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In the Name of Allah, |
The Fast
After the prayer and zakāh, the fast is the next important worship ritual of Islam. In the Arabic language, the word used for it is صَوْم (sawm), which literally means “to abstain from something” and “to give up something”. As a term of the Islamic sharī‘ah, it refers to the state of a person in which he is required to abstain from eating and drinking and from marital relations with certain limits and conditions. A person expresses himself through deeds and practices; hence when his emotions of worship for the Almighty relate to his deeds and practices then these emotions, besides manifesting in worshipping Him, also manifest in obeying His commands. Fasts are a symbolic expression of this obedience. While fasting, a person, at the behest of His Lord, gives up things which are originally allowed to him to win His pleasure; he thus becomes an embodiment of obedience and through his practice acknowledges the fact that there is nothing greater than the command of God. So if the Almighty forbids him things perfectly allowed by innate guidance, then it is only befitting for a person who is the servant of his Creator to obey Him without any hesitation whatsoever.
A little deliberation reveals that this state of a person in which he experiences and acknowledges the power, magnificence and exaltedness of the Almighty is also a true expression of gratitude from him. On this very basis, the Qur’ān says that the fast glorifies the Almighty and is a means through which gratitude can be shown to Him: The Qur’ān says that for this very purpose the month of Ramadān was set apart because in this month the Qur’ān was revealed as a guide for human intellect having clear arguments to distinguish right from wrong so that people could glorify God and express their gratitude to Him.
The excellence a person can attain in this ritual of worship is that while fasting he imposes certain other restrictions on himself and confines himself to a mosque for a few days to worship the Almighty as much as he can. In religious terminology, this is called اِعْتِكَاف (i‘tikāf). Though this worship ritual is not incumbent upon the believers like the fasts of Ramadān, it occupies great importance viz-a-viz purification of the soul. The cherished state which arises by combining the prayer and the fast with recitals of the Qur’ān and the feeling of being solely devoted to the Almighty having no one around helps achieve the objective of the fast in the very best way.
i. History of the Fast Like the prayer, the fast is also an ancient ritual of worship. The Qur’ān says that fasting has been made obligatory for the Muslims, just as it was made so for earlier peoples. Consequently, this is a reality that as a ritual of worship which trains and disciplines the soul, it has existed in various forms in all religions.
ii. Objective of the Fast The objective of the fast as delineated by the Qur’ān is that people adopt the taqwā of God. In the terminology of the Qur’ān, taqwā means that a person should spend his life within the limits set by Allah and should keep fearing Him from the depth of his heart that if ever he crosses these limits, there will be no one except God to save him from its punishment.
iii. Sharī‘ah of the Fast Following is the sharī‘ah of the fast:
a. The fast is abstention from eating and drinking and from having sexual intercourse with the wife with the intention that a person is going to fast.
b. This abstention is from fajr to nightfall; hence eating and drinking and having sexual intercourse with the wife during the night is permitted.
c. The month of Ramadān has been fixed for fasting; hence it is obligatory for every person who is present in this month to fast.
d. If owing to sickness, travel or any other compelling reason a person is not able to keep all the fasts of Ramadān, it is incumbent upon him to make up for this by keeping in other months an equal number of the fasts missed.
e. Fasting during the menstrual and puerperal cycles is forbidden. However, the fasts missed as a result must be kept later.
f. The pinnacle of the fast is the i‘tikāf. If a person is given this opportunity by God, he should seclude himself from the world for as many days as he can in a mosque to worship the Almighty and he should not leave the mosque except because of some compelling human need.
g. During i‘tikāf, a person is permitted to eat and drink during the night but he cannot have sexual intercourse with his wife. This has been prohibited by the Almighty.
