Q. When I came to my new home in North America I found that people have two different views on whether a woman can make up for her fasting in Ramadan by fasting the six days in Shawwal. Could you please explain whether such fasting counts double, making up the missed fast and adding the six voluntary days.
Raziya Beegum
A. The short answer is that these are two different fasts and cannot be combined. You have to remember that the Hadith that encourages fasting six days after Ramadan tells us that fasting these six days, which are not specified to allow us to choose them according to what suits us best, make up the fasting so as to earn the reward of fasting the whole year. The Hadith says: “Anyone who fasts the month of Ramadan and follows it with six days from Shawwal will have the reward for fasting the whole year.” This is based on the fact that God rewards every good deed with ten times its value. Thus for the month of Ramadan you receive the reward of fasting ten months, and for the six days you get the reward of fasting sixty days, which are the equivalent of two more months. This makes up a year.
It is useful to add here that although the majority of people take the Hadith to mean fasting six days during the month of Shawwal, some scholars point out that it speaks of “six days from Shawwal” which means “beginning from Shawwal but not necessarily in it.” This means that they can be offered anytime during the year up to the following Ramadan.
When a woman fasts to make up the month of Ramadan, she is completing her compulsory fasting, and on completing the month, she will have the reward for fasting ten months. The fast does not count as double. The above explanation makes better understanding, especially in the case of women who would have a very limited room for maneuver if they wish to fast the six days. They have first to make up the compulsory fasting, which means that a woman will need to fast six or seven days, probably 8 in compensation. Then if she wants to add six days this makes up 13 days. She will also have a new period when she cannot fast. This brings the number to 20 days, and if you count out the three days of Eid as inconvenient to fast, this leaves her only 7 days for rest in practically two months of fasting. This is going to be very difficult. Hence the interpretation that this voluntary fast can be anytime during the next 11 months, makes things much easier for women. This is what Islam prefers.
