Sahih al-Bukhari, 1950
sahihNarrated `Aisha:
Sometimes I missed some days of Ramadan, but could not fast in lieu of them except in the month of Sha'ban." Said Yahya, a sub-narrator, "She used to be busy serving the Prophet (ﷺ) ."
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يُونُسَ، حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرٌ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ تَقُولُ كَانَ يَكُونُ عَلَىَّ الصَّوْمُ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ، فَمَا أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَقْضِيَ إِلاَّ فِي شَعْبَانَ. قَالَ يَحْيَى الشُّغْلُ مِنَ النَّبِيِّ أَوْ بِالنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Isnad
5 transmittersReferences2 variants
- In-Book Reference
- Book 30, Hadith 57
- USC-MSA web (English) reference
- Vol. 3, Book 31, Hadith 171 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam. The Quran and the Sunnah haveclarified all its general provisions. For instance, the Sunnah clarified that if a woman gets her period in Ramadan, it is incumbent on her to refrain from fastinguntil her periodends and she attains ritual purity.Furthermore, she is required to make up for the missed fast days later on. ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her)stated that she would sometimes miss out fast days of Ramadan due to menstruation or for other valid excusesand could not make up for them except in the month of Sha’baan of the following year. Yahya ibnSa’eed Al-Ansaaree, one of the narrators of hadeeth,clarified that what was preventing her from making up for the missed fast days earlier was that she (may Allah be pleased with her) was busy with the service of the Prophet ﷺ,meaning that she (may Allah be pleased with her)keenly ensured that she could always fulfill the Prophet’s right to sexual enjoyment with her. This was the attitude of all the Prophet’s wives, being keen on keeping him happy and satisfied. They would even abstain from seeking his permission to observe fastingfor fear that he ﷺmight have wanted to engage in sexual intercourse with one of them on that day, but would give her the permission to fast, giving precedence to her wish over his desire and need.As for the month of Sha‘baan, he ﷺ used to observe fasting almost all month long,and therefore they would conveniently have the chance to make up for the missed fast days or feel free to ask for his permission to observe fasting,since there would be no other available time to make up for those fast days. This falls under the category of availing oneself of a legal concession orthe less strict scholarly view, because a woman is given the choice to make up for the missed fast days at any time during the year till the following Ramadan. It is also deduced from the hadeeth that honoring and fulfilling the husband’s rights over his wife is given precedenceover other rights, time-bound religious obligations aside. It also highlights the ease and facilitation fostered by Islamin making up for the missed fast days of Ramadanfor- an excuse which is acceptable in the Laws of Islam. It is also inferred from the hadeeth that it is allowable for a Muslim to delay making up for the missed fast days of Ramadan for a valid excuse or for no excuse at all. .