Vowing to Fast on the Days of Eid: Prohibition and Consensus of the Ummah
Source: Fatawa Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question
If someone vows to fast on the day of Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha, what is the ruling?
❖ Answer
It is forbidden to fast on the days of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. On these days, it is not permissible to keep a fast, whether it be nadhri (vowed), fard (obligatory), or nafl (voluntary). Whoever does so will be sinful.
❀ Abu ʿUmayr ibn Anas (رحمه الله) narrated from his uncles, who were Companions of the Messenger ﷺ:
When the crescent of Shawwal was not sighted, the people fasted in the morning. Later in the day, a caravan arrived and testified before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that they had sighted the crescent the previous day. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then ordered them to break their fast that day and to go out for Eid prayer the next morning.
(Musnad Ahmad, 5/86; Sunan Abi Dawud: 1157; Sunan al-Nasa’i: 1558; Sunan Ibn Majah: 1653 – sanad sahih)
This hadith has been graded hasan by Imam al-Daraqutni (2/170), sahih by Imam Ibn al-Jarud (266) and Imam al-Bayhaqi (al-Sunan al-Kubra, 3/316). It was also declared sahih by Ibn Hazm (al-Muhalla, 30/307), al-Khattabi (Maʿalim al-Sunan, 1/218), al-Nawawi (Khalasat al-Ahkam, 2/838), Ibn al-Mulaqqin (al-Badr al-Munir, 2/95), and thabit by Ibn al-Mundhir (al-Awsat, 4/294).
❀ Ziyad ibn Jubayr (رحمه الله) narrated:
“I was with Ibn ʿUmar (RA) when a man asked: ‘I vowed to fast every Tuesday or Wednesday for as long as I live, but this day coincides with Eid al-Adha. What should I do?’ Ibn ʿUmar (RA) replied: ‘Allah has commanded us to fulfill vows, but He has forbidden us from fasting on the day of Eid al-Adha.’”
(Sahih al-Bukhari: 6706; Sahih Muslim: 1139)
❀ ʿAllamah Ibn al-ʿArabi (رحمه الله, 543H) said:
لا خلاف بين العلماء أنه لا يجوز صيامهما للناذر ولا للمتطوع، ولا يقضى فيهما رمضان، والذي يصومهما بعد علمه بالنهي، فهو عاص عند جميع الأمة.
“There is no difference among the scholars that fasting on the two Eids is not permissible, whether for one who has vowed or one performing voluntary fasts, nor can Ramadan fasts be made up on these days. Whoever fasts on these days after knowing the prohibition is sinful according to the entire Ummah.”
(Al-Masalik fi Sharh Muwatta Malik, 4/419)
❀ ʿAllamah Abu Mutarrif al-Qanaziʿi (رحمه الله, 413H) said:
أجمع المسلمون على أنه لا يصام يوم الفطر والأضحى.
“The Muslims are unanimous that fasting on the days of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha is not permissible.”
(Tafsir al-Muwatta, 2/218)