Author: Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (Tr. by Dr Shehzad Saleem)
Topic URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=1238
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The Directives of Fasting يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُ وَأَن تَصُومُواْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُواْ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ (٢: ١٨٣-١٨٥) Believers! Fasting has been made for you as it was made for those before you so that you become fearful of God. These are but a few days, but if any one among you is ill or on a journey, let him fast a similar number of days later; and those who have the capacity [to feed a needy] should feed a needy in place of it. Then he who does a virtuous deed of his own accord, it is better for him and if you fast, then this is even better for you if you but knew. It is the month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was revealed, as a book of guidance for mankind and in the form of manifest arguments which are a means of total guidance and a means of distinguishing right from wrong. Therefore, whoever among you is present in this month, he should fast. And he who is ill or on a journey should fast a similar number of days later on. [This leniency is because] God desires ease for you and not discomfort. And [the permission given to travelers and the sick to feed the needy has been withdrawn because] you can complete the fasts [and thus not be deprived of the blessings of fasting] and [for this purpose the month of Ramadan has been fixed so that in the form of the Qur’an] the guidance God has bestowed to you, you glorify God and express your gratitude to Him. (2:183-185)
In these verses, the Almighty has directed Muslims to fast in accordance with the shari‘ah which has always existed regarding the fast in the religions of the Prophets. The Qur’an has stated that the fast has been made obligatory for the Muslims in the same manner as it was made obligatory for earlier peoples. A few number of days have been fixed for this ritual. This last statement is meant to raise the spirits. The implication being that if the blessings of Ramadan are kept in consideration, then 29 days or 30 days are not a long period; they are a relatively short period and a person instead of becoming anxious should make himself ready to fully reap their benefits.
After these introductory statements, the real directive is mentioned. It is said that people who are unable to fast because of illness or travel should make up their missed fasts by either fasting later or by feeding a poor person. This directive ends with the words: فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُ وَأَن تَصُومُواْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ (Then he who does a virtuous deed of his own accord, it is better for him and if you fast then this is even better for you, if you but knew it). In other words, this atonement for not fasting is a minimum requirement which should be fulfilled. However, if a person feeds more than one needy person or does some other virtuous deed as well, then this will prove better for him. And to Allah even better is that a person instead of feeding others makes up the missed fasts in other days.
However, the very next verse beginning with the words شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ shows that the permission to feed a needy for a missed fast was later revoked. Consequently, the whole directive has been repeated after this verse while omitting the words beginning with وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ and ending with إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ. Since it is difficult to fast in days other than Ramadan, the Almighty did not make it incumbent until people got used to it. Hence, it has been said in the Qur’an that feeding the needy for missed fasts has been revoked so that people could keep their missed fasts and are thus not deprived of the blessings hidden in them.
This then is the real directive of the fast. It seems that after receiving this law, certain questions arose in the minds of the Muslims. One of these questions related to having sexual intercourse with the wife in the nights of the Ramadan. This notion probably originated because among the Jews, the next fast would start right after one had broken his fast and they would consider eating and drinking and having sexual intercourse with the wife as prohibited. Muslims thought that they too would have to follow the Jews in this matter. However, some Muslims in spite of thinking so deviated from the view they held. This was something unseemly because if a person considers something to be a requisite of religion and still does not act according to it regardless of the fact that it is actually a requisite or not, then this is not permissible to him. The Qur’an has called this attitude as deceiving one’s conscience and has clarified:
أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَآئِكُمْ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَّكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّ عَلِمَ اللّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَخْتانُونَ أَنفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنكُمْ فَالآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَابْتَغُواْ مَا كَتَبَ اللّهُ لَكُمْ وَكُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّواْ الصِّيَامَ إِلَى الَّليْلِ وَلاَ تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللّهِ فَلاَ تَقْرَبُوهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللّهُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ (١٨٧:٢) It is now lawful for you to lie with your wives on the night of the fast; they are apparel to you as you are to them. God knew that you were deceiving yourselves. He has relented towards you and pardoned you. Therefore, [without any hesitation] you may now lie with them and [without any hesitation] seek what God has ordained for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of the dawn is totally evident to you from the black thread of night. Then complete the fast till nightfall and do not lie with them [even at night] when you are stationed for i‘tikaf in the mosques. These are the bounds set by God: do not approach them. Thus He makes known His revelations to mankind that they may attain righteousness. (2:187)
After this clarification made by the Qur’an, the statutes on which the law of the fast and the i‘tikaf are based are as follows:
1. The fast is abstention from eating and drinking and from having sexual intercourse with the wife with the intention that a person is going to fast.
