Fasting Every Day: Was Abdullah ibn Amr Wrong?

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[Silence]

Be his fact and of generations tell us that he was fasting every single day. That he was reading the Quran every single day, meaning the whole thing. And that he was praying from right after Isha all the way until the break of dawn, until Fajr. Now, remember these guys had jobs. They had chores. They had travels. When we talk about Abdullah ibn Amr praying from Isha to Fajr, that doesn't mean that after Fajr he was going to sleep and sleeping until 5:00 at night. No. He didn't just switch his routine around. This is to kind of frame the exact or or the the intensity of these men that were around the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam. He would be going on 1 or 2 hours of sleep in every day or less. Right? They were you know, living their normal lives in the dunya and then every single spare moment was spent with the book of Allah, was spent in front of Allah making salah, was spent fasting. Imagine not sleeping all night every single night and then fasting all day the next day and then making salah the entirety of the night and during that time of fasting reading the entirety of the Quran. Every single day, even as a young man. This is incredibly intense. And so the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam advised him to take it down. He began with advising him to fast 3 days a month. Going from every single day, 30 days a month to less than 10% or 10%, 3 days a month. The prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam very well knows that he's going to ask for more and he's going to require more. But this is how the prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam would would remedy situations this or extremes this. And so he said, "Ya Rasulullah, inni ajidu quwatan." 3 days a month, "Oh messenger of Allah, I am stronger than that." And so the prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam, notice the wording here. Very important the wording of the narration. This narration is in Bukhari and Muslim. He said, "Fast 3 days a month." He said, "I'm stronger than that." He said, "Then fast Mondays and Thursdays." Said, "I'm stronger than that." He then said notice the wording "Ahabbu siyami ilallah siyamu Dawud." The most beloved fasting to Allah is the fasting of Dawud. He didn't say fast the fasting of Dawud. Did the prophet himself fast the fasting of Dawud? No, he did not. But he did say the most beloved of fasting to Allah is the fasting of Dawud. He would fast 1 day and break his fast the next. And so this is what Abdullah ibn Amr did. Now when this happened, he was a very young man. And he lived for decades after the prophet's death Sallallahu alaihi wasallam. He was narrated at the end of his life as saying "Laytani akhadhtu bi rukhsati Rasulillah." I wish I had taken the allowance of the messenger of Allah Sallallahu ta'ala. Meaning it became arduous at the end of his life. However, the companions of their method and of their of their relationship with Allah is if they would commit to something, they would never leave it off. Till they died. They committed to something. Before they commit, they would think it through. And then when they would think it through and commit to it, they would continue with it until death. And so he continued with it until old age, but it took a toll on him. The next type of fasting or the next advisable or the next type of fasting in which the prophet subhanahu wa ta'ala encouraged or was encouraged to do generally is Ashra Dhul Hijjah. It's fasting the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah, which is the 12th month. Now, essentially, you're not really fasting the first 10 days per se. Why? Because the 10th day is Eid. And it's not permissible to fast on Eid. But it's referred to as the 10 of Dhul Hijjah or the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah as tajawuzan. it's said the last 10 nights of Ramadan. It might be night nine nights, right? This is because it is estimating, rounding up. Can I Rasulullah subhanahu wa ta'ala assume this Dhul Hijjah?

[Arabic recitation]

By Abu Dawud and and and Nasa'i on the authority of Hunaida ibn Khalid, one of the Tabi'in. And his wife narrates that one of the wives of the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam said that the messenger of Allah Sallallahu alayhi wasallam would always fast the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah. So, here we have nine days. They're referred to as the 10 as, you know, estimating, right? just if you were to say right now the time is 6:08. If you were to say it's a quarter past six, did you misspeak or is that a lie technically? No, it's just estimating. It's the way people speak, right? And so, he says he would fast the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah. He would always fast the 10th day of Muharram, Ashura. He would always fast at least three days of every month. And he would always fast the first Monday of every month and Thursday. So, that this wife of the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam here is speaking about his bare minimum fasting. If we were to say worst case scenario, what would he fast? This was his bare minimum. The first 9 days of Dhu al-Hijjah, the day of Ashura, 3 days of every month, and the first Monday and Thursday of every month. This narration has been collected by Abu Dawud. Inshallah starting tomorrow we will be discussing the next chapter, which is the chapter regarding the days in which it is prohibited for a person to fast. As'al Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala an yu'allimana ma yanfa'una wa yanfa'una.

[Arabic recitation]