The 10 Objectives of Fasting in Islam | Jumuah Khutbah | Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi

Opening Du'a and Introduction

May the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you. All praise is due to Allah. He alone is worthy of all praise. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and the consequences of our actions. Whomever Allah guides can never be misguided. And whoever is misguided cannot be guided except by Him. I bear witness and I testify that there is no God other than Allah. And I bear witness and I testify that the Prophet Muhammad is his final Prophet and his most perfect worshipper.

As to what follows, know that Allah has reminded us to be conscious of Him in the Quran when He says:

The Purpose of Our Creation

Dear Muslims, Allah has created us for one primary purpose:

"I have only created men and jinn in order that they worship Me." The worship of Allah is the purpose of why I am here and you are here. The reason for our existence, the reason for the creation of all the heavens and earth is the worship of Allah.

And there are many ways to worship Allah. As we know, even being kind is worshipping Allah, smiling is worshipping Allah. But the highest category of worship are the rituals that Allah has legislated for those who believe in Him. As the hadith Qudsi says, the Prophet ﷺ said that Allah says: "O My servants, nothing will draw you closer to Me than you fulfilling the rituals I have prescribed upon you." Nothing will draw you closer to Allah than by fulfilling the fara'id that Allah has legislated.

That is because the other good deeds that we do - being good to your mother, showing kindness to the orphan - the reality is that these are also human traits. And when we do them, we feel good and we get something back as well. It's our family, it's our friends. The rituals are something that are done purely to venerate Allah, to worship Allah.

Categories of Rituals

And rituals are of two categories. Number one, the rituals that involve action. Number two, the ritual that involves money. So the action ritual is like the salah. You act, you do something. The money ritual is like zakah. You give money for the sake of Allah. And some of them combine between the two like hajj. Hajj is both action and money.

The Unique Nature of Fasting

And the action of worship that we will now all be involved with in a few days insha'Allah - the action of sawm. It is one of the rituals that Allah has legislated that deals with the body, that deals with actions. But even actions are of two categories. The rituals of actions can further be subdivided into two. Number one, the actions in which you do something. Number two, the actions in which you abstain from doing something.

The actions with which you do something - the salah, you stand up. You go into ruku'. You do the wudu'. And number two, the actions that Allah will reward you for not doing something. And that is sawm. Sawm is the only obligatory ritual in which you are rewarded for basically not doing anything. You're not supposed to do something. And that is where your reward will come. In that sense, it is a unique ritual. The likes of which no other ritual manifests.

And this ritual, Allah legislated it as soon as the Prophet ﷺ migrated from Mecca to Medina. It was legislated in the first year of the hijrah. As soon as Muslims were safe from persecution. They weren't being killed for their religion. The first ritual that Allah legislated in Medina - salah was legislated in Mecca as you know - the first ritual that was legislated in the first year of Medina, the first year of hijrah was the ritual of siyam. And that is why from that revelation of surah Baqarah onwards, every single year the Muslims engaged in siyam.

The Blessed Hadith About Fasting

My dear brothers and sisters, much has been said about the blessings of siyam. And Allah has insha'Allah blessed us to be alive for one more month of Ramadan. Today, I want to remind ourselves. Today, I want to refresh our spiritual memory of going over the list of 10 primary goals of why Allah has legislated fasting. 10 primary goals of why fasting is done. What is to be achieved by fasting.

When we keep the goals in mind. When we know why we are doing something. Not only will it motivate us better. Rather, it will help us to achieve those goals. When you know why, you will do the job better. And you will also easier to achieve the why of this ibadat.

And I begin by quoting the famous hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. In which he says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

"Fasting is a shield, junnah. It is a protection. So make sure that you do not commit any sin. Nor act in ignorance, jahalah. And if somebody comes to you, arguing, cursing, showing bad manners. Then say back to them, اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي صَائِمٌ. Say back to them, 'I am fasting.' And do not lower yourself to respond in kind."

