Short answer
No. Wisal, joining one fast to the next without eating at sunset or suhoor, is makruh in the Hanafi school. The Prophet ﷺ forbade his Companions from it, explaining that it was special to him. Break your fast at sunset, eat suhoor, and if you want to fast more, fast the next day as a separate fast.
Sawm al-wisal, fasting two or more days without eating in between, is makruh, because the Prophet ﷺ prohibited it out of mercy and it was among his special allowances. Hastening iftar at sunset is mustahabb.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Wisal is haram for anyone other than the Prophet ﷺ.
- Hanbali
- Wisal is makruh, but continuing the fast until suhoor and eating then is allowed, as the hadith permits.
Explanation
Some people, out of zeal or for health trends, want to fast a long stretch without food. The Prophet ﷺ himself sometimes fasted continuously, but he told his Companions not to. When they said that he did it, he replied that he was not like them: his Lord gave him food and drink by night. The scholars explain that this was a special case for him.
Rulings:
- Fasting day after day, eating each night: fine. That is simply consecutive fasts.
- Skipping iftar and suhoor to join two days: makruh in the Hanafi school, haram in the Shafi'i school.
- Delaying iftar until suhoor: the hadith allows it for someone who insists, and the Hanbali school permits it. Hastening iftar is still the sunnah, so the Hanafi scholars discourage the delay.
- Water-only or long diet fasts: these are not Islamic fasts. Seek medical advice before any extended fast.
Why the prohibition? The Prophet ﷺ cared for his community. Wisal weakens the body, makes worship and work harder, and can harm health. Islam asks for steady, balanced worship that you can keep up: fasting by day and eating at night.
If you want to fast a lot, the best voluntary pattern is the fast of Dawud. See also when to break your fast and suhoor.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:187
أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ ٱلصِّيَامِ ٱلرَّفَثُ إِلَىٰ نِسَآئِكُمْ ۚ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌۭ لَّكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لِبَاسٌۭ لَّهُنَّ ۗ عَلِمَ ٱللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنكُمْ ۖ فَٱلْـَٰٔنَ بَٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَٱبْتَغُوا۟ مَا كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۚ وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ ٱلْخَيْطُ ٱلْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ ٱلْخَيْطِ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ ٱلْفَجْرِ ۖ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا۟ ٱلصِّيَامَ إِلَى ٱلَّيْلِ ۚ وَلَا تُبَٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَٰكِفُونَ فِى ٱلْمَسَٰجِدِ ۗ تِلْكَ حُدُودُ ٱللَّهِ فَلَا تَقْرَبُوهَا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ ﴿١٨٧﴾
It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives [for sexual relations]. They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them. Allah knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and forgave you. So now, have relations with them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the sunset. And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques. These are the limits [set by] Allah, so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His ordinances to the people that they may become righteous.
The daily fast ends at sunset.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1963
Sahih... لا تواصلوا فأيكم إذا أراد أن يواصل فليواصل حتى السحر ...
"Do not join fasts. Whoever of you wants to continue, let him continue until the time of suhoor."
Wisal is prohibited, with an allowance to delay until suhoor.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1965
Sahih... إني أبيت يطعمني ربي ويسقين ...
"I spend the night while my Lord gives me food and drink."
Wisal was special to the Prophet ﷺ.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what is desirable and disliked in fasting. Sawm al-wisal is among the disliked fasts.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Siyam, section on wisal. The Shafi'i view that wisal is forbidden.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Siyam, section on wisal. The Hanbali view that wisal is disliked and continuing until suhoor is allowed.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.