two days, it is not disliked, for the implication of the hadith of Abu Hurayrah is that it is not disliked, because he specifically restricted the prohibition to one or two days. It has been narrated by al-'Ala' ibn 'Abd al-Rahman, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "When the middle of Sha'ban has passed, then refrain from fasting until Ramadan is [due]." Al-Tirmidhi (6) said: "This is a hasan sahih hadith." However, Ahmad said: "It is not mahfuz (well-preserved/established)." He said: "We asked 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi about it, and he did not authenticate it, nor did he narrate it to me, for he was wary of it." Ahmad said: "Al-'Ala' is trustworthy, and nothing from his hadiths is considered objectionable except for this one, because it contradicts what has been narrated from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he used to join Sha'ban with Ramadan (7)." It is possible to interpret (8) this hadith as negating the recommended status of fasting for the one who had not been fasting before the middle of the month, while [interpreting] the hadith of 'Aishah regarding joining Sha'ban with Ramadan as applying to the one who had been fasting the entire month (9); for that is what came in the context of the report. Therefore, there is no conflict between the two reports, and this is better than treating them as contradictory or rejecting one based on the other. And Allah knows best.
(6) In: Chapter: The dislike of fasting in the second half of Sha'ban, from the chapters on fasting. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 3/274. It was also recorded by Abu Dawud, in: Chapter: The dislike of joining Sha'ban to Ramadan, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/546. And al-Darimi, in: Chapter: The prohibition of fasting after the middle of Sha'ban, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan al-Darimi 2/17. And Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 2/442. (7) Recorded by Abu Dawud, in: Chapter: On one who joins Sha'ban to Ramadan, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/545. And al-Nasa'i, in: Chapter: Mention of the hadith of Abu Salamah in that regard, and Chapter: The disagreement regarding Muhammad ibn Ibrahim in it, from the Book of Fasting. al-Mujtaba 4/123. And Ibn Majah, in: Chapter: What has been narrated regarding joining Sha'ban with Ramadan, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/528. And al-Darimi, in: Chapter: Joining Sha'ban with Ramadan, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan al-Darimi 2/17. And Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 6/300, 311. (8) In [copy] M: "wa yuhmal" (and it is interpreted). (9) Recorded by al-Nasa'i, in: Chapter: The disagreement regarding Muhammad ibn Ibrahim in the hadith of Abu Salamah, and Chapter: Mention of the difference in wording of the narrators of the report of 'Aishah in it, and Chapter: Mention of the disagreement regarding Khalid ibn Ma'dan in this hadith, and Chapter: The fasting of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace—may my father and mother be sacrificed for him), from the Book of Fasting. al-Mujtaba 4/123-126, 169, 170. And Ibn Majah, in: Chapter: What has been narrated regarding joining Sha'ban with Ramadan, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/528. And Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 6/188.
