Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah
ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, once mentioned Ramadan and said, "Do
not begin the fast until you see the new moon, and do not
break the fast (at the end of Ramadan) until you see it.
If the new moon is obscured from you, then work out (when
it should be)."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Dinar
from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A month has
twenty-nine days in it. Do not start the fast or break it
until you see the new moon. If the new moon is obscured
from you, then work out (when it should be)."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dili
from Abdullah ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, once mentioned
Ramadan and said, "Do not start the fast or break it until
you see the new moon. If the new moon is obscured from
you, then complete a full thirty days."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that
once in the time of Uthman ibn Affan the new moon had been
seen in the afternoon and Uthman did not break his fast
until evening had come and the sun had set.
Yahya said that he had heard Malik say that some one
who sees the new moon of Ramadan when he is on his own
should start the fast and not break it if he knows that
that day is part of Ramadan. He added, "Some one who sees
the new moon of Shawwal when he is on his own does not
break the fast, because people suspect the reliability of
someone among them who breaks the fast. Such people should
say, when they sight the new moon, 'We have seen the new
moon.' Whoever sees the new moon of Shawwal during the day
should not break his fast but should continue fasting for
the rest of that day. This is because it is really the new
moon of the night that is coming ."
Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "If people are
fasting on the day of Fitr thinking that it is still
Ramadan and then definite evidence comes to them that the
new moon of Ramadan had been seen one day before they
began to fast and that they are now into the thirty-first
day, then they should break the fast on that day at
whatever time the news comes to them. However, they do not
pray the id prayer if they hear the news after the sun has
begun to decline."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah
ibn Umar used to say, "Only some one who makes the
intention to fast before dawn (actually) fasts."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that
A'isha and Hafsa, the wives of the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, also said that.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar
from Sahl ibn Sad as Saidi that the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "People
will remain in good as long as they are quick to break the
fast."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn
Harmala al-Aslami from Said ibn al-Musayyab that the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, "People will remain in good as long as they
are quick to break the fast."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from
Humayd ibn Abd ar-Rahman that Umar ibn al-Khattab and
Uthman ibn Affan would pray maghrib when they saw the
night darkening, before they broke their fast, and that
was during Ramadan.
Section: Fasting When Junub in the Morning during
Ramadan
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abd
ar-Rahman ibn Mamar al-Ansari from Abu Yunus, the mawla of
A'isha, from A'isha that she overheard a man standing at
the door saying to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, "Messenger of Allah, I get up in
the morning junub, in a state of major ritual impurity,
and want to fast," and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, "I too get up in the
morning junub and want to fast, so I do ghusl and fast."
The man said to him, "You are not the same as us. Allah
has forgiven you all your wrong actions that have gone
before and those that have come after." The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, got angry
and said, "By Allah, I hope that I am the most fearful of
you with respect to Allah and the most knowledgeable of
you in how I have taqwa."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd Rabbih ibn Said
from Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham
from A'isha and Umm Salama, the wives of the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, that the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to get up in the
morning junub from intercourse, not a dream, in Ramadan,
and then he would fast."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Sumayy, the mawla
of Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham
that he heard Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn
Hisham say, "My father and I were with Marwan ibn al Hakam
at the time when he was amir of Madina, and someone
mentioned to him that Abu Hurayra used to say, 'If someone
begins the morning junub, he has broken the fast for that
day.' Marwan said, 'I swear to you, Abdar-Rahman, you must
go to the two umm al muminin, A'isha and Umm Salama, and
ask them about it.'
''Abd ar-Rahman went to visit A'isha and I accompanied
him. He greeted her and then said, 'Umm al-muminin, we
were with Marwan ibn al Hakam and someone mentioned to him
that Abu Hurayra used to say that if some one had begun
the morning junub, he had broken the fast for that day.'
A'isha said, 'It is not as Abu Hurayra says Abd ar-Rahman.
Do you dislike what the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, used to do?', and Abd
ar-Rahman said, 'No, by Allah.' A'isha said, 'I bear
witness that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, used to get up in the morning junub
from intercourse, not a dream, and would then fast for
that day.' "
He continued, "Then we went and visited Umm Salama, and
Abd ar-Rahman asked her about the same matter and she said
the same as A'isha had said. Then we went off until we
came to Marwan ibn al-Hakam Abd ar-Rahman told him what
they had both said and Marwan said, 'I swear to you, Abu
Muhammad, you must use the mount which is at the door, and
go to Abu Hurayra, who is on his land at al Aqiq, and tell
him this.' So Abd ar-Rahman rode off, and I went with him,
until we came to Abu Hurayra. Abd ar-Rahman talked with
him for a while, and then mentioned the matter to him, and
Abu Hurayra said, 'I don't know anything about it. I was
just told that by someone.'"
