RAMAḌHĀN MAY HAVE COME TO AN END BUT THE FASTING CONTINUES...

Imām Muslim -raḥimahullāh- reported in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1164) from the ḥadīth of Abū Ayyūb Al-Ansarī -raḍhiyallāhu ‘anhu- that the Prophet ﷺ said: ((‏من صام رمضان ثم أتبعه بست من شوال كان كصيام الدهر)) "Whoever fasts Ramaḍhān and then follows it with six days of Shawwāl will be (rewarded) as if he had fasted the entire year." How does fasting 1 month + 6 days equate to fasting an entire year? The scholars explained that good deeds are multipled tenfolds based on Allāh's saying: {مَن جَاۤءَ بِٱلۡحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُۥ عَشۡرُ أَمۡثَالِهَا} “Whoever comes with a good deed will be rewarded tenfold.” [Sūrah Al-An‘ām 160] That means: 1 month x 10 = 10 months 6 days x 10 = 60 days (2 months) 10 + 2 (months) = 12 months (1 year). 📚 [Refer back to the explanation of An-Nawawī] ____ Sheikh Ṣāliḥ Ibn ‘Uthaimīn -raḥimahullāh- was asked the following question: Many people say, fasting the six days of Shawwāl must begin straight after ‘Eid, otherwise there is no benefit if one does not begin fasting straight after ‘Eid, and the same if they're not done in succession. Please advise us? The Sheikh answered: There's no problem if one begins fasting the six days of Shawwāl straight after ‘Eid or delays it until the last part of the month (Shawwāl), and the same goes whether it is done in succession or sporadically. But what is important is that a person begins once they have completed the fasting of Ramaḍhān, so if a person has days to make up, he should prioritise that over fasting the six days of Shawwāl. 📚 [Mukhtaṣar Fatāwī Ash-Sheikh ibn Uthaymīn, Vol. 5]