Guidelines for Fasting- Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmed

Guidelines for Fasting

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. My dear respected brothers and elders, young students and sisters in Islam, assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Indeed Allah has showered many mercies upon us and the month of Ramadan is about to dawn upon us.

This is a month of blessings from Allah. This is a month when Allah opens up the doors of Jannah.

The doors of Jannah are opened, the doors of Jahannam are closed, and the devious devils are chained by Allah. This is a month يُزَادُ فِيهِ رِزْقُ الْمُؤْمِنِ — the rizq of the believer is increased. And untold blessings of Allah shower upon His slaves in this month.

This is a month where even those of us whose hearts have become rusted with sin, we find an inclination towards Allah. We turn towards Allah. We make du'a at the time of Iftar. We give Sadaqah for the sake of Allah. We make the Tilawat of the Quran. We shed tears and seek forgiveness for our sins. So this is a very amazing month that is dawning upon us.

There are certain ayahs in the Quran in Surah Al-Baqarah wherein Allah speaks about this month and the injunctions of this month. I would like to go over some of these ayahs today insha'Allah.

The Command to Fast — Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 183

Starting with Ayah 183 from Surah Al-Baqarah. Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — O those who believe! So this is a commandment to those who are believers. Those who have recited the Kalimah, لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ — those who have accepted Islam. This is one of the injunctions that is compulsory upon the believers. One of the articles of our faith. One of the pillars of our Deen.

Rasulullah ﷺ has said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 8; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 19)

Islam is based upon five pillars. The central pillar is belief in the oneness of Allah. And the four pillars are: establishing Salah, paying the Zakah, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and making Hajj towards the House of Allah. So these are the four pillars of our Deen.

Who is Addressed by يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا?

So that is why Allah here addresses the believers, يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا. When Allah addresses the disbelievers in the Quran, He invites them towards accepting Islam — يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ, O people of the Book, O people, O mankind — He invites them to accept Islam. Because a person first has to accept Islam, recite the Kalimah Shahadat, and after entering the fold of Islam, the remaining injunctions of Islam will become binding on that individual.

So this is a very important point to note: all the Ahkam, all the Shari'ah, all the Furu' — meaning all the major and minor injunctions of the Shari'ah — are applicable only to those who accept the Kalimah, who accept Islam. They are not binding upon those who do not accept Islam. Those who have not accepted Islam, there is only one obligatory action for them, and that is to recite the Kalimah and to accept Islam. Once they accept Islam, then everything else applies.

So this is — you might think — a very obvious point, but sometimes what happens is, for example, we have an open house where we are trying to build bridges with our neighbors and we invite non-Muslims to the Masjid. Yes, it is true that out of respect for the sacred house of worship of the Muslims, if the non-Muslim lady is wearing the scarf and the hijab, this is a good sign, something that should be commended and appreciated — that you are recognizing that this is the dress of the Muslims, and you are coming to the house of worship of the Muslims as a guest, so you are being considerate of that. But at the same time, is the non-Muslim woman obligated to wear hijab? Not in our Shari'ah. She is obligated first to recite the Kalimah. After reciting the Kalimah, then all the injunctions apply.

So this is an out-of-the-box practical example of applying this principle. Sometimes what happens is that we do not know this, and we start applying it on them, and forcing people — that which Allah has not forced upon them, and obligating them to that which Allah has not obligated — and the entire plan backfires. Instead of bringing them closer to the Deen, we make them farther away from the Deen. So we have to take things as they are.

Rasulullah ﷺ also, when he sent Mu'adh ibn Jabal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu to Yemen, and Sayyidina Ali radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, and asked both of them how they were going to preach and teach the people — they said, first we will invite them towards لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. And after they accept that, then we will instruct them towards Tahara and Salah. Then we will instruct them regarding Zakat and so on. So there is a particular order.

The Meaning and Conditions of Fasting (الصِّيَام)

So, يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — O those who believe. كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ — fasting has been prescribed upon you. What is the meaning of Siyam? Siyam in the lughah (language) means al-imsak — to abstain. And in the Shari'ah, it means al-imsak 'an al-muftirāt al-thalāth: al-akl wa al-shurb wa al-jima' — to abstain from the three things that break the fast: eating, drinking, and fulfilling one's physical needs and passions — from the dawn until the sunset, with the Niyyah.