Yahya related to me from Malik from Sumayy, the mawla
of Abu Bakr, from Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha
and Umm Salama, the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "The Messengerof Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to get up in the
morning junub from intercourse, not a dream, and would
then fast."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from
Ata ibn Yasar that a certain man kissed his wife while he
was fasting in Ramadan. This made him very anxious, and so
he sent his wife to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, to ask him about that for him. She went
in and saw Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, and mentioned the matter to
her, and Umm Salama told her that the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to kiss
while he was fasting. So she went back and told her
husband that, but it only made him find fault all the more
and he said, "We are not like the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah makes
permissible for the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, whatever He wishes."
His wife then went back to Umm Salama and found the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, with her. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "What's the matter with
this woman?", and Umm Salama told him. The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"Didn't you tell her that I do that myself?" and she said,
"I told her, and she went to her husband and told him, but
it only made him find fault all the more and say, 'We are
not like the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace. Allah makes permissible for His
Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
whatever He wishes.' " The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, got angry and said, "By
Allah, I am the one with the most taqwa of Allah of you
all, and of you all the one who best knows His limits."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa
from his father that A'isha, umm al-muminin, may Allah be
pleased with her, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, used to kiss certain of his
wives when fasting," and then she laughed.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that
Atika bint Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl, the wife of Umar ibn
al-Khattab, used to kiss Umar ibn al-Khattab's head while
he was fasting, and he did not tell her not to.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n-Nadr, the
mawla of Umar ibn Ubaydullah that A'isha bint Talha told
him that she was once with A'isha, the wife of the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and her
husband, who was fasting, came and visited her there. (He
was Abdullah ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Bakras-Siddiq.)
A'isha said to him, "What's stopping you from coming close
to your wife and kissing her and joking with her?" He
said, "Can I kiss her when I am fasting?" She said, "Yes."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that
Abu Hurayra and Sad ibn Abi Waqqas used to say that
someone who was fasting was allowed to kiss.
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that
A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, would say, when she mentioned that the
Messenger of Allah, used to kiss while fasting, "And who
among you is more able to control himself than the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace?"
Yahya said that Malik said that Hisham ibn Urwa ibn
az-Zubayr had said, "I do not think that kissing invites
to good for people who are fasting."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from
Ata ibn Yasar that Abdullah ibn Abbas was asked about
people kissing while fasting and he said that he allowed
it for old men but disapproved of it for young men.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from
Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud from Abdullah
ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, left for Makka in Ramadan during the
year of the conquest, and fasted until he reached al-Kadid.
He then broke the fast, and so everyone else did so as
well. What people used to do was act according to whatever
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, had done most recently.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Sumayy, the mawla
of Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman, from Abu Bakr ibn Abd
ar-Rahman from one of the companions of the Messenger of
Allah, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, ordered everyone to break the fast on
the journey he made in the year of the conquest saying,
"Be strong for your enemy," while the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, kept on fasting.
Abu Bakr said that the one who related this to him said,
"I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, pouring water over his head at al-Arj,
either from thirst or from the heat. Then some one said to
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, 'Messenger of Allah, a group of people kept on
fasting when you did.' Then when the Messenger of Allah
was at al-Kadid, he asked for a drinking-bowl and drank,
and everyone broke the fast."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Humayd at-Tawil
that Anas ibn Malik said, "We once travelled with the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, in Ramadan, and those who were fasting did not find
fault with those who were not, and those who were not
fasting did not find fault with those who were."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa
from his father that Hamza ibn Amr al-Aslami once said to
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, "Messenger of Allah, I am a man who fasts. Can I
fast when travelling?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, "If you want you can
fast, and if you want you can break the fast."
Yahya related to me from Malik that Hisham ibn Urwa
said, "My father, Urwa, used to travel in Ramadan, and we
would travel with him, and he used to fast while we would
break the fast, and he would not tell us to fast."
