The virtue of fasting six days of Shawwaal

 The virtue of fasting six days of Shawwaal

What is the ruling on fasting six days of Shawwaal? Is it waajib (obligatory)?

Published Date: 2013-08-10

Praise be to Allaah.

Fasting six days of Shawwaal after the obligatory fast of Ramadaan is Sunnah Mustahabbah, not waajib. It is recommended for the Muslim 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 Ramadaan and 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 completed the year: (whoever does a good 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 completes the 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 My slave did any voluntary (naafil) prayers.' If he did some voluntary prayers, [Allaah] will say, Complete the obligatory actions of My slave from his voluntary actions.' Then all his actions will be dealt with in a similar manner." (Narrated by Abu Dawood).

And Allaah knows best.

General

* The addition of the word “kareem” in the du‘aa’ of Laylat al-Qadr is not proven

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It is quoted in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi by Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him):

3513: Qutaybah told us: Ja‘far ibn Sulaymaan ad-Dab‘i told us, from Kahmas ibn al-Hasan, from ‘Abdullah ibn Buraydah, from ‘Aa’ishah, who said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, if I realise when it is Laylat al-Qadr, what do you think I should say? He said: “Say: Allahumma innaka ‘Awfuwwun Kareem, tubhibb al-‘afwa, fa‘fu ‘anni (O Allah, You are forgiving and most generous, You love forgiveness, so forgive me).” The shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) deemed it to be saheeh. But the same hadith was narrated by Ibn Maajah (3850) and in as-Silsilah as-Saheehah, Shaykh al-Albaani stated that the additional word “Kareem (most generous)” was added by one of the scribes. Did the shaykh fail to notice the additional word “kareem” in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi, or is it saheeh in his opinion? If it is not proven in his opinion, then why did he not point out in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi that it is something that has been added?

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Praise be to Allah

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) was a scholar and critic of hadith who examined the reports and tried his best in doing so, but he was vulnerable to forgetfulness and error, like other scholars, and that does not detract from his standing in the slightest; rather he will be rewarded for that, by Allah’s leave, receiving a single reward. That is by the grace and kindness of Allah, may He be exalted, to the scholars and fuqaha’; He grants them a single reward for their mistakes, and grants them a double reward for what they get right. What matters is that researchers and seekers of knowledge follow the correct methodology in research and do not follow blindly; the status of a scholar does not prevent them from reviewing the evidence and conducting their own research, for academic research should be objective and neutral, and should only be based on real research and examination, and it should not be restricted to some particular names of great scholars, no matter how well versed and prominent they may be.

Therefore we may say that Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) failed to point out the erroneous addition of the word “kareem” in the hadith about the du‘aa’ of Laylat al-Qadr, as the hadith was narrated via many chains of narration, and it was narrated by the authors ofJaami‘s,Sunans andMusnads, and not one of them mentioned this extra word “kareem”; rather all of them narrated the well-known version of the du‘aa’: “Allahumma innaka ‘Awfuwwun, tubhibb al-‘afwa, fa‘fu ‘anni(O Allah, You are forgiving, You love forgiveness, so forgive me).”

But this mistake occurred in al-Albaani’s bookSaheeh at-Tirmidhi(no. 3513) only.

With regard to his bookSilsilat al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah– concerning which researchers are agreed that the research that was put into it was more precise and deeper than that of his other books,Saheeh as-SunanandDa‘eef as-Sunan– the shaykh pointed out this erroneous addition and said:

InSunan at-Tirmidhiafter the word “ ‘Afuw” there appears this additional word “Kareem”, for which there is no basis in the earlier sources or any other sources that were narrated from the earlier sources. What appears to be the case is that it is something that was inserted by one of the scribes or modern typists. It does not appear in the Indian edition ofSunan at-Tirmidhion which al-Mubaarakfoori’s commentary,Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi(4/264), was based, or in other editions.

What supports that is the fact that in some of his reports, an-Nasaa’i narrated it via the same isnaad as at-Tirmidhi, as both of them narrated it from their shaykh, Qutaybah ibn Sa‘eed, without this addition.

This addition also appears in an essay by our brother ‘Ali al-Halabi, entitledMuhadhdhab ‘Amal al-Yawm wa’l-Laylah li Ibn as-Sunni(no. 202), but it is not narrated by as-Sunni, because he narrated from his shaykh, an-Nasaa’i – as stated above – from Qutaybah, but he attributed it to at-Tirmidhi and others. What would have been more appropriate is to put this word between brackets, as is the practice nowadays, to highlight the fact that it was only mentioned by at-Tirmidhi. To be accurate, however, this word should not be mentioned at all except to point out that it has no basis.

