Fasting in the Month of Shawwal: Pursuing the Rewards of Fasting for a Whole Year

Initiator Friends, Alhamdulillah we have completed the month of Ramadan this year. May Allah accept our fasting and other acts of worship. In this month of Shawwal, there is an opportunity for us to perfect our practice of fasting in the month of Ramadan, namely fasting in the month of Shawwal.

Among the mercy and grace of Allah SWT for Muhammad SAW and his community is the Shari’a of Sunnah practices in every Fardu (Mandatory) practice. As in prayer, there is a sunnah prayer that is performed before or after the obligatory prayers. So, after fasting Ramadan there is also a good sunnah practice for us to carry out, namely fasting Shawwal. In fact, the reward for this fast is great and the reward is extraordinary.

The Messenger of Allah explained it in a hadith narrated by Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari, the Prophet once said:
“Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan and then follows it with six days of fasting in the month of Shawwal, the fasts in the month of Shawwal year through.” (HR. Muslim)
The scholars explain that Allah SWT through His gift gives a 10-fold reward when we fast in the month of Ramadan. After that, with the addition of 6 days in Shawwal, our total fasting is 36 times. That is, we get the reward of fasting 360 times and it is like fasting a whole year.

May Allah the Al Mighty give us taufik and strength in fasting in the month of Shawwal. That way, we will get a reward as if we have fasted for 360 days.
As we know, that sunnah practice can be a cover for the gaps that exist in our obligatory practices. So this 6-day fast can be a complement to our obligatory fasting practices in the month of Ramadan. May Allah accept our deeds and Allah enter us all into Heaven, ameen.

Initiator Friends, hopefully through this article, we can all be more enthusiastic about fasting in the month of Shawwal.