The ruling on fasting Ashura if it falls on a Saturday.

The questioner : The fasting of Tashu'a and Ashura fell on a Saturday, so we asked some of the shaykhs, may Allah reward them with all good. Some of them said to fast a day before it or a day after it, while others said that one does not fast on a Saturday.

The Shaykh : Before answering this question, I advise our brothers who wish to verify in themselves the command of Allah the Mighty and Majestic to His Prophet, . So, whoever among you wishes to be clear in his religion will find much disagreement. And as Allah the Exalted said, regarding a sign and a miracle in the Noble Qur'an, He said in it: . So you hear Zayd saying what I said in the first opinion, and some of them say that one does not fast on a Saturday at all. It is obligatory for you to accustom yourselves not to be followers of people, meaning that one of you should not be like, "I am with so-and-so; I do not know a shaykh in the world except so-and-so." This is injustice to the self that commands evil and is pre-Islamic tribalism. Rather, he should be a Salafi. The righteous Salaf undoubtedly represent the best nation brought forth for mankind, by the text of the Noble Qur'an. This is the chosen nation. Do you imagine, or does any of you imagine, that they were all scholars? Of course not. Do you imagine that most of them were scholars? Also no. Do you imagine that half of them were? No, no, no. The least of them were scholars, while the majority were not scholars. What did these majority do? They verified the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic in the well-known verse. What is the verse we always mention? . We said that most of the Companions of the Messenger did not know, and the least of them were from the people of knowledge, meaning from the people of learning. So, both the larger group, the overwhelming majority who do not know, and the other group, the minority who do know, each of them has an obligation. The obligation of the majority is to ask the people of knowledge, and the obligation of these people is to make things clear to the people and not to conceal the knowledge. So what is knowledge? Knowledge is what Allah said and what His Messenger said. When this belief is established in the minds of the Muslims, they will be free from being followers of people, from living in pre-Islamic tribalism, and let us say it clearly, from living in sectarian tribalism. One says, "I am, my brother, a Hanafi," the second says, "I am a Maliki," the third says, "I am a Shafi'i," the fourth says, "I am a Hanbali." This is if we stay within the limits of the people of the Sunnah. If we widen it, that one will say he is a Shi'i, that one will say he is a Zaydi, and so on. In order to be free from this division and this disagreement, as Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: , we must focus ourselves. This one says, "You fast on Saturday, the day before it, and the day after it." We say to him, "What is the evidence?" He says, "No, fasting on Saturday is not fasted at all except in one case." What is the evidence? If a person accustoms himself to this, he will be saved from this chaos and this turmoil, and he will become a jurist even though he is a layman. Perhaps he is, or perhaps not. What were the Companions of the Messenger, peace be upon him? Were they, as they say today, cultured people with degrees? No. The Noble Qur'an stated: . They were illiterate. The least of the few among them were those who were good at writing and reading; the least of the few. Therefore, Allah the Mighty and Majestic called the Arab nation in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was sent "illiterate," because it was very, very rare for anyone among them to be cultured. How did these illiterate people become scholars and become the masters of the world, and spread Islam not only in the entire Arabian Peninsula but also in other lands? Because they were guided by the guidance of Islam, by the Book and by the Sunnah of the Messenger, peace be upon him. And by that, they became scholars. Therefore, it is not permissible for a Muslim to belittle himself in this regard, meaning to say, "By Allah, I am a layman, or I am not good at writing and reading as it should be," and remain ignorant. No, that is not permissible for him, because the Companions of the Messenger were illiterate, more so than you, and yet they became scholars. However, I warn on this occasion and say: it is not just that one of you, when he comes to know that this is an authentic hadith and this issue is wrong and has no evidence, and the evidence indicates such and such, then he sits and issues fatwas as he pleases and thinks that he has become one of the people of knowledge. This is wrong. So, neither excess nor deficiency. . We return after this introduction and this preamble. Now I present to you and let you hear a hadith. See what the hadith says. He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: . This is except that the scholars say it is a tool of exception. How is the verse? . Allah made an exception that there is forgetfulness, but we explained what forgetfulness is. Now, here He says: . So when Ashura comes on a Saturday and He tells youThe Shaykh : So-and-so, there is nothing on him; he fasts the day before it and the day