Chapter: The Recommendation to Fast Six Days of Shawwāl
1254 – Abū Ayyūb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever fasts Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwāl, it is as though he has fasted the whole year.” Reported by Muslim.

[Explanation]
These three chapters that Imām al-Nawawī set down in Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn outline the days on which fasting is recommended. Among them are the first ten days of Dhu’l-Ḥijjah, for the Prophet ﷺ said: “There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these days,” meaning the ten days. His phrase “righteous deeds” embraces prayer, charity, fasting, remembrance of Allah, proclaiming His greatness, reciting the Quran, dutifulness to parents, maintaining kinship ties, kindness to people, good neighborliness, and all other acts of goodness—indeed, every righteous deed.

There are no days in the year when righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days. They asked, “Not even striving in the path of Allah?” He replied, “Not even striving in the path of Allah, except for a man who goes out with his life and his wealth and returns with nothing of either.”

This ḥadīth, therefore, proves the virtue of performing righteous deeds—fasting included—during the first ten days of Dhu’l-Ḥijjah. It also shows that jihād is among the most meritorious of deeds; hence the Companions asked, “Not even striving in the path of Allah?” It further points to the excellence of that rare situation in which a person sets out to strive in the path