Book 6. Fasting

Chapter 1: Excellence of the Month of Ramadan

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: When there comes the month of Ramadan, the gates of mercy are opened, and the gates of Hell are locked and the devils are chained.

This hadith is reported by Abu Huraira (with a slight alteration of words) that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: “When (the month of) Ramadan begins.”

Chapter 2: Fasting in Ramadan Should Necessarily be Commenced with the Sight of the New Moon and Finished with the Sight of the New Moon. If the Weather Is Cloudy at the Beginning or at the End, then Complete Thirty Days

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying in connection with Ramadan: Do not fast till you see the new moon, and do not break fast till you see it; but if the weather is cloudy calculate about it.

Ibn Umar reported that Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) made a mention of Ramadan and he with the gesture of his hand said: The month is thus and thus. (He then withdrew his thumb at the third time). He then said: Fast when you see it, and break your fast when you see it, and if the weather is cloudy calculate it (the months of Sha’ban and Shawwal) as thirty days.

This Hadith is narrated on the authority of ‘Ubaidullah with the same chain of transmitters, and he said: If (the sky) is cloudy for you, then calculate thirty days (for the month of Ramadan).

‘Ubaidullah narrated on the authority of the same chain of transmitters that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) made a mention of Ramadan and said: The month may consist of twenty-nine days, and it may be thus, thus and thus, and (he further) said: Calculate it, but he did not say thirty.

Ibn’Umar (Allah be pleased with — both of them) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The month of Ramadan may consist of twenty-nine days. So do not fast till you have sighted it (the new moon) and do not break fast, till you have sighted it (the new moon of Shawwal), and if the sky is cloudy for you, then calculate.

‘Abdullah b. ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The month (of Ramadan) may consist of twenty nine days; so when you see the new moon observe fast and when you see (the new moon again at the commencement of the month of Shawwal) then break It, and if the sky is cloudy for you, then calculate it (and complete thirty days).

‘Abdullah b. Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: When you see the new moon, observe fast, and when you see it (again) then break it, and if the sky is cloudy for you, then calculate it.

Ibn ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The month may consist of twenty-nine nights. So do not fast till you have sighted it (the new moon) and do not break it till you have sighted it, except when the sky is cloudy for you, and if it is so, then calculate it.

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The month is thus and thus and thus (i.e. pointing with his fingers thrice), and he held back his thumb at the third time (in order to show that it can also consist of twenty-nine days).

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The month may consist of twenty-nine days.

Abdullah b. ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The mouth (of Ramadan) is thus and thus, and thus i.e. ten, ten and — nine.

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The month is thus, and thus, and thus, and he flapped his hands with all their fingers twice, but at the third turn, folded his right thumb or left thumb (in order to give an idea of twenty-nine).

Ibn ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The month (of Ramadan) may consist of twenty-nine days, and Shu’ba (one of the narrators) (gave a practical demonstration how the Holy prophet (may peace be upon him) explained to them) by unfolding his hands thrice and folding his thumb at the third turn. ‘Uqba (one of the narrators in this chain of transmitters) said: I think that he said that the month consists of thirty days and unfolded his palm three times.

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying: We are an unlettered people who can neither write nor count. The month is thus, and thus, folding his thumb when he said it the third time. This Hadith has been narrated on the authority of Aswad b. Qais with the same chain of transmitters, but herein no mention has been made of the other month (consisting of) thirty days.

Sa’d b. ‘Ubaida reported that Ibn ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) heard a person saying: This night is the midnight (of the month). Upon this he said to him: How do you know that it is the midnight (of the month), for I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: The month is thus and thus (and he pointed with his ten fingers twice) and thus (i.e. at the third time he pointed with all his fingers but withdrew or folded his thumb)?

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Whenever you sight the new moon (of the month of Ramadan) observe fast and when you sight it (the new moon of Shawwal) break it, and if the sky is cloudy for you, then observe fast for thirty days.