Section: What to Do when Returning from a Journey in
Ramadan or Intending to Travel in Ramadan
27 Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard
that Umar ibn al-Khattab, if he was travelling in Ramadan
and knew that he would reach Madina at the begining of the
day ,would do so fasting.
Yahya said that Malik said, "Someone who is travelling
and knows that he will be reaching his people in the first
part of the day, and then dawn breaks before he gets
there, should be fasting when he gets there."
Malik said, "Someone who intends to go away (on a
journey) in Ramadan, and then dawn breaks while he is
still on his land before he has left, should fast that
day."
Malik said that a man who returns from a journey in
Ramadan and is not fasting may have sexual intercourse
with his wife if he wishes, if she is not fasting and she
has just become pure after her menses.
Section: The Kaffara (Making Amends) for Breaking the
Fast in Ramadan
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from
Hunayd ibn Abd arRahman ibn Awf from Abu Hurayra that a
man broke the fast in Ramadan and the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered him to
make kaffara by freeing a slave, or fasting two
consecutive months, or feeding sixty poor people, and he
said, "I can't do it." Someone brought a large basket of
dates to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, and he said, "Take this and give it away
as sadaqa." He said, "Messenger of Allah, there is no-ne
more needy than I am." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, laughed until his eye-teeth
appeared, and then he said, "Eat them."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ata ibn Abdullah
al-Khurasani that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "A bedouin
came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, beating his breast and tearing out his
hair and saying, 'I am destroyed.' The Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Why is
that?', and he said, 'I had intercourse with my wife while
fasting in Ramadan.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, asked him, 'Are you able to
free a slave?', and the man said, 'No.' Then he asked him,
'Are you able to give away a camel?', and the man replied,
'No.' He said, 'Sit own,' and someone brought a large
basket of dates to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, and he said to the man, 'Take
this and give it away as sadaqa.' The man said, 'There is
no one more needy than me,' and (the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace), said, 'Eat them,
and fast one day for the day when you had intercourse.' "
Malik said that Ata said that he had asked Said ibn al-Musayyab
how many dates there were in that basket, and he said,
"Between fifteen and twenty sas.''
Malik said, "I have heard people of knowledge saying
that the kaffara specified by the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, for a man who has
intercourse with his wife during the day in Ramadan is not
due from someone who, on a day when he is making up the
fast of Ramadan, breaks his fast by having intercourse
with his wife, or whatever. He only has to make up for
that day."
Malik said, "This is what I like most out of what I
have heard about the matter."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah
ibn Umar used to be cupped while he was fasting. Nafi
said, "He later stopped doing that, and would not be
cupped when he was fasting until he had broken the fast."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa
that his father used to be cupped while he was fasting and
he would not then break his fast. Hisham added, "I only
ever saw him being cupped when he was fasting."
Malik said, "Cupping is only disapproved of for some
one who is fasting out of fear that he will become weak
and if it were not for that, it would not be disapproved
of. I do not think that a man who is cupped in Ramadan and
does not break his fast, owes anything, and I do not say
that he has to make up for the day on which he was cupped,
because cupping is only disapproved of for someone fasting
if his fast is endangered. I do not think that someone who
is cupped, and is then well enough to keep the fast until
evening, owes anything, nor does he have to make up for
that day."
Section: Fasting on the Day of Ashura ( the 10th of
Muharram)
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa
from his father that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The day of
Ashura was a day the Quraysh used to fast in the jahiliyya,
and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, used also to fast it during the jahiliyya. Then
when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, came to Madina he fasted it and ordered that it
be fasted. Then Ramadan was made obligatory, and that
became the fard instead of Ashura, but whoever wanted to,
fasted it, and whoever did not want to, did not fast it."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that
Humayd ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf heard Muawiya ibn Abi
Sufyan say from the mimbar on the day of Ashura in the
year in which he made the hajj, "People of Madina, where
are your learned men? I heard the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, say about this day,
'This is the day of Ashura, and fasting it has not been
prescribed for you. I am fasting it, and whoever of you
wants to fast it can do so, and whoever does not want to,
does not have to.' "
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that
Umar ibn al-Khattab had sent (the following message) to
al-Harith ibn Hisham, ''Tomorrow is the day of Ashura, so
fast (it) and tell your family to fast (also)."
