Chapter on the Types of Fasting

'O Zuhri, where have you come from?' I replied: 'From the mosque.' Imam (as) asked: 'What were you discussing?' I said: 'We were discussing the matter of fasting, and my opinion along with that of my companions was that no fast is obligatory except the fast of the Month of Ramadan.' Imam (as) said: 'O Zuhri, it is not as you have said. Fasting is of forty types: ten of them are obligatory like the obligation of the Month of Ramadan, ten are prohibited to fast, fourteen are optional, meaning their observer has the choice to fast or not, three are fasting with permission, one is fasting for discipline, one is fasting with allowance, and one concerns fasting during travel and illness.' I said: 'May I be your ransom, explain them to me.' Imam (as) said: 'As for the obligatory, they are the fast of the Month of Ramadan, fasting two consecutive months for one who deliberately and intentionally breaks a day of the month of Month of Ramadan, and fasting two consecutive months as expiation for zihar (a pre-Islamic form of divorce). Allah (swt), the Almighty, says: "And those who pronounce zihar from their wives and then return to what they said—they must free a slave before they touch one another. This is what you are admonished with; and Allah (swt) is All-Aware of what you do. But whoever does not find [a slave to free], then fasting two consecutive months before they touch one another." Similarly, fasting two consecutive months as expiation for unintentional killing for one who cannot find a slave to free is obligatory. This is based on the saying of Allah (swt), the Almighty: "And whoever kills a believer by mistake must free a believing slave and pay blood money to the victim’s family." "And Allah (swt), the Almighty, says: 'But whoever cannot find [a slave to free], then fasting two consecutive months.' Fasting three days as expiation for an oath is obligatory for one who cannot afford to feed the poor. Allah (swt), the Almighty, says: 'But whoever cannot afford it, then fasting for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths you have sworn.' All of this must be consecutive, not separated. Fasting due to the harm of shaving the head is obligatory. Allah (swt), the Almighty, says: 'But whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head [necessitating shaving], must offer a ransom of fasting, or charity, or sacrifice.' In this case, the individual has a choice, and if he chooses to fast, he fasts for three days. Fasting in place of the sacrificial blood for tamattu‘ is obligatory for one who cannot find an animal for sacrifice. Allah (swt), the Almighty, says: 'Whoever performs Umrah during the Hajj [months], followed by Hajj, must offer what he can afford of a sacrificial animal. But if he cannot find one, then fasting for three days during Hajj and seven when you return, making ten in all.' Fasting as expiation for hunting is obligatory. Allah (swt), the Almighty, says: 'Whoever kills [a game animal] intentionally must offer a penalty equivalent to what he has killed, in livestock, judged by two just men among you, to be offered as a sacrifice to the Ka‘bah, or an expiation: feeding the poor or its equivalent in fasting.'" Imam (as) then said: "Do you know how the equivalent of that fasting is determined, O Zuhri?" I said: "I do not know." Imam (as) said: "The value of the game is assessed, then that value is divided into wheat. The wheat is measured in units (sa‘), and for every half sa‘, a person fasts one day. Fasting due to a vow is obligatory, as is fasting for i‘tikaf (spiritual retreat). As for prohibited fasting, it includes fasting on the days of Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, the three days of Tashreeq, and fasting on the Day of Doubt (Yawm al-Shakk). We are both commanded to fast it and prohibited from it; we are commanded to fast it along with Sha‘ban and prohibited from fasting it alone on the day when people are uncertain." I said to him: "May I be your ransom, if one has not fasted anything from Sha‘ban, what should he do?" Imam (as) said: "He should intend the night of the Day of Doubt that he is fasting as part of Sha‘ban. If it turns out to be part of Month of Ramadan, it will suffice for him; and if it is from Sha‘ban, it will not harm him." I said: "How can an optional fast suffice for an obligatory one?" Imam (as) said: "If a man fasts a day of Month of Ramadan thinking it is an optional fast and then learns afterward that it was from Month of Ramadan, it will suffice for him because the obligation was on the specific day itself. Fasting continuously without breaking (wisal) is prohibited, as is fasting in silence, fasting for a sinful vow, and fasting perpetually (fasting every day). As for the fasting where the individual has a choice, it includes fasting on Fridays, Thursdays, and Mondays; fasting the white days (13th, 14th, and 15th of each lunar month); fasting six days of Shawwal after Month of Ramadan; fasting on the Day of Arafah and the Day of Ashura. In all of these, one has the choice to fast or not. As for fasting with permission, a woman should not fast an optional fast without the permission of her husband, a slave should not fast an optional fast without the permission of his master, and a guest should not fast an optional fast without the permission of his host." The Messenger of Allah (swt) (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: "Whoever stays as a guest with a people should not fast an optional fast without their permission. As for fasting for discipline, a child who reaches the age of discernment is commanded to fast as a matter of discipline, though it is not obligatory. Similarly, someone who breaks their fast due to illness in the early part of the day but regains strength later is commanded to abstain for the remainder of the day as a matter of discipline, though it is not obligatory. Likewise, if a traveler eats during the early part of the day and then arrives home, they are commanded to abstain for the remainder of the day as a matter of discipline, though it is not obligatory. As for fasting with allowance, if someone eats or drinks forgetfully or vomits unintentionally, Allah (swt), the Almighty, has permitted this for him, and his fast remains valid. As for fasting during travel or illness, the people have differed about it. Some say one must fast, others say one must not fast, and some say one has the choice to fast or not. However, we say that one must break the fast in both cases. If one fasts during travel or illness, they are required to make it up later because Allah (swt), the Almighty, says: 'And whoever among you is ill or on a journey, then an equal number of days are to be made up later.'"