Can I fast on a Friday by itself?

Not on its own. Singling out Friday for fasting is prohibited by explicit text: the Prophet ﷺ said, "None of you should fast on Friday unless he fasts a day before it or a day after it," and he said, "Do not single out the night of Friday for standing in prayer from among the nights, nor single out the day of Friday for fasting from among the days, unless it falls within a fast one of you is already observing." Most scholars read the prohibition as karahah (dislike) rather than sin, and it is removed simply by joining Thursday or Saturday to it. The point is deliberate singling out: if Friday happens to fall within a fast one is already obliged or accustomed to — the Day of 'Arafah, 'Ashura', the days of Ramadan, a make-up fast, a vow, or one's regular alternate-day fasting — there is no harm at all, because it was not singled out for being Friday. This is why the second hadith itself states the exception.

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