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Observe fast on sighting it (the new moon) and break (fast) on sighting it (the new moon), but if the sky is cloudy for you, then complete the number (of thirty).

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Observe fast on sighting it (the new moon) and break it on sighting it. But if (due to clouds) the actual position of the month is concealed from you, you should then count thirty (days).

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him) made a mention of the new moon and (in this connection) said: Observe fast when you see it (the new moon) and break fast when you see it (the new moon of Shawwal), but when (the actual position of the month is) concealed from you (on account of cloudy sky), then count thirty days.

Chapter 3: Do Not Fast for a Day or Two Days Ahead of Ramadan

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Do not observe fast for a day, or two days ahead of Ramadan except a person who is in the habit of observing a particular fast; he may fast on that day.

This Hadith has been narrated on the authority of Yahya b. Abi Kathir with the same chain of transmitters.

Chapter 4: The Month may Consist of Twenty-Nine Days

Zuhri reported that (once) the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) took an oath that he would not go to his wives for one Month. Zuhri said that ‘Urwa narrated to him from ‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) that she said: When twenty-nine nights were over, which I had counted, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came to me (he came to me first of all). I said: Messenger of Allah, you had taken an oath that you would not come to us for a month, whereas you have come after twenty nine days which I have counted. Whereupon he said: The month may also consist of twenty-nine days.

Jabir (Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) separated himself from his wives for a month. (His wives said:) He came to us on the twenty-ninth day, whereupon we said: It is the twenty-ninth (day) today. Thereupon he said: So far as the month is concerned, (and he, with a view to explaining it) flapped his hands thrice, but held back one finger at the last turn.

Abu Zubair is reported to have heard Jabir b. ‘Abdullah (Allah be pleased with both of them) as saying: The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) separated himself from his wives for a month. (His wives said:) He came to us on the morning of the twenty-ninth. Upon this some, of the people said: It is the morning of twenty-ninth (according to our calculation). Upon this the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: The month may also consist of twenty-nine days. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) then flapped his bands thrice, twice with all the fingers of both his hand (to indicate twenty-nine) and by the third time with nine (fingers).

Umm Salama (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) took an oath that he would not go to some of his wives for the whole of the month. When twenty-nine days bad passed he (the Holy Prophet) went to them in the morning or in the evening. Upon this it was said to him: Apostle of Allah, you took an oath that you would not come to us for a month, whereupon he said: The month may also consist of twenty-nine days.

A Hadith like this has been narrated on the authority of Ibn Juraij with the same chain of transmitters.

Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas (Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) struck his hand against the other and (then with the gesture of his two hands) said: The month is thus, thus (two times). He then withdrew (one of) his fingers at the third turn.

Muhammad b. Sa’d reported on the authority of his father (Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas (Allah be pleased with him) that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said: Two month is thus and thus, and thus, i.e. ten, ten and nine. This Hadith has been narrated by Abu Khalid with the same chain of transmitters.

Chapter 5: There Is a Sighting of the Moon for Every Town; the Sighting at One Town Cannot be Held Valid for the Other Town Situated at a Considerable Distance from it

Kuraib reported that Umm Fadl, daughter of Harith, sent him (Fadl, i.e. her son) to Mu’awiya in Syria. I (Fadl) arrived in Syria, and did the needful for her. It was there in Syria that the month of Ramadan commenced. I saw the new moon (of Ramadan) on Friday. I then came back to Medina at the end of the month. Abdullah b. ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) asked me (about the new moon of Ramadan) and said: When did you see it? I said: We saw it on the night of Friday. He said: (Did) you see it yourself? I said: Yes, and the people also saw it and they observed fast and Mu’awiya also observed fast, whereupon he said: But we saw it on Saturday night. So we would continue to observe fast till we complete thirty (lasts) or we see it (the new moon of Shawwal). I said: Is the sighting of the moon by Mu’awiya not valid for you? He said: No; this is how the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) has commanded us. Yahya b. Yahya was in doubt (whether the word used in the narration by Kuraib) was Naktafi or Taktafi.

