It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the first night of Ramadan comes, the devils and the rebellious jinn are chained in shackles, the gates of Hell are closed and not one of its gates remains open, and the gates of Paradise are opened and not one of its gates remains closed; and a caller calls out: O seeker of good, come forward! And O seeker of evil, desist! And many people are set free from the Fire by Allah." This hadith is sahih on the condition of the two Shaykhs, but they did not record it with this wording.

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Guide me to a deed (that will take me to Paradise)." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Hold fast to fasting, for there is nothing equal to it." The chain of this hadith is sahih, but the two Shaykhs did not record it. Muhammad bin Abi Ya'qub is the narrator about whom Imam Shu'bah, whenever he narrated from him, would say: "The chief of Banu Tamim narrated to me." And Abu Nasr al-Hilali is in fact Humayd bin Hilal al-Adawi. I do not know of anyone who narrated it from Imam Shu'bah other than Abd al-Samad, and he is trustworthy and reliable.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Harith al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty revealed to Yahya bin Zakariya (peace be upon him) five commands, that he should act upon them himself and command the Children of Israel to act upon them. It was as though he was somewhat slow (in conveying them), so Isa (peace be upon him) came to him and said: Allah has given you five commands; either you convey them to the people, or I will convey them. Yahya (peace be upon him) said: O my brother! Do not do so; I fear that if you do this before me, I may be swallowed up by the earth or punished. So he gathered the Children of Israel in Bayt al-Maqdis until the mosque was full and people sat on the parapets. Then he addressed them and said: Allah has given me five commands. The first is that you do not associate anything with Allah, for the likeness of one who associates partners with Allah is that of a man who bought a slave with his own pure wealth of gold or silver, settled him in a house and said: Work and hand the profit over to me; but the slave worked and handed the profit to someone else. Which of you would be pleased for his slave to be like that? It is Allah who created you and it is He who provides for you, so do not associate anything with Him. The second is that when you stand for prayer, do not look here and there, for Allah keeps His Face turned towards the face of His servant as long as he does not turn away (his attention). The third is that I command you to fast, and its likeness is that of a man in a group who has a pouch of musk, and everyone wishes to smell its fragrance; and fasting is more fragrant with Allah than the scent of musk. The fourth is that I command you to give charity, and its likeness is that of a man whom the enemy has taken captive, tied his hands to his neck and are leading him away to be killed, and he says: May I ransom myself from you? So he gives a little and a lot of his wealth until he has ransomed himself. The fifth is that I command you to remember Allah abundantly, and its likeness is that of a man whom the enemy is pursuing swiftly, and he takes refuge in a strong fortress; likewise, a servant can only be saved from Satan through the remembrance of Allah." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "And I command you with five things which Allah has commanded me: holding fast to the community (jama'ah), listening (to the ruler), obeying, emigration (hijrah), and jihad in the way of Allah. Whoever separates from the community even by a handspan has thrown off the collar of faith from his neck, unless he returns; and whoever makes the call of the Jahiliyyah is among the fuel of Hell." It was said: "O Messenger of Allah! Even if he fasts and prays?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Even if he fasts and prays. So call one another by the call of Allah which He has chosen for you: that is, O believers, O Muslims, O servants of Allah!" This hadith is sahih on the condition of the two Shaykhs, but they did not record it.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Indeed, the fasting person has, at the time of breaking his fast, a supplication which is not rejected." Ibn Abi Mulaykah said: I heard Abdullah bin Amr making this supplication at the time of breaking his fast: 'Allahumma inni as'aluka bi-rahmatika allati wasi'at kulla shay'in an taghfira li dhunubi' (O Allah, I ask You by Your mercy which encompasses all things to forgive me my sins). If the narrator named Ishaq in this chain is the freed slave of Za'idah, then Imam Muslim has narrated from him; and if he is Ibn Abi Farwah, then the two Shaykhs did not narrate from him.

Marwan bin Salim al-Muqaffa' says: I saw Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) grasping his beard in his fist and cutting off whatever exceeded the fist, and he said that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) broke his fast, he would recite this supplication: 'Dhahaba al-zama'u, wabtallat al-'uruqu, wa thabata al-ajru in sha' Allah' (The thirst has gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward is established, if Allah wills). This hadith is sahih on the condition of the two Shaykhs, since both al-Husayn bin Waqid and Marwan bin al-Muqaffa' have been used as evidence.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said, in this very Baqi': I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "The one who eats and gives thanks is (in the sight of Allah) like the fasting person who is patient." This hadith is sahih on the condition of Imam Bukhari, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Salamah bin al-Akwa' (may Allah be pleased with him) that in the blessed time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), during the month of Ramadan, we were (in such a state) that whoever wished would fast, and whoever wished would not fast and would pay a ransom by feeding a poor person, until this verse was revealed: "So whoever of you witnesses the month, let him fast it." [Surah al-Baqarah: 185] This hadith is sahih on the condition of the two Shaykhs.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty has made the new moons a means of fixing times. So when you see it (the moon of Ramadan), fast; and when you see it (the moon of Shawwal), break the fast (celebrate Eid). Then if the sky is overcast for you, estimate for it (that is, complete thirty days); and know that a month is not more than thirty days." The chain of this hadith is sahih, but the two Shaykhs did not record it; and Abd al-Aziz bin Abi Rawwad is trustworthy, devout, diligent in worship and of noble lineage.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to keep track of the dates of the moon of Sha'ban more carefully than he did for any other month. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) would fast upon sighting the moon of Ramadan; but if the sky was overcast, he would complete a count of thirty days and then fast. This hadith is sahih on the condition of the two Shaykhs. Imam Ibn Wahb and others have narrated it from Mu'awiyah bin Salih, but the two Shaykhs did not include it in their books.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the people tried to sight the new moon, and I informed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that I had seen it. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fasted himself and ordered the people to fast as well. This hadith is sahih on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.