The Book of Fasting

Hafsa (Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) kissed (his wives) while fasting.

A hadith like this has been narrated by Hafsa (Allah be pleased with her) through another chain of transmitters.

Umar b Abu Salama reported that he asked the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him): Should one observing fast kiss (his wife)? The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to him: Ask her (Umm Salama). She informed him that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) did that, where upon he said: Messenger of Allah, Allah pardoned thee all thy sins, the previous and the later ones. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) ) said: By Allah, I am the most God conscious among you and I fear Him most among you.

Abu Bakr (he is Abu Bakr b. Abd al-Rahman b. Harith) reported: I heard Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) narrating that he who is overtaken by dawn in a state of seminal emission should not observe fast. I made a mention of it to 'Abd al-Rahman b. Harith (i. e. to his father) but he denied it. 'Abd al-Rahman went and I also went along with him till we came to'A'isha and Umm Salama (Allah be pleased with both of them) and Abd al-Rahman asked them about it. Both of them said: (At times it so happened) that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) woke up in the morning in a state of junub (but without seminal emission in a dream) and observed fast He (the narrator) said: We then proceeded till we went to Marwan and Abd al-Rahman made a mention of it to him. Upon this Marwan said: I stress upon you (with an oath) that you better go to Abu Huraira and refer to him what is said about it. So we came to Abu Huraira and Abu Bakr had been with us throughout and 'Abd al-Rahman made a mention of it to him, whereupon Abu Huraira said: Did they (the two wives of the Holy Prophet) tell you this? He replied: Yes Upon this (Abu Huraira) said: They have better knowledge. Abu Huraira then attributed that what was said about it to Fadl b. 'Abbas and said: I heard it from Fadl and not from the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him). Abu Huraira then retracted from what he used to say about it. Ibn Juraij (one of the narrators) reported: I asked 'Abd al-Malik, if they (the two wives) said (made the statement) in regard to Ramadan, whereupon he said: It was so, and he (the Holy Prophet) (woke up in the) morning in a state of junub which was not due to the wet dream and then observed fast.

'A'isha, the wife of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him), said: The dawn broke upon the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) during the Ramadan in a state of junub not because of sexual dream (but on account of intercourse) and he washed himself and observed fast.

Abu Bakr reported that Marwan sent him to Umm Salama to ask whether a person should observe fast who is in a state of junub and the dawn breaks upon him, whereupon she said that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) (was at times) junbi on account of intercourse and not due to sexual dream, and the dawn broke upon him, but he neither broke the fast nor recompensed.

Abu Bakr b. 'Abd al-Rahman b. al-Harith b. Hisham reported on the authority of 'A'isha and Umm Salama, the wives of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) at times got up in the morning in a state of junub on account of having a sexual intercourse (with his wives during night) but not due to sexual dreams in the month of Ramadan, and would observe fast.

'A'isha reported that a person came to the Apottle of Allah (may peace be upon him) asking for a fatwa (religious verdict). She ('A'isha) had been overhearing it from behind the curtain. 'A'isha added that he (the person) had said: Messenger of Allah, (the time) of prayer overtakes me as I am in a state of junub; should I observe fast (in this state)? Upon this the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: (At times the time) of prayer overtakes me while I am in a state of junub, and I observe fast (in that very state), whereupon he said: Messenger of Allah, you are not like us Allah has pardoned all your sins, the previous ones and the later ones. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) said: By Allah, I hope I am the most God-fearirg of you, and possess the best knowledge among you of those (things) against which I should guard.

Sulaiman b. Yasar reported that he asked Umm Salama whether a person (who gets up) in the morning in a state of junub should observe fast. She said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) (at times) got up in the morning in a state of junub, not because of sexual dreams (but on account of intercourse at night), and then observed fast.

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported that a person came to the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and said: Messenger of Allah, I am undone. He (the Holy Prophet) said: What has brought about your ruin? He said: I have had intercourse with my wife during the month of Ramadan. Upon this he (the Holy prophet) said: Can you find a slave to set him free? He said: NO He (the Holy Prophet again) said: Can you observe fast for two consecutive months? He said: No. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Can you provide food to sixty poor people?, He said: No. He then sat down and (in the meanwhile) there was brought to the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) a basket which contained dates. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Give these (dates) in charity. He (the man) said: Am I to give to one who is poorer than I? There is no family poorer than mine between the two lava plains of Medina. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) laughed so that his molar teeth became visible and said: Go and give it to your family to eat.

A hadith like this has been narrated on the authority of Mubammad b. Muslim al-Zuhri with the same chain of transmitters, and he said: There was brought an 'araq containing dates, an 'araq being a huge basket. But in this hadith no men- tion has been made of (the fact) that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) laughed till his molar teeth became visible.

Abu Huraira reported that a person had intercourse with his wife during Ramadan (while fasting). He asked for the religious verdict (about it) from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), whereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Can you find a slave (to grant him freedom)? He said: No. He (the Holy Prophet again) said: Can you afford to observe fasts for two (consecutive) months? He said: No. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Then feed sixty poor men.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Zuhri with the same chain of transmitters that a person broke fast in Ramadan whereupon the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) commanded him to free a slave (as an atonement), and the rest of the hadith is the same as narrated by Ibn Uyaina.

