The Book on Fasting

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Abu Kurayb Muhammad ibn al-Ala ibn Kurayb told us: Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash told us, from al-Amash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘On the first night of Ramadan, the devils and the rebellious jinn are chained, the gates of the Fire are closed and none of them is opened, and the gates of Paradise are opened and none of them is closed. A caller announces: O seeker of good, come forward; O seeker of evil, desist. Allah frees people from the Fire every night.’ Related reports are narrated from Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Ibn Masud, and Salman.

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Hannad told us: Abdah and al-Muharibi told us, from Muhammad ibn Amr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Whoever fasts Ramadan and stands in prayer during it, out of faith and seeking reward, will have his past sins forgiven; and whoever stands in prayer on the Night of Decree, out of faith and seeking reward, will have his past sins forgiven.’ This is a sahih hadith. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Abu Hurayrah narrated by Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash is gharib. We know it from Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash, from al-Amash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, only through this report of Abu Bakr. I asked Muhammad ibn Ismail about it. He said: al-Hasan ibn al-Rabi told us: Abu al-Ahwas told us, from al-Amash, from Mujahid, as his own statement: ‘When it is the first night of Ramadan,’ and he mentioned the hadith. Muhammad said: In my view, this is sounder than the report of Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash.

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Abu Kurayb told us: Abdah ibn Sulayman told us, from Muhammad ibn Amr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Do not begin fasting a day or two before the month, unless that coincides with a fast one of you regularly observes. Fast when you see the crescent and end the fast when you see it. If it is obscured from you, count thirty days, then end the fast.’ Mansur ibn al-Mutamir narrated a similar report from Ribiy ibn Hirash, from one of the Companions of the Prophet. Related reports are narrated from other Companions. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Abu Hurayrah is hasan sahih. Scholars follow this report and dislike beginning a voluntary fast before Ramadan for the sake of Ramadan. If a person has a regular fast that coincides with those days, they see no harm in it.

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Hannad told us: Waki told us, from Ali ibn al-Mubarak, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Do not precede Ramadan by fasting a day or two beforehand, unless a person has a regular fast; in that case, let him observe it.’ Abu Isa said: This is a hasan sahih hadith.

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Abu Said Abdullah ibn Said al-Ashajj told us: Abu Khalid al-Ahmar told us, from Amr ibn Qays al-Mulai, from Abu Ishaq, from Silah ibn Zufar, who said: We were with Ammar ibn Yasir when a roasted sheep was brought to him. He said: Eat. Some people held back, saying: I am fasting. Ammar said: ‘Whoever fasts on the day about which people are uncertain has disobeyed Abu al-Qasim, peace and blessings be upon him.’ Related reports are narrated from Abu Hurayrah and Anas. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Ammar is hasan sahih. Most scholars among the Companions and the Successors follow this. It is the view of Sufyan al-Thawri, Malik ibn Anas, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq. They disliked fasting the day about which people are uncertain. Most of them held that if someone fasted it and it turned out to be part of Ramadan, that person should make up a day in its place.

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Muslim ibn Hajjaj told us: Yahya ibn Yahya told us: Abu Muawiyah told us, from Muhammad ibn Amr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Keep count of the crescent of Shaaban for Ramadan.’ Abu Isa said: We know this version of the hadith of Abu Hurayrah only through the report of Abu Muawiyah. The correct report from Muhammad ibn Amr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, says: ‘Do not precede the month of Ramadan by a day or two.’ A similar report to the hadith of Muhammad ibn Amr al-Laythi is also narrated from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet.

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Qutaybah told us: Abu al-Ahwas told us, from Simak ibn Harb, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, who said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Do not fast before Ramadan. Fast when you see the crescent and end the fast when you see it. If a cloud obscures it, complete thirty days.’ Related reports are narrated from Abu Hurayrah, Abu Bakrah, and Ibn Umar. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Ibn Abbas is hasan sahih, and it has also been narrated through other routes.

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Ahmad ibn Mani told us: Yahya ibn Zakariyya ibn Abi Zaidah informed me: Isa ibn Dinar told me, from his father, from Amr ibn al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar, from Ibn Masud, who said: ‘The number of times I fasted twenty-nine days with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was no greater than the number of times we fasted thirty days.’ Related reports are narrated from Umar, Abu Hurayrah, Aishah, Sad ibn Abi Waqqas, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, Anas, Jabir, Umm Salamah, and Abu Bakrah, that the Prophet said: ‘A month may consist of twenty-nine days.’

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Ali ibn Hujr told us: Ismail ibn Jafar told us, from Humayd, from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, swore to abstain from his wives for a month and stayed in an upper room for twenty-nine days. They said: Messenger of Allah, you swore to abstain for a month. He replied: ‘A month is twenty-nine days.’ Abu Isa said: This is a hasan sahih hadith.

