The Disagreement on the Authenticity of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) Fasting the First Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
May Allah reward you! Is it established from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that he fasted the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah?
I inform you that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days) Have you heard of this?The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Is fasting included in righteous deeds? Yes, what did he exclude from this generality?Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Except for fasting, so do not fast?The questioner: No.
The Shaykh: So what did he exclude from the generality?! The hadith of A'ishah: (I never saw him fasting) She did not see him, but others saw him.So in another hadith of one of the Mothers of the Believers, she says: (The Messenger used not to leave off fasting them) Imam Ahmad said: The affirming is preferred over the negating.
Then, even if we assume that nothing was found establishing that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) fasted them,So it falls under the generality: (There are no days in which righteous deeds), and if we assume that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not fast them, this is a specific case; it is possible that the Messenger did not fast them because he was occupied with something more important.
And here is a rule that we must act upon: When the textual evidence is general, do not ask: Did the Companions act upon it or not? Because the original presumption is that they acted upon it, and not knowing that they acted upon it is not knowledge that they did not act upon it; the original presumption is that they acted upon it.
Then, even if we assume—and this is an impossible assumption—that they did not act upon it, are we asked about the actions of the Companions, or about the words of the Messenger on the Day of Resurrection? About the words of the Messenger.As Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: [Surah al-Qasas: 65] Is it possible for any person to find an excuse if he is asked on the Day of Resurrection about any of the general words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)? Can he say: O my Lord! The Companions did not act upon it, or I do not know whether they acted upon it or not? It is not possible for this to be an excuse. Therefore, we regret that some people have cast doubt in the hearts of Muslims regarding this issue,And they said: That fasting them is not a recommended practice.
Glory be to Allah! I fear that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will punish them on the Day of Resurrection.How does the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) say: (There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days) and we leave the righteous deed that Allah the Exalted said: (Indeed, it is for Me, and I will reward it) Glory be to Allah! Therefore, we must turn this call back on its heels so that it returns in disgrace, and we say to this man the same questions that were directed to you: - Is fasting included in righteous deeds or not? - Was it reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he prohibited it or not?He will say: No.
And if he said: Yes.
We say: Bring the evidence.
He will say: It is included in righteous deeds in fasting.And he will say: The prohibition of it was not reported from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
So we say: So we must act upon it.
And this is truly a calamity that people have been acting upon a deed in which there is no sin, but rather reward, and then some people go against it to mention [contradictory views], bringing forth what contradicts the custom, which is closer to the truth than what he said, and this is a problem.
I inform you that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days) Have you heard of this?The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Is fasting included in righteous deeds? Yes, what did he exclude from this generality?Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Except for fasting, so do not fast?The questioner: No.
The Shaykh: So what did he exclude from the generality?! The hadith of A'ishah: (I never saw him fasting) She did not see him, but others saw him.So in another hadith of one of the Mothers of the Believers, she says: (The Messenger used not to leave off fasting them) Imam Ahmad said: The affirming is preferred over the negating.
Then, even if we assume that nothing was found establishing that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) fasted them,So it falls under the generality: (There are no days in which righteous deeds), and if we assume that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not fast them, this is a specific case; it is possible that the Messenger did not fast them because he was occupied with something more important.
And here is a rule that we must act upon: When the textual evidence is general, do not ask: Did the Companions act upon it or not? Because the original presumption is that they acted upon it, and not knowing that they acted upon it is not knowledge that they did not act upon it; the original presumption is that they acted upon it.
Then, even if we assume—and this is an impossible assumption—that they did not act upon it, are we asked about the actions of the Companions, or about the words of the Messenger on the Day of Resurrection? About the words of the Messenger.As Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:
And [mention] the Day He will call them and say, "What did you answer the messengers?"
وَيَوْمَ يُنَادِيهِمْ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَا أَجَبْتُمُ الْمُرْسَلِينَGlory be to Allah! I fear that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will punish them on the Day of Resurrection.How does the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) say: (There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days) and we leave the righteous deed that Allah the Exalted said: (Indeed, it is for Me, and I will reward it) Glory be to Allah! Therefore, we must turn this call back on its heels so that it returns in disgrace, and we say to this man the same questions that were directed to you: - Is fasting included in righteous deeds or not? - Was it reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he prohibited it or not?He will say: No.
And if he said: Yes.
We say: Bring the evidence.
He will say: It is included in righteous deeds in fasting.And he will say: The prohibition of it was not reported from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
So we say: So we must act upon it.
And this is truly a calamity that people have been acting upon a deed in which there is no sin, but rather reward, and then some people go against it to mention [contradictory views], bringing forth what contradicts the custom, which is closer to the truth than what he said, and this is a problem.