Fasting in Shawwal, Commandments & Virtues
Along with the fasts of the month of Ramadan, the six fasts of the month of Shawwal have gained great merit. There is a hadith: On the authority of Abu Ayyub Ansari, the Messenger of Allah, may God bless him and grant him peace, said:
Whoever keeps six fasts of Ramadan and then keeps six fasts of Shawwal after that, he will get the reward of the whole year’s fasts. (Muslim)
Wisdom of Shawwal Fasts
Explaining the wisdom of these fasts in the month of Shawwal, Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlavi said in Hujjatullah al-Balta, “The secret of the legitimacy of these six fasts is that just as there are sunnah and nawafls of prayer, which complete the benefit of prayer.” Yes, in the same way, these six fasts are also substitutes for the Sunan and Nawafil fasts.
Allocation of the reason for the month of Shawwal
Why was the month of Shawwal chosen for six days after Ramadan? In this regard, Allama Abdul Rauf al-Manawi says: “The month of Shawwal was made special for these six fasts because it is a month in which people are more inclined to eat and drink because they have just finished the fasts of Ramadan. Therefore, when the passion and desire for food are intense, and fasting is observed in this state, the reward will be more.
And Allama Ibn Al-Tamim writes: “Some scholars say that there are some omissions and deficiencies in the rights and obligations of the fasts of Ramadan, so the six fasts of Shawwal have been declared recommended so that these shortcomings and In order to make up for the shortcomings, it is as if these fasts are the standing position of the sunnah after the obligatory prayers, which are to remove the shortcomings and omissions in the prayers.
Six days reason allocation
Why is the number of these six days of Shawwal only six?
It is explained in the hadith;
Al-Thawhan narrates from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, that he said: “Whoever keeps six fasts after Eid al-Fitr, he will get the reward of fasting for a whole year, and whoever does one good deed, he will get the reward of ten good deeds.” (Sunan Ibn Maja)
From the mentioned hadith, it is known that one good deed is equal to ten good deeds. That is, one fast is equal to ten fasts. In this sense, if the six fasts of Shawwal are added together with the thirty fasts of Ramadan, then there are thirty-six fasts in total, then each fast in them. When it is equal to ten fasts, thirty-six fasts will be equal to three hundred and sixty days, and since there are more or less 365 days in a year, the aforementioned fasts are equal to the fasts of the whole year.
How to fast
These six fasts of Shawwal can be observed immediately after Eid, as well as in the middle and at the end, and these fasts can also be observed continuously and can be observed separately because, in the hadith, fasting can be observed. No determination has been made.
First, Shawwal or the dead fasts of Ramadan?
If a person misses some of the fasts of Ramadan due to a Shariah excuse, then he will make up for the shorter fasts first and observe the fasts of Shawwal. It is clear that “Whoever fasts six days of Shawwal after fasting Ramadan, he will always get the reward of fasting.”
But if a person is unable to make up for the fasts of Ramadan first and is afraid of going out at the time of certain post-post-fasts, then on this basis, he fasts first and then makes up for the missed fasts of Ramadan, then both of his fasts are correct. Shall be.
