Importance of Fasting - Mufti Minhajuddin | Islamic Reminder | Jummah Khutbah

Importance of Fasting

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the Master of the Messengers and the Seal of the Prophets, and upon his pure and good people, and upon those who follow them with good till the Day of Recompense.

As for what follows, Allah, the Exalted, said in His decisive revelation, after we seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan:

O you who have believed! Fasting has been decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, so that you may fear Allah. For a few days. And whoever of you is sick or on a journey, then a number of other days. And for those who are unable to fast, a ransom for the poor. And whoever volunteers good, it is good for him. And that you fast is good for you, if you only knew.

SadaqAllahul Azeem. My dear respected brothers and elders, respected sisters and youngsters, As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Fasting: An Obligation Upon the Believers

Allah, the Exalted, says, O you who have believed, O those who believe. Allah, the Exalted, is addressing the believers. And He says, Fasting has been prescribed upon you. Allah, the Exalted, has made this an obligation upon us as believers. And in case we become scared — how are we going to be able to fulfill this order of Allah, the Exalted? It seems very difficult. Allah, the Exalted, says, Do not worry. It was prescribed on people prior to you as well. The previous nations, they were also commanded by Allah, the Exalted, to fast. And if they could fast, then you could fast. This is to create encouragement for us, not to be overwhelmed by this order of Allah, the Exalted.

And then Allah, the Exalted, says, What is the benefit you are going to get? What is in it for you? To motivate us, Allah, the Exalted, says: So that you will obtain Taqwa. And Taqwa is the key to salvation. Taqwa is the key to happiness in this life and the hereafter. Allah, the Exalted, says, And the best ending and the complete success is for those who have Taqwa. Fasting will create Taqwa within you.

The Meaning of Taqwa

Ali described Taqwa as: Number one is Al-Khawfu min al-Jaleel — to have the fear of accountability from Allah, the Exalted. To have the sense that Allah, the Exalted, is watching me. Allah is with me. He is watching me. He sees what I am doing. He hears what I am saying. He hears what you are saying. He knows what you are doing. To have this sense — this sense of the presence and awareness of Allah, the Exalted, at all times — this is known as Taqwa.

Does he not know that Allah is watching? Allah, the Exalted, asks this question. Do you not know that Allah is watching over you? And whatever you are keeping as a secret — and that which is not even uttered as a secret to your best friend, it is kept within your heart — He is the one who knows that. He is the one who has complete knowledge of the thoughts that even cross your minds and your hearts. Your aspirations, your hopes, your dreams, your thoughts, your imaginations, your fantasies. He is fully aware of all of that.

This is the meaning of fear of Allah, the Exalted. It does not mean that a person is afraid, that he is shivering in a closet, and he cannot move because he is afraid of Allah. But rather, he is aware and he is conscious that every action that he does, he will have to give an account for it on the Day of Judgment. On a great day. The day that all mankind has to stand in front of Allah, the Exalted. That day you will be presented in the court of Allah. You cannot hide. There is nothing that will allow you to hide from Allah, the Exalted. So this sense of awareness of Allah at all times is created from fasting.

How Fasting Cultivates Taqwa

Because at all times — whether people are watching us or people are not watching us, whether people see us or they do not see us — we still do not violate the fast. We do not eat and drink. Why do we not eat and drink when we are hungry, we are thirsty, it is hot, it is summer, it is long hours, and we are habitually used to drinking and eating throughout the day? But there is some force that is preventing us. And there is a reason why all of the law-abiding loyal servants of Allah, the Exalted, from the Muslim Ummah throughout the world, we abstain from eating and drinking throughout the day — from the dawn till sunset.

Why are we doing this? No one is there to see us. We are not worried about what people say. It is because we know, and we are through our actions emphasizing this reality: that we believe that Allah, the Exalted, is watching us. So this same concept that we have — that we cannot disobey Allah, we cannot eat and drink when He has prohibited us — we have to take this same concept to all other aspects of our lives. Our existence should be such that our Allah does not see us in such a condition that He has forbidden us to be in that condition. This is the true meaning of haya from Allah, the Exalted.

