Ramadan is the only time of the year when fasting is mandatory but are you aware of other times it’s highly recommended? Originally, I debated if I should publish this article during the month of Ramadan while everyone is still in the spirit of fasting or after once we have a sense of achievement. I settled on the latter as it gives everyone encouragement that they can do this when it always seems like a challenging ask.
Fasting allows us to focus on prayer and worship. We let go of our worldly desires and direct our concentration to be thankful to God, the month of Ramadan being the most focused of all. We prep food, book days off in advance and plan out and promise to ourselves what we want to achieve during the month.
Whilst not mandatory, there are additional days in the year where it’s encouraged to fast either for specific reasons or because it was Sunnah. Knowing these days, we can also plan out and prepare for them in advance.
Days Muslims Cannot Fast
Some of the optional fasts aren’t specifically fixed to a time of the year but can be done on any day you see fit. To choose when to do these it’s important to understand there are certain days it is forbidden to fast. The below days should be ruled out:
1) Eid al-Fitr – Occurs after the completion of the month of Ramadan. The two Eids are the primary celebrations in Islam and have been designated to enjoy and feast with those dear to us.
2) Eid al-Adha – Occurs after the hajj pilgrimage season is complete. Like the above celebration it occurs after a sustained period of worship and good deeds. A time for us to enjoy with our loved ones.
3) The Three Days After Eid Al-Adha – 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhul-Hijjah. These days after Eid al-Adha are referred to al-Tahreeq and are days for celebration, food and drink.
4) Only Choosing to Fast on Fridays – Fridays are already a day where Muslims worship and pray more e.g. listening to Khutbas before Jummah prayers. As Muslims we are never overburdened with worship and more so never asked to do anything that will remove our zeal for such. Therefore singling out Fridays for fasting is not allowed so that we can have energy to perform other forms of worship on Fridays.
5) Only Choosing to Fast on Saturdays – This was prohibited as a day to fast so Muslims could be separated from other religions that fasted on this day.
6) Fasting on the 2 days Prior to the Month of Ramadan – This is to avoid any doubt if the new month of Ramadan has started. For your fast to count during Ramadan you have to have made the intention the night before. To avoid any doubt if the new month has started it is not allowed to do an optional fast on the two days preceding Ramadan. Fasting during the month of Ramadan with a different intention invalidates that fast.
There are some exceptions to the above days e.g. if you are someone who cannot afford a sacrifice on Eid al-Adha then you may fast on the three days following it. Nevertheless, the above in general are the days Muslims are not allowed to fast.
Differences between Voluntary Fasts and the Fasts During the Month of Ramadan
There is no difference to what breaks a fast outside of Ramadan to during Ramadan. However, there are two difference that should be taken note of when it comes to fasting outside of Ramadan.
1) A key requirement to fasting in Ramadan is to make the intention to fast the night before. This is relatively straight forward as there is only one reason we set our alarms and wake up in the early morning – to have suhoor.
Outside of Ramadan there is flexibility around when the intention to fast has to be made. Unlike Ramadan when it is the night before, the intention can be made during the day.
The caveats to this are:
a) You can’t just wake up before sunset and then make your intention that you’re fasting. You have to be awake during a sizable period of the day.
b) You can’t have done anything that would’ve broken your fast before you make the intention.
2) The second difference surrounds the aspect of you being being allowed to be break your fast if you wish to and it will not be a sin. This is noted amongst several of the Prophet’s (pbuh) actions such as when there was an invitation to a feast (outside of Ramadan) but one of the companions was fasting. The Prophet requested “Your brother has invited you and incurred expenses on your behalf, break your fast and fast another day in its place if you wish.”
Days Encouraged to Fast Outside of Ramadan
Since the days will always change according to western calendars, I will mention the Islamic months as appropriate. In addition, there will naturally be some of these days falling on Friday or Saturday. It is perfectly fine to fast on these days as the intention is to fast for the below reasons as opposed to only fasting due to being a Friday or Saturday.
1) Fasting Mondays and Thursdays – This was performed by the Prophet and it is said these are days where people’s deeds are presented to the God. Additionally, the Prophet mentioned he fasted on Mondays as this was the day he was born.
Whilst these should provide sufficient reasons to consider this as days to fast it has become increasingly popular to fast 2 days a week. The increase of the 5:2 diet where you eat normally for 5 days and limit your calorie intake for 2 days of the week has been shown to be a great way to remediate a whole host of health issues.
2) Six Days in the Month of Shawwal (10th Islamic month) – this month occurs after the month of Ramadan and the reward for doing so is as though the person has fasted the entire year. These 6 days can be spread out throughout the month and does not have to be consecutive days.
3) Fasting the Ninth Day of Dhul-Hijjah (12th Islamic month) – this is the Day of Arafah and is recommended for those not taking part in Hajj. The reward for doing so is the clearing of sins for 2 years – 1 for the year preceding and 1 for the year following.
4) Fasting the Tenth Day of the Muharram (1st Islamic month) – this day which occurs in the first month of the Islamic calendar is called Ashura. On this day Moses defeated Pharaoh by crossing the Red Sea. In order to differentiate Muslims from other religions (who also celebrated this day) the Prophet instructed to fast for either the 9th and 10th or 10th and 11th of Muharram.
5) Fasting most of the month of Shaban (8th Islamic month) – This is the month before Ramadan and the Prophet fasted for the majority of this month.
Starting to fast in this month can help the transition into fasting during Ramadan. So often we find the first week the most difficult and therefore we sometimes do not perform the intensity of worship that we do from 7 days in. By getting use to fasting beforehand we can start our focus and intensity from Day 1 of Ramadan.
It is important to take note of point 6 in the ‘Days Muslims Cannot Fast’ section when deciding which days to fast in Shaban.
6) The White Days – The three days in the middle of each Islamic month are called the White Days or Ayam al Beedh due to the fact the moon is most lit on these nights.
Specifically these are the 13th, 14th and 15th in each Islamic month. The reward for fasting each day is equivalent to fasting 10 days. Hence fasting for 3 days a month for the entire year can you bring you the equivalent reward of fasting the entire year.
These are some of the options for specific voluntary fasts mentioned for Muslims. If we can fast continually during Ramadan then we already have the mental mindset to fast for some if not all of the above voluntarily days. The best time to make intentions are after Ramadan with our sense of achievement still high and work towards these additional days.
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