. He caught hold
of his hand and made him stand and said: O Allah, he
narrates a tradition from his father on the authority of
AbuHurayrah who reported the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
as saying: When the middle of Sha'ban comes, do not fast.
Al-Ala' said: O Allah, my father narrated this tradition
on the authority of AbuHurayrah from the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
Husayn ibn al-Harith al-Jadli from the tribe of Jadilah
Qays said: The governor of Mecca delivered a speech and
said: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) took a
pledge from us that we should perform the rites of hajj
after sighting the moon. If we do not sight it and two
reliable persons bear witness, we should perform the rites
of hajj on the basis of their witness.
I then asked al-Husayn ibn al-Harith: Who was the
governor of Mecca? He replied: I do not know. He then met
me later on and told me: He was al-Harith ibn Hatib,
brother of Muhammad ibn Hatib. The governor then said:
There is among you a man who is more acquainted with Allah
and His Apostle than I. He witnessed this from the Apostle
of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). He then pointed with his
hand to a man. Al-Husayn said: I asked an old man beside
me: Who is that man to whom the governor has alluded?
He said: "This is Abdullah ibn Umar, and he spoke the
truth. He was more acquainted with Allah than he. He
(Abdullah ibn Umar) said: For this is what the Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) commanded us (to do).
A bedouin came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and
said: I have sighted the moon. Al-Hasan added in his
version: that is, of Ramadan. He asked: Do you testify
that there is no god but Allah? He replied: Yes. He again
asked: Do you testify that Muhammad is the Apostle of
Allah? He replied: Yes. and he testified that he had
sighted the moon. He said: Bilal, announce to the people
that they must fast tomorrow.
Once the people doubted the appearance of the moon of
Ramadan, and intended neither to offer the tarawih prayer
nor to keep fast. A bedouin came from al-Harrah and
testified that he had sighted the moon. He was brought to
the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). He asked: Do you testify
that there is no god but Allah, and that I am the Apostle
of Allah? He said: Yes; and he testified that he had
sighted the moon. He commanded Bilal who announced to the
people to offer the tarawih prayer and to keep fast.
The people looked for the moon, so I informed the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) that I had sighted
it. He fasted and commanded the people to fast.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Eat and
drink; let not the white and ascending light prevent you
from (eating and drinking); so eat and drink until the red
light spreads horizontally.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: When any of you
hears the summons to prayer while he has a vessel in his
hand, he should not lay it down till he fulfils his need.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Religion will
continue to prevail as long as people hasten to break the
fast, because the Jews and the Christians delay doing so.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: When one of you
is fasting, he should break his fast with dates; but if he
cannot get any, then (he should break his fast) with
water, for water is purifying.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to break
his fast before praying with some fresh dates; but if
there were no fresh dates, he had a few dry dates, and if
there were no dry dates, he took some mouthfuls of water.
Marwan ibn Salim al-Muqaffa' said: I saw Ibn Umar
holding his bread with his hand and cutting what exceeded
the handful of it. He (Ibn Umar) told that the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
said when he broke his fast: Thirst has gone, the arteries
are moist, and the reward is sure, if Allah wills.
The Prophet of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to say
when he broke his fast: O Allah, for Thee I have fasted,
and with Thy provision I have broken my fast.
I have seen the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
using a tooth-stick while he was fasting. Musaddad added
in his version: "more often than I could count."
AbuBakr ibn AbdurRahman reported on the authority of a
Companion of the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him): I saw the
Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) commanding the people while he
was travelling on the occasion of the conquest of Mecca
not to observe fast. He said: Be strong for your enemy.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) fasted himself.
A man who narrated his tradition to me said: I have
seen the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) in al-Arj
pouring water over his head while he was fasting, either
because of thirst or because of heat.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A man who cupped
and a man who has himself cupped broke their fast. The
narrator Shayban said in his version: AbuQilabah told me
that AbuAsma' ar-Rahbi told him that Thawban, the client
of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), told him that
he heard the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) say this.
