Voluntary Fasts in Islam

Introduction

After the obligatory fast of Ramadan, Islam offers us a treasure of voluntary fasts that enrich the heart, purify the body, and elevate the believer's degree. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was the most sublime example in this practice — he fasted regularly but with balance, prohibiting continuous fasting (sawm al-wisal) so as not to make religion a burden.

"Do works that you are able to sustain, for Allah does not tire until you tire." (Bukhari 1977)

The Prophet's fasts — balance

Aisha related: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would fast until we said: 'He will not break his fast,' and would break it until we said: 'He will not fast'" (Bukhari 1976).

The most everyday practice of the Prophet ﷺ was fasting Mondays and Thursdays. The second option was the white days (Ayyam al-Bid). And specifically, Ashura, Arafah, and the six days of Shawwal.

1. Fasting Monday and Thursday

The doors of good works open two days a week:

Abu Hurairah related that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to fast Mondays and Thursdays. He was asked: "O Messenger of Allah, why do you do this?" He said: "Deeds are presented (to Allah) on Mondays and Thursdays, and Allah forgives every believer — or every servant, except between two who are at enmity, and He says: 'Leave them until they reconcile'" (Ahmad, Tirmidhi — sahih).

Another hadith: "Deeds are presented on Mondays and Thursdays; I want my deeds to be presented while I am fasting" (Tirmidhi 747, sahih).

Virtues:

• Presentation of deeds to Allah while fasting — maximum moment of acceptance.
• It is a beloved sunnah — the Prophet ﷺ explicitly recommended it.

2. Ayyam al-Bid — white days (13, 14 and 15 of each lunar month)

Two hadiths mark this practice:

"Fasting three days of each lunar month is fasting the whole month" (Bukhari 1979).

Abu Dharr related: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered us to fast the three white days of the month: the 13th, 14th and 15th, and said: 'It is like fasting the whole month'" (Abu Dawud, An-Nasai — sahih).

Called "white days" because the nights are fully illuminated by the moon. Fasts follow the hijri (lunar) calendar.

3. Ashura — the 10th of Muharram

The Prophet ﷺ arrived in Medina and found the Jews fasting the day of Ashura. He asked: "Why do you fast this day?" They replied: "This is the day Allah saved Moses and his people from Pharaoh; Moses fasted it in gratitude." The Prophet said: "We have more right to Moses than you." He fasted and ordered it to be fasted (Bukhari 2003, Muslim 3218).

Virtues:

"Fasting the day of Arafah, I hope Allah will expiate the sins of the previous year and the coming year; and fasting Ashura, I hope Allah will expiate the sins of the previous year" (Muslim 1162).

It is preferable to also fast the 9th of Muharram (Tasua) to differ from the Jews — the Prophet ﷺ said: "If I live until next year, I will fast the 9th" (Muslim 3219).

For Shia Muslims, Ashura has added significance: the martyrdom of Imam Husayn at Karbala (680 CE), a day of mourning and reflection on justice and oppression.

4. Arafah — the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah

Central day of Hajj, second most sacred day of the calendar:

"Fasting the day of Arafah, I hope Allah will expiate the sins of the previous year and the coming year" (Muslim 1162) — except for those at Arafah (Hajj pilgrims), who do not fast to follow the Prophetic Sunnah at Arafah.

Enhances the supplication of the day — multiplication of good deeds.

5. Six days of Shawwal

Right after Ramadan, the month of Shawwal offers a blessed continuation:

"Whoever fasts Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is as if he fasted the whole year" (Muslim 1164).

Prophetic calculation: a good deed = ×10, Ramadan = 30, + 6 Shawwal = 36; 36 × 10 = 360 ≈ a lunar year.

Not obligatory to fast consecutively; they may be distributed throughout Shawwal.

6. The fast of Prophet Dawud (as-Sawm al-Falil)

The best fasting is the fast of Dawud (peace be upon him): he would fast one day and break the next. The Prophet ﷺ added: "There is nothing more beloved to Allah than the fast of Dawud" (Bukhari 1977, Muslim 1158).

It is the most optimal — balance between devotion and bodily strength, neither exhausting the body nor leaving it undisciplined.

7. Fasting the first days of Muharram

Muharram is a sacred month (along with Rajab, Dhu al-Qa'dah, and Dhu al-Hijjah). The Prophet ﷺ said: "The best fasting after Ramadan is the fasting of Allah in the month of Muharram" (Muslim 1163). It is preferable to fast any unspecific day (not just Ashura) during Muharram.

8. The first 9 days of Dhu al-Hijjah

"There are no days in which good deeds are more loved by Allah than in these days (the first ten of Dhu al-Hijjah)" (Bukhari 969).

Fasting the first 9 days of Dhu al-Hijjah is highly recommended — including the ninth (the day of Arafah).

Practical recommendations

• Do not continue fasting two or more days straight without breaking (sawm al-wisal prohibited in Islam).
• Anyone with a medical condition must consult a doctor before prolonged voluntary fasts.
• Menstruating women do not fast nor pray; they make up only obligatory fasts after Ramadan; voluntary fasts are not made up.
• Start easy (Mondays or the three white days) and add gradually.
• Break your fast with dates and water and recite the iftar supplication: "Adhhab al-zama', wa-btallat al-uruq, wa-thabata al-ayr insha Allah" (The thirst has gone, the veins are hydrated, and the reward is established, if Allah wills) (Abu Dawud 2357, sahih).

Conclusion

Voluntary fasting is the fresh water with which the believer waters the garden of the heart. It is the most perpetual school of taqwa available after Ramadan. Start today: two days a week, or three a month, to rediscover what fasting teaches: that the soul is cleansed when the stomach is emptied, and that nearness to Allah is found when the material is forgotten.