after it. So where did you get this second exception from? The first exception is explicitly stated in the hadith . You have come up with a second exception without any evidence. You will never hear any evidence from him, because the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Shari'ah are from the revelation of the sky; falsehood does not come to it from before it or from behind it. Therefore, it is impossible for it to be contradictory. If a person presents to you an opinion or a ruling devoid of evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, and another Shaykh presents a ruling accompanied by evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, you should not be confused, wondering whether to follow this one or that one. No, follow the one who has the truth. Now, I will clarify the issue to you in support of this hadith, showing that there is no exception in it. In reality, people are dominated by customs and taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence). I know well that this hadith was dead; the hadith was dead, meaning it was abandoned and unknown to people. But suddenly, he surprised them with this hadith and published it in his books and so on. People began to ask, "What is the meaning of this hadith?" The one who published the hadith stands by it and does not lean to the right or the left. The others, some by their actions and some by their words, say, "We have not heard of this from our forefathers." Indeed, they had not heard of it, but the hadith exists in the books of the Sunnah, in the Sunan, in the Musnads, and so on, through many authentic chains. When they cannot deny this hadith because of its authenticity, they try to twist it, going around and around. Among the twists and turns is the claim that if you fast this day alone, it is forbidden, but if you fast it along with the day before or the day after, there is nothing on you. Now, this hadith forbids fasting on Saturday except for the obligatory. We say to them: If Monday comes, excuse me, if the fasting of the Day of 'Arafah comes, or if the Day of 'Ashura' comes on a Saturday, it is not to be fasted. This corresponds to fasting on Monday and Thursday, which the scholars agree has a very great reward. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to fast on Mondays and Thursdays and used to say . If one were to ask any of these Shaykhs who interpret the hadith "except for what is obligatory upon you," what would you say, O honorable Shaykhs? If Monday and Thursday fall on one of the four days of the festival, or let us take the first day of the festival: if the first day of the festival is a Monday, is it permissible to fast it? It is not permissible to fast it; there is absolutely no disagreement. If we ask them, "What is the evidence?" The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade fasting on the day of the festival. Here, there is a contradiction: he forbade fasting on the day of the festival and encouraged fasting on what? Monday. Similarly, if Thursday falls on a day of the festival, we do not fast it. When they said, "We do not fast," they hit the truth. But on what principle did they rely? They rightly said, "When a prohibition conflicts with a permissibility, the prohibition takes precedence over the permissibility." The hadiths that encourage fasting on Monday and Thursday mean that it is permissible for Muslims to fast on these two days. But when the prohibition of fasting on the day of the festival comes, the prohibition overrides the permissibility. Now, why do they not stand by this principle regarding the fasting of Saturday, even though fasting on Saturday does not have this virtue that came for Monday and Thursday, and it is only permissible based on the original rule? But when the prohibition of fasting on Saturday came explicitly, and nothing was excepted except the obligatory, we stood by the hadith and did not add exceptions from ourselves. It would have been possible for someone who wants to be biased toward one hadith at the expense of another to say, "If the day of the festival is a Monday, I will fast it." Why? Because he has a stronger argument. But, my brother, you know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade fasting on the day of the festival, so he knows that he is mistaken. Similarly, it is not permissible to fast on Saturday just because it is the Day of 'Ashura' which has a virtue, or the Day of 'Arafah which has a virtue, because this virtue coincided with a day of prohibition, which is Saturday, just as Monday or Thursday coincided with a day of the festival, so it is not fasted because it is forbidden. The answer now, in brief: if a person hears two opinions on one issue, he must ask each of the holders of the opinions, "What is the evidence for that?" Then, whichever one reassures his heart and opens his chest, he follows it. As for the fact that So-and-so said it is permissible and the second said it is not permissible... he is confused. What will free him from confusion? Following the evidence.

The questioner : I read for Shaykh Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani in this issue. I read two opinions. The first, the old one, was thatThe Shaykh : he used to say, "Do not single out Saturday for fasting," and the other opinion is the prohibition absolutely.

