Muslims who have missed days of fasting Ramadan frequently encounter the year's most prized fasting days: the six of Shawwal, the ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah, the day of Arafah, Ashura, and others before their qada (making up of missed fasts) is fulfilled. Following is a survey of scholarly positions on whether voluntary fasting is permissible before qada, which is the better course when both overlap, whether the reward of blessed days, like first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah or the six days in Shawwal, carries over to qada fasts performed in them, and whether combining both intentions in a single fast is valid.

In summary, the dominant view permits voluntary fasting before qada as long as the qada window has not become narrow, however, qada in those days is the more praiseworthy choice. Combining a qada and nafl intention in a single fast is not valid, but one may hope that, through his limitless generosity, Allah grants the blessing of those days through qada fasts performed within them.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The Basis of the Obligation
• Permissibility of Voluntary Fasting Before the Qada
• Hanafi Position
• Maliki and Shafii Positions
• Hanbali Position
• Hanbali Opinion 1
• Hanbali Opinion 2
• Majority Opinion
• Fasting the Six of Shawwal
• Fasting the Nine of Dhu al-Hijjah
• Fasting Other Virtuous Days
• Combining Both Intentions
• Practical Summary

Introduction

Muslims who owe missed days from Ramadan rarely face an empty calendar between one Ramadan and the next. The year is punctuated with days of distinct virtue: the six voluntary days of Shawwal, the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah, the day of Arafah, Ashura, the Ayyam al-Bid (the three white days in the middle of the lunar month), Mondays and Thursdays, and others. Each of these carries its own textual evidence and its own particular reward. The question naturally arises: what does a person with outstanding qada do when these days arrive?

The Basis of the Obligation

The foundation of the qada obligation is the ayah:

• ﴿وَمَنْ كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ﴾ (سُورَةُ البَقَرَة ٢:١٨٥)

2:185 … and whoever is ill or on a journey, then an equal number of other days ˹are to be made up˺

The scholars are in agreement across all four madhabs that qada is not obligatory immediately and its window extends throughout the year until the arrival of the following Ramadan. The evidence for this is the well-known hadith of Aishah ᴿᴬ:

• «كَانَ يَكُونُ عَلَىَّ الصَّوْمُ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ، فَمَا أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَقْضِيَ إِلاَّ فِي شَعْبَانَ» (البخاري ١٩٥٠ متفق عليه)

"Fasts from Ramadan would be due from me, but I would not be able to make them up except in Shaban."

This hadith, transmitted in both Bukhari and Muslim, establishes that qada need not be performed immediately, though hastening to fulfill it is virtuous, and the majority of scholars consider it impermissible to delay past the following Ramadan without a valid excuse.

Permissibility of Voluntary Fasting Before the Qada

This is the foundational question, and the scholars have differed on it substantially. Their positions are as follows:

Hanafi Position

Fasting the voluntary fasting before the qada is permissible with no karahah (dislike) whatsoever. Since qada is not required immediately, there is no conflict in fasting voluntarily in the interim.

Maliki and Shafii Positions

It is permissible to fast the voluntary fasts before the qada, but with karahah (it is disliked). The obligation exists and should take priority, but performing nafl before it does not invalidate the voluntary fast. The Malikis and Shafiis add that the stronger course is to fulfill the obligation first, given the Hadith Qudsi:

• «وَمَا تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ عَبْدِي بِشَىْءٍ أَحَبَّ إِلَىَّ مِمَّا افْتَرَضْتُ عَلَيْهِ، وَمَا يَزَالُ عَبْدِي يَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَىَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ حَتَّى أُحِبَّهُ» (البخاري ٦٥٠٢ صحيح)

My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary deeds until I love him.

Hanbali Position

Hanbali Opinion 1

It is impermissible to fast the voluntary fasts before the qada, and the voluntary fast is invalid. Their primary evidence is a hadith attributed to the Prophet ﷺ:

• «… وَمَنْ صَامَ تَطَوُّعًا وَعَلَيْهِ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ شَيْءٌ لَمْ يَقْضِهِ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يُتَقَبَّلُ مِنْهُ حَتَّى يَصُومَهُ» (أحمد ٨٦٢١ إسناده ضعيف)

… and whoever fasts voluntarily and has missed any part of Ramadan, it will not be accepted from them until they make up for it.

