Fasting

Does Fasting the Day of ‘Arafah or the Day of ‘Ashura’ Expiate Major Sins?

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The Prophet ﷺ said fasting the Day of ʿArafah results in the expiation of sins of the year that has passed, and the year that is to come. He ﷺ also said that fasting the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ results in the expiation of the sins of the year that has passed [Muslim (1162 (197))].

Does this expiation of sins include major and minor sins, or just minor sins?

Sh. Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn رَحِمَهُ اللهُ explains that the apparent meaning of the ḥadīth indicates the expiation of both major and minor sins. This is because the Prophet ﷺ mentioned it in an unqualified manner and did not elaborate further, and whatever the Prophet ﷺ left unrestricted, it is taken to be unrestricted. This is why some scholars took the view, that the expiation of sins, refers to both minor and major because the Prophet ﷺ left it unrestricted, and did not elaborate further.

Most of the scholars take the view the expiation is only of minor sins. As for major sins then they must be accompanied with repentance. They support their view by arguing that fasting the Day of ʿArafah is not superior to the five daily prayers or Jumuʿah or Ramaḍān, and the Prophet ﷺ said, “The five daily prayers, Jumuʿah to Jumuʿah, and Ramaḍān to Ramaḍān, expiate what is between them as long as the major sins are avoided.” [Muslim (233)]. They say if these great and noble acts of worship, which are from the pillars of Islām, are not strong enough to expiate major sins, then this even more the case with this optional day of fasting. This is the weightier view – that it is qualified, just as the five daily prayers and Ramaḍān to Ramaḍān are qualified.

Source: Sharḥ Bulūgh al-Marām (7: 356).

Can She Make Up the Fast of ‘Ashura’ if She Missed it Due to Menstruation?

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Sh. Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn رَحِمَهُ اللهُ was asked:

  • If she is menstruating when ʿĀshūrāʾ comes, can she make up the fast?
  • Is there a guiding principle for which optional deeds can be made up, and which ones cannot?

The Shaykh رَحِمَهُ اللهُ replied:

“Optional deeds are of two types: a type which has a cause, and a type which does not have a cause.

The one which has a cause – it elapses along with the elapsing of the cause and is not made up. For example: the prayer for “greeting the masjid” (taḥiyyat al-masjid). If a man comes and sits down, and his sitting continues for a long time, and then he wants to pray taḥiyyat al-masjid, there is no taḥiyyat al-masjid because it is a prayer which has a cause, it is tied to a cause, so when it elapses so does its legality.

Similar to that is what is apparent with the Day of ʿArafah and the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ. If a person delays fasting the Day of ʿArafah and the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ without an excuse, there is no doubt he does not make it up, and it will not benefit him if he did make it up, meaning: it will not benefit him in that being [a substitute for] the Day of ʿArafah and the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ.

As for the case where it passes by a person while he is excused, such as the menstruating woman, the one experiencing post-natal bleeding, and the ill, then what is apparent is that it is not made up because this is specific to a specific day, the ruling of which elapses with the elapsing of that day.”

Source: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwá (20: 43, no. 399).

A Word on the Virtue of Fasting the Day of ‘Ashura’ by Sh. Muhammad b. Salih al-‘Uthaymin

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In the Name of Allāh, the Most Merciful, the Giver of Special Mercy

All praise is due to Allāh the Most High and Most Great, the One Who is alone in creating and controlling, the One Who honoured His friends with His help, and humiliated His enemies through His forsaking [of them], so how excellent a Protector is our Lord, and how excellent a Helper is He.

I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allāh alone without any partners, to Him belong the Kingdom and praise, and He is, over all thing, completely capable. And I bear witness that Muḥammad is His slave and His Messenger; the bringer of glad tidings, the warner, and shining lantern, may the praise and protection of Allāh be upon him, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Recompense.

