And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions: He said -may Allah have mercy on him-

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
He said -may Allah have mercy on him-: "Chapter on explaining the virtue of fasting in Muharram, Sha'ban, and the sacred months:
Narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

The most excellent fast after Ramadan is God's month. al-Muharram, and the most excellent prayer after what is prescribed is prayer during the night.

أفضل الصيام بعد رمضان : شهر الله المحرم، وأفضل الصلاة بعد الفريضة صلاة الليل

Sahih Muslim 1163a

Narrated by Muslim.
And it was narrated from A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said:

The Prophet (ﷺ) did not observe voluntary Saum (fasting) so frequently during any other month as he did during Sha'ban. He observed Saum throughout the month of Sha'ban.

لم يكن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يصوم مِن شهر أكثر من شعبان، فإنه كان يصوم شعبان كله

Riyad as-Salihin 1247

.
In another narration:

He used to fast (all) of Shaban except a little

كان يصوم شعبان إلا قليلاً

Sunan an-Nasa'i 2179Sahih (Darussalam)

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And it was narrated from Mujibah al-Bahiliyyah from her father or her uncle:

Reported Mujibah Al-Bahiliyah on the authority of her father or uncle that he visited the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) once and then went to see him again after a year. His appearance had totally changed. He asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) if he had recognized him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked, "Who are you?" He replied: "I am Al- Bahili who visited you last year." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "You were quite handsome, what has changed your appearance so much?" He replied, "Since my departure from here, I have not eaten anything except at night." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) remarked, "You have put yourself to torture. Observe Saum (fasting) during the Month of Patience (i.e., Ramadan) and fast one day from each month." He submitted, "Permit me to observe more voluntary fasts because I have capacity to do so." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Then observe fasts for two days in every month." He said, "Permit me to observe more." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Observe fasts on three days in every month." He requested that he should be allowed to observe more fasts. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Fast three days during the sacred months and omit fasting for three days alternately." He (ﷺ) joined his three fingers together and left them apart while repeating this sentence thrice. [Abu Dawud] .

أنه أتى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ثم انطلق فأتاه بعد سَنَة، وقد تغيرت حاله وهيئته، فقال : يا رسول الله أما تعرفني ؟ قال : ومَن أنت ؟ قال : أنا الباهلي الذي جئتك عام الأول . قال : فما غيرك وقد كنت حسن الهيئة ؟ قال : ما أكلتُ طعاماً منذ فارقتك إلا بليل ، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : عذبت نفسك ، ثم قال : صم شهر الصبر ، ويومًا من كل شهر ، قال : زدني ، فإن بي قوة ، قال : صم يومين ، قال : زدني، قال : صم ثلاثة أيام ، قال: زدني، قال : صم من الحرم واترك، صم من الحرم والترك، صم من الحرم واترك ، وقال بأصابعه الثلاث فضمها، ثم أرسلها

Riyad as-Salihin 1248

Abu Dawud narrated it".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
In this chapter, the author -may Allah have mercy on him- mentioned explaining the days and months for which fasting is recommended:
Among these is: fasting in Sha'ban, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to fast all of it, or all but a little, as A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated from him. Therefore, a person should fast more in the month of Sha'ban than in other months, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to fast it.
The scholars said: "The wisdom behind this is that it is like the regular voluntary prayers before the obligatory prayer, coming before Ramadan".
And among these is also: the month of Allah, Muharram. The month of Allah, Muharram, is the period between Dhul Hijjah and Safar. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said about it: , and it is emphasized to fast the tenth and the ninth, or the tenth and the eleventh, or the tenth, the ninth, and the eleventh.
And among these is also: fasting three days of every month, as in the hadith of the Bahili , but the white days are better, and they are: the thirteenth, the fourteenth, and the fifteenth.
And among these is also: fasting the Day of 'Arafah: : meaning it expiates two years.
It will come, if Allah wills, in the author's words or in this book, an explanation of some of the days for which fasting is recommended.
And in the hadith of the Bahili who fasted for a full year, until his appearance changed and his condition weakened, and he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and he said to him: : In this is proof that it is not part of the Shari'ah to burden a person with what he cannot bear, or to torture himself, because Allah says: , and success is from Allah.