Benefits
of Fasting
The
Objectives of Fasting (Maqâsid as-Sawm)
The
obligation of fasting
Allâh,
Exalted as He says:
"O
you who have faith! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was
prescribed for those before you – so that hopefully you will
have taqwâ." [al-Baqarah (THE COW) [2:183]
Meaning
that hopefully you can safeguard yourselves from the ‘Fire’
through fasting; fasting is a means to the forgiveness of sins, and
sins lead one to the ‘Fire’. The Two
Sahîhs record the hadîth
in which the Prophet
(sallAllâhu 'alayhi wasallam)
said:
"Islâm
is built upon five: that you worship Allâh
and reject the worship of anything else, to establish the prayer, the
giving of zakât,
performing pilgrimage
to the ‘House’ and fasting the month of Ramadân."
[This is a wording of Muslim, Bukhârî has the first
sentence as 'that you testify that none has the right to be
worshipped save Allâh']
The
virtues of fasting:
Fasting
carries with it a number of benefits, amongst which are: the
elevation of ones rank, the expiation of sins, the breaking of ones
desires and lusts, the increase of charity, the multiplication of
actions of obedience to Allâh,
giving thanks to the One
who knows the hidden matters, and preventing oneself from even
contemplating the committing
of sin.
The
elevation of rank
With
regards the elevation of rank, the Messenger
of Allâh (sallAllâhu
'alayhi wa sallam) said, "When
Ramadân comes, the gates of
He
(sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) also said,
relating from His
Lord, Mighty and Magnificent,
"All of the actions of the son of Adam are for him except the
fast for that is for Me
and I will reward it. Fasting
is protecting shield, so when it is the day when one of you are
fasting,
let him not behave or speak indecently; if someone tries to abuse or
fight him, let him say, 'I am fasting'.
By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad,
the smell emanating from the mouth of the one fasting is better with
Allâh
then the smell of musk. The one fasting
has two time of joy, when he breaks his fast he is happy and when he
meets his Lord he will rejoice at his fasting."
[Bukhârî and Muslim]
He
(sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) also said,
"Every
action that the son of Adam does, [its reward] will be multiplied, a
good deed will be increased tenfold up to seven-hundred fold. Allâh,
Mighty and Magnificent,
says, 'except for the fast, for that is for Me
and I will
reward it for he left his desires and food for My sake.' "[Muslim]
He
(sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said,
"In
paradise there is a gate which is called ar-Rayyân
through which the people who
fasted will enter on the Day of
Judgment, and no one else shall enter
alongside them. It will be asked, 'where are those who fasted?' and
they will walk through it, and upon the entry of the last of them, it
will be locked, and no one else will walk through it."[Bukhârî
and Muslim]
In
another version the wording is,
"There
is in
He
(sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said,
"When
people eat in the presence of a fasting
person, the Angels invoke blessings upon
him, until
they finish."[Ahmad and
at-Tirmidhî]
With
regards the 'opening of the gates of
"fasting
has been specifically adjoined to Him in order to honour it because
the hidden nature of fasting
prevents ostentation entering it, and moreover, hunger and thirst are
not used as means to draw closer to any king of this world nor any
idol. His saying, " And I will
reward it," even though He rewards
all actions of obedience, this phrase points to the greatness of the
reward of fasting. His saying, " Fasting
is a protecting shield " means that fasting
serves as barrier erected between the person and the punishment of
Allâh.
His saying, " let him say, 'I am
fasting,' " means let him remind
himself that he is fasting
so that this would serve to prevent him from repaying like with like.
His saying, " The smell emanating from the mouth of the one
fasting is
better with Allâh
then the smell of musk," meaning that the reward for the smell
emanating from the mouth of the fasting
person is better with Allâh
than the smell of musk.
[This explanation is a point of some difference and was the cause of
a famous debate between ibn as-Salâh and the author, may Allâh
have mercy on both].
