Excellence of fasting in Ramadan by Shaikh Saleem al-Hilaalee and Shaikh Alee Hasan Alee Abdul-Hameed
* Forgiveness of sins
THE Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) urged that one fasts in Ramadan,explaining its excellence and high station, such that if the fastingperson had sins as many as the foam upon the sea, then they would beforgiven for him through this pure and blessed act of worship. From AbuHurairah, radiyallaahu anhu, from the Prophet who said: He who fastsRamadan, due to eemaan and hoping for reward (from Allah) then hisprevious sins are forgiven.From Abu Hurairah, radiyallaahu anhu, that the Prophet climbed upon themimbar (pulpit) and said: Aameen [O Allah grant it], aameen, aameen. So itwas said, O Messenger of Allah, you climbed upon the mimbar and said,aameen, aameen, aameen? So he said: Indeed Jibraaeel, alayhis salaam, cameto me and said, Whoever reaches the month of Ramadan and does not have[his sins] forgiven and so enters the Fire, then may Allah distance him,say aameen So I said: aameen ...* That supplication (duaa) is answered and freedom from the Fire isgrantedHe (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) said: There are in the month of Ramadanin every day and night those to whom Allah grants freedom from the Fire,and there is for every Muslim a supplication which he can make and will begranted .* He will be amongst the true followers of the prophets and the martyrsFrom Amr ibn Murrah al-Juhanee, radiyallaahu anhu, who said: A man came tothe Prophet and said: O Messenger of Allah what if I testify that none hasthe right to be worshipped but Allah and that you are the Messenger ofAllah, and I observe the five daily prayers, and I pay the Zakat, and Ifast and stand in prayer in Ramadan, then amongst whom shall I be? Hesaid: Amongst the true followers of the prophets and the martyrs.* Warning Against Failing to Fast in RamadanAbu Umaamah al-Baahilee, radiyallaahu anhu, said: I heard Allahs Messengersay: Whilst I was sleeping two men came to me and took hold of my arms andbrought me to a steep mountain and said: climb so I said: I am not ableto. So they said: We will make it easy for you. So I climbed until came tothe summit of the mountain where I heard terrible cries, so I said: whatare these cries? They said: That is the howling of the people of the Fire.Then they took me further on until came to a people who were strung up bytheir hamstrings, with their jawbones torn and flowing with blood, so Isaid: who are these. He said: Those who break their fast before the timeat which they may do so.As for what is reported that the Prophet said: He who deliberately failsto fast a day of Ramadan even if he were to fast forever it would notmake up for it.[This hadith is weak (daeef), not authentic.]* The Intention (An-Niyyah)The obligation to have intention for the obligatory fast before theappearance of the true dawnWhen it is confirmed that the month of Ramadan has commenced, then it isobligatory upon every Muslim upon whom the Shariah rulings are binding tointend to fast until the night, as the Prophet said: He who does notresolve to fast before it is Fajr, then there is no fast for him.He also said: He who does not intend during the night to fast, then thereis no fast for him.The place for the intention is the heart, to pronounce it upon the tongueis an innovation (bidah) and misguidance - even if the people think it tobe good. The necessity of having intention from the night is particular toobligatory fasts since the Messenger used to come to Aaisha, radiyallaahuanhaa, at times other than Ramadan and say, Do you have any food? If not,then I am fasting.The like of this is reported from the practice of the Companion:Abud-Dardaa, Abu Talhah, Abu Hurairah, Ibn Abbaas and Hudaifah ibnal-Yamaan, radiyallaahu anhum, and may Allah raise us up amongst thembeneath the flag of the nobles of the children of Aadam.So this refers to the optional fast and shows that the obligation ofhaving intention before the appearance of the true drawn is for theobligatory fast - and Allah the Most High knows best.TIME FOR BEGINNING AND ENDING THE FASTWhen the Companions of the unlettered Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhewa sallam) fasted and the time for breaking the fast came, then they wouldeat, drink and cohabit with their wives as long as they didnt fall asleep.If one of them fell asleep before eating the evening meal then it was notpermissible to do any of that until the next evening. Then the Mercy oftheir Lord, the All-Powerful, the Bestower, enveloped them and allowancewas made for them, and they were overjoyed this is explained in thefollowing hadith:From al-Baraa, radiyallaahu anhu, who said: When the companions of theProphet fasted and it became time to break the fast, if one of them sleptbefore eating, then he would not eat that night, nor the next day untilevening. Once Qays ibn Sirmah al-Ansaaree was fasting, so when it was timeto break the fast he came to his wife and said to her, Do you have anyfood? She said: No, but I will go and seek some for you. He used to workduring the day so sleep overtook him, then his wife came and when she sawhim she said, You have missed it. Then in the middle of the next day hefainted, and that was mentioned to the Prophet, so this Aayah was sentdown (which means):It is made lawful for you to have sexual relations with your wives on thenight of the fasts.So they were overjoyed, and,And eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to youdistinct from the black thread (darkness of night).was also sent down.This is the cherishing mercy which the Most Kind and Most Merciful givesabundantly to His humble servants who say: We hear and we obey, we ask forYour forgiveness our Lord, and to you we return.The fast has a specified time - with specified beginning and end and isfrom the appearance of Fajr until the daytime ends, the night begins andthe suns disc is hidden by the horizon.* The white thread and the black threadWhen the aforementioned Aayah was sent down, some of the Companions of theProphet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) took black camel tethers and whiteones and placed them beneath their pillows, or (one) tied them to his footand would continue eating and drinking until he could distinguish them.From Adiyy ibn Haatim, radiyallaahu anhu, who said: When,Until the white thread appears to you distinct from the black thread.was sent down I took a black and a white camel tether and placed thembeneath my pillow, and during the night I would look to see but they didntappear any different to each other, so in the morning I went to theProphet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) and informed him, so he said: Ratherit is the blackness of night and the whiteness of dawn.[Reported by al-Bukhaaree (4/113) and Muslim (no 1090). The narrationapparently shows that Adiyy was present when this Aayah was sent down,which means that he was a Muslim at the time. However, this is not thecase, since fasting was made obligatory in the second year after theHijrah, and Adiyy accepted Islam in the ninth or tenth year as occurs inal-Isaabah (2/468). So either we say that the Aayah was sent down verymuch later on and this is very unlikely, or that explain the saying ofAdiyy: When it was sent down, to mean When I accepted Islam and this Aayahwas recited to me. And this is what is correct due to the narration ofAhmad in his Musnad (4/377): Allahs Messenger taught me the prayer andfasting, he said: Pray such and such, and fast and when the sun sets theneat and drink until the white thread is clear to you from the blackthread, and fast for 30 days unless you see the new moon before that so Itook two threads of wool, one black and one white ... (the hadith).abridged from Fathul-Baaree (4/132-133).](*Taken from Fasting in Ramadan as observed by the Prophet, by ShaikhSaleem al-Hilaalee and Shaikh Alee Hasan Alee Abdul-Hameed)