If a person abstains from eating and drinking and having physical relations with his spouse without Niyyah, without intention, without making the express intention from his heart that he is fasting for the sake of Allah, then that will not count as a fast. A person will not be rewarded for that. If a person, for example, is imprisoned in a jail and he is in solitary confinement, not even aware of the month and the calendar, and he is not given food or drink by the wardens and guards, and the month of Ramadan passes — and they only give him something to eat at night to stay alive — so the whole month he did not eat or drink or have any physical interaction throughout the day, but he did not make the Niyyah. So those fasts will not count. When he comes out of jail or learns later that the month of Ramadan passed, he will have to make Qada of it.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1; Sahih Muslim, Book 20, Hadith 4692)

All the Ibadah Maqsoodah — all those acts of worship which are objective in our Deen — they will only come into existence when there is a Niyyah. Actions come into existence only when the intention is there. So we have to make the Niyyah, we have to make the intention.

Timing of the Intention (Niyyah)

This intention is necessary for the major portion of the day if the day is already specified by Allah for fasting — meaning the month of Ramadan, whose days are already specified for fasting. So if a person unfortunately sleeps late and gets up before midday and makes the intention that he is fasting today, then he has still saved his fast — his fast will be valid.

But if a person is fasting on such a day which is not specified by Allah — for example, a person is making up a fast, which is called a Qada fast. If you miss a fast in the month of Ramadan due to a valid excuse, you can make it up any other day of the year. So a person was traveling or was sick during the month of Ramadan, or a woman was in her days of impurity during the month of Ramadan, and now she has to make up that fast afterwards.

She will not choose the first of Shawwal. Why? Because the first of Shawwal is Eid al-Fitr, and it is haram — prohibited and forbidden — by Rasulullah ﷺ to fast on five days of the year. Those five days are: Eid al-Fitr, which is the first of Shawwal; and the remaining four days are in Dhul Hijjah — the tenth of Dhul Hijjah, which is Eid al-Adha, and then the immediately succeeding three days: the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth. These are known as Ayyam al-Tashreeq, the days when we recite the Takbeer after Salah:

So on these days, it is actually prohibited and forbidden. As Rasulullah ﷺ said: لَا تَصُومُوا فِي هَذِهِ الأَيَّامِ، إِنَّهَا أَيَّامُ أَكْلٍ وَشُرْبٍ وَبِعَالٍ — Do not fast on these days. So that is what Islam means — Islam means submitting to the will of Allah. When He has prohibited us to fast, then fasting on that day would become a sin. A person is actually fasting, making the Niyyah — such a great form of ibadah — but he will incur sin because he fasted on a day that was prohibited.

So, say on the tenth of Shawwal, a person is making up a Qada fast from Ramadan. This day was not already specified by the Shari'ah for making up Qada. He is choosing to do that on his own accord. Therefore, the intention has to be made before the day starts — meaning from the night, before Subh Sadiq, before dawn, before the Fajr time on the timetable. A person should make the intention. Preferably eat Suhur, which is the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ:

Do eat Suhur, for in Suhur there is barakah — there will be strength for your fast. But even if he does not eat the pre-dawn meal, the intention is a must. A person cannot wake up on a Sunday at 11 or 12 o'clock and say, you know what, half the day is already gone, so let me just fast a Qada fast. That will not work, because this day was not set aside for a Qada fast.

This is not a recommended course of action, but at the same time we have to mention that it would be permissible in Ramadan. Why? Because Ramadan was already set by Allah for fasting. So therefore, if a day is set aside by Allah or by the slave — how can a day be set aside by a slave? If a slave of Allah makes another al-mu'ayyan, a specified vow, and says: since I passed my exam, or since my child regained health, or since I got a promotion at work — whatever good he is enjoying — he makes a vow to Allah that I make this nathar. In Arabic it is known as nathar, in Urdu it is called mannat, and in English it is called taking a vow. If he takes a vow — and that is a promise and a pledge to Allah — that he will fast on the 10th of Muharram, he has now specified this by himself. So on the 10th of Muharram, if on the 9th he forgets about it and doesn't make the intention, but on the 10th of Muharram he does not eat or drink anything and he remembers before midday, and makes the intention — that is still sufficient. Why? Because this day was already specified and demarcated by himself for fasting. So therefore the intention is sufficient if it is made before the majority of the day has passed. But for a Nafl fast on any day, the intention must be made from the night.

أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ — Just a Few Counted Days

So Allah says, كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ — this fasting, as has been described, has been made obligatory upon you. Now a person might become very scared and say, how will I be able to fulfill this huge order of Allah? It sounds very difficult to abstain from eating and drinking — these are things that we do constantly all the time. How will I manage?

