The Book of Fasting

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah said: All the deeds of the son of Adam are for himself except for fasting, as it is, indeed, for Me, and I give reward for it. Fasting is a shield. When it is the day when any of you is fasting, let him not engage in obscenity, and let him not speak in a loud voice. If anyone insults him or fights with him, let him say: Verily, I am a fasting person. By the One in Whose Hand the soul of Muhammad is, the smell of the mouth of the fasting person is more pleasant in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. The fasting person will rejoice twice: when he breaks his fast, he rejoices, and when he meets his Lord, he rejoices at his fast."

Sahl (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is a gate in Paradise called Ar-Rayyān through which those who fast will enter on the Day of Judgment. No one else will enter through it. It will be called out: Where are those who fast? They will stand up. No one else will enter through it. Once they have entered, it will be closed, and no one will enter through it."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever fasts a day in the way of Allah, Allah will keep his face away from the Fire seventy falls."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever fasts a day in the way of Allah, Allah will keep his face away from the Fire seventy falls."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever forgets while fasting and eats or drinks, let him complete his fast, for it is Allah Who fed him and gave him drink."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was told that I had said: "By Allah, I will fast every day and pray every night for as long as I live." The Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked me: "Are you the one who said that?" I said: "Yes, I said it; by my father, you and my mother." He said: "You would not be able to do that. So fast and break your fast, pray and sleep. Fast for three days a month. The reward of a good deed is multiplied by ten, so the fasting of three days a month equals the fasting of a year." I said: "I can do (fast) more than this." He said: "Fast one day every three days." I said: "I can do more than that." He said: "Fast every other day; this was the fasting of Dawūd and the best form of fasting." I said: "I can do better than that." He said: "There is nothing better than that." In another narration, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no fasting superior to the fast of my brother Dawūd; fasting half of one's life by fasting one day and eating one day."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "O ‘Abdullāh, do not be like so-and-so. He used to offer Qiyām al-Layl and then abandoned it."

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You fast continuously and stand in prayer at night?" I said: Yes. He said: "If you do that, your eyes will become weak, and your soul will become weary. No fasting counts for the one who fasts continuously. Fasting three days is like fasting the entire year". I said: Indeed, I am capable of more than that. He said: "Then fast the fast of Dāwūd (David) (peace be upon him); he used to fast one day and break his fast the next day, and he would not flee when facing the enemy."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best (voluntary) fast in the sight of Allah is the fast of Dawūd, and the best (voluntary) prayer in the sight of Allah is the prayer of Dawūd. He used to sleep half of the night, stand to pray one third of it, and then sleep one sixth of it, and he used to fast every other day."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best (voluntary) fast in the sight of Allah is the fast of Dawūd, and the best (voluntary) prayer in the sight of Allah is the prayer of Dawūd. He used to sleep half of the night, stand to pray one third of it, and then sleep one sixth of it, and he used to fast every other day."

Mu‘ādhah al-‘Adawiyah reported that she asked ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): “Did the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) fast three days of each month?” ‘Ā’ishah replied: 'Yes.' Mu‘ādhah asked: “In which part of the month did he fast?” ‘Ā’ishah replied: “It did not matter to him in which part of the month he fasted.”

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The most excellent fast after Ramadan is Allah's month, Muharram, and the most excellent prayer after what is prescribed is prayer during the night."

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: Some men among the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) were shown the Night of Qadr in their dreams to be in the last seven. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I see that your visions have agreed on the last seven, so, whoever seeks it, let him seek it in the last seven."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to observe I‘tikāf during the ten middle days of Ramadan. One year, while he was in I‘tikāf on the night of the twenty-first on the morning of which he would come out of I‘tikāf, he said: "Whoever was in I‘tikāf with me should stay in I‘tikāf the last ten; for I was informed of that night, but I was then made to forget it. I saw myself prostrating in water and mud in its morning. So, seek it in the last ten, and seek it in each of the odd [nights]." That night, it rained, and [the roof of] the mosque dribbled as it was made of leaf stalks of date-palms. I saw with my own eyes the signs of water and mud on the forehead of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in the morning of the twenty-first (night).

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to observe I‘tikāf during the ten middle days of Ramadan. One year, while he was in I‘tikāf on the night of the twenty-first on the morning of which he would come out of I‘tikāf, he said: "Whoever was in I‘tikāf with me should stay in I‘tikāf the last ten; for I was informed of that night, but I was then made to forget it. I saw myself prostrating in water and mud in its morning. So, seek it in the last ten, and seek it in each of the odd [nights]." That night, it rained, and [the roof of] the mosque dribbled as it was made of leaf stalks of date-palms. I saw with my own eyes the signs of water and mud on the forehead of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in the morning of the twenty-first (night).

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Seek out the Night of Qadr (Decree) in the odd nights of the last ten of Ramadan."