DAYS WHEN FASTING IS FORBIDDEN

All scholars agree that fasting on the two ‘Iyds (‘Iyd al-Fitr and ‘Iyd al-Adha) is forbidden. It does not matter if the fast is obligatory or voluntary. Fasting voluntarily on Friday exclusively is disliked. If one fasts on the day before or after it, if it is a day on which one customarily fasts (e.g., the 13th, 14th, or 15th of the month), or if it is the day of ‘Ashura (Muharram 10), then it is not disliked to fast on such a Friday. The same rule applies to Saturday. Fasting on the “day of doubt,” when one is not sure if it is the last day of Sha’ban or the first day of Ramadan, is also disliked, as is fasting on consecutive days without eating at all (al-wisal).