The eight kinds of fast
The eight categories of fasting in the Hanafi school, from the obligatory fasts of Ramadan down to the fasts it is disliked or forbidden to keep.
Not every fast is the same kind of fast. This document lists eight kinds, from fasts you absolutely must keep, down to fasts it's better not to keep at all.
| Kind | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Fard (a specific day) | You must fast; it's the strongest kind | The days of Ramadan |
| Fard (making up a day) | You must fast, a Ramadan day you owe | Making up a missed Ramadan fast |
| Wajib (a specific day) | Almost as strong as fard; you must fast | A day you promised Allah you'd fast; a day whose moon-sighting wasn't officially accepted |
| Wajib (not tied to one day) | You must fast, but you choose which day | A penalty (kaffarah) fast; a promised fast with no set day; making up a nafl fast you broke |
| Sunnah | The Prophet ﷺ fasted these, very good to keep | Ashura and the day before it; the day of Arafah; the 13th-15th of every month |
| Nafl | Extra, voluntary, for extra reward | Six days in Shawwal; the 15th of Sha'ban; Mondays and Thursdays; fasting every other day |
| Makruh tanzihi | Better not to, but not sinful | Fasting only on Ashura by itself; fasting only on Saturday; a woman fasting nafl without her husband's permission |
| Makruh tahrimi | Strongly disliked, close to forbidden | Fasting on Eid al-Fitr; fasting on Eid al-Adha; fasting the three days after Eid al-Adha |
There are eight recognized kinds of fast: fard mu'ayyan, fard ghayr mu'ayyan, wajib mu'ayyan, wajib ghayr mu'ayyan, sunnah, nafl, makruh tanzihi, and makruh tahrimi.
| Kind | Level | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Fard mu'ayyan | Fard, tied to a specific day | The fasts of the month of Ramadan. |
| Fard ghayr mu'ayyan | Fard, not tied to a specific day | The missed fasts of Ramadan, made up later (qada). |
| Wajib mu'ayyan | Wajib, tied to a specific day | A fast vowed (nazar) for a particular day; a day whose moon-sighting testimony was not accepted by the community, which the person who saw it must still fast. |
| Wajib ghayr mu'ayyan | Wajib, not tied to a specific day | Fasts of expiation (kaffarah); a vow (nazar) made without naming a specific day; a fast that must be made up after a voluntary fast was begun and then broken. |
| Sunnah | Sunnah | The fast of Ashura (10th of Muharram) together with the 9th; the fast of Arafah (9th of Dhu'l-Hijjah); the White Days: the 13th, 14th and 15th of every month. |
| Nafl | Voluntary | The six days of Shawwal after Eid; the 15th of Sha'ban; fasting on Mondays, Thursdays or Fridays; Dawoodi fasting (fasting on alternate days). |
| Makruh tanzihi | Disliked, not sinful | Fasting only on the day of Ashura by itself; fasting only on Saturdays; fasting continuously with no break between days (wisal); a woman fasting a voluntary fast without her husband's permission. |
| Makruh tahrimi | Disliked, close to forbidden | Fasting on the day of Eid al-Fitr; fasting on the day of Eid al-Adha; fasting on the days of Tashriq (the 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhu'l-Hijjah). |
The Hanafi school recognizes eight categories of ṣawm: farḍ muʿayyan, farḍ ghayr muʿayyan, wājib muʿayyan, wājib ghayr muʿayyan, sunnah, nafl, makrūh tanzīhī and makrūh taḥrīmī.
| Category | Level | Instances given in this text |
|---|---|---|
| Farḍ muʿayyan | Farḍ, fixed to a specific day | The fasts of Ramaḍān. |
| Farḍ ghayr muʿayyan | Farḍ, not fixed to a specific day | The qaḍāʾ of missed Ramaḍān fasts. |
| Wājib muʿayyan | Wājib, fixed to a specific day | A fast vowed (naẓr) for a named day; the day of one who personally sighted the Ramaḍān or Eid moon but whose testimony was not accepted; that individual remains bound to act on their own sighting. |
| Wājib ghayr muʿayyan | Wājib, not fixed to a specific day | Kaffārah fasts; an unspecified vow (naẓr ghayr muʿayyan); the fast owed after a nafl fast was begun and then broken. |
| Sunnah | Sunnah | 'Āshūrāʾ (10 Muḥarram) together with the 9th; the Day of ʿArafah (9 Dhu'l-Ḥijjah); Ayyām al-Bīḍ, the 13th–15th of every lunar month. |
| Nafl | Voluntary, mustaḥabb in effect | The six days of Shawwāl; 15 Shaʿbān; Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays; ṣawm Dāwūd (alternating fast days). |
| Makrūh tanzīhī | Disliked without sin | Singling out ʿĀshūrāʾ alone; singling out Saturday alone; wiṣāl (fasting continuously with no break at night); a wife's nafl fast kept without her husband's permission. |
| Makrūh taḥrīmī | Disliked, near-forbidden | Fasting on the day of Eid al-Fiṭr; fasting on the day of Eid al-Aḍḥā; fasting on the Ayyām at-Tashrīq (11th–13th Dhu'l-Ḥijjah). |
Related
- The intention for fasting, and when to make it How to make the intention (niyyah) for a fast, the words used, and by when it must be made for each kind of fast.
- Vows to fast, and i'tikaf The rules for a vow (nazar) that involves fasting, and the rulings of i'tikaf, the spiritual retreat closely tied to Ramadan.
- Making up missed fasts (qada) The rules for making up fasts that were missed or broken: when, in what order, and who owes fidyah instead.
- How the start of Ramadan and Eid are decided The rules for sighting the moon of Ramadan and Eid, whose testimony counts, and how the fast begins and ends.