The Nafl Fasts - Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem
By Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem | 2026-07-06T18:53:43.159051+00:00 | Topic: Fasting
The Nafl Fasts — Voluntary Fasting of the Prophet ﷺ
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.
The Nafl Siyam — voluntary fasting of the Prophet ﷺ. Voluntary fasting, or Nafl fasting, Nafl Siyam that Rasulullah ﷺ used to observe, or that he ﷺ recommended the Ummah to observe. Amongst all the Nafl Siyam, Rasulullah ﷺ has classified the fasting of the month of Muharram the best after the month of Ramadan.
Fasting in Muharram
As he ﷺ says in a hadith reported on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), which Imam Muslim and other Muhaddithun have collected in their books:
(Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 252 — also recorded by al-Tirmidhi and others)
"The best of the fasting after the month of Ramadan is the fasting of the month of Muharram."
The month of Muharram is the very first month of the Islamic calendar — the very first month of the Hijri calendar. And Muharram, as you can understand from the name itself, it is one of the four sacred months. And in this month particularly, the fasting of the tenth of this month — Ashura — is what Rasulullah ﷺ used to observe himself.
When he ﷺ was in Mecca before Hijra, he ﷺ used to observe the fasting of the tenth of Muharram, Ashura. And when he ﷺ arrived in Medina and saw the Jews of Medina observing this fasting as well, he ﷺ asked them the reason. They said, "This is the day in which Allah freed Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) and his companions from the oppression of Fir'aun. This is the day when Fir'aun was drowned and destroyed. So in order to thank Allah, we observe the fasting of this day." Rasulullah ﷺ then said, "Then we, as Muslims, as believers, have more right to observe this fasting." And he ﷺ recommended his companions — Ridwanullah 'alayhim ajma'een — to fast on this day.
Obviously this is to do with this particular day, the tenth of Muharram. But the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ encourages us to try to observe as many fasts as we can within the month of Muharram — not only the tenth, but other days as well. As he ﷺ said, the best of the fasting after the month of Ramadan is the fasting of the month of Muharram — the whole month. So we should try to fast within the month of Muharram as many days as we can.
Fasting in Sha'ban
The second Nafl fasting that Rasulullah ﷺ used to observe was during the month of Sha'ban. As our mother Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says, "I never saw the Prophet ﷺ observing more fasting in any month more than the month of Sha'ban." The number of days Rasulullah ﷺ used to fast in the month of Sha'ban was far more than any other month.
But as for us, as the Ummah, Rasulullah ﷺ has advised us: when the month of Sha'ban comes to the middle — when half of the month has gone, meaning up to the fifteenth of Sha'ban — he ﷺ said that after that you should not fast. And this is the general principle within the fiqh: when we find the practice and the actions of Rasulullah ﷺ apparently contradicting his statements, then as the Ummah, we must follow the statement of Rasulullah ﷺ. So for us, the recommendation is to fast as many days as we can in the first half of the month of Sha'ban. As for Rasulullah ﷺ himself, he used to observe the fasting of the month of Sha'ban more than any other month apart from the month of Ramadan.
The Six Days of Shawwal
After the month of Ramadan, he ﷺ recommended us to observe the fasting of six days of the month of Shawwal — straight after the month of Ramadan. As he ﷺ said:
(Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 204)
"Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan and then follows it up with six days of the month of Shawwal, then it is as if he has observed the fasting of the whole year." So this is another recommended type of voluntary Nafl fasting.
The Fast of the Day of Arafah
He ﷺ also recommended us to observe the fast of the day of Arafah — the ninth of Dhul Hijjah. And this is the day about which Rasulullah ﷺ said:
(Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 197)
"Whoever fasts the day of Arafah, Allah forgives the sins of the person for the past whole year and the next year as well." Two years' sins are forgiven because of observing the fast of the day of Arafah — the day when the hujjaj gather in the plain of Arafat. As for those hujjaj who are in Arafat, they are prohibited from observing the fasting of that day. But for those who are not there, Rasulullah ﷺ encouraged us to fast on this day.
Although this is the ninth of Dhul Hijjah — the day of Arafah — Rasulullah ﷺ's hadith encourages us to fast during the other eight days as well if we can. As he ﷺ said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 969)
"There are no days in which performing good deeds and good actions are better or more rewarded than observing fasting, praying, reading the Qur'an, or doing any other good deed within these ten days" — the first ten days of the month of Dhul Hijjah.