The tradition mentioned above (No. 2361) has also been
transmitted by Shaddad ibn Aws through a different chain
of narrators.
This version adds: While Shaddad ibn Aws was walking
along with the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)....The narrator
then transmitted the rest of the tradition to the same
effect.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: if one has a
sudden attack of vomiting while one is fasting, no
atonement is required of him, but if he vomits
intentionally he must make atonement.
I became gay and happy, so I kissed while I was
fasting, I then said: Apostle of Allah, I have done a big
deed; I kissed while I was fasting. He said: What do you
think if you rinse your mouth with water while you are
fasting. The narrator Isa ibn Hammad said in his version:
I said to him: There is no harm in it. Then both of them
agreed on the version: He said: Then what?
A man asked the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) whether one
who was fasting could embrace (his wife) and he gave him
permission; but when another man came to him, and asked
him, he forbade him. The one to whom he gave permission
was an old man and the one whom he forbade was a youth.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone breaks
his fast one day in Ramadan without a concession granted
to him by Allah, a perpetual fast will not atone for it.
A man from Banu Abdullah ibn Ka'b brethren of Banu
Qushayr (not Anas ibn Malik, the well-known Companion),
said: A contingent from the cavalry of the Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) raided us. I reached (for he
said went) to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) who
was taking his meals. He said: Sit down, and take some
from this meal of ours. I said: I am fasting, he said: Sit
down, I shall tell you about prayer and fasting. Allah has
remitted half the prayer to a traveller, and fasting to
the traveller, the woman who is suckling an infant and the
woman who is pregnant, I swear by Allah, he mentioned both
(i.e. suckling and pregnant women) or one of them. I was
grieved for not taking the food of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him).
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: If
anyone has a riding beast which carries him to where he
can get sufficient food, he should keep the fast of
Ramadan wherever he is when it comes.
Ja'far ibn Jubayr said: I accompanied AbuBusrah al-Ghifari,
a Companion of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him),
in a boat proceeding from al-Fustat (Cairo) during
Ramadan. He was lifted (to the boat), then his meal was
brought to him. The narrator Ja'far said in his version:
He did not go beyond the houses (of the city) but he
called for the dining sheet. He said (to me): Come near. I
said: Do you not see the houses? AbuBusrah said: Do you
detest the sunnah (practice) of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)?
The narrator Ja'far said in his version: He then ate (it).
Mansur al-Kalbi said: Dihyah ibn Khalifah once went out
from a village of Damascus at as much distance as it
measures between Aqabah and al-Fustat during Ramadan; and
that is three miles. He then broke his fast and the people
broke their fast along with him. But some of them disliked
to break their fast. When he came back to his village, he
said: I swear by Allah, today I witnessed a thing of which
I could not even think to see. The people detested the way
of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and his
Companions. He said this to those who fasted. At this
moment he said: O Allah, make me die.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: One of you should
not say: I fasted the whole of Ramadan, and I prayed
during the night in the whole of Ramadan. I do not know
whether he disliked the purification; or he (the narrator)
said: He must have slept a little and taken rest.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The day of Arafah,
the day of sacrifice, the days of tashriq are (the days
of) our festival, O people of Islam. These are the days of
eating and drinking.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Do not fast on
Saturday except what has been made obligatory on you; and
if one of you can get nothing but a grape skin or a piece
of wood from a tree, he should chew it.
A man came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said:
How do you fast, Apostle of Allah? The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
became angry at what he said.
When Umar observed this (his anger), he said: We are
satisfied with Allah as Lord, with Islam as religion, and
with Muhammad as Prophet. We seek refuge in Allah from the
anger of Allah, and from the anger of His Apostle. Umar
continued to repeat these words till his anger cooled
down. He then asked: Apostle of Allah, what is the
position of one who observes a perpetual fast?
He replied: May he not fast or break his fast. Musaddad
said in his version: He has neither fasted nor broken his
fast. The narrator, Ghaylan, doubted the actual wordings.
He asked: What is the position of one who fasts two
days and does not fast one day?
