وَقَالُوا۟ لَن تَمَسَّنَا ٱلنَّارُ إِلَّاۤ أَیَّامࣰا مَّعۡدُودَةࣰۚ قُلۡ أَتَّخَذۡتُمۡ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ عَهۡدࣰا فَلَن یُخۡلِفَ ٱللَّهُ عَهۡدَهُۥۤۖ أَمۡ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ
وقَوْلُهُ تَعالى: ﴿وقالُوا لَنْ تَمَسَّنا النّارُ إلا أيّامًا مَعْدُودَةً﴾ قِيلَ في مَعْنى مَعْدُودَةً: إنَّها قَلِيلَةٌ، كَقَوْلِهِ: ﴿وشَرَوْهُ بِثَمَنٍ بَخْسٍ دَراهِمَ مَعْدُودَةٍ﴾ [يوسف: ٢٠] أيْ قَلِيلَةٍ وقالَ ابْنُ عَبّاسٍ وقَتادَةُ في قَوْلِهِ ﴿أيّامًا مَعْدُودَةً﴾ إنَّها أرْبَعُونَ يَوْمًا مِقْدارُ ما عَبَدُوا العِجْلَ، وقالَ الحَسَنُ ومُجاهِدٌ: سَبْعَةُ أيّامٍ
And His statement, the Exalted: {And they said, “The Fire will not touch us except for a few numbered days”}. It was said regarding the meaning of “numbered” (maʿdūdah): that it means few, like His statement: {And they sold him for a paltry price - a few numbered dirhams} [Yusuf: 20], meaning, few. And Ibn ʿAbbās and Qatādah said regarding His statement {a few numbered days} that it is forty days, the duration for which they worshipped the calf. And al-Ḥasan and Mujāhid said: seven days.
وقالَ تَعالى: ﴿كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيامُ كَما كُتِبَ عَلى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكم لَعَلَّكم تَتَّقُونَ﴾ [البقرة: ١٨٣] ﴿أيّامًا مَعْدُوداتٍ﴾ [البقرة: ١٨٤] فَسَمّى أيّامَ الصَّوْمِ في هَذِهِ الآيَةِ مَعْدُوداتٍ وأيّامُ الشَّهْرِ كُلُّهُ، وقَدِ احْتَجَّ شُيُوخُنا لِأقَلِّ مُدَّةِ الحَيْضِ وأكْثَرِهِ أنَّها ثَلاثَةٌ وعَشْرَةٌ بِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ: «المُسْتَحاضَةُ تَدَعُ الصَّلاةَ أيّامَ أقْرائِها» .
And He, the Exalted, said: {Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become righteous} [Al-Baqarah: 183] {for a limited number of days} [Al-Baqarah: 184]. So He called the days of the fast in this verse “numbered” (maʿdūdāt), and they are the days of the entire month. And our Shaykhs have used as proof for the minimum and maximum duration of menstruation being three and ten [days] the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “The mustaḥāḍah (woman with non-menstrual bleeding) is to leave the prayer during the days of her menstrual periods (aqrāʾ).”
وفِي بَعْضِ الألْفاظِ: «دَعِي الصَّلاةَ أيّامَ حَيْضِكِ» واسْتَدَلُّوا بِذَلِكَ عَلى أنَّ مُدَّةَ الحَيْضِ تُسَمّى أيّامًا وأقَلُّها ثَلاثَةٌ وأكْثَرُها عَشَرَةٌ؛ لِأنَّ ما دُونَ الثَّلاثَةِ يُقالُ يَوْمٌ أوْ يَوْمانِ وما زادَ عَلى العَشَرَةِ يُقالُ فِيهِ أحَدَ عَشَرَ يَوْمًا، وإنَّما يَتَناوَلُ هَذا الِاسْمَ ما بَيْنَ الثَّلاثَةِ إلى العَشَرَةِ، فَدَلَّ ذَلِكَ عَلى مِقْدارِ أقَلِّهِ وأكْثَرِهِ
And in some wordings: “Leave the prayer during the days of your menstruation.” And they used this as evidence that the duration of menstruation is called “days” (ayyām), and its minimum is three and its maximum is ten; because what is less than three is called “a day” or “two days,” and for what is more than ten, one says “eleven days.” This name [ayyām] only encompasses what is between three and ten. Thus, this indicated the measure of its minimum and its maximum.