Then the Prophet ﷺ said: "Know that the odor that comes from the mouth of a fasting person - you know when you fast, you're not eating. So the stomach gives an odor that's not that pleasant - know that that odor is more beloved to Allah than your most beautiful misk and perfume. Allah loves that dedication, the fatigue that is being demonstrated more than you love your best perfume."

That is because Allah says, hadith becomes hadith Qudsi. That is because Allah says: "Look at these servants of mine. They have left their eating and their drinking and their desires for My sake. They have left..." - what did I say about sawm? It is leaving. Sawm is about not doing something. "They have left eating and drinking and their desires for My sake. Therefore Allah says, الصَّوْمُ لِي وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ. Fasting belongs to Me. And only I will be able to give the reward that is due unto them."

Fasting, its rewards are not calculation based. Everything else is a rough calculation. You read one ayah, the Prophet ﷺ said, you will get at least 10 ayat reward. You do one good deed, you give one dollar in charity. The Quran says, depending on your niyyah, your circumstances, you will get the reward of between 10 to 700 dollars. This is what Allah says in the Quran. That is up to 700. One dollar, one coin. If you are truly sincere and Allah knows your niyyah and you needed that and you gave it to the fuqara, it is possible you will get 700 times the response.

As for sawm, there is no equation. There is no simple mathematics. Allah says, fasting is Mine. To honor fasting, He directly linked it to Himself. And He said, only I can give the rewards to the one who has fasted.

The 10 Goals of Fasting

So, let us go over 10 basic goals of fasting.

Goal #1: Controlling the Self and Soul - The Goal of Sabr

The first of them, explicitly I mentioned it. That is the goal of controlling the self and the soul. The goal of sabr. What fasting does, it teaches you how to restrain yourself, how to control yourself, how to control everything that needs to be controlled. When you demonstrate to yourself that I can give up eating and drinking because Allah wants me to give it up. Then how can you not give up the haram for Allah's sake? How can you not give up haram foods, haram drinks? How can you not give up haram contracts?

When you are giving up the halal food, the halal drink that you need. Ramadan should teach you, if I'm strong enough to give up the halal for the sake of Allah, for sure I am strong enough to give up the haram for the sake of Allah. And so Ramadan will help you aspire to control that which needs to be controlled. That's why our Prophet ﷺ said, Ramadan is the month of sabr. You go to the gymnasium of sabr. You work out your sabr muscles in Ramadan. That is the first goal.

Goal #2: Perfecting Your Anger and Manners

The second goal, the goal of perfecting your anger and your manners. Again, explicitly mentioned by the Prophet ﷺ, that when you are fasting, even if somebody accosts you, is rude to you, shouts at you, you need to remind yourself, I'm fasting, I'm fasting. So the goal of Ramadan is to work on your manners with other people. The goal of Ramadan is to control your tongue, to control your anger, to eliminate the bad akhlaq that you might have outside of the month. This is an explicit goal of Ramadan.

Goal #3: Charity and Sadaqah

Number three of the goals of Ramadan is the goal of charity, sadaqah. As we know from the seerah, from the books of hadith, as Anas ibn Malik said, the Prophet ﷺ was the most generous of all of mankind. And he was the most generous out of all, especially in the month of Ramadan. His generosity was so much, I don't have words to describe it. It was like the wind that blows and affects everybody. When the wind comes, the whole city feels it. So the Prophet ﷺ's generosity was such in the month of Ramadan, everybody felt his generosity.

So of the goals of Ramadan is to be charitable. And may I advise myself and all of you that you give your zakat and your maximum sadaqah in Ramadan. And that you give it in various stages. Give, if not every day, every few days give to charitable causes. And distribute your zakat and your sadaqah in this month in ways you have never done outside of this month. It is one of the explicit goals of the month of Ramadan.

And zakat and sadaqah can and should be given to multiple causes. Give to your family and friends who need. Send back home to those who need. Give to various causes around the world. We will have causes that will come to our masajid as well. There are causes you are aware of as well. Diversify your charity so that Allah accepts all of these from you. This is of the goals of Ramadan.