So Allah makes it easy for us and says, relax, it will not be that difficult. He says:

Like it had been prescribed upon those people prior to you. The scholars of Tafsir say: الْبَلَاءُ إِذَا عَمَّ خَفَّ — when even a very great disaster or calamity befalls upon a lot of people, and the entire population is affected, then it becomes easier to bear. So if there is a hurricane that came and destroyed a whole section of the city — like Hurricane Katrina came and the whole city of New Orleans was devastated — a person lost his entire life savings, his house, all his personal articles, everything is gone. It is such a tremendous loss, and he is suffering greatly. But then he looks down the street and all of his neighbors have also lost completely everything — in the entire block, in the entire neighborhood, in the entire quarter of the city or the whole city itself. So psychologically it becomes easier for the person to bear, because he says, I am not alone, I am not the only one who has undergone this great loss.

On the other hand, if there was a very small tornado that was very localized and came as a precision strike — just one home it completely destroyed, while the homes immediately to the right and left and everyone around remained safe and sound — so when he looks around, everyone is safe and happy and enjoying life as normal, while he alone has lost everything. It will be far more difficult for that person to bear.

So this is how our psychology works. Allah is saying: if you think this is a great difficult command, if you think this is something very hard to accomplish, don't worry. كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ — many people prior to you also faced this obligation and they were successful, they made it. If they survived, then you will also survive, insha'Allah.

The Reward: لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

Then after that He says, لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ — so that you may obtain taqwa. This is giving you the carrot, the fadilah, the virtue. And this is one of the styles adopted by Allah in the Quran — that whenever He gives a commandment, He also gives the virtue as well. Why does Allah mention the virtues? Whenever He invites towards a command, He also tells us what we will get. This is one of the uslub of da'wah, one of the styles of da'wah.

Say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — Rasulullah ﷺ would say. Why? تُفْلِحُونَ — that you will be successful. حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ in the adhan is followed by حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ — come towards Salah. Why should I come towards Salah? What will I get? حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ — you will get success. And the adhan is a da'wah tammah — a complete form of da'wah. So we learn from that. So over here, if Allah is saying fasting is prescribed upon you, then what will I get? لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ — you will obtain taqwa.

What is taqwa?

So taqwa is fearing Allah and preparing for the hereafter and practicing upon the Quran and developing the consciousness of Allah. So Allah is present now, and is present in Ramadan, and is present outside of Ramadan with all His sifat, with all His attributes. Allah is ever watchful — He is Khabir, all-aware; He is Samee' and Baseer, all-hearing and all-seeing; He is 'Alim, all-knowing. And these are His attributes outside of Ramadan and these are His attributes within Ramadan. His attributes do not change, do not increase, do not decrease.

But what happens is that our perception and realization of those attributes does increase and decrease. The level of our iman and yaqeen on the dhat of Allah and the sifat of Allah does increase and decrease. And it does increase in the month of Ramadan. We forget that Allah is watching us — He is Raqib.

Does he not realize that Allah is watching him?

Verily, your Lord is very closely watching you. Al-mirsad is like the hunter who is lying in ambush and waiting for his prey — in the jungle, very still, lying in the tree, with his gun pointed, waiting for the deer to come closer so that he can strike. How much is he focused on that deer? His 100% attention is on that deer. And he is not going to move, because if he moves, the deer will hear the hunter and run away. So this is the meaning of إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ — He is completely watching over you all the time. This mirsad is in Ramadan, outside Ramadan, all the time — He is watching us very, very closely. But what happens is we tend to forget. We are oblivious. We are in a state of ghaflah — we completely forget. That is why we disobey Him left and right. If we knew He was watching us, then we would be mindful about disobeying Him.

مَوْلَاكَ لَا يَرَاكَ حَيْثُمَا هَكَ — We would have haya' in front of Allah. We would not like that Allah sees us in a condition where we are disobeying Him. But in the month of Ramadan this level of taqwa increases.

Because at the end of the day, there are many times when you will not eat or drink because people are watching you — because of societal pressure, because you are supposed to be fasting. And at the same time, there are many occasions throughout the day when you will not be eating or drinking when no one is watching you. There are no Muslims watching you, there may be no non-Muslims watching you, there are no adults watching you, there are no children watching you. There is no one who will report you. But you will not drink.

Why in the world are you not drinking when you are so thirsty? So this is something we take for granted — yeah, obviously I'm fasting so I'm not going to drink. But if you think about it for a few moments a little bit deeply, it is very significant. The action of not drinking when we are so, so thirsty, it is the summer months of June and July, and no one is watching us — so who really cares? Why in the world do you care? Why are you not obeying your thirst and quenching your thirst?

