A person who owes six days of fasting from Ramadan and wishes to obtain the virtue of the six days of Shawwal; is it permissible for him to combine the two intentions?
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The questioner : ... The brother regarding age, and what is age, so we ask Allah to lengthen your life and the life of our uncle "Abu Malik" and all the brothers.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you and grant us all success in righteous deeds.
The questioner : May Allah preserve you.
The issue I want to ask about is: a person broke his fast for an excuse in Ramadan for six days, and he loves to follow the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 13:437, if he fasts six days of Shawwal, can he combine the two together; meaning the ones he broke and the six of Shawwal?
The Shaykh : ... .
Abu Malik: This is a question, O Shaykh "Ajaj".
The questioner : Yes?
Abu Malik: Your question is understood.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This is something we often ask about, especially in this month which is nearly over. We say: the original ruling in such a case is to intend first to make up what he owes from Ramadan; this is first. Then, if he wishes to combine with this intention of making up the fast the intention of the six days of Shawwal, this is permissible, indeed it is recommended. To clarify the legal reality here, we say that for the one who owes making up fasts from Ramadan, we can envision three levels for him: the first, which is the highest, then the middle, then the lowest.
The first level: that he makes up what he owes from Ramadan, then follows that with six days of Shawwal; meaning: he gives each intention its own action. He gives the intention of making up the fast its specific action, and he gives the intention of the six days of Shawwal six days of Shawwal exclusively, with six days of Shawwal. So if we assume a man owes making up six days, then in this level he fasts twelve days: six for making up and six exclusively for Shawwal. This is the first and highest level.
The second level: he makes up six days of what he owes from Ramadan and adds to it an intention. He benefits from this intention with one good deed. If, for example, the good deed is multiplied ten times, as came in the authentic hadith at the minimum stage, otherwise it may be recorded as a hundred, or seven hundred, or multiplied many times over, and Allah multiplies for whom He wills, as in the authentic hadith. So the one who made up six days of Shawwal has no less than ten good deeds for each day. If he adds the intention of Shawwal to the intention of making up the fast, this has one good deed. So what is recorded for him is ten for each day, making the total sixty. Added to that are six days not combined with the action, as in the first scenario, so he has sixty-six good deeds.
The third level - and the last - is that he intends one intention: making up what he owes, and sixty good deeds are recorded for him. This is how we see it...
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you and grant us all success in righteous deeds.
The questioner : May Allah preserve you.
The issue I want to ask about is: a person broke his fast for an excuse in Ramadan for six days, and he loves to follow the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whoever fasts Ramadan and follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is as if he fasted the whole year.
مَن صام رمضان وأتبعه ستًّا من شوال ؛ فكأنما صام الدهرThe Shaykh : ... .
Abu Malik: This is a question, O Shaykh "Ajaj".
The questioner : Yes?
Abu Malik: Your question is understood.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This is something we often ask about, especially in this month which is nearly over. We say: the original ruling in such a case is to intend first to make up what he owes from Ramadan; this is first. Then, if he wishes to combine with this intention of making up the fast the intention of the six days of Shawwal, this is permissible, indeed it is recommended. To clarify the legal reality here, we say that for the one who owes making up fasts from Ramadan, we can envision three levels for him: the first, which is the highest, then the middle, then the lowest.
The first level: that he makes up what he owes from Ramadan, then follows that with six days of Shawwal; meaning: he gives each intention its own action. He gives the intention of making up the fast its specific action, and he gives the intention of the six days of Shawwal six days of Shawwal exclusively, with six days of Shawwal. So if we assume a man owes making up six days, then in this level he fasts twelve days: six for making up and six exclusively for Shawwal. This is the first and highest level.
The second level: he makes up six days of what he owes from Ramadan and adds to it an intention. He benefits from this intention with one good deed. If, for example, the good deed is multiplied ten times, as came in the authentic hadith at the minimum stage, otherwise it may be recorded as a hundred, or seven hundred, or multiplied many times over, and Allah multiplies for whom He wills, as in the authentic hadith. So the one who made up six days of Shawwal has no less than ten good deeds for each day. If he adds the intention of Shawwal to the intention of making up the fast, this has one good deed. So what is recorded for him is ten for each day, making the total sixty. Added to that are six days not combined with the action, as in the first scenario, so he has sixty-six good deeds.
The third level - and the last - is that he intends one intention: making up what he owes, and sixty good deeds are recorded for him. This is how we see it...
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.