Goal #4: Reading the Quran

The fourth goal of Ramadan explicitly mentioned. All of these are by the way explicitly in the Quran and Sunnah. The fourth goal of Ramadan is the goal of reading the Quran:

From the beginning of time, the Quran and Ramadan have been associated together. Allah chose the month of Ramadan to reveal the Quran. Allah chose Laylatul Qadr to start the revelation of the Quran. Allah chose to send Jibreel down. Ghar-e-Hira took place in the month of Ramadan. Iqra began in the month of Ramadan.

And hence, when Allah legislated the fasting of Ramadan, the Prophet ﷺ began reciting the Quran in Ramadan. He himself tells us that Jibreel would come to him every single day of Ramadan. And the Prophet ﷺ would recite the Quran to Jibreel and he would listen to Jibreel recite the Quran back to him. From this we get our habit and custom of doing a khatm of the Quran. The Prophet ﷺ himself established it with Jibreel. The khatm was done between the two most noble, the most noble human and the most noble angel. And the two would recite to each other.

And then he said to our mother Aisha, this year, O Aisha, Jibreel insisted I do it twice. So I feel this is my last year. And it was his last year.

So the khatm of the Quran is something we should aspire to do. And if for some reason you cannot recite one juz a day, do not give up and recite whatever you can every day. If you cannot finish a whole Quran, at least aim to finish 10 juz, 15 juz, 20 juz. And you know what, try, and you might end up finishing the whole juz. Try and the last 10 increase and end up finishing. But continuity, habit, regularity, do not let a single day of Ramadan go by except that you open the book of Allah and recite something extra that you did not recite before the month.

You are not fasting, you are not eating, you are not drinking, you have lunch time, you have breakfast time. So now instead of all of that, spend some extra time with the book of Allah. This is of the goals of Ramadan.

Goal #5: Du'a and Dhikr

Number 5 of the goals of Ramadan. And again explicit in the Quran and Sunnah. Number 5 is the goal of du'a and dhikr. The goal of du'a and dhikr.

The Month of Dua

Allah says in the context of Ramadan:

In the verse about Ramadan, the very next verse, Allah says, tell my servants, when they ask you where I am, say to them, I am قَرِيبٌ to all of you. And I will reply to the dua of everyone who makes dua when they make dua. Allah linked dua with Ramadan. So Ramadan is the month of duas. Every single day, especially at the time of iftar. The Prophet said, the one who's fasting shall have his dua accepted at the time of iftar. Especially at that time, when you're about to sit down, you have all of the food in front of you. At that point in time, raise your hands to Allah and concentrate on that dua. It is one of the most blessed times of dua.

So Ramadan is meant for dua. Increase your duas in Ramadan. Make dua for the betterment of this world and the next. Make dua for your family and children. Make dua for the ummah. Make dua for clean hearts. Make dua every day. Make a new dua because Ramadan is the month of dua.

Night Prayer and Qiyam

Another goal of Ramadan is the goal of tahajjud and qiyam al-layl. And once again, established from the seerah, from the sunnah, the Prophet would never spend any night in prayer in totality, except the last 10 of Ramadan. No night he spent praying the whole night. He would pray and sleep, pray and sleep, except the last 10 of Ramadan. The only time he would stand in salah non-stop and then only sleep after fajr would be the last 10. And the first 20, he would pray extra tahajjud, extra long qiyam. We now call this salatu taraweeh. But the origin is the Prophet praying long tahajjud in every single night of Ramadan. And in the last year before he passed away, the people began to pray behind him, and that praying behind him is what we still do, and we call it salatu taraweeh.

But the concept, if you cannot pray taraweeh in the masjid, pray something extra at home. Pray every single night, something that you didn't do outside of the month. If you don't pray qiyam at all, in Ramadan pray qiyam every night. If you pray some qiyam outside of Ramadan, in Ramadan you have to increase the quality and quantity. Ramadan must be given extra time when it comes to qiyam, when it comes to tahajjud. This is one of the goals of Ramadan. And that's why we are told, whoever prays qiyam every night of Ramadan shall have all of his sins forgiven.