Fasting on Mondays and Thursdays
Other than these monthly fasts, Rasulullah ﷺ used to fast every Monday and Thursday as well. As we know, Rasulullah ﷺ was born on a Monday, and he ﷺ was asked about the reason for fasting on this day. He ﷺ said:
(Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 197)
"This is the day when I was born — Monday — and this is also the day when I received the very first revelation from Allah." So this is one of the reasons for fasting on Monday. But there is another reason reported in another hadith collected by Imam Abu Dawood, that Rasulullah ﷺ said:
(Sunan Abu Dawood, Book 14, Hadith 2436)
"Every Monday and every Thursday, the deeds of the people are presented before Allah. I love that my deeds are presented before Allah while I am fasting." So this is another reason that Rasulullah ﷺ used to fast on Mondays and Thursdays.
Ayyam al-Bid — The Three White Days
He ﷺ also recommended us to observe the fasting of three days every month, known as Ayyam al-Bid — the white days: the 13th, 14th, and 15th of every single lunar month. He ﷺ recommended us to fast for these three days. If you cannot observe the fasting every Monday and Thursday, then at least try to fast for these three days — the 13th, 14th, and 15th of every month according to the lunar calendar.
Another hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ gives us a bit more flexibility when it comes to fasting three days in every month. This is the hadith reported by Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). She was asked about the fasting of Rasulullah ﷺ every month. The one who asked — she said it was Mu'adha — asked: "Which particular three days did Rasulullah ﷺ fast every month?" Our mother Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "He ﷺ would not specifically pay attention to any particular day, but he ﷺ would observe the fasting of three days every month."
So if we combine both ahadith, the scholars have said that it is highly recommended to observe the fasting of the three days — the 13th, 14th, and 15th. But if you miss these three days or are unable to fast then, you can observe the fasting for any three days within the month and you will be rewarded, inshallah, according to this hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ.
Following the Sunnah and Avoiding Innovation
These are some of the voluntary fasts that Rasulullah ﷺ used to observe. We should try our best to observe these fasts as many as we can, acting upon the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ.
Rasulullah ﷺ often used to recite in his khutbah:
"The best way is the way of Muhammad Rasulullah ﷺ." When it comes to the worship of Allah — whether it is prayer or fasting, giving charity, reading Qur'an, or doing any other good deed — we must try our best to follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. When it comes to fasting, we should try to act upon the Sunnah and the teachings of Rasulullah ﷺ. And we must avoid innovations.
Days on Which Fasting Is Prohibited or Has No Basis
The days for which Rasulullah ﷺ never recommended us to fast, we should try to avoid. As we see nowadays, people try to observe the fasting of the 15th of Sha'ban, whereas there is no authentic hadith that recommends fasting on the 15th of Sha'ban. Likewise, people believe that fasting on the 27th of Rajab is also rewarded, whereas there is no hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ about this.
Some people believe that fasting on the day of Friday is more rewardable because Friday is the best day of the week, whereas Rasulullah ﷺ has actually prohibited us from singling out the day of Friday for fasting unless we fast a day before or a day after. Singling out the day of Friday for fasting has no extra reward — in fact, it is prohibited unless you fast Thursday or Saturday alongside it. If the Friday falls within the three white days of the month, then you may observe the fast of Friday.
Likewise, Rasulullah ﷺ has also prohibited fasting on Saturday unless it falls on the day of Ashura, or the day of Arafah, or one of the white days — then you may. Other than this, you should not single out the day of Saturday for fasting.
Likewise, Rasulullah ﷺ prohibited fasting on the two days of Eid — Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Some people believe that on the day of Eid al-Adha there is a half-day fast, and this is particularly common amongst Asian communities. They take this from a misunderstanding of a hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ — that on the day of Eid al-Adha, he ﷺ would not eat anything until he ﷺ had performed Salat al-Eid, and then straight after Salat al-Eid, he ﷺ would slaughter the animal — the sacrifice — and then eat the meat from the animal. This used to be the very first thing he ﷺ would eat on that day. From this hadith, people believe that until you eat the meat of the sacrifice you are fasting — which is not true. Fasting on the day of Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha is prohibited.
Likewise, fasting on Ayyam al-Tashriq — the three days after Eid al-Adha: the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth of Dhul Hijjah — is also prohibited.
The Immense Reward of Fasting Even One Day
Other than these prohibited days, we should try to fast for as many days as we can, as Rasulullah ﷺ has informed us about the great reward of fasting even for one day. He ﷺ said:
"Whoever observes fasting for one day, Allah will distance the person from the fire of Hell as far as the distance of seventy years." In another hadith, Rasulullah ﷺ said that whoever fasts for one day, Allah creates between the fasting person and the fire of Hell a deep and wide ditch as wide as the distance of seventy years. So this is the reward of fasting for even one day. We should try our best to observe this fasting and to follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ.