When should a Muslim start fasting six days of Shawwaal?

When can I start fasting six days of Shawwal, sincewe have annual leave right now?
Praise be to Allaah.
You can start fasting six days of Shawwaal from the second day of Shawwaal, because it is haraam to fast on the dayof Eid. You can fast the sixdays at any time during Shawwaal, although the best of good deeds are those which are done soonest.
The standing committee received the following question:
Should fasting the six days be done immediately after Ramadaan, following the day of Eid or is it permissible to do it a few days after Eid in the month of Shawwaal or not?
They replied as follows:
These days do not have tobe 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.
And Allaah is the Source ofstrength. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions and grant them peace.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah,

4a] Did the dinosaurs really exist?

4a]
To sum up: Islam does notdeny that these creatures existed or that they were of this great size, but the fact remains that when they speak of their lifespans and the details of their forms and lives, this is the field of science and speculation combined. The Muslim should not be preoccupied with that andhe should not waste time discussing it or believe that it is a matter that hasany impact on his religious commitment or belief, because he knows that the Qur’aan and Sunnah were revealed to guide people and show them the right way; their focus is not history, geography, earth science or biology, although they indicate many facts that have to do with these fields. There are some kinds of animals that are not mentioned in Qur’aan and Sunnah at all, even though they existed at the time the Qur’aan was revealed.
And Allah knows best.

4] Did the dinosaurs really exist?

4]
We live here in the west and we have some non-Muslim friends who discuss Islam with us. They are very interested in science and theories about the universe, and they have a question: Is there any mention of the dinosaurs in Islam? Is this proven in the saheeh Sunnah? How should we answer them, whether the answer is yes or no?
Praise be to Allah.
In al-Mawsoo‘ah al-‘Arabiyyah al-‘Aalamiyyah it says: Thedinosaurs of the Jurassic period (138-205 million years ago) include the tallest known dinosaur, namely the diplodocus, which reached a height of27 m, as well as other dinosaurs such as the plated or armoured stegosaurus, the allosaurus, and the camptosaurus.
The dinosaurs were reptiles that lived millionsof years ago. The word dinosaur is derived from two Greek words meaning “terrible lizard”. However the dinosaurs were not really lizards, although the size of someof them was terrifying; the largest dinosaur was the biggest animal that ever lived on dry land, with a weight that was many times that of a fully grown elephant. There are a very few types of whales that grow to a size bigger than these dinosaurs.
The first dinosaurs appeared on earth 220 million years ago. These creatures dominated dry land for approximately 150 million years and lived on most continents on earth and in various environments, such as swamps and flat plains. They became extinct suddenly 63 million years ago. End quote.
There is nothing in the texts of the Qur’aan or Sunnah to confirm or deny the existence of these creatures. In the Holy Qur’aan there are some verses which some scholars have understood to mean that there were creatures that existed on earth before Adam (peace be upon him), such as the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: ‘Verily, I am going to place (mankind) generations after generations on earth.’ They said: ‘Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood, - while we glorify You with praises and thanks (Exalted be You above all that they associate with You as partners) and sanctify You.’ He (Allah) said: ‘I know that which you do not know’”
[al-Baqarah 2:30].
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy onhim) said: The words of the angels “Will You placetherein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood?” make it very likely that they were successors to some creatures who came before them and that there were creatures on earth before that who shed blood and spread mischief. So the angels asked their Lord, may He be glorified and exalted: “Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood” as was done by those who came before them?
End quote from Tafseer al-Qur’aan al-Kareem, 1/30
See also the answer to question no. 128573
The dinosaurs may have been among those creatures.
It is not strange that therewere creatures of this great size. It is proven in the saheeh Sunnah that Adam (peace be upon him)was sixty cubits tall, as was narrated by al-Bukhaari (3326) and Muslim (2841) from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah created Adam sixty cubits tall, then He said: Go and greet those angels and listen to how they greet you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your descendants. So he went and said, As-salaamu ‘alaykum (peace be upon you) and they said: Al-salaam ‘alayka wa rahmat Allaah (peace be upon you and the mercy of Allaah. So they added (the words) wa rahmat Allah. Everyone who enters Paradise will be in the form of Adam. Mankind continued to diminish in size until now.”
It also says in the Sunnah that when the earth’s blessing is restored to it at the end of time, one pomegranate at that timewill be sufficient for a group of people, and theywill seek shade beneath its skin, as was narrated by Muslim (2937) from an-Nawwaas ibn Sam‘aan (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, when speaking of the descent of ‘Eesa (peace be upon him) and Allah’s destruction of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj: “Then Allaah will send rain which will not be kept out by any house of clay or hair; it will washthe earth and leave it like a mirror. Then it will be said to the earth: Bring forth your fruits and restore your blessing. On that day a group of people will eat from a pomegranate and shelter beneath its skin. Milk will be blessed until a milch-camel will be sufficient fora crowd of people, and a milch-cow will be sufficient for a tribe of people, and a milch-sheepwill be sufficient for a family of people.” :->/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

The virtue of fasting six days of Shawwaal

What is the ruling on fasting six days of Shawwaal? Is it waajib (obligatory)?
Praise be to Allaah.
Fasting six days of Shawwaal after the obligatory fast of Ramadaan is Sunnah Mustahabbah, not waajib. It is recommended for theMuslim to fast six days of Shawwaal, and in this there is great virtue and an immense reward. Whoever fasts these six days will have recorded for him a reward as if he had fasted a whole year, as was reported in a saheeh hadeeth from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Abu Ayyoob (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever fasts Ramadaanand follows it with six days of Shawwaal, it will be as if he fasted for a lifetime.” (Narrated by Muslim, Abu Dawood, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nisaa’i and Ibn Maajah).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained this when he said: “Whoever fasts for six days after (Eid) al-Fitr has completedthe year: (whoever does agood deed (hasanah) will have ten hasanah like it).”According to another report: “Allaah has made for each hasanah ten like it, so a month is like fasting ten months, and fasting six days completesthe year.” (al-Nisaa’i and Ibn Maajah. See also Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, 1/421). It was also narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah with the wording: “Fasting for the month of Ramadaan brings the reward of ten like it, and fasting for six days brings the reward of two months, and that is the fasting of the whole year.”
The Hanbali and Shaafa’i fuqaha’ explained that fasting six days of Shawwaal after fasting Ramadaan makes it as if one has fasted for an entire year of obligatory fasts, because the multiplication of the reward applies even to naafil fasts, because each hasanah brings the reward of ten like it.
Another of the important benefits of fasting six days of Shawwaal is that is makes up for any shortfall in a person's obligatory Ramadaan fasts, because no one is free of shortcomings or sins that have a negative effect on his fasting. On the Day of Resurrection, some of his naafil deeds will be taken to make up the shortcomings in his obligatory deeds, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The first thing for which people will be brought to account on the Day of Resurrection will be their salaah (prayer). Our Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, will say to His angels – although He knows best – ‘Look at the salaah of My slave, whether it is complete or incomplete.’ If it is perfect,it will be recorded as perfect, and if something is lacking, He will say, ‘Look and see whether Myslave did any voluntary (naafil) prayers.’ If he did some voluntary prayers, [Allaah] will say, Completethe obligatory actions of My slave from his voluntary actions.’ Then all his actions will be dealtwith in a similar manner.”(Narrated by Abu Dawood).
And Allaah knows best.