Section: Fasting the Days of Fitr and Adha and Fasting
Continuously
Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Yahya
ibn Habban from alAraj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade
fasting on two days, the day of Fitr and the day of Adha.
Yahya related to me from Malik that he used to hear the
people of knowledge say,"There is no harm in fasting
continuously as long as one breaks the fast on the days on
which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, forbade fasting, namely, the days of
Mina, the day of Adha and the day of Fitr, according to
what we have heard."
Malik said, "This is what I like most out of what I
have heard about the matter."
Section: The Prohibition against Fasting for Two Days or
More without Breaking the Fast in between (Wisal)
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah
ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, forbade fasting for two days or more
without breaking the fast in between. They said, "But
Messenger of Allah, you practise wisal." He replied, "I am
not the same as you. I am fed and given to drink."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from
al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Beware of
wisal. Beware of wisal." They said, "But you practise
wisal, Messenger of Allah." He replied, "I am not the same
as you. My Lord feeds me and gives me to drink."
Section: The Fasting of Someone who Kills by Mistake or
Pronounces the Dhihar Form of Divorce
Yahya related to me, and I (myself) heard Malik say,
"The best that I have heard about some one who has to fast
for two consecutive months because of having killed
someone by mistake or having pronounced the dhihar form of
divorce, becoming very ill and having to break his fast,
is that if he recovers from his illness and is strong
enough to fast, he must not delay doing so. He continues
his fast from where he left off.
Similarly, a woman who has to fast because of having
killed some one by mistake should not delay resuming her
fast when she has become pure after her period. She
continues her fast from where she left off.
No one who, by the Book of Allah, has to fast for two
consecutive months may break his fast except for a reason
- illness or menstruation. He must not travel and break
his fast."
Malik said, "This is the best that I have heard about
the matter."
Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "What I have heard
from the people of knowledge is that if a man succumbs to
an illness which makes fasting very difficult for him and
exhausts him and wears him out, he can break his fast.
This is the same as with a sick man in the prayer, who
finds standing to be too difficult and exhausting, (and
Allah knows better than the slave that it is an excuse for
him and that it really cannot be described). If the man is
in such a condition he prays sitting, and the deen of
Allah is ease.
Allah has permitted a traveller to break the fast when
travelling, and he has more strength for fasting than a
sick man. Allah, the Exalted, says in His book, 'Whoever
among you is ill or on a journey (must fast) a number of
other days,' and Allah has thus permitted a traveller to
break his fast when on a journey, and he is more capable
of fasting than a sick man.
Section: The Vow to Fast, and Fasting for the Dead
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that
Said ibn al-Musayyab was asked whether a man who had vowed
to fast a month could fast voluntarily, and Said said, "He
should fulfil his vow before he does any voluntary
fasting."
Malik said, "I have heard the same thing from Sulayman
ibn Yasar."
Malik said, "If someone dies with an unfulfilled vow to
free a slave or to fast or to give sadaqa or to give away
a camel, and makes a bequest that his vow should be
fulfilled from his estate, then the sadaqa or the gift of
the camel are taken from one third of his estate.
Preference is given to it over other bequests, except
things of a similar nature, because by his vow it has
become incumbent on him, and this is not the case with
something he donates voluntarily. They (vows and voluntary
donations) are settled from a limited one-third of his
estate, and not from the whole of it, since if the dying
man were free to dispose of all of his estate, he might
delay settling what had become incumbent on him (i.e. his
vows), so that when death came and the estate passed into
the hands of his heirs, he would have bequeathed such
things (i.e. his vows) that were not claimed by anyone
(like debts). If that (i.e. to dispose freely of his
property) were allowed him, he would delay these things
(i.e. his vows) until when he was near death, he would
designate them and they might take up all of his estate.
He must not do that."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that
Abdullah ibn Umar used to be asked, "an some one fast for
some one else, or do the prayer for some one else?" and he
would reply, "No one can fast or do the prayer for anyone
else."
Section: Making Up Days Missed in Ramadan, and the
Kaffara
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from
his brother Khalid ibn Aslam that Umar ibn al-Khattab once
broke thefast on a cloudy day thinking that evening had
come and the sun had set. Then a man came to him and said,
"Amir al-muminin, the sun has come out,'' and Umar said,
"That's an easy matter. It was our deduction (ijtihad)."
