Sunan Ibn Majah
Fasting
كتاب الصيام
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; Abu Muawiyah and Waki narrated to us, from al-A‘mash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Every deed of the son of Adam is multiplied: a good deed is multiplied tenfold, up to seven hundredfold, and beyond that as Allah wills. Allah says: “Except for fasting, for it is for Me, and I shall reward it. He gives up his desire and his food for My sake.” The fasting person has two joys: a joy when he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. The changed odor from the mouth of the fasting person is more pleasant to Allah than the scent of musk.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source mentions desire and food; no drink is added.
The expression for the fasting person’s mouth-odor is kept close to the Arabic image.
Chapter 1
مَا جَاءَ فِي فَضْلِ الصِّيَامِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Rumh al-Misri informed us; al-Layth ibn Sa‘d informed us, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from Sa‘id ibn Abi Hind, that Mutarrif, from Banu Amir ibn Sa‘sa‘ah, related to him that Uthman ibn Abi al-As al-Thaqafi called for milk to give him to drink. Mutarrif said, ‘I am fasting.’ Uthman said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: “Fasting is a shield against the Fire, like one of your shields against combat.”’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abd al-Rahman ibn Ibrahim al-Dimashqi narrated to us; Ibn Abi Fudayk narrated to us; Hisham ibn Sa‘d narrated to me, from Abu Hazim, from Sahl ibn Sa‘d, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘In Paradise there is a gate called al-Rayyan. On the Day of Resurrection it will be called out: “Where are those who fasted?” Whoever is among those who fasted will enter it, and whoever enters it will never thirst.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The name al-Rayyan is retained in transliteration.
Chapter 2
مَا جَاءَ فِي فَضْلِ شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ
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; Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Sa‘id, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever fasts Ramadan with faith and seeking its reward will be forgiven for his past sins.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
‘Seeking its reward’ renders ihtisaban as seeking reward, without adding a further condition.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Kurayb Muhammad ibn al-Ala narrated to us; Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash narrated to us, from al-A‘mash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘When the first night of Ramadan comes, the devils and the rebellious jinn are shackled, and the gates of the Fire are closed, so not one of its gates is opened. The gates of Paradise are opened, so not one of its gates is closed. A caller calls out: “O seeker of good, come forward! O seeker of evil, desist!” Allah has people whom He frees from the Fire, and that is every night.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The repeated negative clauses are kept explicitly: no gate of the Fire is opened and no gate of Paradise is closed.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Kurayb narrated to us; Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash narrated to us, from al-A‘mash, from Abu Sufyan, from Jabir, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Allah has people whom He frees at every breaking of the fast, and that is every night.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source states both ‘at every breaking of the fast’ and ‘every night’; both are retained.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Badr, Abbad ibn al-Walid, narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Bilal narrated to us; Imran al-Qattan narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: Ramadan began. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘This month has come upon you, and in it is a night better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it has been deprived of all good, and no one is deprived of its good except one who is truly deprived.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says ‘a night’ and does not name it here; the translation leaves it unnamed.
Chapter 3
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِيَامِ يَوْمِ الشَّكِّ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us; Abu Khalid al-Ahmar narrated to us, from Amr ibn Qays, from Abu Ishaq, from Silah ibn Zufar, who said: We were with Ammar on the day of uncertainty. A sheep was brought, and some of the people moved aside. Ammar said, ‘Whoever fasts on this day has disobeyed Abu al-Qasim (peace and blessings be upon him).’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
‘The day of uncertainty’ follows the source’s wording without adding the reason for the uncertainty.
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; Hafs ibn Ghiyath narrated to us, from Abdullah ibn Sa‘id, from his grandfather, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade beginning the fast a day before the sighting.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says ‘the sighting’ without stating its object; none is supplied in the translation.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Abbas ibn al-Walid al-Dimashqi narrated to us; Marwan ibn Muhammad narrated to us; al-Haytham ibn Humayd narrated to us; al-Ala ibn al-Harith narrated to us, from al-Qasim Abu Abd al-Rahman, who heard Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan say from the pulpit: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say from the pulpit before the month of Ramadan: ‘Fasting will be on such-and-such a day, and we are moving ahead. Whoever wishes, let him move ahead, and whoever wishes, let him hold back.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The date and the phrase about moving ahead are left close to the source; no explanation of the timing is added.
عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ يَقُولُ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَقُولُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ قَبْلَ شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ " الصِّيَامُ يَوْمَ كَذَا وَكَذَا وَنَحْنُ مُتَقَدِّمُونَ فَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيَتَقَدَّمْ وَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيَتَأَخَّرْ " .
The sequence الصيام يوم كذا وكذا ونحن متقدمون followed by فليتقدم / فليتأخر is compressed, and the source does not explain what the movement ahead or delay refers to.
Does ‘we are moving ahead; whoever wishes, let him move ahead, and whoever wishes, let him hold back’ preserve the wording without resolving the timing reference?
