FASTING
IS FOR ALLAH ONLY
“Oh, ye
who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those
before you so that you may learn self-restraint. Fasting for a fixed number of
days; but if any of you is ill or on a journey the prescribed number should be
made up from days later for those who can do it…” (2:183-184) Allah also
says, “The month of Ramadan, that in which the Qur’an was revealed a guidance
and a distinction [right and wrong]. Therefore, whoever of you is present in
the month has to fast therein and whoever is sick, or on a journey, then he has
to fast a like number of days. Allah desires ease for you, and He does not
desire hardship for you…” (2:185)
“Brothers and sisters,
according to the teachings of the Qur’an and Hadith all Muslims have to fast
during Ramadan and whoever fails to fast without a reasonable excuse is
committing a grave offense and a heinous sin.
The excuses are:
1)
To have not reached puberty, (or 18 years of age by some jurists).
2)
To be sick.
3)
To be on a journey.
4)
Having a young baby who could not live without the milk of its mother.
5)
A woman in menses.
6)
Having post-natal blood flow. The people who have these excuses are
required to fast a like number of days except the non-pubert youth.
Brothers and
sisters, our Prophet (pbuh) said “Allah (awj) says, all deeds of a
person is for him but [obligatory] fasting is for me and I give the reward for
it. Fasting is an armor, and when one is
fasting let him not utter immodest or foul speech, nor let him act in an
ignorant manner. And if someone quarrels with him, let him ay I am fasting, I
am fasting.” (Bukhari, Muslim)
This
hadith draws our attention to several important points, one of them is what
Allah says, all deeds of a person is for him but [obligatory] fasting is for
me”. This means that when you pray, fast and give zakat and so on, Allah
puts all the rewards of your good deeds on one side and the rewards of your
fasting on the other side. And when people with whom you have dealt badly in
this life ask Allah on the Day of Judgment to give them their rights from you,*
Allah will take some of your rewards, not from fasting but from the other side
of your good deeds and give it to them. And when other people do the same, all
of your rewards on this side finish Allah will not give them your reward of
fasting. He (shwt) will save this reward for you and pay Himself the
rights of these people instead of you. This is the meaning of the saying “all
deeds of a person is for him but [obligatory] fasting is for me.”
The second point is this, the
Hadith states that fasting is an armor or protection from doing bad and getting
involved in forbidden things. So whoever’s fasting keeps him away from sins and
what Allah forbids should know that his fasting is acceptable. And whoever did
not achieve this purpose did not respect his fasting and should know that his
fasting is merely a formality…”
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*Abu Huraira (rah)
reported Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) as saying, “he who done a wrong
affecting his brothers honor or anything else must ask for his
forgiveness for it now before he will have neither dinar or dirham (i.e., the
day of Judgment), if he has done any good deeds, the amount of his wrongdoing
will be subtracted from them, but if has no good deeds it will be taken from the
evil deeds of the victim and laid upon him.” (Bukhari)
Glossary:
(Shwt) soob-hana-hu-wat-ta-ala
(Awj) as-wa-jall
