Also, he asks: Is it obligatory for one who has fasted it for a year to continue fasting it?
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The questioner : Also, he asks: Is it obligatory for one who has fasted it for a year to continue fasting it?
The Shaykh : It is not obligatory; it is not required of one who has fasted it for a year to fast it for the rest of his life.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because this is voluntary, and a person may do voluntary acts or leave them.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, what a person should do when he performs an act is to persist in it, whether in this or in prayer. So if he performs an act, he should not leave it or abandon it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, as I think:Mishkat al-Masabih 1234 Even though standing in night prayer is not obligatory, a person should persist in an act of obedience if he performs it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But that is not obligatory in matters other than the obligatory ones.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is not obligatory; it is not required of one who has fasted it for a year to fast it for the rest of his life.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because this is voluntary, and a person may do voluntary acts or leave them.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, what a person should do when he performs an act is to persist in it, whether in this or in prayer. So if he performs an act, he should not leave it or abandon it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, as I think:
Don’t be like so and so, ‘Abdallah. He used to get up during the night, then abandoned the practice.
لا تكن مثل فلان، كان يقوم من الليل فترك قيام الليلThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But that is not obligatory in matters other than the obligatory ones.
The questioner : Yes.