End quote fromSilsilat al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah(13/140).

Hence some researchers regard al-Albaani’s comment here, inSilsilat al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah– as constituting a clear retraction of his having regarded this addition as sound inSaheeh at-Tirmidhi.

Whatever the case, whether you call it retraction or a conclusion that is separate from the first conclusion, what matters is that he stated the correct view and corrected the mistake.

What is most likely to be the case is that this extra word, with which people are familiar, was taken from some editions of the books of hadith, not from the reports of the hadith itself, meaning that the scholars who narrated the hadith with this extra word “kareem” only did so because they found some manuscripts that contained the extra word “kareem”, as the commentators said concerning theMu’sasat ar-Risaalahedition ofMusnad al-Imam Ahmad(42/236): In “Q” it says “‘Afuwwun kareem.” End quote. “Q” is a symbol referring to a particular manuscript to which they referred. See their Introduction (1/104). Similarly, with regard to the al-Maknaz edition (11/6118, no. 26021), the commentators said: In “Q” it says “‘Afuwwun kareem.”

Hence many scholars transmitted the hadith with this additional word in their books, such as: Ibn al-Atheer inJaami‘ al-Usool(4/324); al-‘Imraani inal-Bayaan fi’l-Madhhab ash-Shaafa‘i(3/568); al-Khaazin inLubaab at-Ta’weel fi Ma‘aani at-Tanzeel(4/452); Ibn al-Qayyim inBadaa’i‘ al-Fawaa’id(2/143); al-Khateeb ash-Sharbeeni inal-Iqnaa‘ fi Hall Alfaaz Abi Shujaa‘(1/274); al-Ameer as-San‘aani inat-Tahbeer li Eedaah Ma‘aani at-Tayseer(4/268); at-Tahtaawi inHaashiyat ‘ala Maraaqi al-Falaah Sharh Noor al-Eedaah(p. 401).

All of them narrated the hadith with the additional word “kareem” and without mentioning any isnaad. Some of them attributed it toSunan at-Tirmidhi. This is assuming that the manuscripts were copied accurately.

But today we have no doubt that this additional word is not part of the original text of the hadith, because dozens of books of hadith mentioned the text of this hadith without this additional word. We referred to editions that were checked against many manuscripts ofSunan at-Tirmidhi, and we did not find any reference to this additional word, such as the edition annotated by Bashaar ‘Awaad (5/490), and another edition annotated by Shu‘ayb al-Arna’oot (6/119).

And Allah knows best.

* Is he sinning if he ignores the view of someone who gave him a fatwa because he did not mention the evidence for his fatwa?

