Does this imply that she did not fast the six days?

The questioner : The honorable Shaykh, it is narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: Does this imply that she did not fast the six days, or is there another interpretation?

The Shaykh : Fasting the six days is a matter in which there is no dispute. The six days cannot be prescribed unless a person has completed Ramadan. The hadith and the phrase "then follow it" implies that Ramadan must have been completed. Just as a person's post-Zuhr rawatib (regular voluntary prayers) are not valid before the obligatory prayer, so too are the six days, because the six days are in the position of the rawatib after the obligatory prayer; therefore, they are not valid. But tell me, does it indicate that she did not fast the Day of 'Arafah, or the Day of 'Ashura, or the white days (the 13th, 14th, and 15th of the month)? Tell me this? We do not know; Allah knows best. She may have fasted them, or she may not have. If she fasted them, it is not strange, because the time for making up fasts is extended, and voluntary fasting before an extended obligatory duty is permissible. And if she did not fast them, that is also not strange given her jurisprudence, because jurisprudence dictates that a person should begin with the obligatory before what? Before the voluntary. And her father, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), said: "Indeed, Allah does not accept a voluntary act until the obligatory is performed". In any case, fasting voluntary fasts before making up obligatory ones is a possibility, but fasting the six days before making up the obligatory ones is a certainty that she did not do so, because Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) is more knowledgeable in jurisprudence than we are. And we understand from this hadith that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that the six days are attached to Ramadan, so they cannot be fasted before its completion. Do you understand? Someone might say: Did not the Messenger of Allah fast on the white days, or fast three days every month, fasting Monday and Thursday? Why did she not fast with him? It is said: Is it not possible that the time of the Messenger of Allah's (peace and blessings be upon him) fasting was when she was menstruating? It is possible. And these possibilities do not constitute evidence. Yes.