Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-A'raj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Fasting is a protection for you, so when you are fasting, do not behave obscenely or foolishly, and if any one argues with you or abuses you, say, 'I am fasting. I am fasting.' "

The Prophet (saws) said: Shall I not inform you of something more excellent in degree than fasting, prayer and almsgiving (sadaqah)? The people replied: Yes, Prophet of Allah! He said: It is putting things right between people, spoiling them is the shaver (destructive).

[Muslim].

The Prophet (saws) said: The month consists of twenty-nine days, but do not fast till you sight it (the moon) and do not break your fast till you sight it. If the weather is cloudy, calculate it thirty days. When the twenty-ninth of Sha'ban came, Ibn Umar would send someone (who tried) to sight the moon for him. If it was sighted, then well and good; in case it was not sighted, and there was no cloud and dust before him (on the horizon), he would not keep fast the next day. If there appeared (on the horizon) before him cloud or dust, he would fast the following day. Ibn Umar would end his fasting alone with the people, and did not follow this calculation.

Whenever the Prophet returned from a journey and observed the walls of Medina, he would make his Mount go fast, and if he was on an animal (i.e. a horse), he would make it gallop because of his love for Medina.

My friend (the Prophet ) advised me to observe three things: (1) to fast three days a month; (2) to pray two rak`at of Duha prayer (forenoon prayer); and (3) to pray witr before sleeping.

I heard the Prophet saying, "Indeed, anyone who fasts for one day for Allah's Pleasure, Allah will keep his face away from the (Hell) fire for (a distance covered by a journey of) seventy years."

The Prophet said, "The one who looks after a widow or a poor person is like a Mujahid (warrior) who fights for Allah's Cause, or like him who performs prayers all the night and fasts all the day."

Once Um Sulaim was (with the women who were) in charge of the luggage on a journey, and Anjashah, the slave of the Prophet, was driving their camels (very fast). The Prophet said, "O Anjash! Drive slowly (the camels) with the glass vessels (i.e., ladies).

The Prophet (saws) commanded to apply collyrium mixed with musk at the time of sleep. He said: A man who is fasting should abstain from it.

Abu Dawud said: Yahya b. Ma'in said to me: This tradition about the use of collyrium is munkar (i.e. contradicts the sound traditions on the subject).

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Gabriel (saws) led me in prayer at the House (i.e. the Ka'bah). He prayed the noon prayer with me when the sun had passed the meridian to the extent of the thong of a sandal; he prayed the afternoon prayer with me when the shadow of everything was as long as itself; he prayed the sunset prayer with me when one who is fasting breaks the fast; he prayed the night prayer with me when the twilight had ended; and he prayed the dawn prayer with me when food and drink become forbidden to one who is keeping the fast.

On the following day he prayed the noon prayer with me when his shadow was as long as himself; he prayed the afternoon prayer with me when his shadow was twice as long as himself; he prayed the sunset prayer at the time when one who is fasting breaks the fast; he prayed the night prayer with me when about the third of the night had passed; and he prayed the dawn prayer with me when there was a fair amount of light.

Then turning to me he said: Muhammad, this is the time observed by the prophets before you, and the time is anywhere between two times.

A man asked the Prophet (saws) whether one who was fasting could embrace (his wife) and he gave him permission; but when another man came to him, and asked him, he forbade him. The one to whom he gave permission was an old man and the one whom he forbade was a youth.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) had himself cupped when he was fasting.

Abu Dawud said: Wuhaib b. Khalid narrated a similar tradition from Ayyub through a different chain of narrators. Ja'far b. Rabi'ah and Hisham, that is, Ibn Hassan, narrated a similar tradition from 'Ikrimah on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the people of knowledge did not disapprove of people fasting using tooth-sticks at any hour of the day in Ramadan, whether at the beginning or the end, nor had he heard any of the people of knowledge disapproving of or forbidding the practice.

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, about fasting for six days after breaking the fast at the end of Ramadan, that he had never seen any of the people of knowledge and fiqh fasting them. He said, "I have not heard that any of our predecessors used to do that, and the people of knowledge disapprove of it and they are afraid that it might become a bida and that common and ignorant people might join to Ramadan what does not belong to it, if they were to think that the people of knowledge had given permission for that to be done and were seen doing it.

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "I have never heard any of the people of knowledge and fiqh and those whom people take as an example forbidding fasting on the day of jumua. Fasting on it is good, and I have seen one of the people of knowledge fasting it, and it seemed to me that he was keen to do so."

My friend (the Prophet) advised me to do three things and I shall not leave them till I die, these are: To fast three days every month, to offer the Duha prayer, and to offer witr before sleeping.

Once there was a feeling of fright at Medina, so Allah's Apostle rode a horse belonging to Abu Talha and (on his return) he said, "We have not seen anything (fearful), but we found this horse very fast."