Sunan Ibn Majah
Fasting
كتاب الصيام
Chapter 24
مَا جَاءَ فِي تَعْجِيلِ الإِفْطَارِ
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 Bishr narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Amr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘People will continue to be in a good state so long as they hasten the breaking of the fast. Hasten the breaking of the fast, for the Jews delay it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The second sentence repeats the command to hasten, as in the Arabic.
Chapter 25
مَا جَاءَ عَلَى مَا يُسْتَحَبُّ الْفِطْرُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Abd al-Rahim ibn Sulayman and Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us. In another route, Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us. From Asim al-Ahwal, from Hafsah bint Sirin, from al-Rabab Umm al-Ra’ih bint Sulay‘, from her paternal uncle Salman ibn Amir, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When one of you breaks his fast, let him break it with a date. If he does not find one, let him break it with water, for it is purifying.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source’s two transmission routes are presented separately before the shared continuation of the chain.
‘Purifying’ translates the source description of water as tahur.
Chapter 26
مَا جَاءَ فِي فَرْضِ الصَّوْمِ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ وَالْخِيَارِ فِي الصَّوْمِ
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; Khalid ibn Makhlad al-Qatwani narrated to us, from Ishaq ibn Hazim, from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Amr ibn Hazm, from Salim, from Ibn Umar, from Hafsah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘There is no fast for one who does not form the intention for it during the night.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
‘Form the intention’ conveys the source verb for undertaking or determining the fast during the night.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ismail ibn Musa narrated to us; Sharik narrated to us, from Talhah ibn Yahya, from Mujahid, from Aishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me and asked, ‘Do you have anything?’ We would say, ‘No.’ He would say, ‘Then I am fasting,’ and continue his fast. Then something would be given to us, and he would break his fast. She said: ‘Sometimes he would fast and break his fast.’ I asked, ‘How is that?’ She said: ‘The example of this is like that of someone who goes out with charity, gives some of it, and keeps some.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The closing comparison is translated as stated; its analogy is not expanded beyond the source wording.
Chapter 27
مَا جَاءَ فِي الرَّجُلِ يُصْبِحُ جُنُبًا وَهُوَ يُرِيدُ الصِّيَامَ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah narrated to us; they said: Sufyan ibn Uyaynah narrated to us, from Amr ibn Dinar, from Yahya ibn Ja‘dah, from Abdullah ibn Amr al-Qari, who said: I heard Abu Hurayrah say: ‘No—by the Lord of the Ka‘bah, I did not say, “Whoever wakes up in a state of major ritual impurity, let him break his fast.” Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Junub is rendered as ‘a state of major ritual impurity’; the source quotation’s command to break the fast is preserved as stated.
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 Mutarrif, from al-Sha‘bi, from Masruq, from Aishah, who said: ‘The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would spend the night in a state of major ritual impurity. Bilal would come and inform him of the prayer, so he would get up and perform ghusl. I would see water running down from his head. Then he would go out, and I would hear his voice during the dawn prayer.’ Mutarrif said: ‘I asked Amir, “Was this in Ramadan?” He said, “Ramadan and other than it are the same.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The later question from Mutarrif to Amir is kept distinct from Aishah’s report.
The source says Bilal informed him of the prayer; it does not specify the manner of notification here.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us, from Ubaydullah, from Nafi‘, who said: I asked Umm Salamah about a man who wakes up in a state of major ritual impurity while intending to fast. She said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would wake up in a state of major ritual impurity from intercourse, not from a wet dream. Then he would perform ghusl and complete his fast.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source explicitly contrasts impurity resulting from intercourse with that resulting from a wet dream; both are kept in the translation.
Chapter 28
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِيَامِ الدَّهْرِ
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; Ubayd ibn Sa‘id narrated to us. In another route, Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us; Yazid ibn Harun and Abu Dawud said: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Mutarrif ibn Abdullah ibn al-Shikhkhir, from his father, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever fasts forever has neither fasted nor broken his fast.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The route marker is retained; the source gives Ubayd ibn Sa‘id in one route and separately names the transmission through Shu‘bah.
The concise phrase about fasting forever is rendered literally, without expanding its implication.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Waki narrated to us, from Mis‘ar and Sufyan, from Habib ibn Abi Thabit, from Abu al-Abbas al-Makki, from Abdullah ibn Amr, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘He has not fasted who fasts forever.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source’s emphatic negative construction is retained without explanation.
