Please note before reading:
The fasting of the first nine days of
Dhul-Hijjah is often referred to as the fasting of the first 10 days of
Dhul-Hijjah. The intended meaning is still the first 9 days as Eid is the 10th
day of Dhul-Hijjah and it is impermissible to fast on the day of Eid.
Day of Arafah
1) Is
fasting the Day of Arafah legislated?
The answer is Yes. It is Mustahab
(recommended) as it comes in the hadith of Abu Qatadah al-Ansari reported by
Muslim that the Messenger of صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم was asked
concerning fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah. He صلّى اللَّهُ
عليه وسلّم replied:
(Fasting on the day of Arafah is an expiation
of last year’s and next year’s sins.)
The First 9 days of Dhul-Hijjah
2) Is
fasting the first 9 days of Dhul-Hijjah legislated?
We begin by mentioning that there does
not exist any authentic ahadith which specify the fasting of the first 9 days
of Dhul-Hijjah. Likewise, there does not exist any authentic ahadith which
state that the Messenger صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم
fasted
these first nine days of the month either.
One may then feel compelled to ask
where has the tradition of fasting the first 9 days come from?
The answer is that it is taken from the
generality of the hadith of Ibn Abbasرضي اللّه عنـه
that
the Messenger صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم
said:
