Assalaamu'alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuhu,
Bismillahirrahmaanirrahiim
The Great Reward After Ramadan Awaiting
Ramadan has gone. But it does not mean that our 'Ibadahs will end either, however we still can show our love to Allah SWT by following His Messengers. Allah SWT says in the Qur’an, "Say (O Muhammad): ‘If you (really) love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
[surah ali-Imran, 3: 31] I really miss Ramadan. We all make du'as so that with the Grace of Allah SWT, Insya Allah we will be able to meet Ramadan again. Amiin.
One of the ways to manifest our loving of Allah, by following the Prophet Muhammad SAW is to do those acts that he advised his Companions, and the Ummah in general, to do. A sunnah which is certainly relevant to us in these days is his practice to fast six days in the month of Shawwal.
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari narrated that Allah’s Messenger SAW said: "He who fasts Ramadan, and six of Shawwal, it will be (in terms of rewards) as if the fasted a whole year."
[Muslim, at-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ahmad, Ibn Majah]
So this is an established sunnah, which carries a great reward.
In commenting on the above mentioned hadith, As-San'ani said in Subul us-Salam: "If the thirty days of Ramadan fasting are assimilated with the six days of fasting in Shawwal, it altogether makes 36 days. According to Shari`ah, each virtue is rewarded ten times. Therefore, if we multiply 36 with 10, it makes 360, a number which equals the days of a year. Some scholars are of the opinion that these six days of fasting in Shawwal must be completed in a continuous order right after the end of Ramadan. Others believe that is enough to merely complete six days of fasting in Shawwal (in any order, either successive or with intervals), an opinion which is deemed to be correct." We may also fast on Mondays and Thursdays, as in that case we would be following another Sunnah: A’isha (radiAllahu anha) narrated: "The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) used to fast Mondays and Thursdays".
[an-Nasa'i]
If it is easier for one to fast on weekends, then in that case one would still be following another sunnah at the same time: Umm Salama (radiAllahu anha)narrated that Allah’s Messenger used to fast mostly on Saturday and Sunday, and he used to say: "They are the festival days for the mushrikeen, and I like to act contrary to them."
[an-Nasa’i, Ibn Khuzaymah, who graded it saheeh, and Ibn Hajar agreed]
I was asked by few sisters that can a woman make up for her fasting in Ramadan by fasting the six days in Shawwal? Whether such fasting counts double, making up the missed fast and adding the six voluntary days?
And can we make Double Intention?
1. Are we Allowed to Combine the two fasting?
There are two different fasts and cannot be combined. The Hadith that encourages fasting six days after Ramadan tells us that fasting these six days, which are not specified to allow us to choose them according to what suits us best, make up the fasting so as to earn the reward of fasting the whole year.
The Hadith says: “Anyone who fasts the month of Ramadan and follows it with six days from Shawwal will have the reward for fasting the whole year.” This is based on the fact that God rewards every good deed with ten times its value. Thus for the month of Ramadan you receive the reward of fasting ten months, and for the six days you get the reward of fasting sixty days, which are the equivalent of two more months. This makes up a year.
It is useful to add here that although the majority of people take the Hadith to mean fasting six days during the month of Shawwal, some scholars point out that it speaks of “six days from Shawwal” which means “beginning from Shawwal but not necessarily in it.” This means that they can be offered anytime during the year up to the following Ramadan.
When a woman fasts to make up the month of Ramadan, she is completing her compulsory fasting, and on completing the month, she will have the reward for fasting ten months. The fast does not count as double. The above explanation makes better understanding, especially in the case of Muslim women who would have a very limited room for maneuver if they wish to fast the six days.
They have first to make up the compulsory fasting, which means that a woman will need to fast six or seven days, probably eight in compensation. Then if she wants to add six days this makes up 13 days. She will also have a new period when she cannot fast. This brings the number to 20 days, and if you count out the three days of Eid as inconvenient to fast, this leaves her only 7 days for rest in practically two months of fasting. This is going to be very difficult. Hence the interpretation that this voluntary fast can be anytime during the next 11 months makes things much easier for women.
2. Can We Make Double Intention?
There is nothing wrong, as far as Islam is concerned, in making a double intention by fasting the missed days of obligatory fasting in Ramadan as well as fasting the optional six days of Shawwal. However, some Muslim jurists state that it is recommended to make up for the missed fasts separately from fasting the six days of Shawwal so as to get extra reward.
Sheikh `Atiyyah Saqr, former head of Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, states the following:
A person who has missed days of fasting in Ramadan may fast the optional six days of Shawwal with the intention of both making up for these missed days and observing the optional fasting of six days of Shawwal. He or she will then get double benefit simultaneously: making up for the missed days and getting the reward of fasting the six days of Shawwal, for it is established in Islam that one's acts are judged by one's intentions.