He said: Is anyone able to do that? He asked: What is
the position of one who fasts every second day (i.e. fasts
one day and does not fasts the next day)?
He (the Prophet) said: This is the fast that David
observed.
He asked: Apostle of Allah, what is the position of one
who fasts one day and breaks it for two days? He replied:
I wish I were given the power to observe that. Then the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: The observance
of three days' fast every month and of one Ramadan to the
other (i.e. the fast of Ramadan every year) is (equivalent
to) a perpetual fast. I seek from Allah that fasting on
the day of Arafah may atone for the sins of the preceding
and the coming year, and I seek from Allah that fasting on
the day of Ashura' may atone for the sins of the preceding
year.
Narrated Abdullah ibn al-Harith ; or Uncle of Mujibah
al-Bahiliyyah:
The father or Uncle of Mujibah al-Bahiliyyah visited
the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). He then went
away and came to him (again) after one year when his
condition and appearance had changed.
He said: Apostle of Allah, do you not recognize me? He
asked: Who are you? He replied: I am al-Bahili who came to
you last year. He said: What has changed you? You were
looking well, then you were good in appearance? He said: I
have only food at night since I departed from you.
Thereupon the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
said: Why did you torment yourself? Fast during Ramadan
(the month of patience) and fast for one day every month.
He said: Increase it for me, for I have (more) strength.
He said: Fast two days. He again said: Increase it for me.
He said: Fast three days. He again said: Increase it for
me. He said: Fast during the inviolable months and then
stop; fast during the inviolable months and then stop;
fast during the inviolable months and then stop. He
indicated by his three fingers, and joined them and then
opened them.
I asked or someone asked the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) about perpetual fasting. He replied:
You have a duty to your family. Fast during Ramadan and
the following month, and every Wednesday and Thursday. You
will then have observed a perpetual fast.
The client of Usamah ibn Zayd said that he went along
with Usamah to Wadi al-Qura in pursuit of his camels. He
would fast on Monday and Thursday. His client said to him:
Why do you fast on Monday and Thursday, while you are an
old man? He said: The Prophet of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
used to fast on Monday and Thursday. When he was asked
about it, he said: The works of the servants (of Allah)
are presented (to Allah) on Monday and Thursday.
Hunaydah ibn Khalid narrated from his wife on the
authority of one of the wives of the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) who said: The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) used to fast the first nine days of
Dhul-Hijjah, Ashura' and three days of every month, that
is, the first Monday (of the month) and Thursday.
Ikrimah said: We were with AbuHurayrah in his house
when he narrated to us: The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) prohibited fasting on the day of
Arafah at Arafah.
AbdurRahman reported on the authority of his uncle that
the people of the tribe Aslam came to the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him). He said (to them): Did you fast on
this day? They replied: No. He said: Complete the rest of
your day, and make atonement for it.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to
command us to fast the days of the white (nights):
thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth of the month. He
said: This is like keeping perpetual fast.
Hunaydah al-Khuza'i reported on the authority of her
mother who said: I entered upon Umm Salamah and asked her
about fasting. She said: The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) used to command me to fast three days
every month beginning with Monday or Thursday.
According to the version of an-Nufayli, Aisha said: The
Property (peace_be_upon_him) used to pass by a patient
while he was observing i'tikaf (in the mosque), but he
passed as usual, and did not stay asking about him.
According to the version of Ibn Isa she said: The Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) would visit a patient while he was
observing i'tikaf.
On the days of the conquest of Mecca, when Mecca was
captured, Fatimah came and sat on the left side of the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), and Umm Hani was on
his right side. A slave-girl brought a vessel which
contained some drink; she gave it to him and he drank of
it. He then gave it to Umm Hani who drank of it. She said:
Apostle of Allah, I have broken my fast; I was fasting. He
said to her: Were you making atonement for something? She
replied: No. He said: Then it does not harm you if it was
voluntary (fast).