2. This abstention is from fajr to nightfall; hence eating and drinking and having sexual intercourse with the wife during the night is permitted.
3. The month of Ramadan has been fixed for fasting; hence it is obligatory for every person who is present in this month to fast.
4. If owing to sickness, travel or any other compelling reason a person is not able to keep all the fasts of Ramadan, it is incumbent upon him to make up for this in other months by keeping equal number of the fasts missed.
5. The pinnacle of the fast is the i‘tikaf. If a person is given this opportunity by God, he should seclude himself from the world for as many days as he can in a mosque to worship the Almighty and he should not leave the mosque except because of some compelling human need.
6. During i‘tikaf, a person is permitted to eat and drink during the night but he cannot have sexual intercourse with his wife. This has been prohibited by the Almighty.
This law regarding the fast is substantiated by the consensus of the Muslims and by their perpetual adherence to it and the Qur’an too has explained it to a great extent. Following are the explanations afforded by the words and deeds of the Prophet (sws) regarding the fast:
i. The Ramadan should begin with the sighting of the moon and it should end with it too. The Prophet (sws) is reported to have said: “Begin the fast with the sighting of the moon and break the fast with sighting it too. Then if the weather is not clear, end the month of Sha‘ban by completing thirty days.”1
ii. Fasts should not be kept just one or two days before the Ramadan begins. The Prophet (sws) did not approve of this practice and remarked that the only exception to this is the person who keeps fasting.2
iii. One should eat the sahur (pre-fast meal) before beginning the fast. The Prophet (sw) asked people to eat it because eating it brings blessings.3
iv. If the adhan begins and a person has a plate in his hand, then he should go on to finish what he is eating; there is nothing wrong in this.4
v. During the fast a person can be intimate with his wife in whatever way he chooses except for having sexual intercourse with her. ‘A%i’shah (rta) narrates that during the fast the Prophet (sws) would kiss her and press her closely to him.5
vi. The fast can be kept in the state of janabah (ceremonial uncleanliness). ‘Ai’shah (rta) narrates that the Prophet (sws) sometimes would begin the fast in this state and then do ghusl (the ceremonial bath) after the time of fajr.6
vii. If a person eats forgetfully then this does not break the fast. The Prophet (sws) remarked that it is Allah who has fed him.7
viii. The Prophet’s way of observing i‘tikaf was to sit in a central mosque during the last ten days of the Ramadan. ‘Ai’shah (rta) narrates that a person who has sat for i‘tikaf should not go to visit the sick, nor participate in a funeral procession nor go near his wife nor go out of the mosque except for some compelling human need8
ix. Intentionally breaking the fast is a grave sin. If a person commits this sin he should atone for it. The atonement which the Prophet (sws) prescribed was the same as the one the Qur’an has prescribed for zihar. However, it is evident from the Hadith that when the person expressed his inability the Prophet (sws) did not insist on it.9
x. The supplication ascribed to the Prophet (sws) for breaking the fast is:
ذهب الظماء و ابتلت العروق و ثبت الاجر ان شاء الله تعالى “The thirst has been quenched, the canals are brimming with water and if God wills then the reward of this [fast] has also been acknowledged.”10
(Translated from Ghamidi’s Mizan by Shehzad Saleem)
1. Bukhari; No: 1810; Muslim, No: 1081. 2. Muslim, No: 1082. 3. Bukhari; No: 1823; Muslim, No: 1096. 4. Abu Da’ud, No: 2350. 5. Bukhari; No: 1826; Muslim, No: 1106. 6. Bukhari; No: 1829; Muslim, No: 1109. 7. Bukhari; No: 1831; Muslim, No: 1155. 8. Bukhari; No: 1921; Muslim, No: 1171; Abu Da’ud, No: 2473. 9. Bukhari; No: 1834; Muslim, No: 1111. 10. Abu Da’ud, No: 2357.
Author: Javed Ahmad
Ghamidi URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=90
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| Debate and Discuss: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ihsan
In module 1, there is not mention of shaking
hands when greeting others. Is this also considered part of the sunnah also?
