—namely, that one should hasten to break the fast and not delay it, and that it is impermissible to link two days of fasting together, for the Prophet ﷺ forbade this and said, “Whoever wishes to fast continuously may do so only until suḥūr.” By this statement he ﷺ allowed extending the fast up to the pre-dawn meal, meaning that a person may eat suḥūr at the end of the night.
From this, three possible states for the fasting person become clear:
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He breaks his fast immediately after sunset. This is the Sunnah and is best and most complete.
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He delays breaking the fast until suḥūr. This is permissible, though contrary to what is preferable.
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He does not break his fast between two days at all but instead fasts continuously. According to the author—may Allah have mercy on him—this is forbidden, and that is the stronger view, because the Prophet ﷺ prohibited wisāl. Yet some Companions nevertheless practiced it, thinking the prohibition was merely out of kindness and mercy toward them, and they said, “We can bear it.” They therefore continued fasting, and the Prophet ﷺ let them be; then he himself fasted continuously with them day after day until the new moon of Shawwāl was sighted. He said, “Had the crescent been delayed, I would have prolonged the fast even further,” speaking as one reproaching them. This indicates that the practice is indeed forbidden.
Some scholars held that continuous fasting is only disliked rather than unlawful, arguing that the reason for the prohibition is simply to spare a person hardship, and that each individual is master of his own condition. The nearer view, however, is that wisāl falls under the Prophet’s explicit prohibition; he fasted with them for several consecutive days until the crescent was seen and said, “Had it been delayed, I would have added to the fast,” which underscores the ban.
As for the reports concerning certain early Muslims—such as ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him—who are said to have fasted continuously for fifteen days without breaking the fast, this was their own personal ijtihād and interpretation. The correct ruling, nevertheless, is what the Sunnah establishes.