If Someone Leaves the Third of the White Days Because of Travel, Will the Reward Be Written for Him?
Question: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته يا شيخ، حفظك الله If someone intends to fast the 3 white days, however on the 3rd day they have a travel scheduled so they don't fast. Will that day still be counted due to the intention of fasting and the continuous fasting on the first 2 days? جزاك الله خيرا
Summary:
If the man was accustomed to fasting the White Days, and he had firmly intended to fast the third day, but travel occupied him and he left it because of the travel, then the reward of what he used to do while resident will be written for him, Allah willing, due to the hadith of Abu Musa رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ said: “When a servant becomes ill or travels, there is written for him the same as what he used to do while healthy and resident.” Narrated by al-Bukhari. However, if he did not previously have a habit of fasting the White Days, and he only intended to do so on this occasion but then did not fast the third day, then he has the reward for his good intention and reward is hoped for him. However, we cannot state with certainty that he receives the complete reward of fasting based upon this hadith, because the hadith says: “what he used to do.”
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy,
Firstly,
From the Qur'an:
- [Al-Baqarah: 286]
“Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity.”
And Allah, the Exalted, says concerning the one who is sincere in intending an act of obedience but is then prevented from it by an excuse:
- [Al-Nisa: 100]
“And whoever leaves his home as an emigrant to Allah and His Messenger and then death overtakes him, his reward has already become incumbent upon Allah.”
The comprehensive principle in this matter is the statement of the Prophet ﷺ:
From the Sunnah:
- Al BukhariThe Prophet ﷺ said:
“Actions are only by intentions, and every person will have only what he intended.” Agreed upon.
However, specifically regarding travel, there is an explicit hadith,
- Narrated by al-Bukhari in his Sahih.From Abu Musa al-Ashari رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When a servant becomes ill or travels, there is written for him the same as what he used to do while healthy and resident.”
From the Scholars:
- Shaykh Ibn Uthaymin رحمه الله said:
“If a person is prevented by illness or travel from doing what he used to do of righteous deeds while resident and healthy, then there is written for him what he used to do while healthy and resident, because he left it due to the excuse of being occupied by travel or illness.”
The hadith does not mean that the traveler deliberately leaves acts of obedience that he is capable of performing while relying upon the reward being written for him. Rather, what is intended is that which travel prevents or occupies him from doing. This applies directly to the situation mentioned in the question if the man was accustomed to fasting the White Days and then travel prevented him from fasting the third day. Likewise, a person may fast one day and break the fast the next, or fast the White Days or something similar, then when he travels he leaves that practice; the reward of his fasting is written for him.
- He then said:
“Or [if he leaves] the White Days because of illness or because he travels, Allah writes for him the reward of his fasting even though he did not fast. This is from His bounty, Glorified and Exalted is He, His generosity, and His kindness.”
- The Permanent Committee was also asked concerning someone who was accustomed to fasting three days of each month but was prevented by illness. It replied:
“Whatever righteous deed a person leaves which he used to perform because of illness, incapacity, travel, or the like, its reward is written for him.”
They cited as evidence the aforementioned hadith of Abu Musa رضي الله عنه. This is also what the jurists have generally established: when an act of obedience is a person's established habit, and an excuse such as illness or travel prevents him from it while his intention to perform it remains, the reward of his habitual practice continues to be written for him.
Important Note: Is Merely Fasting the First Two Days Sufficient? The basis of the ruling is not merely that he fasted the first and second days. Rather, consideration is given to two matters: -First, fasting the White Days must be part of his established habit. -Second, what prevented him from completing his habitual practice must have been travel. This is why the wording of the hadith is: “There is written for him the same as what he used to do while healthy and resident.” Therefore, if this is the first month in which he intended to fast the White Days, we do not say, based upon this hadith alone, that the complete reward of fasting the third day is written for him, because this action had not yet become an established habit for him.
From the Scholars:
- Shaykh Ibn Baz رحمه الله distinguished between these two situations. Regarding an established habitual deed, he said:
“If he leaves it because of travel or illness, he receives its reward.”
- As for a new deed which he had not previously been performing, he said:
“It is hoped that, if he had firmly intended to do an action but was prevented by an excuse, he will receive the reward.”
Conclusion: If he was accustomed to fasting the White Days, intended to fast all three days, and then travel came on the third day and prevented him from fasting, then the reward of what he used to do while resident will be written for him, including the reward of fasting that day, Allah willing, due to the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “When a servant becomes ill or travels, there is written for him the same as what he used to do while healthy and resident.” This is the meaning of the statement of Ibn Uthaymin رحمه الله, and Ibn Baz رحمه الله explicitly mentioned the same example: whoever used to fast the White Days and then left them because of travel will have the reward of his fasting written for him. However, if this was the first time he intended to fast the White Days and he did not have a previous established habit of doing so, then he receives the reward for his good intention and good is hoped for him. However, we cannot state with certainty that the complete reward of the third day is written for him based upon the hadith: “what he used to do.”
And Allah knows best.
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