would not fast a full month of the year except Shaʿban, linking it to Ramadan.”

The report of Umm Salamah does not conflict with the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, recorded by al-Bukhari (1781) and Muslim (1812), in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “Do not precede Ramadan by fasting a day or two, unless a man has a habitual fast; in that case let him fast.” This pertains to a fast that is not undertaken with the intention of anticipating Ramadan by a day or two.