فَمِنَ النّاسِ مَن يَعْتَرِضُ عَلى هَذا الِاسْتِدْلالِ بِقَوْلِهِ: ﴿أيّامًا مَعْدُوداتٍ﴾ [البقرة: ١٨٤] وهي أيّامُ الشَّهْرِ، وقَوْلِهِ: ﴿إلا أيّامًا مَعْدُودَةً﴾ وقَدْ قِيلَ فِيهِ أرْبَعُونَ يَوْمًا وهَذا عِنْدَنا لا يَقْدَحُ في اسْتِدْلالِهِمْ؛ لِأنَّ قَوْلَهُ تَعالى ﴿أيّامًا مَعْدُوداتٍ﴾ [البقرة: ١٨٤] جائِزٌ أنْ يُرِيدَ بِهِ أيّامًا قَلِيلَةً كَقَوْلِهِ: ﴿دَراهِمَ مَعْدُودَةٍ﴾ [يوسف: ٢٠] يَعْنِي قَلِيلَةً، ولَمْ يُرِدْ بِهِ تَحْدِيدَ العَدَدِ وتَوْقِيتَ مِقْدارِهِ، وإنَّما المُرادُ بِهِ أنَّهُ لَمْ يُفْرَضْ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ الصَّوْمِ ما يَشْتَدُّ ويَصْعُبُ
So, some people object to this line of reasoning with His statement: {for a limited number of days} [Al-Baqarah: 184], which are the days of the month, and His statement: {except for a few numbered days}, about which it has been said it is forty days. And this, in our view, does not undermine their reasoning, because it is possible that His statement, the Exalted, {for a limited number of days} [Al-Baqarah: 184] was intended to mean a few days, like His statement: {a few numbered dirhams} [Yusuf: 20], meaning few. He did not intend by it to specify the number or set its exact measure, but rather the intent was that He did not impose upon them a fast that would be intense and difficult.
ويُحْتَمَلُ أنْ يُرِيدَ بِهِ وقْتًا مُبْهَمًا كَقَوْلِهِمْ: أيّامُ بَنِي أُمَيَّةَ، وأيّامُ الحَجّاجِ، ولا يُرادُ بِهِ تَحْدِيدُ الأيّامِ وإنَّما المُرادُ بِهِ زَمانُ مُلْكِهِمْ وقَوْلُهُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: «دَعِي الصَّلاةَ أيّامَ أقْرائِكِ» قَدْ أُرِيدَ بِهِ لا مَحالَةَ تَحْدِيدُ الأيّامِ، إذْ لا بُدَّ مِن أنْ يَكُونَ لِلْحَيْضِ وقْتٌ مُعَيَّنٌ مَخْصُوصٌ لا يَتَجاوَزُهُ ولا يُقَصِّرُ عَنْهُ، فَمَتى أُضِيفَ ذِكْرُ الأيّامِ إلى عَدَدٍ مَخْصُوصٍ يَتَناوَلُ ما بَيْنَ الثَّلاثَةِ إلى العَشَرَةِ.
And it is possible that an unspecified time was intended by it, like their saying: “the days of Banū Umayyah,” and “the days of al-Ḥajjāj,” where the specification of days is not intended, but rather the time of their rule is what is meant. As for his statement, peace be upon him: “Leave the prayer during the days of your menstrual periods (aqrāʾik),” the specification of the days was inevitably intended by it, since menstruation must have a specific, designated time that it does not exceed nor fall short of. Thus, whenever the mention of “days” is intended for a specific number, it encompasses what is between three and ten.