To proceed:

Indeed, in this month, the month of Muḥarram, was the salvation of Mūsá, may praise and protection be upon him, and his people from the enemy of Allāh – Pharaoh and his army. By Allāh it was a major blessing obligating gratitude towards Allāh the Almighty and Majestic. This is why, when the Prophet ﷺ arrived in al-Madīnah, and he found the Jews fasting the tenth day of this month, the Prophet ﷺ said, “I have more right to Mūsá than you”, thus he fasted it and commanded its fasting. He was asked about the virtue of fasting it and he said, “I hope in Allāh that it may expiate for (the sins of) the year that came before it.” After that he commanded contradicting the Jews by fasting the tenth and a day before it which is the ninth, or a day after it which is the eleventh.

Consequently, it is best to fast the tenth day and add to it a day before it, or a day after it. Adding the ninth day to it is better than the eleventh.

Thus, it is necessary for you, my Muslim brother, to fast the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, likewise the ninth day, in order to actualise contradicting the Jews which the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ commanded.

May Allāh facilitate success for me and you to be grateful for His blessings, and worship Him with excellence, and may He protect us from the evils of our souls through His care – indeed He is the Most Generous and Most Bountiful.

I have no objections to spreading it (i.e., this letter).

Written by Muḥammad al-Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn 21/12/1409.

Source: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwá (20: 39-40).

The Best Day to Fast with the Day of ‘Ashura’

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Sh. Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn رَحِمَهُ اللهُ said:

“The scholars say, regarding the fasting of the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, that it is either [fasted] on its own, or he fasts with it the 9th, or he fasts with it the 11th. There is a fourth mode: which is to fast the 9th, 10th, and 11th – so it is three days of the month.

It is better for the one who wants to fast two days, that he fasts the 9th and the 10th.”

See: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwá (20: 35, no. 395).

Should the Mu’adhin Break His Fast First, or Give the Adhan First?

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Sh. al-Albānī (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ) was asked whether the prayer-caller (الْمُؤَذِّنُ) should break his fast first, or give the adhān first. The Shaykh replied that he does share such an intricately meticulous outlook on this issue. Whichever of the two the prayer-caller decides to do is permissible.

He was then asked whether the fasting person can continue to fast after the time has ended. He replied that just as it is permissible to give the adhān in the beginning of the time, it is also permissible for him to break his fast in the beginning of the time. So, whether he does it first, or afterwards, the Shaykh does not have a preference for one over the other for him to say that one should break his fast first and then give the adhān, or for him to say one should give the adhān first and then break his fast.

Source: Jāmiʿ Turāth al-ʿAllāmah al-Albānī fī al-Fiqh (10: 199).

Breaking Your Fast – Do You Eat First, or Pray First?

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Anas b. Mālik reported from the Prophet ﷺ that he said:

“If the iqāmah for prayer is given while one of you is fasting, let him begin with the evening meal before the Maghrib prayer, and do not rush from your evening meal.”

Sh. al-Albānī (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ) mentions that the addition “while one of you is fasting” does not negate other narrations which omit these words because the versions without these additional words are still absolute in any case, thereby encompassing the one who is fasting, and the one who is not. Rather, the fasting person is more deserving of this concession than the non-fasting person, as is obvious.

Source: Jāmiʿ Turāth al-ʿAllāmah al-Albānī fī al-Fiqh (10: 177). See: al-Ṣaḥīḥah (3964).

Are Good Deeds and Bad Deeds Multiplied During Ramadan? Sh. al-Albani (may Allah have mercy upon him)

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Sh. al-Albānī (رحمه الله) was asked whether optional deeds, in a general sense, are multiplied, and also evil deeds. He replied:

“There is no explicit scriptural-text (نَصٌّ) in the Divine Law stating that good deeds are multiplied, and likewise evil deeds with respect to the virtue of [a particular] place, or virtue of [a particular] time…virtue of a place such as Makkah or al-Madīnah for example…or virtue of a time such as this month of ours, this month of Ramaḍān.

