Is Continuous Fasting Permissible in the Maliki School?

Answered by Shaykh Rami Nsour

Question: As-salamu alaykum,

I wanted to know if continuous, unbroken fasting was permitted in the Maliki school. I’ve heard that it is permissible in the Shafi’i school.

Answer: According to the Maliki madhab, it is permissible to perform unbroken fasting. There is no dislike in fasting continuously and it would actually be recommended if a person is able to do it.

In response to the Hadith forbidding continuous fasting, the Maliki scholars have responded with the proof that there is consensus (ijma’) that if a person promised to fast continuously, he would have to fulfill it. If that was a prohibited or disliked act, it would not have been binding for him to go through with the promise.

[Hashiyatul Dasuqi]