5 hadiths on
voluntary fasting

Understanding this hadith

The account identifies two weekdays to which the Prophet ﷺ gave particular attention for fasting. It is graded hasan—good—by Darussalam, the grading displayed in the source an-Nasa’i 2360. This is not a text presented as sahih in the two collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Choosing a day known in advance makes it easier to prepare the meal before dawn and organise a working day. If you are beginning, first consider what your week actually allows. The mention of two days in the account does not require immediately announcing a programme you cannot sustain.

A weekly calendar is not enough, however, to decide whether a day can be fasted. The two Eid days are excluded: al-Bukhari 1990 reports the prohibition on fasting them. Thus, if Eid falls on Monday, the Monday habit does not authorise fasting it.

Understanding this hadith

Three days a month form a rhythm distinct from Mondays and Thursdays. The quoted text does not specify their dates. We must therefore avoid making its translation say “the 13th, 14th and 15th” when those numbers do not appear in it.

The white days, the 13th, 14th and 15th days of the lunar month, are indeed mentioned in another text: an-Nasa’i 2420, graded sahih by Darussalam. This reference complements the general advice without altering Abu Hurayrah’s words. These dates belong to the lunar calendar, not the 13th, 14th and 15th of the civil month.

To organise your month, therefore check lunar dates and days on which fasting is excluded rather than copying civil dates from a previous year. The days of Tashriq, which follow Eid al-Adha, also have a particular status: Muslim 1141a describes them as days of food and drink. They must not be treated as simply available days for a voluntary programme.

Read about the white days and their exceptions

Understanding this hadith

The merit announced concerns the complete sequence described: Ramadan, then six days of Shawwal. The saying must not be shortened into a promise of the same reward for six randomly chosen days during the year. The named month and relationship with Ramadan belong to the wording.

The quoted text does not specify that the six days must be consecutive. Nor does it alone settle every question of order between making up fasts and voluntary fasting. If you have Ramadan days to make up, have this question clarified for your situation before building your calendar; do not automatically consider the two intentions interchangeable.

The first day of Shawwal is Eid al-Fitr and is not fasted, in accordance with the prohibition already mentioned. Planning six boxes on a calendar is therefore not enough: the days must fall within the relevant month while taking account of this festival and your remaining obligations.

The connection with Ramadan begins with fasting Ramadan with faith and hope of reward.

Understanding this hadith

‘Arafah corresponds to the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah; ‘Ashura’ to the 10th of Muharram. The account does not attribute exactly the same merit to them: two years are mentioned for ‘Arafah, the past year for ‘Ashura’. Preserving this difference avoids transmitting approximate wording in the name of the Prophet ﷺ.

A pilgrim present at ‘Arafah must not mechanically apply a calendar intended for those not on pilgrimage. Muslim 1123a reports that a vessel of milk was sent to the Prophet ﷺ while he was at ‘Arafah and that he drank from it. This account explains why these situations must be distinguished.

For ‘Ashura’, Muslim 1134a also reports the intention stated by the Prophet ﷺ to fast the ninth day the following year. The tenth day should therefore not be presented as the whole question.

The promise of expiation encourages seeking forgiveness. It does not authorise planning a wrongdoing while counting on erasing it through a fasting date, or retaining someone else’s property instead of returning it.

Read the hadiths about Arafah and Dhul-Hijjah

Understanding this hadith

Abu ad-Darda’ later reported the incident to the Prophet ﷺ, who approved Salman. The quotation is therefore Salman’s statement confirmed by the Prophet, not prophetic words spoken directly in the house.

The account does not present sleep, a shared meal and attention to family as unworthy obstacles to worship. Salman recalls several rights in the same sentence, beginning with the Lord’s. Praying and fasting do not erase the others.

Before adding voluntary days, consider your programme’s effects: do you sleep enough, fulfil your responsibilities and remain available to those in your care? If your arrangements shift all household work onto someone else or make you unable to honour commitments, they deserve review.

This concerns a voluntary fast. The account does not allow Abu ad-Darda’s decision to eat to be applied to an obligatory day of Ramadan.