❖ Fasting on Friday in the Pattern of Alternate-Day Fasting ❖
Source: Fatāwā Arkān-e-Islām
✦ Question
If a person follows the routine of fasting one day and skipping the next, and the day of fasting happens to fall on a Friday, is it permissible for him to fast on that Friday or not?
✦ Answer
Alḥamdulillāh, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allāh. To proceed:
If a person observes alternate-day fasting, i.e., fasts one day and skips the next, then it is permissible for him to fast alone on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday — provided that the day does not fall under the category of days in which fasting is ḥarām (prohibited).
If, however, the fasting day coincides with a day that is Sharʿan forbidden for fasting, then it becomes obligatory to skip the fast on that particular day.
✦ Example Case
① A person observes a pattern of fasting one day and skipping the next.
② Suppose his day of not fasting falls on a Thursday.
③ Consequently, the next fasting day would be Friday.
✔ In such a case, there is no harm in fasting on Friday.
Reason:
He is not fasting specifically because it is Friday, but rather as part of his established pattern of alternate-day fasting.
✦ Exception: Days When Fasting is Prohibited
If the fasting day coincides with any of the following:
❌ Day of ʿEid al-Aḍḥā
❌ Days of Tashrīq (11th, 12th, and 13th of Dhul-Ḥijjah)
Then fasting on such days is not permissible, and it is obligatory to skip the fast on those days.
✦ Ruling for Women in the Same Situation
① If a woman also follows a routine of alternate-day fasting,
② And her fasting day happens to coincide with menstruation (ḥayḍ) or postnatal bleeding (nifās),
Then in such a case, she must abstain from fasting on that day as well.
هٰذَا مَا عِندِي وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