Malik said, "According to what we think, and Allah
knows best, what he was referring to when he said, 'That's
an easy matter' was making up the fast, and how slight the
effort involved was and how easy it was. He was saying (in
effect), 'We will fast another day in its place.' "
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah
ibn Umar used to say, "Someone who breaks the fast in
Ramadan because he is ill or travelling should make up the
days he has missed consecutively."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibr Shihab that
Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abu Hurayra differed about making
up days missed in Ramadan. One of them said that they were
done separately and the other said that they were done
consecutively. He did not know which one of them it was
who said that they were done separately.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah
ibn Umar used to say, "If some one makes himself vomit
while he is fasting he has to make up a day, but if he
cannot help vomiting he does not have to make up
anything."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that
he heard Said ibn al Musayyab being asked about making up
days missed in Ramadan, and Said said, "What I like best
is for days missed in Ramadan to be made up consecutively,
and not separately."
Yahya said that he had heard Malik say, about some one
who made up the days he had missed in Ramadan separately,
that he did not have to repeat them. (What he had done)
was enough for him. It was, however, preferable, if he did
them consecutively.
Malik said, "Whoever eats or drinks thoughtlessly or
forgetfully in Ramadan or during any other obligatory fast
that he must do, has to fast another day in its place."
Yahya related to me from Malik that Humayd ibn Oays al-Makki
told him, "I was with Mujahid while he was performing
tawaf around the Kaba, and a man came to him and asked
whether the days (of fasting) for kaffara had to be fasted
consecutively, or could they be split up. I said to him,
'Yes, they can be split up, if the person so wishes.'
Mujahid said, 'He should not split them up, because in
Ubayy ibn Kab's recitation they are referred to as three
consecutive days.' "
Malik said, "What I like most is what Allah has
specified in the Qur'an, that is, that they are fasted
consecutively."
Malik was asked about a woman who began the day fasting
in Ramadan and though it was outside of the time of her
period, fresh blood (i.e. not menstrual blood) flowed from
her. She then waited until evening to see the same, but
did not see anything.Then, on the next day in the morning
she had anotherflow, though less than the first. Then,
some days before her period, the flow stopped completely.
Malik was asked what she should do about her fasting and
prayer, and he said, "This blood is like menstrual blood.
When she sees it she should break her fast, and then make
up the days she has missed. Then, when the blood has
completely stopped, she should do ghusl and fast."
Malik was asked whether someone who became muslim on
the last day of Ramadan had to make up all of Ramadan or
whether he just had to make up the day when he became
muslim, and he said, "He does not have to make up any of
the days that have passed. He begins fasting from that day
onwards. What I like most is that he makes up the day on
which he became muslim."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that
A'isha and Hafsa, the wives of the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, began fasting voluntarily
one morning and then food was given to them and they broke
their fast with it. Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, came in. A'isha said, "Hafsa
asked, anticipating me in speech - she took after her
father Umar - 'Messenger of Allah, A'isha and I began the
morning fasting voluntarily and then food was given us and
we broke the fast with it.' The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Fast another
day in its place.' "
Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "Someone who eats
or drinks out of neglect or forgetfulness during a
voluntary fast does not have to repeat his fast, but he
should continue fasting for the rest of the day in which
he eats or drinks while voluntarily fasting, and not stop
fasting. Someone to whom something unexpected happens
which causes him to break his fast while he is fasting
voluntarily does not have to repeat his fast if he has
broken it for a reason, and not simply because he decided
to break his fast. Just as I do not think that someone has
to repeat a voluntary prayer if he has had to stop it
because of some discharge which he could prevent and which
meant that he had to repeat his wudu."
Malik said, "Once a man has begun doing any of the
right actions (al-amal as-saliha) such as the prayer, the
fast and the hajj, or similar right actions of a voluntary
nature, he should not stop until he has completed it
according to what the sunna for that action is. If he says
the takbir he should not stop until he has prayed two
rakas. If he is fasting he should not break his fast until
he has completed that day's fast. If he goes into ihram he
should not return until he has completed his hajj, and if
he begins doing tawaf he should not stop doing so until he
has gone around the Kaba seven times. He should not stop
doing any of these actions once he has started them until
he has completed them, except if something happens such as
illness or some other matter by which a man is excused.
This is because Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says in
His Book, 'And eat and drink until the white thread
becomes clear to you from the black thread of dawn, (and)
then complete the fast until night-time,' (Sura 2 ayat
187), and so he must complete his fast as Allah has said.
