This excerpt is taken from Kitab al-Sawm, compiled by Sheikh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri, may Allah preserve him.
Question:
Is any fast in Sha'ban obligatory or mandatory?
Answer:
No fast in Sha'ban is obligatory or mandatory.
Question:
Is fasting on the 13th of Sha'ban considered virtuous?
Answer:
No special virtue of fasting on the 13th of Sha'ban has been mentioned in any hadith, nor is there any practice of the predecessors of the Ummah regarding it.
Question:
Is fasting on the 15th of Sha'ban Sunnah?
Answer:
No authentic narration has been established regarding this.
Question:
Is there any virtue of fasting in Sha'ban?
Answer:
Fasting in Sha'ban is a virtuous act; the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to fast frequently in this month. However, singling out any specific day in this month for fasting without evidence, such as the 15th of Sha'ban, is baseless.
❀ Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates:
لقد كانت إحدانا تفطر في رمضان فما تقدر على أن تقضي حتى يدخل شعبان ما كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يصوم في شهر ما يصوم في شعبان كان يصومه كله إلا قليلا بل كان يصومه كله
"When we (the wives of the Prophet, peace be upon him) would miss fasting in Ramadan due to illness, we could not make up for it until the month of Sha'ban arrived. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast more in Sha'ban than in any other month. He would fast the entire month of Sha'ban except for a few days; in fact, he would fast the whole of Sha'ban."
Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari: 1950, Sahih Muslim: 1146, Al-Muntaqa li Ibn al-Jarood: 400)
Question:
How is the chain of narration of the following hadith?
❀ It is narrated from Sayyidina Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
إذا بقي نصف من شعبان فلا تصوموا
"When half of Sha'ban remains, do not fast."
Reference: (Sunan Abi Dawood: 2337, Sunan al-Tirmidhi: 738)
Answer:
The narration is rejected.
❀ When this hadith was mentioned before Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him:
أنكره
"He, may Allah have mercy on him, declared it rejected."
Reference: (ʿIlal al-Imam Ahmad bi-Riwayat al-Marwazi, p. 160, no. 278)
❀ He also says:
هذا حديث منكر
"This hadith is rejected."
Reference: (Masa'il al-Imam Ahmad bi-Riwayat Abi Dawud: 2002)
❀ Imam Abu Zar'ah al-Razi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
إنه منكر
"This narration is rejected."
Reference: (Al-Du'afa: 2/388)
❀ Hafiz Khalili, may Allah have mercy on him, has declared this narration anomalous and not reliable.
Reference: (Al-Irshad: 1/218, no. 20)
❀ Hafiz Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, has declared it rejected.
Reference: (Siyar A'lam al-Nubala: 6/187)
Question:
Is it more virtuous to fast voluntary fasts or to pray voluntary prayers?
Answer:
If a person has the ability, he should observe voluntary fasts and also offer voluntary prayers. However, if he is not able to keep voluntary fasts and feels weakness in his body, then he should not fast voluntarily but should frequently offer voluntary prayers. Indeed, voluntary fasts have great virtue, and voluntary prayers also hold great importance. On the Day of Judgment, the deficiency in obligatory prayers will be compensated by voluntary prayers. That is why Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) preferred voluntary prayers over voluntary fasts.
❀ About Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him):
إنه كان لا يكاد أن يصوم فقال إني إذا صمت ضعفت عن الصلاة والصلاة أحب إلي من الصيام فإن صام صام ثلاثا من الشهر
"He (may Allah be pleased with him) did not keep many (voluntary) fasts. He used to say: If I fast, I am unable to perform voluntary prayers due to weakness, whereas voluntary prayer is more beloved to me than voluntary fasting. And if he did keep voluntary fasts, he used to fast three days in a month."
Reference: (Tahdhib al-Athar [Musnad Umar] by al-Tabari: 520, Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir by al-Tabarani: 9/175, No: 8869, and its chain is authentic)
❀ Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me:
أحب الصلاة إلى الله صلاة داود عليه السلام وأحب الصيام إلى الله صيام داود وكان ينام نصف الليل ويقوم ثلثه وينام سدسه ويصوم يوما ويفطر يوما
"The prayer most beloved to Allah is the prayer of Dawud (peace be upon him), and the most beloved fasts are also those of Dawud (peace be upon him). He used to sleep half the night, then stand in prayer for a third of the night, and then sleep for one-sixth of the night. Also, he used to fast one day and break the fast the next."
Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari: 1131, Sahih Muslim: 1159/181)
