The discussion regarding fasting on Saturday.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : And I say to you: It has been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he forbade fasting on Saturday except for what is obligatory upon us. He said: Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah 5:249 The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed regarding the authenticity of this hadith and its meaning:
Some of the scholars said: It is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), meaning: the prohibition of fasting on Saturday. Among those who said this is Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him). He said: This is a fabricated hadith, so Malik rejected it.
And some of the scholars said: It does not reach the level of fabrication, but it is weak due to its anomaly, because it is anomalous. The aspect of the anomaly is: there are many hadiths indicating the fasting of Saturday, among them: that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to one of his wives, and she was Juwayriyah, and she had fasted on Friday, he said to her:Sunan Abi Dawud 2422Sahih (Al-Albani).
And among them: that a group disputed regarding fasting on Saturday, so they sent to Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) to ask her, and she said:.
The first hadith was narrated by al-Bukhari and others, and the second is in the Sunan. So the hadith containing the prohibition, in contrast to these hadiths that establish fasting on Saturday, is anomalous, and the anomalous is among the categories of weak hadiths, and it is not acted upon.
And some of the scholars said: It is possible to reconcile between them, and it is said: Whoever intends to fast on Saturday because it is Saturday, then this is forbidden. The aspect of the prohibition is: that Saturday is the day of celebration for the Jews, and the day of celebration is usually a day of leaving off work, because no work is done on festivals, and the fasting person usually needs rest and leaving off work, so this would be a type of imitation of the Jews. But this reasoning is actually defective, because it is refuted by Sunday, which is a day of celebration for the Christians, and yet there is no prohibition on fasting it.
And Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) weakened this hadith, where he mentioned that Yahya ibn Sa'id avoided it and refused to narrate it to Imam Ahmad. And the fact that Imam Ahmad mentioned this about Yahya ibn Sa'id indicates that the hadith is weak in his view.
So now we have two paths:
The first: Malik ruled on it that it is fabricated.
And the second: ruling on it that it is anomalous and weak.
And the third: Abu Dawud mentioned it, and that it is abrogated, but one hesitates regarding this third, because there is no evidence for abrogation, and abrogation requires knowledge of the timeline.
And the closest thing that can be said in that regard is: that singling it out for fasting is disliked, meaning: that you fast on Saturday because it is Saturday, this is disliked. But if it happens to be the Day of Ashura or the Day of 'Arafah, or if it coincides with your custom such that you are among those who fast one day and leave one day, and Saturday coincides with your fasting day, then there is no harm in it. Or if Saturday coincides with the white days, or the six days of Shawwal, or if you combine it with another day like Friday or Sunday, then all of this has no harm. Yes.
The questioner : A phenomenon that spreads in the villages, especially after the return of pilgrims from Makkah.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : A phenomenon
The Shaykh : A phenomenon
The questioner : Spreads in the villages after the return of pilgrims from Makkah.
The Shaykh : This Sunnah?
The questioner : No, it can be every year approximately.
If any of you finds nothing but a grape stalk or the bark of a tree, let him chew it.
فإن لم يجد أحدكم إلا عود عنبه أو لحاء شجر فليمضغهSome of the scholars said: It is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), meaning: the prohibition of fasting on Saturday. Among those who said this is Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him). He said: This is a fabricated hadith, so Malik rejected it.
And some of the scholars said: It does not reach the level of fabrication, but it is weak due to its anomaly, because it is anomalous. The aspect of the anomaly is: there are many hadiths indicating the fasting of Saturday, among them: that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to one of his wives, and she was Juwayriyah, and she had fasted on Friday, he said to her:
Did you fast yesterday ? She said: No. He again asked: Do you intend to fast tomorrow ? She said: No. He said: So break your fast.
أصمت أمسِ؟ قالت: لا، قال: أتصومين غداً؟ قالت: لا، قال: فأفطريAnd among them: that a group disputed regarding fasting on Saturday, so they sent to Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) to ask her, and she said:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to fast frequently on Saturday and Sunday.
كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يكثر من صوم يوم السبت والأحدThe first hadith was narrated by al-Bukhari and others, and the second is in the Sunan. So the hadith containing the prohibition, in contrast to these hadiths that establish fasting on Saturday, is anomalous, and the anomalous is among the categories of weak hadiths, and it is not acted upon.
And some of the scholars said: It is possible to reconcile between them, and it is said: Whoever intends to fast on Saturday because it is Saturday, then this is forbidden. The aspect of the prohibition is: that Saturday is the day of celebration for the Jews, and the day of celebration is usually a day of leaving off work, because no work is done on festivals, and the fasting person usually needs rest and leaving off work, so this would be a type of imitation of the Jews. But this reasoning is actually defective, because it is refuted by Sunday, which is a day of celebration for the Christians, and yet there is no prohibition on fasting it.
And Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) weakened this hadith, where he mentioned that Yahya ibn Sa'id avoided it and refused to narrate it to Imam Ahmad. And the fact that Imam Ahmad mentioned this about Yahya ibn Sa'id indicates that the hadith is weak in his view.
So now we have two paths:
The first: Malik ruled on it that it is fabricated.
And the second: ruling on it that it is anomalous and weak.
And the third: Abu Dawud mentioned it, and that it is abrogated, but one hesitates regarding this third, because there is no evidence for abrogation, and abrogation requires knowledge of the timeline.
And the closest thing that can be said in that regard is: that singling it out for fasting is disliked, meaning: that you fast on Saturday because it is Saturday, this is disliked. But if it happens to be the Day of Ashura or the Day of 'Arafah, or if it coincides with your custom such that you are among those who fast one day and leave one day, and Saturday coincides with your fasting day, then there is no harm in it. Or if Saturday coincides with the white days, or the six days of Shawwal, or if you combine it with another day like Friday or Sunday, then all of this has no harm. Yes.
The questioner : A phenomenon that spreads in the villages, especially after the return of pilgrims from Makkah.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : A phenomenon
The Shaykh : A phenomenon
The questioner : Spreads in the villages after the return of pilgrims from Makkah.
The Shaykh : This Sunnah?
The questioner : No, it can be every year approximately.