Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. If a woman wants to fast the six days of Shawwal but she still has to make up for some missed days in Ramadan, should she fast make up for the missed days of Ramadan, or is there no problem if she begins by fasting the six days of Shawwal and make up for the missed fasts of Ramadan later? حكم صيام ست من شوال قبل قضاء رمضان

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions. Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As to what follows: In response to your question, we say: The scholars have two opinions concerning fasting the six days of Shawwal before finishing making up for the missed fasts of Ramadan. The first opinion: The virtues of fasting the six days of Shawwal are not attained except by a person who has made up for the days that he did not fast in Ramadan for an acceptable reason. The scholars who held this opinion supported their view with the hadith which was narrated by Muslim from the hadiths of Abu Ayub al-Ansari that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal will be (rewarded) as if he had fasted the entire year.” [Muslim (1164)]. They said that the attribute of having fasted Ramadan applies to the person who completed the whole month of fasting. In Tuhfatul Muhtaaj (3/457), al-Haytamisaid, “because this is with fasting Ramadan, that is, the whole of it, or else the following virtue will not be attained, even if the person did not fast because of a valid reason.” In al-Furu’ (3/108), ibn al-Muflih said, “ The virtues of this fasting are attained by a person who fasts the six days of Shawwal after having made up for the days that he did not fast in Ramadan because of a valid reason.” This is the opinion that was held by contemporary scholars like our teachers Shaykh ibn Baz and Shaykh Muhammad al-‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on them). The second opinion: The virtues of fasting the six days of Shawwal are attained by a person who fasts these days before making up for the days that he did not fast in Ramadan because of a valid reason, because a person who does not fast for some days in Ramadan because of a valid reason is considered to have fasted the month of Ramadan, and if he fasts the six days of Shawwal before making up for the missed fasts of Ramadan he will get the virtue that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said would be attained by a person who follows Ramadan with fasting six days in Shawwal. What is apparent to me is that the second opinion is closer to the truth because attaining the virtues of fasting the six days of Shawwal is not dependent on firstly fasting the missed fasts of Ramadan, because fasting in Ramadan is equated to fasting for ten months and this applies to a person who fasted in Ramadan and made up for the missed days at a later time, and Allah has given an extended time for making up for missed fasts, and He said, “ the same number [of days which one did not observe Saum (fasts) must be made up] from other days. Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days)” [al-Baqarah 2: 185]. The fasting of Shawwal is a virtue linked to that month and it ceases  when Shawwal ends. However, it is better for a person to free himself from obligation and start by fasting compulsory fasts before engaging in voluntary fasting.  Whoever fasts the six days of Shawwal and fasts to make up for the missed fasts later will get the virtues of fasting in Shawwal because there is no proof to negate that. And Allah knows best. Dr. Khalid al-Mosleh   14/10/1424