Humaid b. 'Abd al-Rahman reported that Abu Huraira had narrated to him that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) commanded the person (who) broke the fast in Ramadan to free a slave or observe fasts for two (consecutive) months or feed sixty poor persons.

This hadith has been narrated with the same chain of transmitters on the authority of Zuhri.

'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that a person came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and said: I am burnt, whereupon the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: How is it? He (the person) said: I had intercourse with my wife during the day in Ramadan. Upon this (the Holy Prophet) said: Give charity, give charity. He (the person) said: There is nothing with me. He commanded him to sit down, (In the meanwhile) there were brought to him (to the Holy Prophet) two baskets containing eatables, whereupon the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) told him to give them as sadaqa.

'Abbad b. Abdullah b. Zubair narrated that he heard 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) saying: A person came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), and he then narrated the hadith. But (neither these words are found):" Give charity, give charity" (nor) his words:" during the day time".

Abbad b. Abdullah b. Zubair reported that he had heard 'A'isha, the wife of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him), as saying: A person came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) in the mosque during (the month of) Ramadan and said: Messenger of Allah, I am burnt I am burnt, whereupon the Mes- senger of Allah (may peace be upon him) asked him as to what the matter was. Upon this he said: I had intercourse with my wife (in a state of fasting) Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Give charity. Upon this he said: Apostle of Allah, I swear by God, there is nothing with me (to give in charity) as I do not possess anything. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Sit down. So he sat down and he was in this very state when there came a person urging a donkey with a load of eatables upon it. The Mes- senger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Where is that burnt one who was just here? Thereupon the person stood up. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Give this (eatables brought by the man) in charity. Upon this the person said: Messenger of Allah, can there be anyone else (more deserving than I)? By Allah. we are hungry, we have nothing with us. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) said: Then eat (these eatables).

Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) went out during the month of Ramadan in the year of Victory (when Mecca was conquered) and was fasting till he reached Kadid (a canal situated at a distance of forty-two miles from Mecca) and he then broke the fast. And it was the habit of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) to follow him in every new thing (or act). So they followed him also (in this matter).

This hadith is narrated on the authority of Zuhri with the same chain of transmitters. Yahya (one of the narrators) said that Sufyan (the narrator) had stated: I do not know whose statement it is:" It is the last word of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) which is accepted as (final as it abrogates the previous ones)."

It has been narrated on the authority of Zuhri with the same chain of transmitters that breaking of fast (in a journey) is the final of the two commands (whether one may fast or one may break it), and it is the last command of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) which is to be accepted as final. Zuhri said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) marched on Mecca on the morning of 14th of Ramadan (lit. when thirteen nights had passed).

A hadlth like this has been transmitted on the authority of Ibn Shibab who said that they (the Compnions of the Holy Prophet) followed the latest of his commands and looked upon it as one abrogating (the previous ones) and the most firm.

Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) journeyed during the month of Ramadan in a slate of fasting till he reached 'Usfan. He then ordered a cup containing drinking water and he drank that openly so that the people might see it, and broke the fast (and did not resume it) till he reached Mecca. Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) said: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) fasted and broke the fast, so he who wished fasted and he who wished to break it broke it.

Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) reported: Do not condemn one who observes fast, or one who does not observe (in a journey). for the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed fast in a journey or he did not observe it (too).

Jabir b. 'Abdullah (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) went out to Mecca in Ramadan in the year of Victory, and he and the people fasted till he came to Kura' al-Ghamim and the people also fasted. He then called for a cup of water which he raised till the people saw it, and then he drank. He was told afterwards that some people had continued to fast, and he said: These people are the disobedient ones; these are the disobedient ones.

This hadith has been narrated by Ja'far with the some chain of trans- mitters and he added: It was said to him (to the Holy Prophet): There are people to whom fasting has become unbearable and they are waiting how you do. He (the Holy Prophet) then called for a cup of water when it was afternoon. The rest of the hadith is the same.

Jabir b. 'Abdullah (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that in the course of a journey Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) saw a man, people crowding around him and providing him a shade. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) said: What is the matter with him? They said: He is a person observing fast. Whereupon the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: It is no righteousness that you fast on journey.

'Amr b. al-Hasan is reported to have said that he heard Jabir b. 'Abdullah (Allah be pleased with both of them) as saying that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saw a man. The rest of the hadith is the same as mentioned above.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Shu'ba with the same chain of transmitters but with this addition that he (the Holy Prophet) said: " Take advantage of the concession of Allah Who Wanted it to you." When he (one of the narrators) asked him (the other one, Yabya b. Abi Kathar) he did not retain it in his mind.

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him) reported: We went out on an expedition with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on the 16th of Ramadan. Some of us fasted and some of us broke the fast. But neither the observer of the fast found fault with one who broke it, nor the breaker of the fast found fault with one who observed it.