There is no explicit scriptural-text regarding good deeds or evil ones being multiplied. However, some scholars say, by way of deduction (اسْتِنْبَاطًا), that they are multiplied…by way of deduction i.e., not [based on] a scriptural-text but only independent reasoning (اجْتِهَادًا), so if a person says: “good deeds are multiplied”, there is no harm in that because it is the view of some scholars, however it is not permissible to be definitive in that regard.”

Source: Jāmiʿ Turāth al-ʿAllāmah al-Albānī fī al-Fiqh (10: 109).

The Woman Who Will Enter Paradise Through Whichever Door She Wishes

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Explanation

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAwf (d. 32): A senior Companion of the Prophet ﷺ, one of the first of eight to accept Islām, one of the ten given glad tidings of al-Jannah by the Prophet ﷺ, made hijrah to al-Ḥabashah because of Makkan persecution, paired with Saʿd b. al-Rabīʿah in a bond of brotherhood in al-Madīnah who offered to split everything he had in half with him, he went into trading instead and became extremely wealthy and was amazingly generous in supporting the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims.

“If a woman” i.e., a Muslim woman, for the deeds of a non-Muslim are not accepted by Allāh until they believe.

“prays her five” the five daily obligatory prayers unless she is menstruating (al-ḥayḍ) or experience post-natal bleeding (al-nifās). This contains an encouragement for her to take the prayers extremely seriously and not to be negligent. She should ensure she fulfils the conditions (shurūṭ), pillars (arkān) and obligations (wājibāt) of prayer in order for her prayers to be accepted.

“fasts her month” the month of Ramaḍān except for the days of her menstruation which she makes up after the completion of the month. This contains an encouragement for her to fast the month of Ramaḍān and to do so properly by fulfilling its conditions and obligations by staying away from its nullifiers and working to obtain the goal of Ramaḍān: al-taqwá (fear of Allāh).  

“guards her chastity” from illegal sexual intercourse whether it be with a man who is not her husband, or a woman (siḥāq: lesbianism). The word used in the ḥadīth is farj (the private part) and this refers primarily to the front but also includes the back. This ḥadīth contains an encouragement for her to stay away from the means which lead to the loss of her chastity such as; being in complete privacy with a non-maḥram man, journeying on her own, touching a non-maḥram man, free-mixing with non-maḥram men etc.  

“and obeys her husband” in everything related to his legal rights, unless he orders her to do something sinful, in which case she should not obey him because the Prophet ﷺ said, “There is no obedience to the creation when it involves disobedience to the Creator.” This also contains an encouragement for a woman to get married.

“it will be said to her” an announcement will be made for her, out of honour and respect for her because of the goodness she did in this dunyá, and the means she took to enter Paradise by pleasing her Lord.

“whichever of the doors of Paradise” and there are eight doors of Paradise.

Aḥmad: Ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241), the eponym of the Ḥanbalī legal school, Imām of Ahl al-Sunnah, Imām in ḥadīth and Imām in fiqh.

Some Other Lessons

  • The righteous woman who fulfils her obligations towards Allāh and then to her husband, holds a lofty status with her Lord. He will be pleased with her and give her the choice of entering through any of the doors of Paradise her heart desires.
  • The ḥadīth indicates the great status of these deeds because they are a means to acquiring a great reward: entry into Paradise through any door one wishes.
  • The deeds mentioned in this ḥadīth are obligatory deeds which she must fulfil otherwise, as with all obligations, non-fulfilment of obligations without a legal excuse is a cause of punishment in the Hereafter, which Allāh may choose to exercise if He wills.
  • She should not be rebuked if she fulfils these obligations and does not do more. Sh. ʿUthaymīn was asked regarding a mother who rebukes her married daughter for not memorising the Qurʾān even though she reads it regularly. The Shaykh stated: “As long as the wife is obedient towards Allāh the Almighty and Exalted, and to His Messenger, by fulfilling what is obligatory upon her in terms of the rights of blood-relatives and the rights of the husband; there is no blame on her, and it is not appropriate to scold her for not memorising the Qurʾān because memorisation of the Qurʾān may be difficult for some people especially the married woman who is busy with her husband and the house.