However, hadith scholars have weakened this narration on multiple grounds: Ibn Abu Hatim noted idtirab (inconsistency) in its transmission; the chain includes Ibn Lahiah, a narrator known for poor retention who narrated it alone, as Tabarani noted; and the closing portion of the hadith ("and whoever enters Ramadan while owing from a previous Ramadan, it will not be accepted from him") is considered matruk (abandoned), as recorded in al-Sharh al-Kabir and cited by al-Buhuti in Kashf al-Qina, both Hanbali works.

Hanbali Opinion 2

A second narration from Imam Ahmad himself permits the validity and validates voluntary fasting before qada. Mardawi states in al-Insaf that this is the correct position, and Ibn Taymiyyah affirmed it in Sharh al-Umdah.

A further consideration advanced by scholars of the majority view is the analogy to salah: just as one may perform voluntary prayers within the time-window of an obligatory prayer one has yet to perform, the same principle applies to fasting, since both involve an extended obligatory window within which voluntary acts remain valid.

Majority Opinion

The rajih (dominant) view is that of the majority: voluntary fasting is permissible before qada as long as the window has not become narrow. However, the Malikis and the Shafiis maintained that qada should come first where possible, and that one should not be preoccupied with nafl when the obligation remains unfulfilled.

Fasting the Six of Shawwal

The six days of Shawwal carry an additional consideration not present with other virtuous fasts. The Prophet ﷺ said:

• «مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَهُ سِتًّا مِنْ شَوَّالٍ كَانَ كَصِيَامِ الدَّهْرِ» (مسلم ١١٦٤a صحيح)

Whoever fasts Ramadan, then follows it with six ˹days˺ of Shawwal, it is like fasting a lifetime.

It is worth noting that scholars differed even on the recommendation of fasting these six days in the first place. Imam Malik is reported to have said:

"In Madinah, I have not seen any of the people of knowledge and understanding fast them, nor has it reached me from the early generations."

This view from one of the foremost imams of the early period is a reminder that the matter carries scholarly weight on multiple levels. The majority, however, consider the hadith of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari ᴿᴬ above to be authentic and the practice recommended.

Some Hanbali scholars held that a person with outstanding qada cannot achieve this particular reward until the qada is completed, because the hadith specifies "whoever fasts Ramadan," and someone with days outstanding cannot be said to have fasted Ramadan in full. On this view, the reward of "as if he fasted the entire year" is contingent on first completing Ramadan through qada. The practical implication is clear: where possible, one should complete the qada in Shawwal first and then fast the six, or fast them in Shawwal with the knowledge that the full reward may not be obtained until the qada is also completed.

The majority position nonetheless permits fasting the six before qada, particularly where Shawwal would otherwise pass. Fasting voluntarily in Shawwal before qada does not nullify the fast itself; the question is only whether the specific reward of "as if he fasted the entire year" is achieved.

Fasting the Nine of Dhu al-Hijjah

Good deeds done during the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah carry a weight unlike those performed at any other time of year. The Prophet ﷺ said:

• «مَا مِنْ أَيَّامٍ الْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ فِيهِنَّ أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ مِنْ هَذِهِ الأَيَّامِ الْعَشْرِ» (الترمذي ٧٥٧ صحيح)

There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than those ten days.

Fasting is among the greatest of those righteous deeds, and so one who fasts during these days, whether as qada or as nafl, is engaging in an act of worship in the most beloved of times.

However, for making up missed fasts during the ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah, the Companions themselves differed:

Umar ᴿᴬ regarded these days as the finest opportunity for making up Ramadan:

• عمر: «مَا مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ أَنْ أَقْضِيَ فِيهَا شَهْرَ رَمَضَانَ مِنْ أَيَّامِ الْعَشْرِ» (البيهقي ٨٣٩٥)

There are no days in which it is more beloved to me to make up the month of Ramadan than the ten days.

His view implies that obligatory fasting in these days carries even greater reward than voluntary fasting in them.

