Qaf long-form · YouTube film · for review

Why Fast on Monday and Thursday?

A long-form paper-collage film on why the Prophet ﷺ made a point of fasting Mondays and Thursdays, in his own two answers: Monday as the day he was born and the day revelation came to him (Sahih Muslim 1162), and both days as the days deeds are presented, "and I love that my deeds be presented while I am fasting" (al-Nasa'i 2358, al-Tirmidhi 747). Along the way: the Mondays of his life, what "presented" means in the commentaries, the two people held back until they reconcile (Sahih Muslim 2565), and why the scholars call it a recommended, voluntary sunnah. Every picture is hinged on the horizon: the ground flips between 7th-century Medina and a present-day home while the sky keeps its hour.

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Watch the film (interactive player)Watch / download on the showcase
11:51runtime, CTA and 13 s end board included
8 + 1story chapters + Ask Your Own Question
80 / 39verified ledger facts / do-not-claim items
1,593narration words (126-154 wpm per chapter)
-14.1 LUFSintegrated loudness, true peak -1.4 dBTP
82generated assets (23 backgrounds, 59 cut-outs)

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Why Fast on Monday and Thursday? What the Prophet ﷺ Said

56 characters

Thumbnail A: the seven-knot palm-fibre cord on a mud-brick wall at dawn, knots 2 and 5 warm in the light; hero label TWICE A WEEK.

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Pair B · curiosity

Monday Had a Reason. So Why Did the Prophet ﷺ Fast Thursday Too?

64 characters

Thumbnail B: a small present-day house at night with one lit kitchen window before dawn; no words.

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Aisha (ra) Noticed Two Days: Why the Prophet ﷺ Fasted Them

58 characters

Thumbnail C: a big close crop of the cord, knot 2 already in the dawn and the light just reaching knot 5; hero label AND THURSDAY?

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Inside the film

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Chapters

  1. 00:00Two Days Out of Seven
  2. 01:33The Day Someone Asked
  3. 02:45What Happened on Those Mondays
  4. 04:01The Mondays of His Life
  5. 05:46Which Two Days?
  6. 07:06Twice a Week, Every Week
  7. 08:15Hold Back These Two
  8. 09:43Both Answers, Side by Side
  9. 11:25Ask Your Own Question

Description

Why fast on Monday and Thursday? When the Prophet ﷺ was asked about this sunnah fast, he gave two reasons, in his own words.
No music: only natural sound, paper and voice.

The Prophet ﷺ fasted often but unevenly, yet Aisha (ra) said he made a point of fasting Mondays and Thursdays. This film follows the two answers he gave when asked: Monday as the day he was born and the day revelation came to him (Sahih Muslim 1162), and Monday and Thursday as the days deeds are presented, "and I love that my deeds be presented while I am fasting" (Sunan al-Nasa'i 2358). Along the way: the Mondays of his life, the two people held back until they reconcile, and why the scholars call this voluntary fast (sawm) a recommended sunnah, never an obligation. In Indonesia it is puasa Senin-Kamis; in Malay, puasa sunat Isnin dan Khamis.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Two Days Out of Seven
01:33 The Day Someone Asked
02:45 What Happened on Those Mondays
04:01 The Mondays of His Life
05:46 Which Two Days?
07:06 Twice a Week, Every Week
08:15 Hold Back These Two
09:43 Both Answers, Side by Side
11:25 Ask Your Own Question

SOURCES
Qur'an (Saheeh International)
• 96:1 Recite in the name of your Lord https://quran.com/96/1
• 3:164 He sent among them a Messenger https://quran.com/3/164
• 2:187 The white thread of dawn https://quran.com/2/187