Allah, the Exalted, (also) says, 'And complete the hajj
and the umra forAllah,' and so if a man were to go into
ihram for a voluntary hajj having done his one obligatory
hajj (on a previous occasion), he could not then stop
doing his hajj having once begun it and leave ihram while
in the middle of his hajj. Anyone that begins a voluntary
act must complete it once he has begun doing it, just as
an obligatory act must be completed . This is the best of
what I have heard."
Section: The Fidya (Compensation) of a Man who Breaks
the Fast in Ramadan from Weakness
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that
Anas ibn Malik used to pay fidya when he had grown old and
could no longer manage to do the fast.
Malik said, "I do not consider that to do so is
obligatory, but what I like most is that a man does the
fast when he is strong enough. Whoever pays compensation
gives one mudd of food in place of every day, using the
mudd of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that
Abdullah ibn Umar was asked about what a pregnant woman
should do if the fast became difficult for her and she
feared for her child, and he said, "She should break the
fast and feed a poor man one mudd of wheat in place of
every day, using the mudd of the Prophet, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace."
Malik said, "The people of knowledge consider that she
has to make up for each day of the fast that she misses as
Allah, the Exalted and Glorified, says, 'And whoever of
you is sick or on a journey should fast an equal number of
other days, ' and they consider her pregnancy and her
concern for her child as a sickness."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn
al-Qasim that his father used to say, "If someone has to
make up for days not fasted in Ramadan and does not do
them before the next Ramadan comes although he is strong
enough to do so, he should feed a poor man with a mudd of
wheat for every day that he has missed, and he has to fast
the days he owes as well."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard the
same thing from Said ibn Jubayr.
Section: Making Up For Days Not Fasted in Ramadan in
General
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from
Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman that he heard A'isha, the
wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, say, "I used to have to make up days from Ramadan
and not be able to do them until Shaban came."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard the
people of knowledge telling people not to fast on the day
in Shaban when there was doubt (about whether it was
Shaban or Ramadan), if they intended by it the fast of
Ramadan . They considered that whoever fasted on that day
without having seen (the new moon) had to make up that day
if it later became clear that it was part of Ramadan. They
did not see any harm in voluntary fasting on that day.
Malik said, "This is what we do, and what I have seen
the people of knowledge in our city doing."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n Nadr, the
mawla of Umar ibn Ubaydullah, from Abu Salama ibn Abd
ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to
fast for so long that we thought he would never stop
fasting, and he would go without fasting for so long that
we thought he would never fast again. I never saw the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, fast for a complete month except for Ramadan, and I
never saw him do more fasting in any one month than he did
in Shaban.'
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from
al-A'raj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Fasting is a
protection for you, so when you are fasting, do not behave
obscenely or foolishly, and if any one argues with you or
abuses you, say, 'I am fasting. I am fasting.' "
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from
al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "By the One in
Whose hand my self is, the smell of the breath of a man
fasting is better with Allah than the scent of musk.' He
leaves his desires and his food and drink for My sake.
Fasting is for Me and I reward it. Every good action is
rewarded by ten times its kind, up to seven hundred times,
except fasting, which is for Me, and I reward it.' "
Yahya related to me from Malik from his paternal uncle
Abu Suhayl ibn Malik from his father that Abu Hurayra
said, "When Ramadan comes the gates of the Garden are
opened and the gates of the Fire are locked, and the
shayatin are chained."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that
the people of knowledge did not disapprove of people
fasting using tooth-sticks at any hour of the day in
Ramadan, whether at the beginning or the end, nor had he
heard any of the people of knowledge disapproving of or
forbidding the practice.
Yahya said that he heard Malik say, about fasting for
six days after breaking the fast at the end of Ramadan,
that he had never seen any of the people of knowledge and
fiqh fasting them. He said, "I have not heard that any of
our predecessors used to do that, and the people of
knowledge disapprove of it and they are afraid that it
might become a bida and that common and ignorant people
might join to Ramadan what does not belong to it, if they
were to think that the people of knowledge had given
permission for that to be done and were seen doing it.
Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "I have never heard
any of the people of knowledge and fiqh and those whom
people take as an example forbidding fasting on the day of
jumua. Fasting on it is good, and I have seen one of the
people of knowledge fasting it, and it seemed to me that
he was keen to do so."