Chapter 29
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِيَامِ ثَلاَثَةِ أَيَّامٍ مِنْ كُلِّ شَهْرٍ
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; Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us; Shu‘bah informed us, from Anas ibn Sirin, from Abd al-Malik ibn al-Minhal, from his father, from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that he used to command fasting the white days: the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth. He would say: ‘It is like fasting for all time—or like the manner of fasting for all time.’
Ishaq ibn Mansur informed us; Habban ibn Hilal informed us; Hammam narrated to us, from Anas ibn Sirin, from Abd al-Malik ibn Qatadah ibn Milhan al-Qaysi, from his father, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), with a similar report.
Ibn Majah said: ‘Shu‘bah was mistaken, and Hammam was correct.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The two routes and their differing names for Abd al-Malik are kept separate; Ibn Majah’s correction is retained as a separate source statement.
The alternative comparison—‘like fasting for all time’ or ‘like the manner of fasting for all time’—is preserved.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sahl ibn Abi Sahl narrated to us; Abu Muawiyah narrated to us, from Asim al-Ahwal, from Abu Uthman, from Abu Dharr, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever fasts three days of every month, that is the fast of a lifetime.’ Allah, Mighty and Majestic, sent down confirmation of that in His Book: ‘Whoever comes with a good deed will have ten like it.’ A day is counted as ten days.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Qur’anic wording is translated from the Arabic quoted in this source, and the following explanation about a day counting as ten days is retained.
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; Ghundar narrated to us, from Shu‘bah, from Yazid al-Rishk, from Mu‘adhah al-Adawiyyah, from Aishah, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to fast three days of every month.’ I asked her, ‘Which of them?’ She said: ‘He did not mind which of them they were.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The question ‘Which of them?’ refers back to the days in the month and is kept without naming specific dates.
Chapter 30
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِيَامِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ
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?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Ja‘far narrated to us; Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Abu Bishr, from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would fast until we said, ‘He will not break his fast,’ and he would refrain from fasting until we said, ‘He will not fast.’ He did not fast a whole month continuously except Ramadan, from the time he came to Medina.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source’s two contrasting observations about fasting and not fasting are retained in their original sequence.
Chapter 31
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِيَامِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Ishaq al-Shafi‘i, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn al-Abbas, narrated to us; Sufyan ibn Uyaynah narrated to us, from Amr ibn Dinar, who said: I heard Amr ibn Aws say: I heard Abdullah ibn Amr say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The fasting most beloved to Allah is the fasting of David: he would fast one day and not fast one day. The prayer most beloved to Allah is the prayer of David: he would sleep half the night, pray for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth of it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The sequence of half, one-third, and one-sixth of the night is retained as stated.
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; Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us; Ghailan ibn Jarir narrated to us, from Abdullah ibn Ma‘bad al-Zimmani, from Abu Qatadah, who said: Umar ibn al-Khattab said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what about someone who fasts two days and does not fast one day?’ He said, ‘Can anyone endure that?’ Umar said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what about someone who fasts one day and does not fast one day?’ He said, ‘That is the fast of David.’ Umar said, ‘What about someone who fasts one day and does not fast two days?’ He said, ‘I wish I had the strength for that.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source’s final expression about being able to bear the practice is rendered as wishing for the strength to do it.
Chapter 32
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِيَامِ نُوحٍ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sahl ibn Abi Sahl narrated to us; Sa‘id ibn Abi Maryam narrated to us, from Ibn Lahi‘ah, from Ja‘far ibn Rabi‘ah, from Abu Firas, who heard Abdullah ibn Amr say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘Noah fasted for all time except on the day of Fitr and the day of Adha.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source names the two feast days without supplying calendar dates; both names are retained.
Chapter 33
صِيَامِ سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ مِنْ شَوَّالٍ
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; Baqiyyah narrated to us; Sadaqah ibn Khalid narrated to us; Yahya ibn al-Harith al-Dhimari said: I heard Abu Asma al-Rahabi, from Thawban, the freedman of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said: ‘Whoever fasts six days after al-Fitr, that completes the year: “Whoever comes with a good deed will have ten like it.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says ‘after al-Fitr’ without naming a month; no month is supplied.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us, from Sa‘d ibn Sa‘id, from Umar ibn Thabit, from Abu Ayyub, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever fasts Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is like fasting for all time.’
Chapter 34
فِي صِيَامِ يَوْمٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Rumh ibn al-Muhajir informed us; al-Layth ibn Sa‘d informed us, from Ibn al-Had, from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih, from al-Nu‘man ibn Abi Ayyash, from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever fasts one day in the path of Allah, Allah will distance the Fire from his face by seventy years on account of that day.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source says seventy autumns; ‘seventy years’ conveys the time expression without changing its measure.