Question:
 
Can we Fast on Fridays only?

Answers:



The reason why most people said we can’t fast on Fridays is that it’s an Eid day and now the question is Fridays in Ramadan are not 'Eid?. And does it mean you can deliberately change Friday from being an Eid day when you fast Friday and Saturday, or Thursday and Friday, when it falls within ayyaamul beed. Let’s reason together.

Al-halaal bayyin wal haraam bayyin, what is Halaal is and what is Haraam is clear and we need to consider makruuh tanzeehi, makruuh tahreemi, neutral makruuh and the criteria for mahzuur or haram. "Do not do this or that" as a seegha of Rasuul doesn't imply a conclusive haram. We have to consider 'amr ibaahiy, amr manduubi, amr makruuhi and amr tahreemi otherwise known as nahyun. These are tools of usuul ul-fiqh in solving matters. According to usuul al-hadeeth, we consider the principles of ta'aarud (contradiction) and the concept of tarjeeh (soundest position) before pronouncing Halal or Haram. 

Fasting on Friday only or on Saturday only is not prohibited (haram) but disliked. This is d soundest opinion. - (Essentials of Fiqh, vol 3, page 22, by Nurudeen Ibrahim).  For more on fasting refer to: "Essentials of Fiqh, vol 3, Nurudeen A. Ibrahim.