Jhangeer Hanif (Moderator)
Shaking hands is a cultural practice and does not
have a religious significance attached to it. In other words, shaking hands does
not have the status of Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (sws). Nevertheless, I find
myself appreciating it as a cultural practice since it portrays warmth and
friendly connection in your relationships. We must know that Allah and His
Prophet (sws) has left many traditions to the discretion of the Muslims. It does
not mean that such traditions are worthless.
ihsan
One of the reasons I brought this particular
point up is because, from my experience with various Muslim countries, their
greetings incorporate the taslim, along with their own respective cultural
traditions. For example, in UAE, the men touch their noses together, and in
other countries, they may kiss the cheeks three times.
So what do you think of these varying practices?
Can you tell me what criteria should be applied to determine the appropriateness
of cultural practices?
ihsan
I believe that these cultural practices are
expressions of human nature and make things more "exciting". All societies, even
those that have similar religious traditions, have unique practices. I would
think such practices fall under the verses "We have gathered you into tribes and
nations so that you may come to know one another."
In terms of criteria in accepting them, then, in
my view, they should not entail:
falumujib
Assalaamu Alaikkum
The Holy Prophet (sws) prescribed the words 'Assalamu
alaykum' for the time when two persons meet. As he explained, the best way to
initiate your dialogue is to first send the blessings upon the other person.
When I found out what 'Assalamu alaykum' meant I
truly felt it in my heart. After years of being brought up in a Catholic church,
I had never had anyone say something so sweet to me.
Yes, it is the most beautiful supplication that
we make for each other.
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General Discussion Forum
Topic: Namaz
Nuttynum
I would like to
now if we can read small namaz, meaning can we shorten it. If we can, wot
can we read. Also when reading kiza namaz can we read kiza namaz with any
namaz.
Also do we have
to wake up for sehri, when we are keeping a fast? I would really appreciate
it if my questions are answered.
Tweety
You can shorten
your namaz by praying fard and leaving out the Sunnah if you have to but if
your outside a radius of 40miles**different opinions about distance and time
but its more about how convenient it is for you really** from your home then
u can do qasar **in a journey**
and you can pray
kaza salah if u have missed it but try not 2 make it a habit
oh and you don’t
have to wake up 4 serhi...sumtyms i can’t be bothered either but the prophet
(saw) encouraged sahur and sed thers a blessing in it- medically and
spiritually advised
Jhangeer Hanif (Moderator)
If any Salah has
been missed for some reason, it must be offered and we should also seek
forgiveness from Allah.
It is better
that we say the missed prayer first and then go on to offer the other Salah.
xxbasxx
yeah thats what
I do, if I have been a daft nut and prayed Asr after the Maghrib Azaan, I
pray Asr before Maghrib. This isn't happening to regularly Alhamdullillah.
Loveall
What are the
explanations of the followings?
1. Salahtal
wusta [Middle Salah (Namaz)]- Al-Quran.
2. La Salahta
illa be hazooril qalab [No Salah (Namaz) without present heart]- Hadith
oosman
So what happens
if a Muslim intentionally does not do salat (namaz)? Does he/she get
punished for it?
Ibrahim
(Moderator)
Here are the
answers of your Questions according to my little knowledge:
1. Surely the
literal meaning of "Salaat ul Wusta" is Middle Prayer (Namaz) & "Asar"
Prayer is The "Salaat ul Wusta" as it Comes in the MIDDLE of the Day & Work.
2. the Hadith
"La Salahta illa be hazooril qalab [No Salah (Namaz) without present heart]"
means that One should try to be attentive TOWARDS Allah in one's prayer as
Much as Possible.
and
Dear Brother
OOSMAN
I hope this
Helps
Topic URL :
http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=1100&lang=&forumid=1 |
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The Ritual of I'tikhaf Question:
I am approaching you
for information regarding I‘tikāf that is done in the last days of Ramadān. I
want to do it but I do not have the proper information regarding its start and
end. Can women observe this worship at their homes? Answer:
I‘tikaf is a very
special form of worship. The essence of this ritual is to devote ones self to
the Almighty by praying, reading the Qur’an and remembering Him through His
attributes. It is optional and carries great reward. Fasting is a pre-requisite
for I‘tikaf. Muslims normally undertake it in the holy month of Ramadan.
URL: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=946
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