Six Days of Shawwal

Muhammad Al-Shareef

«He who observed the fast of Ramadan and then followed it with six (fasts) of Shawwal. it would be as if he fasted for the whole year». [Muslim 6/2614]

  • Categories: Fiqh of Fasting - Shawwal Files -

Sawm Now that Ramadan’s over, many of us feel sad–we miss the spirituality, the eman rush, the amazing strength that we all demonstrate in Ramadan. So what can you do to bring those feelings back?

One thing is to keep performing the deeds you performed in Ramadan–and this is one of the signs that Allah (Subhanahu wa-ta'ala) accepted your deeds.

Another act you can perform is to fast six days of Shawwal, the month right after Ramadan. Check this hadith out:

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (radi Allahu anhu) reported Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: «He who observed the fast of Ramadan and then followed it with six (fasts) of Shawwal. it would be as if he fasted for the whole year». [Muslim 6/2614]

«من صام رمضان. ثم أتبعه ستا ًمن شوال. كان كصيام الدهر»
مسلم

Why the whole year? Well, we know the reward for good deeds counts as at least ten. Ramadan is one month, so we get the reward of ten months of fasting. Plus six days (times ten; sixty days, or two months), that equals a whole year!

And remember, if you missed completing Ramadan, you need to make those days up first, before you fast any optional fasts. Because Ramadan fasts are fard–they take precedance over mustahab fasts.

May Allah accept all our good deeds from Ramadan and year-round and help make us to make ourselves strong all year around, not just once a year. Ameen!


Muhammad Alshareef

Lecture. AlMaghrib. Rizq Management. University of Toronto, Toronto. June 2006.


Ilm fruits

With little modification