So this is something that we tend to have but we don't realize what we have. This is iman. This is the iman that we have in our hearts. And that iman is manifested and becoming zahir and apparent in our not fulfilling our thirst — our basic natural instinct to go and quench our thirst. The reason we are not doing it is only and solely because Allah is watching us. So this concept that Allah is watching us is further reinforced and strengthened in our hearts and minds in the madrasah of Allah.

That is what He is saying, لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ — the only reason in the world we are not drinking is because Allah is watching us. This becomes very, very strongly embedded in our hearts and minds. And if Allah is watching us, and that is why we are abstaining from that which is halal throughout the day of Ramadan, then why do we not extend that and abstain from that which is haram throughout the year? Because now we are becoming more conscious of Allah. By the end of Ramadan, our level of taqwa will increase. Because these are the words of Allah:

Who can be more truthful than Allah?

وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ — And the final best ending is for those who have taqwa. Taqwa is the greatest commandment of Allah, and all success is for those who have taqwa. And I will get taqwa through fasting. What a great reward.

أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ — Concessions and Exemptions

But I'm still scared. I don't know if I'll be able to make it. So Allah says after that:

He doesn't say 30 days. He doesn't say 29 days. He says مَعْدُودَاتٍ — عَدَّ يَعُدُّ means to count. So مَعْدُودٌ means that which can be counted. أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ means few days that can be counted. So the style of using this word indicates that Allah is trying to emphasize the fact that it's just a few days. He didn't give us the objective quantity of 29 days or 30 days. Why? Because He was trying to emphasize that it's just a few days — أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ — few days you can count them.

Then if somebody still says, okay, but what if I'm sick? What if I'm very sick and I can't fast? What if I'm traveling through the desert on my camel — not in air-conditioned airplanes, but in the very difficult environments of the past? So Allah says, don't worry:

Whoever amongst you may be sick or is traveling, then you can make it up with other days afterwards. So this is the rukhsah — the exemption from Allah — that you can make it up afterwards if you are sick. If the sickness is temporary and it is hoped that you will regain health afterwards, then you do not fast in the month of Ramadan. You may be heavily pregnant, you may be a nursing mother, you may be a sick person — you can wait until you feel better and make it up after Ramadan.

The Fidyah — Monetary Compensation for the Terminally Ill

Then somebody says: the nature of my sickness is a terminal illness. I can never hope to regain health. I am Shaykh al-Fani — the one who is on his deathbed, very, very sick, cannot get up, and unless there is some miracle from Allah, he is going to become worse and worse and not be able to make up the fast afterwards. What does he do? Then Allah says, don't worry:

The one who has a terminal illness and cannot make up his fast afterwards can resort to monetary compensation. For every single day of fast that he will miss, he will give one Sadaqat al-Fitr amount — which is approximately five to seven dollars — in Sadaqah to a needy person.

Note: we love to jump to the monetary compensation so we don't have any physical exertion. This monetary compensation of Fidyah is limited to the one who cannot make up the fast, neither now nor later. If a person has a mild cold or sickness and says he is not going to fast and will just give money — even if he doubles the Fidyah, triples the Fidyah — no, that's not the case. You cannot do that.

You can only resort to monetary compensation when you are not able to give the actual physical fast, which is mandatory. It is like if you borrow somebody's car while he went for Umrah for three weeks. After he comes back from Umrah, you say, I'll just give you the blue book value of the car because I like it so much. He'll say, what are you talking about? I need my car back. You have the car. You cannot give the value of the car — if the car was stolen or completely destroyed, then you give the value. Only when you cannot give the actual car do you give the value instead. But if you still have the car, you have to give the car back.

So likewise, if a person can make up the fast, then he should make up the fast. This is a very common, frequently asked question. I'm sick — how much money do I need to pay? You don't need to pay any money. What you need to do is make up the actual fast. It's only for those who have terminal illnesses and permanent sicknesses, and they are not able to make up the fast, that they can give the compensation.

وَأَن تَصُومُوا خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ — Fasting is Better for You

Allah keeps on going:

And if you will fast, it will be very, very good for you — if you but knew. إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ — if you but knew what are the benefits, then you would jump on the occasion of fasting. You would be looking forward to it, you'd be so excited — all the benefits, physical benefits, spiritual benefits, that you will receive from fasting.

May Allah allow us to fully reap all the benefits of the month of Ramadan that is approaching upon us.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