that fasting on ‘Āshūrā’ was not included (1) in the fasting Allah had prescribed for us, thereby dispelling the mistaken belief that it fell within what He had prescribed for us. There is therefore no contradiction between this statement and the earlier command to fast on that day, which was abrogated by this prescribed fasting.

This is clarified by the fact that Mu‘āwiyah heard this from him only after the conquest of Mecca, when the obligation to fast Ramadan had been established and had abrogated the obligation to fast ‘Āshūrā’. Those who witnessed his command to fast on that day, the public announcement of that command, and the instruction that those who had already eaten should refrain from eating witnessed this before fasting Ramadan became obligatory, upon his arrival in Medina. Fasting Ramadan became obligatory in the second year after the Hijrah, and by the time the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) died, he had fasted nine Ramadans. Thus, those who witnessed the command to fast on ‘Āshūrā’ witnessed it before the obligation to fast Ramadan was revealed, whereas those who heard the statement that it was not obligatory heard it later, after fasting Ramadan had become obligatory. Unless this approach is followed, the hadiths on this subject would be contradictory and inconsistent.

If it is asked: How could it have been obligatory when the intention to fast had not been formed during the night, given that he said: “There is no fast for one who has not formed the intention to fast during the night” (2)?

The answer is that there is disagreement over this hadith: are these the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or a statement of Hafsah and ‘Ā’ishah? As for Hafsah’s hadith, Ma‘mar attributed it to her,