Abū Dāwūd records that “the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—prohibited fasting on the Day of ʿArafah for anyone standing at ʿArafah.”
As for the six days of Shawwāl, it is reliably established that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said:
“Whoever fasts Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwāl, it is as though he has fasted for a lifetime.”
Imām Mālik nevertheless regarded fasting these six days as disliked—either out of fear that people might add to Ramadan what is not part of it, or because the ḥadīth had not reached him or did not satisfy his criteria of authenticity, the latter being the more likely reason.
Mālik likewise disapproved of deliberately seeking out the “white days” for fasting, despite the reports encouraging them, lest the uninformed come to think they are obligatory.
It is authentically reported that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—used to fast three days of every month without specifying particular dates. He also said to ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ when the latter began to fast excessively:
“Is it not enough for you to fast three days each month?”
“I am able to do more than that, O Messenger of Allah,” he replied.
“Then five,” the Prophet said.
“I can do more than that.”
“Then nine.”
“I can still do more, O Messenger of Allah,” he insisted.
“Then eleven.”
When he persisted, the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—concluded, “There is no fast superior to the fast of David: half the time—he would fast one day and break the fast the next.”
Abū Dāwūd also narrates that “he used to fast on Monday and Thursday.”
It is further confirmed that he never completed an entire month of fasting except Ramadan, and that the month in which he fasted the most was Shaʿbān.
Days on Which Fasting Is Prohibited
The days on which fasting is forbidden fall, likewise, into two groups: those about which there is unanimous agreement, and those about which there is disagreement.
The unanimously agreed-upon days are the Day of Fitr and the Day of Sacrifice (ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā), for the prohibition of fasting on each is firmly established.
As for the disputed days, they are the Days of Tashrīq,