What is the ruling on fasting Sunnah of Shawwal while there are fasts to make up from Ramadān?
Firstly: Get to know the blessings and rewards of fasting 6 days in Shawwal.
In Saheeh Muslim there is a Hadeeth:
The Prophet ﷺ said,
(مَنْ صامَ رمضانَ ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَهُ ستًّا مِنْ شوَّالٍ كانَ كصيامِ الدَّهْرِ)
“The one who fasts the days of Ramadān and follows it with 6 days of Shawwal, is as if he had fasted the entire year.”
صحيح مسلم (1164 )
We should comprehend ourselves this generosity of Allāh.
Secondly: Can the person who has pending fasts to make up from Ramadān fast the 6 days of Shawwal before the pending fasts of Ramadān are made up?
There are two views among the scholars regarding this.
First view:
It is not permissible to fast the days of Shawwal without fasting the missed fasts of Ramadān. This view is from the الحنابلة Hanabila (Hambali) Madh-hab. The scholars that stated this view include, Ash-Sheikh ibn Baaz, Ash-Sheikh ibn Uthaymeen, Ash-Sheikh Sālih al-Fawzān and there are other scholars.
The evidence they provided include.
1- The Prophet ﷺ said,
(مَنْ صامَ رمضانَ ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَهُ ستًّا مِنْ شوَّالٍ كانَ كصيامِ الدَّهْرِ)
“The one who fasts the days of Ramadān and follows it with 6 days of Shawwal, is as if he had fasted the entire year.”
That is to fast all the fasts of Ramadān and then fast the days of Shawwal. If there are 10 missed fasts from Ramadān it has to be said that he fasted part of Ramadān. He will not come under the one who fasted the days of Ramadān and is fasting the days of Shawwal. Moreover, they said that this is evidence to complete the fasts of Ramadān and only after that fasts of Shawwal can be done. Otherwise the rewards mentioned in the Hadeeth will not be achieved.
2- They also said. The obligatory worship are the worship that are most beloved to Allāh. Sunnah worship comes after that. Therefore, to submit to Allāh there is no leaving off the obligatory worship to do the supererogatory ones.
3- Uthman bin Mauhab said, A person asked Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه. “I have missed fasts (to make-up) from Ramadān. Can I fast in the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah while they are still remaining?
Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه said,
“No, why (fast the Sunnah while you have obligatory fasts pending)? Start fulfilling the rights of Allāh. After that, if you want you can fast Sunnah fasts”.
البيهقي في السنن الكبرى ٨٣٩٥ صحيح
Al-Imām ibn Rajab al-Ḥambalee رحمه الله said,
“Except for the one who completed all the fasts of Ramadān and then fasted the days of Shawwal, the objective of fasting in Shawwal will not be achieved.”
اللطائف223
Second view:
The statement that the one who has to make up fasts from Ramadān is permitted to fast the 6 days of Shawwal.
The evidence provided by those who support this view include:
That ‘Aaishah رضي الله عنها said,
(كان يكون علي الصوم من رمضان فما أستطيع أن أقضيه إلا في شعبان)
“I had missed fasts to make up from the month of Ramadān. I wasn’t able to make them up until the month of Sha’bān.”
صحيح البخاري 1950
They said. How can we say that ‘Aaishah رضي الله عنها, the wife of the Prophet ,ﷺ with her high status did not fast in the month of Shawwal? (Meaning that if we says that we cannot fast in Shawwal while there are pending fasts from Ramadān, and since ‘Aaishah رضي الله عنها said that she did not make up the missed fasts from Ramadān till Sha’bān, are we saying that she did not fast the Sunnah fasts of Shawwal?)
And in response to that, it is said. ‘Aaishah رضي الله عنها, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, was steadfast in another more important worship than that of the fasting of Shawwal. That is, due to the high status of the Messenger ﷺ she was engaged in serving him in all his affairs.
That is a much superior worship. For in the religion, in the Shari’ah, the established rule is that if two issues overlap with each other (performing Sunnah prayers and serving the Prophet ﷺ) the highest should be taken as the priority. This was the reason why she had to delay the fasts of the month of Ramadān till Sha’bān. That answers the people of the second opinion.
Furthermore it is stated. From the actions of ‘Aaishah رضي الله عنها she did not fast Sunnah fasts while there are pending fasts from Ramadān. She did not say that “I fast Sunnah fasts” however, what she said was that she delayed making up the fasts from Ramadān in order to serve the Prophet ﷺ due to his high status. And it is not mentioned in the narration that she was given the permission to fast the Sunnah fasts. But instead the narration very clearly states that she delayed the fasts to serve the needs of the Prophet ﷺ.
Therefore, in summary:
(مَنْ صامَ رمضانَ ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَهُ ستًّا مِنْ شوَّالٍ كانَ كصيامِ الدَّهْرِ)
“The one who fasts the days of Ramadān and follows it with 6 days of Shawwal, is as if he had fasted the entire year.”
The words in the Hadeeth, and from the given evidences, the statement that the one who has pending fasts from Ramadān is not permitted to fast the days of Shawwal without making up the missed fasts of Ramadān and will not get the reward of fasting the entire year, is very strong. It’s a view based on evidence.
However, some scholars among those who support this view, among them Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله, permitted in case of a necessity, due to the necessity, it will be permissible to fast the 6 days of Shawwal while pending fasts remained.
The Sheikh said. “If a woman had pending fasts from Ramadān, she should not fast the days of Shawwal before she had made up the missed fasts from Ramadān. The reason for this is that the Prophet ﷺ said:
(مَنْ صامَ رمضانَ ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَهُ ستًّا مِنْ شوَّالٍ ….)
“The one who fasts the days of Ramadān and follows it with 6 days of Shawwal…..” So the one who has missed fasts from Ramadān will not be one who has fasted the whole month of Ramadān.
Therefore, the rewards of fasting in Shawwal will not be achieved unless the missed fasts are made up. Then, the whole month of Shawwal is to be taken to make up the missed fasts. For example the woman who was in post-natal bleeding, who could not fast a single day in Ramadān. And she starts to make up the missed fasts of Ramadān in Shawwal. And she cannot finish making up the missed fasts until the month of Dhul Qaidah. In this case, the woman fasts the 6 days of Shawwal. And she will get the reward of fasting in Shawwal. That is because she did this out of necessity. The woman is in an excused condition.”
مجموع فتاوى و جـ20 ص 19
Allah knows best, this is a very fair ruling in which all the evidences have been considered. Therefore, it cannot be said that the woman who missed fasts due to menses, who has the time to make up the missed fasts of Ramadān and then fast the 6 days of Shawwal in the month of Shawwal, can make up the missed fasts after fasting the 6 days of Shawwal. For them, is to first make up the missed fasts of Ramadān and then fast the 6 days of Shawwal.
