Question:
- Is it permissible for a person to chose the days that he fasts from the month of Shawaal or is it that those days have a specific time that they need to be fasted? If a Muslim fasted these days does it become an obligation on him and he has to fast them every year?
Answer:
- The Prophet said, “Who ever fasted Ramadan then follows it with six days of Shawaal it is like he fasted an entire year” (narrated by Muslim). These six days don’t have a set time, but rather the Muslim is the one that chooses these days from any days out of the month. If he wants he fasts them in the beginning, or in the middle or in the end or if he wants he can break them up. The situation has lots of possibilities. if he does them early in the beginning of the month, then it is better, as he is rushing to the good. But the situation does not necessitate that it is done right away and the praise is for Allah. Rather there is a lot of options for the way these days are fasted.
- Also if a person fasted them some years and left them off other years then there is no problem with that. This is because it is a non-obligatory fast and not an obligation.
[Taken from Fatawah Arkan al Islam by Sheikh Uthaimeen]
[Translated by Abu Abdillah Abdul Lateef]
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