Fasting on Friday and Saturday alone

Fasting on Friday and Saturday alone

By: Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi
Oxford

Question:
My student Subaida, a well-known activist in Kerala, asked me the following:
Salam Sheikh, I’ve heard that we cannot fast on Friday or Saturday alone. It should be combined with Thursday if it’s Friday, or with Sunday if it’s Saturday. I also heard that the Prophet ﷺ stopped someone from fasting only on Friday, but I’m not sure. Could you please clarify?

Answer:
Wa alaykum al-salam,
Fasting on Friday alone is generally considered disliked (makrūh) in Islam, according to the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. This ruling does not mean that fasting on Friday is sinful, but it is discouraged unless it is accompanied by fasting on a day before (Thursday) or a day after (Saturday). The wisdom behind this guidance is to prevent Friday, which is a day of congregational worship and celebration, from being singled out for voluntary fasting.
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr reported that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ entered the room of Juwayriyah bint al-Ḥārith while she was fasting on a Friday. He asked her: “Did you fast yesterday?” She replied, “No.” He then asked, “Do you plan to fast tomorrow?” She replied, “No.” Upon hearing this, the Prophet ﷺ instructed her: “Then break your fast.” This indicates that fasting on Friday alone, without including another day, is discouraged.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād ibn Jaʿfar reported that he asked Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh while he was circumambulating the Kaʿbah whether the Prophet ﷺ had forbidden fasting on Friday, and Jābir replied: “Yes, by the Lord of this House.” Similarly, Abū Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “None among you should observe the fast on Friday, but only that he observes the fast before it and after it.” These narrations clearly establish that fasting on Friday alone was discouraged by the Prophet ﷺ, but it is permissible if it is combined with another day, such as Thursday or Saturday.

Fasting on Saturday alone is also disliked unless it is an obligatory fast. ʿAbdullāh ibn Busr reported from his sister al-Ḥammāʾ that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Do not fast on Saturdays unless it is an obligatory fast. [You should not fast] even if you do not find anything [to eat] save some grape peelings or a branch of a tree to chew on.” This shows that voluntary fasting specifically on Saturday, without combining it with another day, is discouraged.
Umm Salamah narrated that the Prophet ﷺ used to fast more often on Saturdays and Sundays than on other days. He would say: “They are the days of the polytheists, and I love to differ from them.” From this, scholars conclude that if a fast is attached to another day, for example, combining Friday with Thursday, or Saturday with Sunday, then there is no harm, and it is permissible to fast.

In summary, fasting Friday or Saturday alone is disliked. It is preferable to combine Friday with Thursday or Saturday with Sunday. These rulings are based on the practice and guidance of the Prophet ﷺ and are meant to maintain the distinctiveness of Friday and Saturday as days of congregational worship and reflection. Voluntary fasting on these days should ideally not be isolated, but there is no prohibition if another day is added.

(For a comprehensive discussion and detailed references, refer to my book Al-Fiqh al-Islami, Volume 2)

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