he forbade them from continuing the fast.
- The Prophet ﷺ enjoys certain exclusive privileges that do not extend to his community. Scholars have written works on this subject, the most comprehensive of which is al-Suyūṭī’s Al-Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Kubrā.
Disagreement among the scholars
The jurists differed over the meaning of the “food and drink” mentioned in the ḥadith, arriving at two views:
- It is actual, tangible food and drink, in line with the literal wording of the narration.
- It is the influx of delightful intimate discourse and profound insights that Allah pours into his ﷺ heart; the succession of these noble meanings so occupies him that he has no need for physical food or drink.
Had it been material food, he would not have been deemed to be practicing wisāl, nor would he ﷺ have said, “I am not like you.” This second view is the stronger of the two, and Ibn al-Qayyim has discussed it at length in Zād al-Maʿād.
The scholars also disagreed about the legal ruling of wisāl itself, producing three opinions: that it is prohibited, that it is disliked, and that it is permissible for one who is able.
• Permissibility was held by ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and a number of the early generations, including ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, and Abū al-Jawzāʾ.
• Prohibition was the position of the three imams (Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Abū Ḥanīfa).
• Imām Aḥmad adopted a nuanced view: it is permissible up to the time of saḥar, though better left aside, and it is disliked to exceed a day and a night.
Those who permit wisāl argue that the Prophet ﷺ fasted continuously with his Companions for two days, which serves as tacit approval. Hence, so long as the person practicing wisāl does not intend to imitate the People of the Book or the innovators, nor to spurn the sunnah of hastening ifṭār, he is not prevented from wisāl.
Those who deem it prohibited reply that a prophetic prohibition indicates illegality.
As for his ﷺ fasting continuously with his Companions, it was not meant as approval; rather, it was intended as discipline, just as