Hadith
• Sahih al-Bukhari 1969 · Sahih Muslim 1156 (sahih): his uneven fasting https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1969
• Jami' al-Tirmidhi 745 (sahih, Darussalam): he made a point of (yataharra) Monday and Thursday https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:745
• Sunan al-Nasa'i 2358 (hasan, Darussalam): Usama (ra), "Which two days?", deeds presented https://sunnah.com/nasai:2358
• Sahih al-Bukhari 1987 (sahih): "His deeds were constant" https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1987
• Sahih Muslim 1162b (sahih; Abu Qatada al-Ansari (ra)): born and sent on a Monday; Muslim's note on "Thursday" https://sunnah.com/muslim:1162b
• Sahih Muslim 1162e (sahih): the short wording, "On it I was born, and on it revelation was sent down to me" https://sunnah.com/muslim:1162e
• Sahih al-Bukhari 3 (sahih): the first revelation (names no weekday) https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3
• Sahih al-Bukhari 3906 (report of Urwa ibn al-Zubayr): arrival at Quba on a Monday https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3906
• Sahih al-Bukhari 680, 4448 (sahih; Anas (ra)): the last dawn prayer https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4448
• Sahih al-Bukhari 1387 (sahih): he died on a Monday https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1387
• Jami' al-Tirmidhi 747 (hasan, Darussalam; Abu Hurayra (ra)): deeds presented https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:747
• Sahih Muslim 179a (sahih): the deeds of night and day https://sunnah.com/muslim:179a
• Sunan al-Nasa'i 2357 (hasan, Darussalam): Shaaban https://sunnah.com/nasai:2357
• Sahih Muslim 2565a (sahih) · Muwatta Malik 47:17: "Hold back these two until they reconcile" https://sunnah.com/muslim:2565a https://sunnah.com/malik/47/17
• Sunan Ibn Majah 1740 (hasan, Darussalam): asked about his Monday and Thursday fasts, he gave forgiveness on both days, except for two at odds, as the reason https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:1740
• Sahih al-Bukhari 6077 (sahih): not beyond three nights https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6077

Classical works
• al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 8/51-52; al-Majmu' 6/386
• al-Athyubi, al-Bahr al-Muhit al-Thajjaj 21/512
• Ibn Rajab, Lata'if al-Ma'arif 1/95-96, 1/166, 1/304-305
• Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Tamhid 21/262-263; al-Isti'ab 1/58-59
• Ibn al-Qayyim, Tahdhib Sunan Abi Dawud 3/199-200
• al-Lahji, Muntaha al-Su'ul 3/80; al-Munawi, al-Taysir 1/450
• Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi 3/375; al-Qari, Mirqat al-Mafatih 4/1421; al-Dihlawi, Lama'at (via Mir'at al-Mafatih 7/84-85)
• Ibn Battal, Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari 4/132; al-'Ayni, 'Umdat al-Qari 11/107-108; Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari 4/235-236
• al-San'ani, Subul al-Salam 4/124-126
• al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya 28/94-95

Further reading
• Ahmad Hutayba, Sharh al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Siyam 19/7
Researched with Qaf AI, then checked against the primary sources above. If you spot an error, tell us in the comments; corrections are pinned.

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ABOUT THIS FILM
Paper-collage-style animation. Out of respect, the Prophet ﷺ and the other prophets, peace be upon them, and the angels are never depicted, his household is shown only through places, and no faces are shown.
Narration: AI voice (Google Gemini text-to-speech). Research, script, illustration direction and animation by the Qaf team; illustrations made with AI image tools in our paper-collage style.
Sound: no music. Sound effects and ambience from Freesound contributors (all CC0 1.0) and sounds made for this series; the full per-file list is at https://monday-thursday-story.pages.dev/credits.html

#Islam #IslamicHistory #SunnahFasting

Tags

fasting monday and thursday, why fast on mondays and thursdays, sunnah fasting, monday thursday fast hadith, voluntary fasting in islam, sawm, puasa senin kamis, puasa sunat isnin dan khamis, deeds presented monday and thursday, prophet muhammad fasting

Pinned comment

Which of his two reasons stays with you: thanks for the day of a blessing, or your deeds presented while you are fasting?
Every source is in the description. Spotted a mistake? Reply here and we'll pin the correction.
Ask Qaf AI your own question: https://link.qaf.ai/ios · https://link.qaf.ai/android

Notes for the reviewer