Question:
What is Ṣawm al-Wiṣāl (continuous fasting)? Is it a Sunnah?
Answer:
Ṣawm al-Wiṣāl refers to fasting continuously for two or more days without breaking the fast at sunset. The Prophet ﷺ forbade this practice.
He said:
من أراد أن يواصل فليواصل إلى السحر
"Whoever wishes to observe continuous fasting may do so only until Suhoor (pre-dawn meal)."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Ṣawm 30, Bāb al-Wiṣāl 48, Hadith 1963, narrated by Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri رضي الله عنه).
Is Ṣawm al-Wiṣāl Permissible?
Observing continuous fasting until Suhoor is permissible but not recommended or encouraged. The Prophet ﷺ encouraged breaking the fast on time. He said:
لَا يَزَالُ النَّاسُ بِخَيْرٍ مَا عَجَّلُوا الْفِطْرَ
"People will remain upon goodness as long as they hasten in breaking their fast."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Ṣawm 30, Bāb Ta‘jīl al-Iftār 45, Hadith 1957; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Ṣiyām 13, Hadith 1098, narrated by Sahl ibn Sa‘d رضي الله عنه).
The Prophet ﷺ allowed his Companions to fast continuously only until Suhoor. When they questioned why he observed Ṣawm al-Wiṣāl, he replied:
إِنِّي لَسْتُ كَهَيْئَتِكُمْ
"I am not like you (in this matter)."
This means that the Prophet ﷺ was given divine strength and sustenance that made continuous fasting easier for him, which is not the case for ordinary people.
(Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymīn – رحمه الله)
