[The First Aspect]

One of them is that fasting for three days of every month was prescribed upon the nations before us.

1622 - Ahmad ibn Sinan narrated to us, Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us, al-Mas’udi informed us, from ‘Amr ibn Murrah, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, from Mu’adh ibn Jabal, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) arrived in Medina and began fasting three days of every month and fasted the day of Ashura. He fasted for nineteen months, from Rabi’ al-Awwal until Ramadan, then he said: "Indeed, Allah has made the month of Ramadan obligatory upon you."

1623 - Muhammad ibn Sa’d ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn ‘Atiyyah al-‘Awfi informed me in what he wrote to me, my paternal uncle al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan narrated to me, my father narrated to me from my grandfather ‘Atiyyah, from Ibn ‘Abbas regarding His saying: "O you who have believed, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you"—it was three days of every month, then that was abrogated by what Allah sent down regarding the fasting of Ramadan.

1624 - ‘Abd Allah ibn Sulayman ibn al-Ash’ath narrated to us, Hammu ibn Nuh al-Balkhi narrated to us, Abu Mu’adh Khalid ibn Sulayman al-Huddani narrated to us, Abu Muslih Nasr ibn Musharis narrated to us, from al-Dahhak ibn Muzahim regarding His saying: "O you who have believed, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you"—he said: The first fast was one that Noah and those after him fasted, until the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his companions fasted it. Their fast was three days of every month until the 'Isha' (evening) prayer. This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fasted it. It was reported from ‘Ata’ and Qatadah that they both said: "Three days were prescribed upon those before us, just as Ibn ‘Abbas and Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with them both) said"—something similar to that.

And the Second Aspect:

That the month of Ramadan was made obligatory upon the nations before us just as Allah prescribed it for this nation.

1625 - Abu Zur’ah mentioned it, Hamid ibn Yahya al-Balkhi and Salamah ibn Shabib narrated to us—the wording belongs to Salamah—they both said: Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Muqri’ narrated to us, Sa’id ibn Abi Ayyub narrated to us, ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Walid narrated to me, from Abu al-Rabi’, a man from the people of Medina, from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The fast of Ramadan, Allah prescribed it upon the nations before you." In a long hadith, from which this is abbreviated.