Is it Really That Hard to keep 6 days of Fasting of Shawaal ?

During Ramadhan , every year we all keep our fast for full one month. We stay away from food and water and sometimes we keep our fast even if we did not get up sehar.


Then why is it after Ramadhan , just thinking about having additional 6 days of fasting seems so hard ?


Why is it because we think that we would not be able to do it and we do not even try.
Yes , we all know , not many people keep these fasts , but why do we want to be among counted those people ?


Concept of keeping additonal 6 Days of Fasting

Do you know that Islamic Calendar contains 354/ 355 days ?
Allah swt knows that having fast for 1 day is very tough. So its because of bounty of Allah swt that He gives reward of 10 days of fasting by just having 1 day of fast.
Subhanallah!

So , 29 or 30 days of Ramadhan X 10 days of reward for each day fast = 290 or 300 days of equivalent reward.

That still leaves approx another 60 days to complete 1 year.
So , 60 divided by 10 = 6 days left of fasting.

Just by having additional 6 days of fasting we would get the reward as if we have fasted for 1 FULL YEAR,,,
Subhanallah!.





Hold on,,,,

Thats not all…

Know the bounty of Allah SWT ,
He is Most Merciful , Most Forgiving , Most Kind ,
Much we can Ever Think and Imagine.

Allah swt , just does not gives us the reward for fasting 6 additional days equalivent of 1 year ,
but He multiplies not by 10 or 20 .
But He rewards us for as if we have fasted for Full Lifetime
Subhanallah


"Whoever fasts Ramadaan then follows it with six days of Shawwaal, it will be as if he fasted for a lifetime"
(Muslim, no. 1984),



What are the virtues of fasting the 6 days of Shawwal ?

Abu Ayub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported Allaahs Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: “He who observed the fast of Ramadan and then followed it with six (fasts) of Shawwal, it would be as if he fasted perpetually.”
(perpetually means: lifetime)
(Sahih Muslim, Book 006, Number 2614)

Thawbaan (may Allaah be pleased with him), the freed slave of Allaahs Messenger (peace be upon him), related that the Messenger of Allaah (pbuh) said, “Whoever fasts six days after the Festival of Breaking the Fast completes the reward of a year, for whoever brings a good deed gets [the reward of] ten similar.”
Sunan Ibn Maajah, Vol. 3, p. 38, Number 1715;




Tips on how to keep 6 days of Fasting of Shawaal

Shawaal has just started , only a week has gone by.
You still have the time to do it.
Do not leave it for next year for who knows this might have been your last ramadhan.

Do not let shaitaan waswas trouble you for it is the shaitaan does not want you to get the reward of fasting equivalent of lifetime.

1: Just wake up for sehar tomorrow and keep 1 day of fast.
After completing 1 day of fast, it would seem easy and it is but natural we would automatically be keeping remaining 5 days of fasting.
(Inshallah)




For the Ladies ...

For the Ladies who have missed their fasts due to their monthly period , they have 2 options to do this ...

For example a lady misses 6 days of fasting during the month of Ramadhan

option A : She can 1st start by keeping those missed days of Ramadhan fasts and then continue to keep another 6 days to complete the 1 year formula. But all those fasting has to be done during this month of Shawaal.

option B : She can delay those missed fasts of Ramadhan and start the 6 days of fasting of Shawaal. However she will have to complete those missed days fasts of Ramadhan before the next Ramadhan.


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