Chapter 4
مَا جَاءَ فِي وِصَالِ شَعْبَانَ بِرَمَضَانَ
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; Zayd ibn al-Hubab narrated to us, from Shu‘bah, from Mansur, from Salim ibn Abi al-Ja‘d, from Abu Salamah, from Umm Salamah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to join Sha‘ban with Ramadan.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The concise wording ‘join Sha‘ban with Ramadan’ follows the Arabic without specifying how the joining was done.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn Ammar narrated to us; Yahya ibn Hamzah narrated to us; Thawr ibn Yazid narrated to me, from Khalid ibn Ma‘dan, from Rabi‘ah ibn al-Ghaz, who asked Aishah about the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) fasting. She said: He used to fast all of Sha‘ban, joining it to Ramadan.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
‘All of Sha‘ban’ translates kullahu directly; the added participle ‘joining’ reflects the source’s stated relation to Ramadan.
Chapter 5
مَا جَاءَ فِي النَّهْىِ عَنْ أَنْ يَتَقَدَّمَ رَمَضَانَ بِصَوْمٍ إِلاَّ مَنْ صَامَ صَوْمًا فَوَافَقَهُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn Ammar narrated to us; Abd al-Hamid ibn Habib and al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us, from al-Awza‘i, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Do not fast in anticipation of Ramadan by one or two days, except for a man who has an accustomed fast; then let him fast it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The exception is retained as phrased; the source does not specify the particular fast being observed.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Abdah narrated to us, from Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad. A separate route: Hisham ibn Ammar narrated to us; Muslim ibn Khalid said: al-Ala ibn Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When half of Sha‘ban has passed, there is to be no fasting until Ramadan comes.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source’s route-transition marker is reflected by presenting the second transmission route separately.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Amr ibn Abdullah al-Awdi and Muhammad ibn Ismail narrated to us; they said: Abu Usamah narrated to us; Za’idah ibn Qudamah narrated to us; Simak ibn Harb narrated to us, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, who said: A Bedouin came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, ‘I saw the crescent tonight.’ He said, ‘Do you testify that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?’ The man said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Stand, Bilal, and announce to the people that they should fast tomorrow.’
Abu Ali said: ‘This is the narration of al-Walid ibn Abi Thawr and al-Hasan ibn Ali. Hammad ibn Salamah narrated it without mentioning Ibn Abbas, and said: “He called out that they should rise and fast.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The closing statement by Abu Ali is kept separate from the preceding report and translated as a transmission variant.
Chapter 6
مَا جَاءَ فِي الشَّهَادَةِ عَلَى رُؤْيَةِ الْهِلاَلِ
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; Hushaim narrated to us, from Abu Bishr, from Abu Umayr ibn Anas ibn Malik, who said: My paternal uncles, from among the Ansar and the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), told me: ‘The crescent of Shawwal was hidden from us, so we began the morning fasting. A mounted party arrived at the end of the day and testified before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that they had seen the crescent the previous evening. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them to break their fast and to go out for their Eid the following day.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
‘The crescent was hidden from us’ translates the source wording directly; the occasion is not further explained.
Chapter 7
مَا جَاءَ فِي صُومُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ وَأَفْطِرُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Marwan Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Uthmani narrated to us; Ibrahim ibn Sa‘d narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Salim ibn Abdullah, from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When you see the crescent, fast, and when you see it, break your fast. If it is obscured from you, then estimate it.’ Ibn Umar used to fast a day before the crescent.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
‘Estimate it’ renders the source closely without specifying the method or what is being estimated.
The source separately attributes the practice of fasting a day before the crescent to Ibn Umar; it is retained as a distinct statement.
فَإِنْ غُمَّ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْدُرُوا لَهُ " .
The command فاقدروا له says to estimate it, but the object and method of estimation are not made explicit in this wording.
Does ‘estimate it’ preserve the source without supplying an unstated method?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Marwan al-Uthmani narrated to us; Ibrahim ibn Sa‘d narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When you see the crescent, fast, and when you see it, break your fast. If it is obscured from you, then fast thirty days.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Both occurrences of ‘when you see the crescent’ in the source are retained.
Chapter 8
مَا جَاءَ فِي الشَّهْرُ تِسْعٌ وَعِشْرُونَ
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; Abu Muawiyah narrated to us, from al-A‘mash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked, ‘How many days of the month have passed?’ We said, ‘Twenty-two, and eight remain.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A month is like this, a month is like this, a month is like this,’ three times, and once held one back.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final phrase describes holding one back but does not name what was held back; the translation leaves the object unstated.
ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ وَأَمْسَكَ وَاحِدَةً .
After the repeated ‘a month is like this’ phrase, the source says he held one back once but does not state the object in words.
Does ‘once held one back’ adequately preserve the gesture without supplying an unstated object?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Bishr narrated to us, from Isma‘il ibn Abi Khalid, from Muhammad ibn Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A month is like this, and like this, and like this.’ On the third, he indicated twenty-nine.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final clause states the number and its place in the sequence; it does not name the gesture’s object.