Chapter 6: It is Immaterial whether the New Moon is Large (on Account of Appearing after Thirty Nights) or Small (on Account of Appearing on the Thirtieth Night); and Allah Defers it to Make it Suitable for Sighting and if the Sky is Cloudy, then Thirty (Fasts) are to be Completed

Abu’l-Bakhtari reported: We went out to perform Umra and when we encamped in the valley of Nakhla, we tried to see the new moon. Some of the people said: It was three nights old, and others (said) that it was two nights old. We then met Ibn ‘Abbas and told him we had seen the new moon, but that some of the people said it was three nights old and others that it was two nights old. He asked on which night we had seen it; and when we told him we had seen it on such and such night, he said the Prophet of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said: Verily Allah deferred it till the time it is seen, so it is to be reckoned from the night you saw it.

Abu’l-Bakhtari reported: We saw the new moon of Ramadan as we were at Dhit-i-‘Irq. We sent a man to Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with both of them) to ask him (whether the sighting of a small moon had something of the nature of defect in it). Upon this Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with both of them) said that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said: Verily Allah deferred its sight, but if (the new moon) is hidden from you, then complete its number (thirty).

Chapter 7: The Months of ‘Id Are Not Incomplete

The son of Abu Bakra reported it on the authority of his father that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said: The two months of ‘Id, Ramadan and Dhu’l-Hijja (are not incomplete).

‘Abd Ar-Rahman b. Abu Bakra reported on the authority of Abu Bakra that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said: The months of ‘Id are not incomplete. And in the Hadith narrated by Khalid (the words are): “The months, of ‘Id are Ramadan and Dhu’l-Hijja.”

Chapter 8: The Timing of Fast Begins With Dawn

‘Adi b. Hatim (Allah be pleased with him) reported that when (this verse) was revealed: “Until the white streak of the dawn becomes distinct from the dark streak” (ii. 187) Adi b. Hatim said: Messenger of Allah, verily I keep underneath my pillow two strings, one white and the other black, by which I distinguish night from dawn. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Your pillow seems to be very large. For the word khait implies the blackness of the night and the whiteness of the dawn.

Sahl b. Sa’d said that when this verse was revealed: “Eat and drink till the white streak is distinct from the dark streak,” a person would take hold of a white thread and a black thread and keep on eating till he could find them distinct (in the light of the dawn). It was then that Allah, the Majestic and Great, revealed (the words) min al-fajr (from the dawn), and then it became clear (that the word khait refers to the streak of light in the dawn).

Sahl b. Sa’d (Allah be pleased with him) said: When this verse was revealed. “Eat and drink till the white streak becomes distinct from the dark streak for you,” the person who decided to observe fast tied on one of his feet a black thread and on the other a white thread. And he went on eating and drinking till he could distinguish (between their colour) on seeing them. It was after this that Allah revealed (the words): min al-fajr. And they (the Muslims) came to know that (the word khait) refers to the night and day.

‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said: Bilal would pronounce Adhan (at the fag end of the night in order to inform the people about the time of the Sahri). So you eat and drink till you hear the Adhan of Ibn Umm Maktum (which was pronounced at the conclusion of the Sahri and the commencement of the fast).

Abdullah b. ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: Bilal announces Adhan during the night, so you eat and drink, till you hear the Adhan of Ibn Umm Maktum.

Ibn ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had two Mu’adhdhins, Bilal and son of Umm Maktum, the blind. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Bilal announces Adhan at (the fag end of the) night (i.e. Sahri), so eat and drink till the son of Umm Maktum announces Adhan. And he (the narrator) said: And the (difference of time) between their (Adhans) was not more than this that one climbed down (from the minaret) and the other climbed up (to announce Adhan).

A Hadith like this has been transmitted on the authority of ‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her).