Some food was presented to me and Hafsah. We were
fasting, but broke our fast. Then the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) entered upon us. We said to him: A
gift was presented to us; we coveted it and we broke our
fast. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: There
is no harm to you; keep a fast another day in lieu of it.
A woman came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) while
we were with him.
She said: Apostle of Allah, my husband, Safwan ibn
al-Mu'attal, beats me when I pray, and makes me break my
fast when I keep a fast, and he does not offer the dawn
prayer until the sun rises.
He asked Safwan, who was present, about what she had
said. He replied: Apostle of Allah, as for her statement
"he beats me when I pray", she recites two surahs (during
prayer) and I have prohibited her (to do so).
He (the Prophet) said: If one surah is recited (during
prayer), that is sufficient for the people.
(Safwan continued:) As regards her saying "he makes me
break my fast," she dotes on fasting; I am a young man, I
cannot restrain myself.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said on that
day: A woman should not fast except with the permission of
her husband.
(Safwan said:) As for her statement that I do not pray
until the sun rises, we are a people belonging to a class,
and that (our profession of supplying water) is already
known about us. We do not awake until the sun rises. He
said: When you awake, offer your prayer.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) used to observe i'tikaf
during the last ten days of Ramadan. One year he did not
observe i'tikaf. When the next year came, he observed
i'tikaf for twenty nights (i.e. days).
The sunnah for one who is observing i'tikaf (in a
mosque) is not to visit a patient, or to attend a funeral,
or touch or embrace one's wife, or go out for anything but
necessary purposes. There is no i'tikaf without fasting,
and there is no i'tikaf except in a congregational mosque.
Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) took a vow in the
pre-Islamic days to spend a night or a day in devotion
near the Ka'bah (in the sacred mosque). He asked the
Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) about it. He said: Observe
i'tikaf (i.e. spend a night or a day near the Ka'bah) and
fast.
The tradition mentioned above (No. 2468) has also been
transmitted by Abdullah ibn Budayl through a different
chain of narrators in a similar way.
This version adds: While he (Umar) was observing
i'tikaf (in the sacred mosque), the people uttered
(loudly): "Allah is most great." He said: What is this,
Abdullah? He said: These are the captives of the Hawazin
whom the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) has set
free. He said: This slave-girl too? He sent her along with
them.
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas:
Ibn Abbas explained the following Qur'anic verse: "O
ye who believe! fasting is prescribed for you as it was
prescribed for those before you" During the lifetime of
the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him), when the people offered
night prayer, they were asked to abstain from food and
drink and (intercourse with) women, they kept fast till
the next night. A man betrayed himself and had
intercourse with his wife after he had offered the night
prayer, and he did not break his fast. So Allah, the
Exalted, intended to make it (fasting) easy for those
who survived, thus providing a concession and utility.
Allah, the Glorified, said: "Allah knoweth what ye used
to do secretly among yourselves." By this Allah
benefited the people and provided concession and ease to
them.
Explaining the verse; "For those who can do it (with
hard-ship) is a ransom, the feeding of one, that is
indigent," he said: This was a concession granted to the
aged man and woman who were able to keep fast; they were
allowed to leave the fast and instead feed an indigent
person for each fast; (and a concession) to pregnant and
suckling woman when they apprehended harm (to
themselves).
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The month
consists of twenty-nine days, but do not fast till you
sight it (the moon) and do not break your fast till you
sight it. If the weather is cloudy, calculate it thirty
days. When the twenty-ninth of Sha'ban came, Ibn Umar
would send someone (who tried) to sight the moon for
him. If it was sighted, then well and good; in case it
was not sighted, and there was no cloud and dust before
him (on the horizon), he would not keep fast the next
day. If there appeared (on the horizon) before him cloud
or dust, he would fast the following day. Ibn Umar would
end his fasting alone with the people, and did not
follow this calculation.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The end of
Ramadan is on the day when you end it, and the 'Id
(festival) of sacrifice is on the day when you
sacrifice. The whole of Arafah is the place of staying,
and the whole of Mina is the place of sacrifice, and all
the roads of Mecca are the place of sacrifice, and the
whole of Muzdalifah is the place of staying.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to
count the days in Sha'ban in a manner he did not count
any other month; then he fasted when he sighted the new
moon of Ramadan; but if the weather was cloudy he
counted thirty days and then fasted.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Do not fast
(for Ramadan) before the coming of the month until you
sight the moon or complete the number (of thirty days);
then fast until you sight the moon or complete the
number (of thirty days).