However, it is recommended that one makes up for the missed fasts separately from fasting the six days of Shawwal [so as to get extra reward].
The Shafi`i scholars maintain that when one makes up for the missed fasts of Ramadan in Shawwal, one also gets the reward of fasting the optional six days of Shawwal even if one has not intended to fast those six days principally; yet the reward of fasting the six days here will be less than if one has intended to fast them from the beginning.
According to Ash-Sharqawi `Ala At-Tahrir by Sheikh Zakariyah Al-Ansari, (vol. 1, p. 427) when a Muslim makes up for missed fasts of Ramadan in Shawwal or fasts some days he or she has vowed to observe in Shawwal, or even offers optional fasting in Shawwal other than fasting the six days recommended to be observed in Shawwal, he or she will get also the reward of fasting the six days of Shawwal. This is because the point is to fast any six days of Shawwal following the fast of Ramadan. But one then will not get the whole reward of principally intending to fast the six days of Shawwal specifically. It is to be noted that this does not apply to the person who has missed fasting the whole month of Ramadan and made up for it in Shawwal for he or she then does not fall under the category the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) referred to in the hadith: "Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan, and then follows it by (fasting) six days of Shawwal, it is as though he has fasted the whole year."
This is parallel to the juristic point of view regarding the recommendation of greeting the mosque when entering it by offering two rak`ahs before sitting. This recommendation is accomplished any time one enters a mosque and prays two rak`ahs, whether one intends merely to perform the prescribed prayer or any two supererogatory rak`ahs, for the point here is to offer a prayer before sitting in the mosque, and this is fulfilled by observing the prescribed prayer or the supererogatory one.
According to the author of Al-Bahgah, one gets the reward of greeting the mosque by offering any prayer before sitting, even if one has not intended that this prayer be for greeting the mosque.
But it is to be borne in mind that one in this case does not deny having the intention of greeting the mosque.
Based on the above, it is permissible for one to fast six days of Shawwal intending simultaneously both to make up for the fasts one has missed in Ramadan and to offer the recommended fasting of six days in Shawwal, especially if one is interested in getting the reward of fasting the six days of Shawwal with making up for the missed fasts of Ramadan but finds it exhausting to do both separately.
Besides, if one in this case intends only to make up for the missed Ramadan fasts in Shawwal (and it happens that these days are six or more), one will get also the reward of fasting the six days of Shawwal. The supererogatory act of fasting the six days of Shawwal here is sub-categorized under the obligation of making up for the missed fasts of Ramadan. This is an alleviation reasoned by jurists, and hence, there is no need for adopting a view of a certain school in this regard and judging the other views as wrong.
The wisdom behind recommending fasting six days of Shawwal following a whole month of fasting in Ramadan is that Muslims gradually shift from a state of abstaining from food or other desires for a long hours on successive days to a state of eating food and satisfying the other worldly lawful desires whenever one wants. A sudden shift in this case may harm a person's health.
3. When should a Muslim start fasting six days of Shawwaal?
You can start fasting six days of Shawwaal from the second day of Shawwaal, because it is haraam to fast on the day of Eid. You can fast the six days at any time during Shawwaal, although the best of good deeds are those which are done soonest.
These days do not have to be fasted immediately after Eid al-Fitr; it is permissible to start fasting them one or more days after Eid, and they may be done consecutively or separately during the month of Shawwaal, according to what is easier for a person. There is plenty of room for maneuver in this matter, and this is not obligatory, it is Sunnah.
4. Do the six days of Shawwaal have to be fasted consecutively?
It is not a necessary condition that they should be fasted consecutively. If you fast them separately or consecutively, it is OK. The sooner you do them, the better, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings): so compete in good deeds [al-Maaidah 5:48]
And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord [Aal Imran 3:133]
[Moosa peace be upon him said:] and I hastened to You, O my Lord, that You might be pleased [Ta-Ha 20:84]
And (you should hasten to fast these six days) because delaying may cause problems. This is the view of the Shaafa is and some of the Hanbalis, but it is OK if you do not hasten it and you delay it until the middle or end of the month.
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Our companions said: it is mustahabb to fast six days of Shawwaal. Because of this hadeeth they said: it is mustahabb to fast these days consecutively at the beginning of Shawwaal, but if one separates them or delays them until after Shawwaal, this is permissible, because he will still be following the general guidelines of the hadeeth. We have no dispute regarding this matter, and this was also the view of Ahmad and Dawood.
Wallaahu A'lam Bisshawaab