The Shaykh : It is abrogated.

The questioner : Yes, I know that, but what I want to say now is that I am a person who has read hadiths on this issue, for example, the hadith of the wife who entered upon him on Friday, on Thursday, and found her fasting. He said to her, "Do you fast on Friday?" She said, "No." He said, She said, "No." He said, This is also a hadith. And the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged this fasting. Also, the hadith of . And I developed a conviction that it is permissible to fast on Saturday along with Friday, for example, and I was not convinced by the story of the prohibition.

The Shaykh : Why?

The questioner : Singling it out, due to lack of conviction.

The Shaykh : Why were you not convinced after this explanation? I answered you previously that this is abrogated.

The questioner : Your old opinion is abrogated.

The Shaykh : No, and the hadith says, .

The questioner : No, the hadith is .

The Shaykh : This is the day after it.

The questioner : It is abrogated.

The Shaykh : It was.

The questioner : By what is it abrogated?

The Shaykh : By this hadith, .

The questioner : Who said it was abrogated among the early scholars?

The Shaykh : The one who acted upon the hadith.

The questioner : Who, for example? It is fine, O Shaykh?

The Shaykh : The narrator of the hadith. It is fine, but why are you now resorting to asking who said it, instead of understanding the hadith?

The questioner : Because I have not read that anyone said it was abrogated. I just heard from you now that it is abrogated.

The Shaykh : The word "abrogated" is an explanation for the one who said that this day is not to be fasted. It is not necessary for you to say that one of the early scholars said this hadith is abrogated, because these are terminological matters. It is not hidden from you that the words "abrogating" and "abrogated" are terminological matters, even among the Salaf. The word "abrogated" may be applied to the specific. These are terminological matters. So who says when a person says this? We excuse the student of knowledge when he resorts to this path when the hadith is not clear in its indication. But I have now explained his saying (peace be upon him), . Now, what is the result of the logic you are saying, which I was on before? "Do not fast on Saturday except for what is obligatory upon you." Is it correct to attribute this to the Messenger (peace be upon him)?

The questioner : No.

The Shaykh : Therefore, stand by your understanding of this hadith. If you are unable to understand it, seek the help of the people of knowledge. But if the hadith is clear in its indication, like the sun at noon, there is no need after that to ask who said this hadith, because you know that Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his valuable book, al-Risalah, "The hadith is a proof in itself." If the hadith is established, we are not obligated to be preceded in acting upon it. We always say this, except in a hadith where there is doubt in its indication, where it may imply this aspect and may imply that aspect. Here, it is necessary to seek support from the scholars who preceded us. But a hadith that is clear in its indication means deactivating it, and it means contradicting our methodology, which is following the Book and the Sunnah. So when you stand and think about this hadith and answer with complete honesty: is it reasonable that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, , and then we come and interpret it because of general texts? You do not have any hadith at all in all the examples you mentioned, from fasting the white days, or the fasting of Dawud (peace be upon him), which is the best fasting, and so on, that it came on a Saturday and he fasted it and died upon that. As for the fasting of Dawud (peace be upon him), the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not establish that with him, I think you know this. So you are different from others who argue with generalities. And I answered this argument previously when I said that hadiths came encouraging fasting on Monday, fasting on Thursday, fasting on 'Ashura', and fasting on the Day of 'Arafah. Are these not general proofs?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Here we have a general proof, and you have a specific proof, which is . In this case, this exception restricts those generalities. I gave you the example at the beginning so that you would understand jurisprudence and not remain as I was in the past, clinging to the generalities until the specific hadith that does not accept figurative interpretation came. I said earlier: Monday, the day of the festival, has arrived, and we agree that we do not fast. How did we equate this here? We equated it with the virtue of Monday.

The questioner : Because there is scholarly consensus that if the festival falls on a Monday, fasting is not permissible.

The Shaykh : Is this the answer?

The questioner : The prohibition, first, is from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and then the consensus of the community.

The Shaykh : Okay, and the days after the first day? You are mistaken in this statement. Keep it in mind, but it needs, as they say in our region in the Levant, to be leveled out... We do not stop here, or do you want us to go back? And are the three days of the festival also subject to scholarly consensus?