Ali ᴿᴬ discouraged qada during these days, reasoning that it causes one to miss their particular merit as days of nafl worship.

Fasting Other Virtuous Days

There are other virtuous days throughout the year in which fasting carries particular merit. The Prophet ﷺ said:

• «ثَلاَثٌ مِنْ كُلِّ شَهْرٍ وَرَمَضَانُ إِلَى رَمَضَانَ، فَهَذَا صِيَامُ الدَّهْرِ كُلِّهِ. صِيَامُ يَوْمِ عَرَفَةَ أَحْتَسِبُ عَلَى اللَّهِ أَنْ يُكَفِّرَ السَّنَةَ الَّتِي قَبْلَهُ وَالسَّنَةَ الَّتِي بَعْدَهُ، وَصِيَامُ يَوْمِ عَاشُورَاءَ أَحْتَسِبُ عَلَى اللَّهِ أَنْ يُكَفِّرَ السَّنَةَ الَّتِي قَبْلَهُ» (مسلم ١١٦٢a صحيح)

Three days of every month, and Ramadan to Ramadan: that is fasting for the whole year. Fasting the day of Arafah—I hope from Allah ﷻ that it will expiate the year before it and the year after it. And fasting the day of Ashura, I hope from Allah ﷻ that it will expiate the year before it."

For Ashura, the position is similarly that one may fast these days as qada and hope to receive both rewards. Shaykh Ibn Baz said: "If a person fasts the day of Arafah or Ashura as qada, there is no harm in that, and we hope Allah will gather for him both rewards."

For the Ayyam al-Bid (the three white days: 13th, 14th, and 15th of each month) and Mondays and Thursdays, the same principle applies: performing qada on these days is valid and one may hope for the reward of those days.

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymin articulated the general principle well: whoever finds a virtuous day upon them while they still owe qada should fast it as qada. It is hoped they will receive the reward of both the qada and the blessing of that day, and even if the two rewards are not fully combined, qada is superior to voluntary fasting in any case.

Combining Both Intentions

One may not combine the intentions of qada and the nafl fasts. Scholars across the madhabs are agreed on this. The issue falls under the well-known fiqh question of tashrik (joining) of intentions, and the relevant distinction is as follows:

• Where combination is valid: When one of the two acts is not independently intended, they may be combined. The example given by scholars is tahiyyat al-masjid (the greeting prayer of the masjid): it is not an independent act sought for its own sake, but rather a way of occupying the prayer space, so it is subsumed by whatever prayer one enters the masjid to perform.

• Where combination is invalid: When both acts are independently intended and each is sought for its own sake, they cannot share a single intention. qada fasting is maqsud bi-dhatihi (independently intended). The fast of Arafah is maqsud bi-dhatihi. The six of Shawwal are maqsud bi-dhatiha. None of these is subsumed under the other.

If a person nevertheless combines both intentions, scholars differed on the outcome:

• First opinion: The fast counts as qada.
• Second opinion: The fast counts as nafl.
• Third opinion: It counts as neither.

Given this nuanced and unresolved disagreement, the correct approach, and the one that ensures one's dhimmah (responsibility) is properly fulfilled, is to intend the qada purely and exclusively. As the scholars put it: the dhimmah is not cleared except by something certain, and a contested intention does not provide that certainty.

Practical Summary

Even where voluntary fasting before qada is permitted, the more praiseworthy course is to use virtuous days for qada. The reasoning is that the person simultaneously fulfills an obligation and participates in the blessing of the day, which is superior to performing a nafl fast while an obligation remains. This holds across the various virtuous days.

What a person may hope for, without making a dual intention, is that if they intend qada alone and that fast falls within a virtuous day. Through His boundless Mercy, Allah will not deprive them of some portion of the reward of that day by virtue of the coincidence of timing. The person who deliberately places their qada within the virtuous days is rewarded for that deliberateness, even without combining intentions. The obligation is fulfilled, the day is honored, and the matter is left to Allah's generosity and His generosity is vast.

The practical summary is this: intend qada, choose the blessed days to perform it, do not split or complicate the intention, and trust that Allah rewards the person who seeks to honor both their obligation and the sacred calendar of the year.