❖ Question:
What is the ruling on fasting one or two days before Ramadan to welcome it?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
✿ Answer:
It is not permissible, as it has been prohibited in the ḥadīth.
❀ Ḥadīth Evidence:
Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
لَا تَقَدَّمُوا رَمَضَانَ بِصَوْمِ يَوْمٍ وَلَا يَوْمَيْنِ إِلَّا رَجُلٌ كَانَ يَصُومُ صَوْمًا فَلْيَصُمْهُ
"Do not precede Ramadan by fasting one or two days before it, except for a man who has a habitual practice of fasting, then he may fast."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1914; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1082)
Conclusion:① Fasting specifically to welcome Ramadan one or two days before is prohibited.
② Exception: If someone already has a routine of fasting (e.g., Mondays, Thursdays, or alternate days), then it is permissible.
③ The prohibition is to avoid confusing voluntary fasts with the obligatory fasts of Ramadan.
