What is the ruling on fasting on Friday if it coincides with the Day of 'Arafah or Ashura?

The questioner: Now, regarding this issue as well, you know, our Shaykh Abu 'Abd al-Rahman, that in the past days, the Day of Standing at 'Arafah fell on a Friday. Some people argued for the permissibility of fasting on Friday alone based on the hadith narrated by Imam Muslim, which contains . These people, who are a large group, understood from it that it is permissible to fast on Friday if it coincides with a customary day like 'Arafah or 'Ashura or the like. And we know from you, our Shaykh, that you interpreted the hadith to mean that fasting on Friday is only allowed if it is part of a fast that one of you fasts before and after it.

The Shaykh : The hadiths explain one another. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade fasting on Friday alone, unless one fasts the day before it or the day after it. As for the hadith regarding habitual practice, the habitual practice in the Sunnah is that one does not pray or fast on Friday because it coincides with the Day of 'Arafah. What is the custom here? The custom is if one, for example, fasts Thursday and Friday, then in that case he fasts Thursday and fasts Friday, whether Friday coincides with the Day of 'Arafah or Ashura or not. The hadiths explain one another, so it is not permissible to commit the explicit prohibition, which is the prohibition against fasting on Friday alone. So this person fasted Friday alone, but he must precede it with fasting on Thursday, as is known in the hadith of Juwayriyyah. When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) saw that she had fasted on Friday, he said, "Did you fast on Thursday?" She said, "No." He said, "Do you intend to fast on Saturday?" She said, "No." So it is necessary to fast the day before it or the day after it. But when the hadith came, "Do not fast on Saturday except in what is obligatory upon you," Friday is not fasted except with Thursday. Therefore, we say that those who interpret this interpretation nullify the prohibition in order to obtain the virtue of fasting on the Day of 'Arafah or Ashura, which have coincided with Friday. We pose the following question to them: If a Thursday or a Monday coincides with a festival or one of the days of Tashreeq, is Thursday or Monday fasted to obtain the virtue of fasting on them or on one of them? The answer is no, because the prohibition takes precedence over the permissible or the recommended. From this, the jurists say that if a present prohibition conflicts with a permissible act, the present prohibition is given precedence over the permissible act. Therefore, it is not permissible to fast on Friday alone under any circumstances, unless one has fasted on the Thursday before it. Please proceed.

The questioner : One of these sheikhs, my sheikh, listen to what he said: "I did not fast yesterday, which was Thursday. And I intended to fast the day after tomorrow, which is Saturday, but since it is a festival, I will not fast it." And this is one of the great ones. But what does he fast? He says, "Do you not say?" Yes, he did not fast what? Tomorrow, which is Saturday. Or two types. Since it is a festival, yes. He said, "You say the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Do not fast on Friday unless you fast the day before it or the day after it.' I intended to fast the day after it, but the day after it coincided with a festival, and for this reason I did not fast it." And he did not fast the Day of Judgment. Like this, he does not want to. Because he had intended Saturday. Yes. Welcome. No, no, no, he intended and did not intend, O Shaykh, he intended Saturday and did not intend, and he did not know that it was easier. They say, "Our Shaykh, if a person habitually always fasts 'Arafah, always fasting it, is this fasting considered a custom in their view?"

The Shaykh : Usually, he fasts one day, not one day, one day, no.

The questioner : Well, some of them cited evidence, we discussed it, our Shaykh, one of the scholars or one who claims to be a scholar, he said, the habit of fasting of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) indicates that it is permissible to fast on Friday alone, and he gave an example for that, saying, the fasting of Dawud, where are you? He said, like this, our brother Abu 'Umar al-Zamil was present, so he said, where are you regarding the fasting of Dawud? Will not Friday come alone in it? He said it like this.

The Shaykh : May Allah help you.

The questioner : So we said to him, where is the evidence that shifts the ruling from prohibition to recommendation?

The Shaykh : May Allah guide you, he argues with ambiguities.

The questioner : Does this methodology mean is this evidence for changing the ruling?

The Shaykh : And I answered that it is generalizing generalities over specifics. He used to fast one day and break the fast one day. Where do we have evidence that first, from his Shari'ah, that fasting on Saturday was forbidden to him? And second, where do we have evidence that he used to fast on Saturday in this system of fasting? We do not have a specification of this. This is arguing with generalities in the place of specific proofs that override the generality and exclude it.

The questioner : If you are present, you carry the hadith, unless it means that fasting on Friday is included in fasting where one of you fasts before and after it. Yes.