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Do not fast one
day or two days just before Ramadan except in the case
of a man who has been in the habit or observing a fast
(on that day); and do not fast until you sight it (the
moon). Then fast until you sight it. If a cloud appears
on that day (i.e. 29th of Ramadan) then complete the
number thirty (days) and then end the fasting: a month
consists of twenty-nine days.
AbulAzhar al-Mughirah ibn Farwah said: Mu'awiyah
stood among the people at Dayr Mustahill lying at the
gate of Hims. He said: O people, we sighted the moon on
such-and-such day. We shall fast in advance. Anyone who
likes to do so may do it. Malik ibn Hubayrah as-Saba'i
stood up and asked: Mu'awiyah, did you hear the Apostle
of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say something (about this
matter), or is this something on the basis of your
opinion? He replied: I heard the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) as saying: Fast the month (in the
beginning) and in the last.
AbuIshaq reported on the authority of Silah: We were
with Ammar on the day when the appearance of the moon
was doubtful. (The meat of) goat was brought to him.
Some people kept aloof from (eating) it. Ammar said: He
who keeps fast on this day disobeys AbulQasim (i.e. the
Prophet) (peace_be_upon_him).
AbdulAziz ibn Muhammad said: Abbad ibn Kathir came to
Medina and went to the assembly of al-Ala'. He caught
hold of his hand and made him stand and said: O Allah,
he narrates a tradition from his father on the authority
of AbuHurayrah who reported the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) as saying: When the middle of
Sha'ban comes, do not fast. Al-Ala' said: O Allah, my
father narrated this tradition on the authority of
AbuHurayrah from the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
Husayn ibn al-Harith al-Jadli from the tribe of
Jadilah Qays said: The governor of Mecca delivered a
speech and said: The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) took a pledge from us that we should
perform the rites of hajj after sighting the moon. If we
do not sight it and two reliable persons bear witness,
we should perform the rites of hajj on the basis of
their witness.
I then asked al-Husayn ibn al-Harith: Who was the
governor of Mecca? He replied: I do not know. He then
met me later on and told me: He was al-Harith ibn Hatib,
brother of Muhammad ibn Hatib. The governor then said:
There is among you a man who is more acquainted with
Allah and His Apostle than I. He witnessed this from the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). He then pointed
with his hand to a man. Al-Husayn said: I asked an old
man beside me: Who is that man to whom the governor has
alluded?
He said: "This is Abdullah ibn Umar, and he spoke the
truth. He was more acquainted with Allah than he. He
(Abdullah ibn Umar) said: For this is what the Apostle
of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) commanded us (to do).
A bedouin came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and
said: I have sighted the moon. Al-Hasan added in his
version: that is, of Ramadan. He asked: Do you testify
that there is no god but Allah? He replied: Yes. He
again asked: Do you testify that Muhammad is the Apostle
of Allah? He replied: Yes. and he testified that he had
sighted the moon. He said: Bilal, announce to the people
that they must fast tomorrow.
Once the people doubted the appearance of the moon of
Ramadan, and intended neither to offer the tarawih
prayer nor to keep fast. A bedouin came from al-Harrah
and testified that he had sighted the moon. He was
brought to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). He asked: Do
you testify that there is no god but Allah, and that I
am the Apostle of Allah? He said: Yes; and he testified
that he had sighted the moon. He commanded Bilal who
announced to the people to offer the tarawih prayer and
to keep fast.
