Shaʿbān Series—Part 4 A Clarification Regarding Fasting After the 15th of Shaʿbān Abū Hurayrah, may Allāh be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: ❝When half of the month of Shaʿbān has passed, do not fast.❞ — Narrated by Abū Dāwūd (2337), Tirmidhī (728), Ibn Mājah (1651), Dārimī (1781), and Aḥmad (9707). The majority of scholars have deemed this narration weak due to the isolated nature (tafarrud) of its narrator, al-ʿAlāʾ, his inconsistency (shudhūdh) and being less strong (ghayr qawiyy) in this particular narration compared to the other narrators. Among these scholars are Imāms Aḥmad, Ibn Maʿīn, Ibn Mahdī, Abū Zurʿah, al-Athram, al-Khalīlī, al-Bayhaqī, al-Ṭaḥāwī, al-Dhahabī, Ibn Rajab, Ibn ʿUthaymīn, and al-Wādiʿī. This is because Abū Hurayrah, may Allāh be pleased with him, also narrated that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: ❝None of you should fast a day or two before Ramaḍān, except for the one who habitually observe voluntary fasts, in which case, he may fast.❞ — Narrated by Bukhārī (1914), Muslim (1082), Abū Dāwūd (2335), Tirmidhī (684), Nasāʾī (2172), Ibn Mājah (1650), Dārimī (1731), and Aḥmad (7200). The authenticity of this ḥadīth is agreed upon, and it indicates the permissibility of fasting up until the beginning of Ramaḍān—that is, until the end of Shaʿbān. Even if the first ḥadīth were considered authentic, it would only indicate dislike (karāhiyyah) rather than prohibition (taḥrīm). And Allāh knows best. However, a group of scholars have classified the first ḥadīth as authentic, including Tirmidhī, Nawawī, Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Bāz, al-Albānī, Shuʿayb Arnaʾūṭ, and others. They reconciled both aḥādīth by explaining that the prohibition of fasting after the 15th of Shaʿbān applies to those who had not been fasting earlier in the month or were not in the habit of observing voluntary fasts, such as the bright days (13th, 14th, and 15th of each month), Mondays and Thursdays, or the fasting of Prophet Dāwūd, peace be upon him. Otherwise, fasting remains permissible. Written by: Zubayr bin Muḥammad ʿAbbāsī Tuesday 19th Shaʿbān 1446AH