One is that you have haya from other people — what people are going to say. One is that we have haya from Allah, the Exalted — that what is Allah going to say on the Day of Qiyamah, when He takes us to account? When He is the Malik, the Master of the Day of Judgment, when He resurrects us and takes us to account, how will I face Allah, the Exalted? This has to become a living reality for us. And that is the training that occurs during the month of Ramadan. When we are actively reminding ourselves at every moment of the day that Allah is watching us — that is why we are not giving in to our base desires and our needs, in fact. But rather, we are remaining hungry and thirsty only for the sake of Allah, the Exalted.

The Unique Reward of Fasting — A Hadith Qudsi

And that is why Allah, the Exalted, says through the tongue of His Messenger, peace be upon him, in the Hadith Qudsi:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1904; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1151)

Fasting is for Me only, and I Myself will give the reward for it. This is a unique ibadah. Sajdah is done for Allah, of course, but it was also done to ghairullah — to other than Allah. The asnam and the idols — the false idols of the Quraysh of Mecca, and the Hindus and other mushrikun of today — they make sajdah to other than Allah, to false idols. And people even had a false hajj, and people give sadaqa and charity — other forms of ibadah are done for other than Allah. But fasting, in this manner, is a unique ibadah, only done for the sake of Allah. No one from any other religion fasts the way the Muslims do.

Yes, there are other so-called fasts, and fasts that have changed over time — from the past, from the time of the Nasara and the Yahud — and they have evolved over time, and they have different types of fasting nowadays. But the original fast, this was prescribed only for Allah. That is why Rasulullah says in the Hadith Qudsi: Al-sawmu li — fasting is for Me, for Allah — wa ana adzi bihi — and I will give the reward.

The Concessions Allah Has Granted

La'allakum tattaqun — fasting will create Taqwa. In case a person is still afraid — how will I be able to do this? — Allah says: Ayyaman ma'dudat — few days that you can count. You can count them and it will be over, don't worry, relax.

Then if someone asks, what if I'm sick, or what if I'm traveling, and it becomes difficult for me to fast? Allah says: Faman kana minkum mareedan aw ala safar — whoever is sick or is traveling, don't worry — fa'iddatun min ayyamin ukhar — you can make it up on other days, outside of Ramadan. You have an exemption from Allah.

What if someone says, I'm so sick that I do not hope for any recovery — because I'm terminally ill, or I'm on my deathbed, I'm 95 years old — and if I don't fast now, you're telling me to make it up later? Chances are I'm not going to improve; my condition is going to further deteriorate until death. Then Allah says: Wa ala alladhina yutiqunahu fidyatun ta'amu miskeen — that those who do not even have the ability to do it at all, then they can give the fidya, the monetary compensation, of one sadaqatul fitr amount per day. Whoever gives voluntary extra for the sake of Allah, this is good for him. The bottom line Allah says is: if you fast, this is better for you, this is good for you, if you but knew.

The Missing Ingredient: Taqwa in Our Lives

May Allah accept our fast in this month of Ramadan. May Allah make it a means for us to inculcate Taqwa in our lives. Because this is what we are missing. We have made an effort in acquiring all of our worldly needs, and we are engaged in that. But what is the missing ingredient in our life? That is why we do not have that comfort, and we do not have the peace of mind. We do not have that happiness that we are all striving to achieve. And we have not fulfilled the purpose of our existence — it's because we have lost that Taqwa.

Once we have Taqwa in our life, Allah will give us that special relationship with Him. That our worldly life itself will become truly enjoyable, and we will have that communion with Allah. We will have that link with Allah. We will have that halawa and sweetness of iman, sweetness of ibadah, sweetness of worshipping Allah. That sweetness in remembering Him, taking His name. This is the only way our hearts can find contentment.

Allah says:

It is in the remembrance of Allah that the hearts find contentment. May Allah allow us to reach that contentment in this worldly life, and truly become among the muttaqeen — among those who are God-fearing, those who have Taqwa in this worldly life — and gain that by the end of Ramadan, inshallah.