The people looked for the moon, so I informed the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) that I had sighted
it. He fasted and commanded the people to fast.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Eat
and drink; let not the white and ascending light prevent
you from (eating and drinking); so eat and drink until
the red light spreads horizontally.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: When any of you
hears the summons to prayer while he has a vessel in his
hand, he should not lay it down till he fulfils his
need.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Religion will
continue to prevail as long as people hasten to break
the fast, because the Jews and the Christians delay
doing so.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: When one of you
is fasting, he should break his fast with dates; but if
he cannot get any, then (he should break his fast) with
water, for water is purifying.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to
break his fast before praying with some fresh dates; but
if there were no fresh dates, he had a few dry dates,
and if there were no dry dates, he took some mouthfuls
of water.
Marwan ibn Salim al-Muqaffa' said: I saw Ibn Umar
holding his bread with his hand and cutting what
exceeded the handful of it. He (Ibn Umar) told that the
Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said when he broke his fast:
Thirst has gone, the arteries are moist, and the reward
is sure, if Allah wills.
The Prophet of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to say
when he broke his fast: O Allah, for Thee I have fasted,
and with Thy provision I have broken my fast.
I have seen the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
using a tooth-stick while he was fasting. Musaddad added
in his version: "more often than I could count."
AbuBakr ibn AbdurRahman reported on the authority of
a Companion of the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him): I saw
the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) commanding the people
while he was travelling on the occasion of the conquest
of Mecca not to observe fast. He said: Be strong for
your enemy. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
fasted himself.
A man who narrated his tradition to me said: I have
seen the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) in al-Arj
pouring water over his head while he was fasting, either
because of thirst or because of heat.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A man who
cupped and a man who has himself cupped broke their
fast. The narrator Shayban said in his version:
AbuQilabah told me that AbuAsma' ar-Rahbi told him that
Thawban, the client of the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him), told him that he heard the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) say this.
The tradition mentioned above (No. 2361) has also
been transmitted by Shaddad ibn Aws through a different
chain of narrators.
This version adds: While Shaddad ibn Aws was walking
along with the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)....The
narrator then transmitted the rest of the tradition to
the same effect.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: if one has a
sudden attack of vomiting while one is fasting, no
atonement is required of him, but if he vomits
intentionally he must make atonement.
I became gay and happy, so I kissed while I was
fasting, I then said: Apostle of Allah, I have done a
big deed; I kissed while I was fasting. He said: What do
you think if you rinse your mouth with water while you
are fasting. The narrator Isa ibn Hammad said in his
version: I said to him: There is no harm in it. Then
both of them agreed on the version: He said: Then what?
A man asked the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) whether
one who was fasting could embrace (his wife) and he gave
him permission; but when another man came to him, and
asked him, he forbade him. The one to whom he gave
permission was an old man and the one whom he forbade
was a youth.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone
breaks his fast one day in Ramadan without a concession
granted to him by Allah, a perpetual fast will not atone
for it.
A man from Banu Abdullah ibn Ka'b brethren of Banu
Qushayr (not Anas ibn Malik, the well-known Companion),
said: A contingent from the cavalry of the Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) raided us. I reached (for he
said went) to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
who was taking his meals. He said: Sit down, and take
some from this meal of ours. I said: I am fasting, he
said: Sit down, I shall tell you about prayer and
fasting. Allah has remitted half the prayer to a
traveller, and fasting to the traveller, the woman who
is suckling an infant and the woman who is pregnant, I
swear by Allah, he mentioned both (i.e. suckling and
pregnant women) or one of them. I was grieved for not
taking the food of the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him).
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: If
anyone has a riding beast which carries him to where he
can get sufficient food, he should keep the fast of
Ramadan wherever he is when it comes.
Ja'far ibn Jubayr said: I accompanied AbuBusrah
al-Ghifari, a Companion of the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him), in a boat proceeding from al-Fustat
(Cairo) during Ramadan. He was lifted (to the boat),
then his meal was brought to him. The narrator Ja'far
said in his version: He did not go beyond the houses (of
the city) but he called for the dining sheet. He said
(to me): Come near. I said: Do you not see the houses?