As
for the two times of joy, the first is because the one fasting
has been granted the divine accord to complete this act of worship
and the second is because of the reward he will attain when Allâh
rewards him. His
saying, " He left his desires and food for My
sake " meaning that he chose the obedience of his Lord
over the obedience of the call of his soul, whoever chooses Allâh,
Allâh
chooses him. This is why when someone desires to commit a sin, then
leaves committing it for fear of Allâh,
He says to the recording Angels, 'Record it as a good deed, for he
only left giving in to his lusts for My
sake.' With regards their being
specified to enter
The
expiation of sins
With
regards the expiation of sins, the Messenger
of Allâh (sallAllâhu
'alayhi wa sallam) said, "One
Ramadân
to the next serves as an expiation for what is done between them, so
long as the major sins are avoided."[Muslim]
He
(sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) also said,
"Whoever
fasts the month of Ramadân,
out of faith and expectant of reward, his previous sins will be
forgiven him."[Bukhârî
and Muslim]
The
breaking of ones desires and lusts
Hunger
and thirst break the desire to commit sin, it is authentically
reported from him (sallAllâhu
'alayhi wa sallam) that he said, "O
gathering of youth! Whoever can afford it, let him marry for this is
better in aiding one to lower his gaze and preserving the private
parts. Whoever is not able, let him fast for this will diminish his
desire." [Bukhârî and
Muslim]
It
is mentioned in a hadîth,
“Satan
flows through the son of Âdam as does his blood”
so
constrain the passages of Satan through
hunger.[Bukhârî and Muslim.
The last sentence is the statement of one of the narrators of the
hadîth mistakenly added into the main text.]
Increase
of charity
When
the one fasting feels the pangs of hunger, he takes this as a
reminder to feed others who are hungry, 'for the only one who feels
compassion towards the lovers is one who has loved.’ It has
reached us that Sulaymân, or Yûsuf ('alayhim-assalâm)
would not eat until all his dependants had first eaten and when asked
why this was so, he said, 'I fear that I would become full and so
forget the hungry.'
Increase
of actions of obedience
The
one fasting
will be reminded of the hunger and thirst that the denizens of Hell
will experience and this will encourage him to obey Allâh
so as to be saved from that fate.
Giving
thanks to the One who knows the hidden matters;
The
one fasting
comes to truly appreciate the favours of Allâh,
it is only through knowing hunger and thirst that one truly
appreciates satiation and the quenching of that thirst; it is only
when blessings are absent that one appreciates them more.
Preventing
oneself from contemplating sin
When
one is full, the soul craves sin and looks longingly at all sorts of
transgression, but when one is hungry, the soul craves food and
drink, and this is the better of the two without doubt. If is for
this reason that one of the Salaf thought fasting to be the best of
all actions of worship and when asked why he replied, 'That Allâh
look to me in a state where my soul is fighting me for food and drink
is more beloved to me than Allâh
looking at me in a state where my
soul is full and fighting me for sin.'
Fasting
has many more benefits, such as refining the mind and strengthening
the body, it is mentioned in a hadîth, "Fast
for you will become healthy."
[at-Tabarânî and its isnâd is da'îf] From the
greatness of fasting is that the whoever cause a fasting
person to open fast, he has the same reward as the one who fasted. He
(sallAllâhu
'alayhi wa sallam)
said, "Whoever provides food for a
person to open the fast, he will have the likes of his reward,
without the reward of the fasting person decreasing in the
slightest." [Ahmad
and at-Tirmidhî]
So
whoever provides food for thirty six fasting
people in one year, it will be as if he fasted for the whole year.
And whoever provides food for many fasting
people with this intention, Allâh
will record for him the fasting
of many years. [Because a good deed is multiplied ten-fold].
May
Allah
provide us the “Taufeeque” of best utilizing this
opportunity full of His Blessings and Rewards.
Every
year. (Ameen)
By Shaikh Al-'Izz ibn 'Abdus-Salâm
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