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Ibn Abbas narrated: A Bedouin came to the Prophet and said, I have sighted the crescent. He asked: Do you testify that there is no deity but Allah? Do you testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah? The man replied: Yes. He said: Bilal, announce to the people that they should fast tomorrow. Another chain, through Abu Kurayb, Husayn al-Jufi, and Zaidah, from Simak, carries similar wording with this chain. Abu Isa said: There is disagreement concerning the hadith of Ibn Abbas. Sufyan al-Thawri and others transmitted it from Simak, from Ikrimah, from the Prophet as a mursal report. Most of the companions of Simak transmitted it from Simak, from Ikrimah, from the Prophet as a mursal report. Most of the people of knowledge act upon this hadith and say that the testimony of one man is accepted for fasting. This is the view of Ibn al-Mubarak, al-Shafii, Ahmad, and the people of Kufah. Ishaq said: Fasting is not begun without the testimony of two men. The people of knowledge do not differ that ending the fast requires the testimony of two men.

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Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakrah narrated from his father that the Messenger of Allah said: The two festival months do not both fall short: Ramadan and Dhu al-Hijjah. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Abu Bakrah is hasan. This report has also been transmitted from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakrah from the Prophet as a mursal report. Ahmad explained the hadith, The two festival months do not both fall short, to mean that Ramadan and Dhu al-Hijjah are not both deficient in the same year: if one of them has only twenty-nine days, the other is complete. Ishaq said that the meaning of they do not fall short is that even if a month has twenty-nine days, it is still complete, not deficient. According to Ishaq, both months may have twenty-nine days in the same year.

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Muhammad ibn Abi Harmalah narrated: Kurayb told me that Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith sent him to Muawiyah in Syria. He said: I arrived in Syria and completed her errand. The crescent of Ramadan appeared to us while I was there, and we saw it on Thursday night. I then arrived in Madinah near the end of the month. Ibn Abbas asked me about the crescent and said, When did you see it? I replied, We saw it on Thursday night. He asked, Did you see it yourself on Thursday night? I said, The people saw it, so they fasted, and Muawiyah fasted as well. He said: But we saw it on Friday night, so we will continue fasting until we complete thirty days or see the crescent. I asked, Is the sighting of Muawiyah and his fasting not enough for you? He replied, No; this is how the Messenger of Allah commanded us. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Ibn Abbas is hasan sahih gharib. The people of knowledge act upon this hadith, holding that each region has its own crescent sighting.

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Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: Whoever has dates should break his fast with them; whoever has none should break his fast with water, for water is purifying. A report on this topic is also narrated from Salman ibn Amir. Abu Isa said: We know no one else transmitted this wording from Shubah apart from Said ibn Amir. This report is not preserved, and we know no basis for it as a narration of Abd al-Aziz ibn Suhayb from Anas. The companions of Shubah transmitted this hadith from Shubah, from Asim al-Ahwal, from Hafsah bint Sirin, from al-Rabab, from Salman ibn Amir, from the Prophet; this is more sound than the report of Said ibn Amir. They also transmitted it from Shubah, from Asim, from Hafsah bint Sirin, from Salman, omitting al-Rabab. The sound version is what Sufyan al-Thawri, Ibn Uyaynah, and more than one narrator transmitted from Asim al-Ahwal, from Hafsah bint Sirin, from al-Rabab, from Salman ibn Amir. Ibn Awn narrated it from Umm al-Raih bint Sulay, from Salman ibn Amir. Al-Rabab was Umm al-Raih.

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Salman ibn Amir al-Dabbi narrated that the Prophet said: When one of you breaks his fast, let him break it with dates. Whoever cannot find any should break his fast with water, for it is purifying. Ibn Uyaynah added: For it is a blessing. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan sahih.

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Anas ibn Malik said: The Prophet would break his fast before praying with fresh dates. If there were no fresh dates, then with a few dried dates; if there were none, he would take a few sips of water. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan gharib. Abu Isa also said: It is reported that the Messenger of Allah would break his fast in winter with dates and in summer with water.

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Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said: The fast is on the day you all fast; the breaking of the fast is on the day you all break your fast; and the sacrifice is on the day you all offer the sacrifice. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan gharib. Some of the people of knowledge explained it to mean that fasting and breaking the fast are observed with the congregation and the majority of the people.

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Umar ibn al-Khattab narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: When night approaches, day recedes, and the sun has set, it is time for the fasting person to break the fast. Reports on this topic are also narrated from Ibn Abi Awfa and Abu Said. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Umar is hasan sahih.

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Sahl ibn Sad narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: People will remain in a good state as long as they hasten to break the fast. Reports on this topic are also narrated from Abu Hurayrah, Ibn Abbas, Aishah, and Anas ibn Malik. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Sahl ibn Sad is hasan sahih. This is the position preferred by the people of knowledge among the Companions of the Prophet and others: they recommend hastening to break the fast. This is the view of al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq.

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Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: The most beloved of My servants to Me are those who hasten most to break their fast.

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Abdullah ibn Abd al-Rahman narrated to us: Abu Asim and Abu al-Mughira informed us, from al-Awzai, with this chain and similar wording. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan gharib.