AbuBusrah said: Do you detest the sunnah (practice) of
the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)? The narrator
Ja'far said in his version: He then ate (it).
Mansur al-Kalbi said: Dihyah ibn Khalifah once went
out from a village of Damascus at as much distance as it
measures between Aqabah and al-Fustat during Ramadan;
and that is three miles. He then broke his fast and the
people broke their fast along with him. But some of them
disliked to break their fast. When he came back to his
village, he said: I swear by Allah, today I witnessed a
thing of which I could not even think to see. The people
detested the way of the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) and his Companions. He said this to
those who fasted. At this moment he said: O Allah, make
me die.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: One of you
should not say: I fasted the whole of Ramadan, and I
prayed during the night in the whole of Ramadan. I do
not know whether he disliked the purification; or he
(the narrator) said: He must have slept a little and
taken rest.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The day of
Arafah, the day of sacrifice, the days of tashriq are
(the days of) our festival, O people of Islam. These are
the days of eating and drinking.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Do not fast on
Saturday except what has been made obligatory on you;
and if one of you can get nothing but a grape skin or a
piece of wood from a tree, he should chew it.
A man came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and
said: How do you fast, Apostle of Allah? The Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) became angry at what he said.
When Umar observed this (his anger), he said: We are
satisfied with Allah as Lord, with Islam as religion,
and with Muhammad as Prophet. We seek refuge in Allah
from the anger of Allah, and from the anger of His
Apostle. Umar continued to repeat these words till his
anger cooled down. He then asked: Apostle of Allah, what
is the position of one who observes a perpetual fast?
He replied: May he not fast or break his fast.
Musaddad said in his version: He has neither fasted nor
broken his fast. The narrator, Ghaylan, doubted the
actual wordings.
He asked: What is the position of one who fasts two
days and does not fast one day?
He said: Is anyone able to do that? He asked: What is
the position of one who fasts every second day (i.e.
fasts one day and does not fasts the next day)?
He (the Prophet) said: This is the fast that David
observed.
He asked: Apostle of Allah, what is the position of
one who fasts one day and breaks it for two days? He
replied: I wish I were given the power to observe that.
Then the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: The
observance of three days' fast every month and of one
Ramadan to the other (i.e. the fast of Ramadan every
year) is (equivalent to) a perpetual fast. I seek from
Allah that fasting on the day of Arafah may atone for
the sins of the preceding and the coming year, and I
seek from Allah that fasting on the day of Ashura' may
atone for the sins of the preceding year.
Narrated Abdullah ibn al-Harith ; or Uncle of Mujibah
al-Bahiliyyah:
The father or Uncle of Mujibah al-Bahiliyyah visited
the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). He then went
away and came to him (again) after one year when his
condition and appearance had changed.
He said: Apostle of Allah, do you not recognize me?
He asked: Who are you? He replied: I am al-Bahili who
came to you last year. He said: What has changed you?
You were looking well, then you were good in appearance?
He said: I have only food at night since I departed from
you.
Thereupon the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
said: Why did you torment yourself? Fast during Ramadan
(the month of patience) and fast for one day every
month. He said: Increase it for me, for I have (more)
strength. He said: Fast two days. He again said:
Increase it for me. He said: Fast three days. He again
said: Increase it for me. He said: Fast during the
inviolable months and then stop; fast during the
inviolable months and then stop; fast during the
inviolable months and then stop. He indicated by his
three fingers, and joined them and then opened them.
I asked or someone asked the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) about perpetual fasting. He replied:
You have a duty to your family. Fast during Ramadan and
the following month, and every Wednesday and Thursday.
You will then have observed a perpetual fast.
The client of Usamah ibn Zayd said that he went along
with Usamah to Wadi al-Qura in pursuit of his camels. He
would fast on Monday and Thursday. His client said to
him: Why do you fast on Monday and Thursday, while you
are an old man? He said: The Prophet of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) used to fast on Monday and Thursday.
When he was asked about it, he said: The works of the
servants (of Allah) are presented (to Allah) on Monday
and Thursday.