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Is a man sinning if he does not accept the view of someone who told him that doing a certain action is unlawful or obligatory according to sharia, because he did not mention the evidence for that action being prohibited or obligatory?
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Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
It is obligatory for the one who gives a fatwa concerning some religious matter to have knowledge about the matter concerning which he gives a fatwa, whether he rules it to be permissible or prohibited. Whoever knows something may speak of it, and whoever does not know should refer the matter of what he does not know to one who does know it.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And do not say about what your tongues assert of untruth, ‘This is lawful and this is unlawful,’ to invent falsehood about Allah . Indeed, those who invent falsehood about Allah will not succeed”
[an-Nahl 16:116].
As-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
That is, do not declare things to be prohibited or lawful of your own accord, fabricating lies against Allah and attributing to Him words that He never said.
End quote fromTafseer as-Sa‘di(p. 451)
Abu Dawood (3657) narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever is given a fatwa that is not based on knowledge, his sin is borne by the one who gave the fatwa.”
Classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
One of the gravest of crimes is issuing fatwas without knowledge; how many have gone astray and been doomed as a result of that, especially if the fatwa was utter in front of many people and came from one by whom some people were deceived. The dangers posed by that are great, and the consequences are severe. The one who issues fatwas without knowledge will bear a burden of sin like that of those who follow him.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz(3/219).
Secondly:
With regard to accepting the view of one who says that something is unlawful or something is obligatory, but does not offer any evidence for that:
If the one who says that is not one of the well-known scholars, then he should not be followed in this opinion, and it is not obligatory for the one who hears him to accept his opinion or to follow it.
But if he is a scholar who is known for his knowledge and trustworthiness, then it depends:
If the one who asked him is a seeker of knowledge who can understand the evidence when it is presented to him and is able to check its validity, then he is not obliged to follow him just because he said that, until he explains to him the basis of his opinion and his evidence, because the seeker of knowledge is able to research the matter, find out about different views on a particular issue, weigh up the evidence and determine which evidence is stronger.
But if the one who asked him is an ordinary Muslim who is not able to understand the basis of the scholar’s view, and cannot weigh up the evidence and determine which is stronger, then he is obliged to follow the opinion of the mufti. This is what is required in his case, as Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“So ask the people of the message if you do not know”
[an-Nahl 16:43].
Moreover, not referring to a scholar and accepting his opinion causes people to miss out on knowledge altogether and leads to neglect of shar‘i rulings, and it opens the door to toying with the religion and following views that are contrary to the teachings of Islam.
But if he has any doubts about a scholar’s opinion, he may ask him about the evidence for that, if he is able to understand it when it is explained to him.
But what is better in his case, if he has any doubts, is to ask another scholar, one of those who are known for their religious commitment and trustworthiness, for the sake of his peace of mind and in order to ward off doubt and anxiety, not by way of toying with the religion, seeking out concessions or looking for errors on the part of the scholars.
If the questioner asks the mufti for evidence, then the mufti must explain it to him.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The mufti must explain the evidence and basis for his ruling as much as possible, and he should not present his fatwa to the questioner on its own, without the evidence and basis for his ruling. If he does that, this shows that he is not a qualified scholar and that his share of knowledge is very little. The one who reflects upon the fatwas of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), whose word constitutes evidence in and of itself, will see that they highlighted the wisdom behind the ruling and the proof of its soundness.
End quote fromI‘laam al-Muwaqqi‘een, 4/123
Some muftis may not mention the evidence for their ruling because it is very subtle and the ordinary Muslim may not be able to comprehend it. The evidence may be based on an analogy (qiyaas) or some principle of fiqh or usool, and so on.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The ordinary Muslim should not ask the mufti for evidence or say: Why did you say such and such? If he wants to put his mind at rest by hearing the evidence, he may ask for it on another occasion, or in the same meeting after accepting the fatwa as it is.
End quote fromAadaab al-Fatwa wa’l-Mufti wa’l-Mustafti(p. 85).
An-Nawawi also said:
It is not wrong for the mufti to mention the evidence in his fatwa, if it is a clear and brief text.
As-Saymari said: He need not mention the evidence if he is giving a fatwa to an ordinary Muslim, but he may mention it if he is giving a fatwa to one who has knowledge, such as one who asks him about doing the marriage contract without a guardian. In that case it is good for him to say: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There is no marriage without a guardian”; or if he asks about taking back a divorced wife with whom the marriage was consummated, he may say: He may take her back, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):“And their husbands have more right to take them back” [al-Baqarah 2:228].
End quote fromal-Majmoo‘(1/52).
What may be understood from this is that if he is giving a fatwa to an ordinary Muslim, and the evidence is not a brief, clear text, then there is nothing wrong with him not mentioning the evidence in his fatwa.
And Allah knows best.

