and Ibn ʿAqīl, Abū al-Qāsim ibn Mandah al-Asfahānī, and others.

The second view is that fasting on that day is obligatory. This was the position adopted by al-Qādī, al-Khiraqī, and others among Ahmad’s followers. It is said to be the best-known position reported from Ahmad. Yet anyone familiar with Ahmad’s statements and wording knows that what is reliably established from him is that he considered fasting on a cloudy day recommended, following ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar and other Companions. ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar did not require people to fast on that day; rather, he himself fasted as a precaution.

Some Companions fasted on that day as a precaution. This is reported from ʿUmar, ʿAlī, Muʿāwiyah, Abū Hurayrah, Ibn ʿUmar, ʿĀʾishah, Asmāʾ, and others. Others did not fast on it, as was the case with many Companions, while some, such as ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir and others, prohibited fasting on it. Ahmad—may Allah be pleased with him—thus fasted on that day as a precaution. As for making fasting on it obligatory, this has no basis in Ahmad’s statements or those of any of his followers. Nevertheless, many of his followers believed that his position was that fasting on it was obligatory, and they defended that view.

The third view is that it is permissible either to fast on that day or not to fast. This is