The questioner : I am speaking about the first day.

The Shaykh : I know, but I am asking you: if Monday, the second day of the festival, comes, do you fast?

The questioner : And I am not in a state of ihram, so I do not fast.

The Shaykh : Why?

The questioner : Because there is a prohibition from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Shaykh : What is the difference between this and that? And what did you do with the virtue?

The questioner : Do you fast tomorrow, which is a Saturday, and it is known that tomorrow is a Saturday?

The Shaykh : Allow me, you did not answer me. May Allah be pleased with you. We do not want to waste the discussion on the people. What did you do with the virtue of Monday when you said, "If the second day of the festival is a Monday, I do not fast"? What did you do?

The questioner : I did not fast because the Messenger of Allah prohibited fasting on the days of the festival.

The Shaykh : In terms of the scientific principles of usul al-fiqh, what did you do?

The questioner : .

The Shaykh : You are not answering. In terms of the scientific principles of usul al-fiqh, you say, "I specified the hadiths regarding the virtue of Monday with the prohibition of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." Is this expression correct?

The questioner : Correct.

The Shaykh : What comes out for us if we want to summarize this fact? We fast on Monday, except on a day that coincides with a prohibition, in which case we do not fast.

The questioner : And it was not possible to reconcile the texts.

The Shaykh : We have finished with the issue where reconciliation is possible. We said earlier: Is it correct to say, "Do not fast on Saturday except in what is obligatory upon you," or not? I said no, is that not so?

The questioner : I repeat the statement; if I made a mistake, I correct it. I said, "Do not fast on Saturday alone, except in what is obligatory upon you."

The Shaykh : Professor, we do not want to double down on each other. Allow me, no harm, but you are now changing the wording, but in terms of meaning, it is one thing. I am asking you now, and I do not hold it against you that you are forcing me to tighten the noose on you because you are doubling down on me. We are not speaking, may Allah bless you, of your intention; we do not doubt it, by the permission of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. But when I said to you, "Is it correct to say, 'Do not fast on Saturday except in what is obligatory upon you,' or not, in such and such," you said no. Then you returned to say, "I am correcting what I said." I am telling you frankly: you did not correct what you said. In military terms, you held your position but changed a word. What did you say?

The questioner : You added the word "alone."

The Shaykh : "Alone" means "or such and such," correct or not? Therefore, I hope you think about this well.

The questioner : Why do we not make the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) like the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or like his saying , knowing that hadiths regarding riba al-fadl have come? We hope for its explanation.

The Shaykh : Here the matter is completely different, because indicates the prohibition of riba al-nasi'ah, as it indicates the prohibition of what is less than that. Is this answer sufficient, or is it not sufficient?

The questioner : There is a need for some explanation.

The Shaykh means the prohibition of riba al-nasi'ah, and by the concept of the opposite, regarding the other hadiths, it means the prohibition of another type of riba. Here it is exactly the opposite. Here, the generality of the hadith indicates the prohibition of Saturday, while it is intended to say, "But Saturday is not prohibited." As for "No riba except in deferment," there is riba other than deferment. Is there a prohibited fasting on Saturday other than this case? That is, the prohibited riba is of two types: riba al-nasi'ah and what they call riba al-fadl. When "No riba except in deferment" came, its wording leads us to think that this is the only prohibited type. But when other hadiths came indicating the prohibition of riba of another type, this text was added to the first text, so the prohibited riba is of two parts: riba al-nasi'ah and riba al-fadl. How can this be applied to fasting on Saturday? Those who interpret it say, "Fasting on Saturday is not permissible in one case and is permissible in another." Do you know how? Fasting on Saturday is not permissible in one case and is permissible in another case. There is a great difference between this and that. indicates what? The prohibition of riba al-nasi'ah, and the other hadiths indicate riba al-fadl as well. So here, this is prohibited and that is prohibited. Here, on the contrary, this is prohibited, meaning fasting on Saturday alone, and that is permissible, meaning fasting it with the day before and the day after. So the example differs, and the question falls away.