Hunaydah ibn Khalid narrated from his wife on the
authority of one of the wives of the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) who said: The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) used to fast the first nine days of
Dhul-Hijjah, Ashura' and three days of every month, that
is, the first Monday (of the month) and Thursday.
Ikrimah said: We were with AbuHurayrah in his house
when he narrated to us: The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) prohibited fasting on the day of
Arafah at Arafah.
AbdurRahman reported on the authority of his uncle
that the people of the tribe Aslam came to the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him). He said (to them): Did you fast on
this day? They replied: No. He said: Complete the rest
of your day, and make atonement for it.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to
command us to fast the days of the white (nights):
thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth of the month. He
said: This is like keeping perpetual fast.
Hunaydah al-Khuza'i reported on the authority of her
mother who said: I entered upon Umm Salamah and asked
her about fasting. She said: The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) used to command me to fast three
days every month beginning with Monday or Thursday.
According to the version of an-Nufayli, Aisha said:
The Property (peace_be_upon_him) used to pass by a
patient while he was observing i'tikaf (in the mosque),
but he passed as usual, and did not stay asking about
him. According to the version of Ibn Isa she said: The
Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) would visit a patient while
he was observing i'tikaf.
On the days of the conquest of Mecca, when Mecca was
captured, Fatimah came and sat on the left side of the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), and Umm Hani was
on his right side. A slave-girl brought a vessel which
contained some drink; she gave it to him and he drank of
it. He then gave it to Umm Hani who drank of it. She
said: Apostle of Allah, I have broken my fast; I was
fasting. He said to her: Were you making atonement for
something? She replied: No. He said: Then it does not
harm you if it was voluntary (fast).
Some food was presented to me and Hafsah. We were
fasting, but broke our fast. Then the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) entered upon us. We said to him: A
gift was presented to us; we coveted it and we broke our
fast. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said:
There is no harm to you; keep a fast another day in lieu
of it.
A woman came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) while
we were with him.
She said: Apostle of Allah, my husband, Safwan ibn
al-Mu'attal, beats me when I pray, and makes me break my
fast when I keep a fast, and he does not offer the dawn
prayer until the sun rises.
He asked Safwan, who was present, about what she had
said. He replied: Apostle of Allah, as for her statement
"he beats me when I pray", she recites two surahs
(during prayer) and I have prohibited her (to do so).
He (the Prophet) said: If one surah is recited
(during prayer), that is sufficient for the people.
(Safwan continued:) As regards her saying "he makes
me break my fast," she dotes on fasting; I am a young
man, I cannot restrain myself.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said on that
day: A woman should not fast except with the permission
of her husband.
(Safwan said:) As for her statement that I do not
pray until the sun rises, we are a people belonging to a
class, and that (our profession of supplying water) is
already known about us. We do not awake until the sun
rises. He said: When you awake, offer your prayer.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) used to observe
i'tikaf during the last ten days of Ramadan. One year he
did not observe i'tikaf. When the next year came, he
observed i'tikaf for twenty nights (i.e. days).
The sunnah for one who is observing i'tikaf (in a
mosque) is not to visit a patient, or to attend a
funeral, or touch or embrace one's wife, or go out for
anything but necessary purposes. There is no i'tikaf
without fasting, and there is no i'tikaf except in a
congregational mosque.
Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) took a vow in
the pre-Islamic days to spend a night or a day in
devotion near the Ka'bah (in the sacred mosque). He
asked the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) about it. He said:
Observe i'tikaf (i.e. spend a night or a day near the
Ka'bah) and fast.
The tradition mentioned above (No. 2468) has also
been transmitted by Abdullah ibn Budayl through a
different chain of narrators in a similar way.
This version adds: While he (Umar) was observing
i'tikaf (in the sacred mosque), the people uttered
(loudly): "Allah is most great." He said: What is this,
Abdullah? He said: These are the captives of the Hawazin
whom the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) has set
free. He said: This slave-girl too? He sent her along
with them.
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