Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 1710
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي لَبِيدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ عَائِشَةَ عَنْ صِيَامِ النَّبِيِّ، ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَتْ: كَانَ يَصُومُ حَتَّى نَقُولَ قَدْ صَامَ . وَيُفْطِرُ حَتَّى نَقُولَ: قَدْ أَفْطَرَ. وَلَمْ أَرَهُ صَامَ مِنْ شَهْرٍ قَطُّ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ صِيَامِهِ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ. كَانَ يَصُومُ شَعْبَانَ كُلَّهُ. كَانَ يَصُومُ شَعْبَانَ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Sufyan ibn Uyaynah narrated to us, from Ibn Abi Labid, from Abu Salamah, who said: I asked Aishah about the fasting of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: ‘He would fast until we said, “He has fasted,” and he would abstain from fasting until we said, “He has abstained.” I never saw him fast more in any month than he fasted in Sha‘ban. He would fast all of Sha‘ban. He would fast Sha‘ban except for a little.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives both ‘all of Sha‘ban’ and ‘Sha‘ban except for a little’ in sequence. Both are retained without reconciling them.
كَانَ يَصُومُ شَعْبَانَ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً .
This statement that he fasted Sha‘ban except for a little follows immediately after the source says he fasted all of Sha‘ban; the relation between the two formulations is not explained.
Should these be treated as two transmitted formulations or as a tension within the source wording?