Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
The meaning is that some people have the habit of designating one or two specific days in the week for fasting. For example, some fast on Monday and Thursday, some on Monday and Tuesday, and some on Thursday and Friday. However, such specification is not established from the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Ibn Teen said that for this very reason, some have considered such specification to be disliked (makruh). But the specification of the Day of Arafah, Ashura, and the White Days (Ayyam al-Beed) is itself established from hadith. Hafiz said that in several ahadith it is mentioned that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to fast on Mondays and Thursdays. However, perhaps according to Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah), those ahadith are not authentic, even though Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, and Nasa’i have narrated them, and Ibn Hibban has declared them authentic (sahih). It is narrated from Aisha (radi Allahu anha) that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would intentionally fast on Mondays and Thursdays, and Nasa’i and Abu Dawud have narrated this. Ibn Khuzaymah has declared it authentic. It is narrated from Usamah (radi Allahu anhu) that I saw the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. I asked him the reason for this, and he replied: “On these days, deeds are presented (to Allah), so I wish that my deeds are raised while I am fasting.”

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
It was previously mentioned that a voluntary fast (nafl) may be broken due to a reasonable excuse, for example: if a guest swears an oath to the host that he should eat with him, or if the host has prepared an elaborate meal, then to encourage him, the fast may be broken. However, doing so is not obligatory. For instance: if someone visits another’s home and the household presents him with whatever is available (“ma hadir”), then in such circumstances, breaking the fast is not necessary, as is evident from the presented hadith. In any case, whether to break a voluntary fast or not depends on the situation and circumstances.

(2)
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) made three supplications for Anas (radi Allahu anhu):
• O Allah! Bless him in his wealth and children.
• O Allah! Grant him a long life.
• O Allah! Forgive him on the Day of Resurrection.
(al-Tabaqat al-Kubra by Ibn Sa’d: 19/7, Dar Sader edition, Beirut)
Anas (radi Allahu anhu) says:
I have personally witnessed the acceptance of two of these supplications; among the Ansar of Madinah, I am the wealthiest. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Fasting, Hadith: 1982)
He also had a garden that bore fruit twice a year.
(Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, Book of Virtues, Hadith: 3833)
The hadith mentions his deceased children, and those who survived numbered more than one hundred. (Sahih Muslim, Virtues of the Companions, Hadith: 6377(2481))
As for the third supplication, he says:
Allah, the Exalted, will also grant it acceptance, and Allah, the Exalted, will forgive me on the Day of Resurrection.
(Sahih Muslim, Virtues of the Companions, Hadith: 6377(2481))

(3)
It should be noted that when Hajjaj ibn Yusuf came to Basrah, Anas (radi Allahu anhu) was a little over eighty years old at that time, and he passed away at the age of one hundred.
(Fath al-Bari: 291/4)

1:
What is the reason for this prohibition?
There are various opinions of the scholars regarding this matter.
The most correct reason is that it is due to its being a day of Eid (festival).
This is explicitly stated in the marfu‘ narration of Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu, which has been recorded by Al-Hakim and others with these words: ((Yawm al-Jumu‘ah yawm ‘id, fala taj‘alu yawma ‘idikum yawma siyamikum illa an tasumu qablahu aw ba‘dahu)) “Friday is a day of Eid,
so do not make your day of Eid the day of your fasting,
except that you fast a day before it (Thursday) or a day after it (Saturday).”
And Ibn Abi Shaybah has also narrated a hadith of similar meaning from Ali radi Allahu anhu, whose chain is hasan (good). Its wording is: ((Man kana minkum mutatawwi‘an min al-shahr ayyaman,
fal-yakun fi sawmihi yawm al-khamis,
wa la yasum yawma al-jumu‘ah,
fa-innahu yawmu ta‘amin wa sharabin)) “Whoever among you is observing voluntary fasts in a month,
let him fast on Thursday,
and not fast on Friday,
for it is a day of eating and drinking.”

Benefits and Issues:
➊ It is not permissible to single out Friday for fasting, nor to make special arrangements for night prayer and supererogatory acts of worship (nawafil) specifically on the night of Friday.
➋ The reason for this prohibition is not established from the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).
➌ Except that Friday has been called a day of Eid, and it is a special day for remembrance (dhikr) and worship.
➍ Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has mentioned these reasons in Fath al-Bari, and then Allamah Shawkani rahimahullah has also discussed them and raised objections in Nayl al-Awtar (4/281).
➎ Some people perform Salat al-Raghaib on the night of Friday, which is an innovation (bid‘ah) invented by the Sufis.
➏ Sometimes, lessons and preaching are arranged on Thursday and Friday nights; in this, insha’Allah, there is no harm, because these gatherings are not recognized acts of worship.
➐ These actions are done for the sake of organization and convenience, not due to the special status of Friday.
➑ And Allah knows best.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ Friday is the weekly Eid for Muslims; therefore, fasting on this day alone, in one respect, becomes similar to fasting on the day of Eid.
➋ Fasting on Thursday is Sunnah, as is coming in hadith 1740 and 1739. Along with it, one may also fast on Friday.
➌ In the same way, fasting on Saturday alone is also prohibited—see hadith 1726. However, if one fasts on both Friday and Saturday together, then it is permissible.

561 Benefits and Issues:
➊ «لَاتَخُصُّو يَوْمَ الْجُمَعَةِ» That is, do not single out Friday for fasting, because Friday is a day of Eid, and fasting is not observed on the day of Eid. Some scholars have said that this prohibition is of a prohibitive (tahrimi) nature, but the majority have interpreted it as a discouragement (tanzihi), because in Tirmidhi there is a narration from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radi Allahu anhu with a good chain, in which it is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would very rarely leave fasting on Fridays. [جامع الترمذي ، الصوم ، باب ماجاء فى صوم يوم الجمعة ، حديث : 742] However, there is a possibility that perhaps along with it, he would also fast a day before or after.

➋ It should be remembered that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam undoubtedly declared Friday as a day of Eid, but there is certainly this difference between Eid and Friday: on the day of Eid, fasting is absolutely impermissible, under no circumstance is it allowed, even if one fasts a day before or after, it is still not permissible, because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam absolutely forbade fasting on the day of Eid. Whereas in the case of Friday, this is unanimously permissible, and the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself permitted it, as will be mentioned in the following hadith. *