General Doubt & clear, - * Devilish whispers – theircauses and remedy

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I have a serious problem. I was learning more about Islam, but now, as exams are drawing near, I am developing unutterable doubts and confusion. What I mean is doubts such as: was Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) really a prophet? And things of this nature. I can no longer focus on my studies. Please advise me.
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Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
It is good that you are worried about yourself, it is good that you are upset about what you are suffering from, and it is good that you have written to us, asking for advice. This indicates that your heart is alert and cautious. We ask Allah to help you to do that which pleases Him.
Secondly:
This state in which you find yourself is what is called “compulsive waswaas [whispers]”. We would like to reassure you and lift your spirits by noting the following:
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These whispers have no implications and no rulings are based on them. Therefore no divorce is valid, no oath is binding, no state of purity is rendered invalid, and no Muslim becomes an apostate if the whispers have to do with some fundamentals of belief. So if a person is overwhelmed with whispers to the point that he begins to doubt the existence of Allah or his belief in the Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), none of that has any impact on him, and the ruling of his being a Muslim remains valid. Therefore you may rest assured, and let the Shaytaan die in his distress and suppression.
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah has forgiven my ummah for whatever whispers [waswasah] cross their minds so long as they do not act upon it or speak of it.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2391) and Muslim (127).
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
What we may understand is that there is no blame for what crosses a person’s mind, unless it is translated into actions or words as a result of that thought. What is meant by whispers [waswasah] is when a thought resides in a person’s mind without him feeling happy with it, or it takes root in his mind.
Fat-h al-Baari(5/161).
For some important details mentioned by Shaykh al-‘Uthaymeen, please see the answer to question no. 10160, where he stated that no harm will befall a Muslim if he experiences compulsive whispers about Allah and His existence, or about His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or His religion.
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These whispers are indicative – in sha Allah – of strong faith and certainty, because of which the Shaytaan is eager to subject you to this waswasah. Were it not that he sees that you have strong faith and are righteous, he would not have resorted to this method of whispering, especially since you regard as abhorrent the thoughts that he is trying to instill in your mind.
We are not saying that just to be nice to you; rather this is what the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) stated, and it is what the trustworthy scholars of this ummah understood from the hadiths.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The Shaytaan may come to one of you and say: ‘Who created such and such, who created such and such?’ Until he says to him: ‘Who created your Lord?’ If it goes that far, let him seek refuge with Allah and stop (such thoughts).”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3102) and Muslim (134).
According to a report narrated by Muslim, “…let him say, ‘I believe in Allah and His Messenger.’”
According to another report from Abu Hurayrah, he said: Some of the companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came and asked him: We find in our hearts thoughts that are too awful for any of us to speak of them. He said: “Do you really find that?” They said: Yes. He said: “That is [a sign of] clear faith.”.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
What this means is that the Shaytaan only resorts to whispering to those whom he despairs of ever misleading. So he tries to annoy them with his whispers, because he is unable to misguide them. As for the disbeliever, he can lead him in any direction he wants, and in that case he is not limited to whispering; rather he toys with him however he wishes. This is what the hadith means: the cause of the waswasah is strong faith or, in other words, waswasah is indicative of a person’s strong faith. This is the view favoured by al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad.
Sharh Muslim(2/154).
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The remedy for this waswasah is very simple. All you have to do is adhere to the instructions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to stop going along with those whispers, ignore them, seek refuge with Allah, say “I believe in Allah,” and distract yourself from it by glorifying Allah, may He be exalted, remembering Him and calling upon Him, and sending blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “let him seek refuge with Allah and stop (such thoughts)”, what is meant is: If he is faced with these whispers, let him turn to Allah, may He be exalted, to help him ward off this evil. He should stop thinking about it and should realise that this thought is one of the whispers of the Shaytaan, who is only trying to corrupt him and mislead him. So let him stop listening to these whispers and hasten to put a stop to it by focusing on something else. And Allah knows best.
Sharh Muslim(2/155, 156).
The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:
I am a young Muslim man who has recently become religiously committed, and the Shaytaan is causing me a great deal of trouble. Every time I manage to overcome one thing, he presents me with another obstacle. After I attained a level of religious commitment and I thought – praise be to Allah – that I was a little better than those around me, I began to see those who I had thought were less committed than me as now being better than me, and doing more righteous deeds than me; I look at myself and I find myself to be going downhill fast, drifting away from the level of commitment that I had achieved. I am trying to resist my evil inclinations and the Shaytaan by all possible means, but I cannot find anyone who appreciates my pain and the suffering that I am enduring silently, or anyone I can talk to about the evil thoughts that the Shaytaan is putting into my mind. These whispers do not leave me even for a minute, no matter what I do or where I am, in the mosque, in the street, at home or in school. Is there anyone who could stand by me and help me against this Shaytaan? Is there anyone whom Allah might inspire to help me?
They replied:
We advise you to ignore these whispers and to pay no attention to them, to read a great deal of Qur’an, do a lot of righteous deeds, and turn to Allah, beseeching Him and calling upon Him to ward off from you the tricks of the Shaytaan, to make you steadfast in adhering to the truth, and to guide you. For He, may He be glorified, is in control of all creatures, both jinn and humans, and He directs them as He wills. Beware of being filled with self-admiration because of your worship, or being deceived by your good behaviour and conduct or your many righteous deeds. When it comes to matters of worship and issues connected to the hereafter, do not look at those who are less than you, for that will lead to you developing self-admiration and will cause you to do fewer righteous deeds and to become slow in doing them; it will cause the Shaytaan to toy with you and discourage you from doing good. Rather you should look at those who are better than you in adhering to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Cling to that and be keen to adhere to it, for that will motivate you to increase your righteous deeds and help you to attain the forgiveness and mercy of Allah, and a high position in Paradise, and everlasting bliss. Perhaps Allah will make you steadfast in adhering to the truth and will guide you to the straight path, and will relieve you of this waswasah.
We also advise you to read the bookTalbees Iblees, by Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi, in which he discusses this issue. We hope that Allah will benefit you thereby.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Qa‘ood.
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah(2/194)
You should not worry, after reading these glad tidings and reassuring words, for all you have to do now is follow the advice of the scholars, which is based on the advice of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). We ask Allah to protect you from the Shaytaan and to make what is good easy for you, wherever it may be.
And Allah knows best.