Safwān ibn Sulaym.
Al-Darāwardī (1) narrated from Safwān ibn Sulaym, from a man of Banū Jusham, that he heard Abū Hurayrah say: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever fasts on Friday will have ten bright, radiant (2) days of the Hereafter recorded for him, unmatched (3) by the days of this world” (4).
The basic principle regarding fasting (5) on Friday is that it is a righteous deed; it may only be prohibited on the basis of evidence that is not contradicted by other evidence (6).
I say: The evidence to the contrary has indeed been authenticated beyond any possible criticism. In the two Sahīh collections (7), Muhammad ibn Abbād said: I asked Jābir, “Did the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbid fasting on Friday?” He replied, “Yes.”
In Sahīh Muslim (8), Muhammad ibn Abbād (9) said: I asked Jābir ibn
(1) Mīm reads “Abū al-Darāwardī,” and Qāf reads “Abū al-Dardā’”; both are corruptions.
(2) In Qāf and Mīm, “zuhr” (radiant) was corrupted to “rhm.” Al-Istidhkār and both sources cited for the hadith read “ʿadadahunna” (their number), a corruption of “ghurr zuhr” (bright, radiant). Both words are marked with kasra in Kāf and ʿAyn.
(3) Qāf and Mīm read “tushākiluhunna” (resemble them).
(4) Transmitted by al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿab al-Īmān (3579, 3580) and Fadā’il al-Awqāt (282).
(5) “Sawm” (fasting) is supplied from Qāf, Mīm, and al-Istidhkār.
(6) The abridged quotation from al-Istidhkār (10/260–263) ends here.
(7) Al-Bukhārī (1984) and Muslim (1143). From here through the forthcoming hadith of Abū Hurayra from Musnad Ahmad, the author draws on al-Sunan wa-l-Ahkām by al-Diyā’ al-Maqdisī (3/476–478).
(8) No. 1143/146.
(9) Jīm reads “ʿIbāda,” which is an error.