What an easy task. Every night, if you can come to the masjid, excellent. If you cannot come, still pray at home. You can open up the Quran, it's nafil prayer. You can hold it in your hand, it's nafil, it's allowed to do that. In fard you shouldn't, in nafil you can hold it in your hand. And you can read directly from the mushaf, and read something extra. You can combine your Quran and your tahajjud in one action. And you can stand 30 minutes, 50 minutes, an hour and a half. But consistently, every single night, make it your goal that, I will stand in qiyam, so that I will attain the blessings of having done this in Ramadan.

Brotherhood and Community

The seventh goal of fasting, the seventh goal of Ramadan. The seventh goal, which is something that has been associated with Ramadan from the beginning of time, is the goal of brotherhood. And sisterhood, meeting the ummah, being a part of society. There are so many people, unfortunately they don't have a regular meeting with the ummah coming to the masjid. But in Ramadan, subhanAllah, the ummah meets one another. And yes, to have iftar events, it is good, but be careful you don't go to israf, don't be ultra spending. It is good to be generous to family and friends. It is good to invite, but be careful, the ummah is suffering a lot. So do not be extravagant in these iftar events, and do it for the right reasons, and do it so that you help others to establish the ties of Muslim-Islamic brotherhood. So being a part of the ummah, showing brotherhood and sisterhood, this is a part of the goals of Ramadan. And we all know when Ramadan finishes, one of the emptiness we feel is the society is no longer interacting as it used to. We lose the brotherhood that we had in Ramadan.

Attachment to the Masjid

This leads me to my eighth point, along with brotherhood, frequently coming to the masjid, attaching your heart to the masjid. We thank Allah, we thank Allah, that around the Muslim world, in Ramadan, masajid are packed to capacity, from Alaska all the way to the far east, from Norway all the way to South Africa, every single masjid is packed, brimmed to the capacity. We thank Allah, because it shows the ummah is alive, it shows the heart is beating, it shows there is religiosity.

So in Ramadan, try your best to pray in the masjid. And I will say something, perhaps you might find it controversial, but it is the truth wallahi. For you to pray the two rakat of fajr in the masjid is more beloved to Allah than for you to pray the entire taraweeh in the masjid. Fajr in the masjid is more beloved to Allah than taraweeh. Taraweeh is a sunnah prayer. It's good to pray. If you pray in the masjid, good. If you cannot, if you have to leave after isha and pray at your home, that is also fine. But praying fajr and praying isha in the masjid, especially in Ramadan, it brings about a different level of barakah. So masjid attendance should increase. Sacrifice some of your sleep and some of your time to try to pray in the masjid.

The Ultimate Goal: Taqwa

The ninth goal of Ramadan, all of these put together, what happens?

All of these aspects merge together to form the ninth goal. And that is the taqwa of Allah. The ultimate fasting goal, which is explicit in the Quran. The ultimate goal, I want you to achieve God consciousness. Be conscious of Allah. Be aware of Allah. Your spirituality has to increase. And if you understand all of these eight goals, automatically the ninth goal will happen. The ninth goal is the fruit of the eight before it. The ninth goal is an inevitable reality. When you do all of the eight, automatically your taqwa will come. You will be conscious of Allah. You will be aware of Allah. You will be monitoring your thoughts, your deeds, your actions, your tongue. And that is the essence of taqwa.

The Final Goal: Divine Cleansing and Jannah

And then, what is then the final goal? What is then the ultimate goal? The ultimate goal of Ramadan, the gift of Ramadan. That gift which only our ummah has been given is the gift of attaining absolute cleansing of the sins and attaining Allah's rewards and certificates of Jannah while we are on earth. In other words, Ramadan is a divine gift that simultaneously accomplishes two things. Number one, if we do it properly, it is a guarantee to cleanse all of our sins before that year. When Ramadan ends, it is as if we are brand new. And Allah has given us many opportunities.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 38)

If you fast Ramadan correctly, all your sins are forgiven. If you stand in tahajjud every night, all of your sins are forgiven. And if you make a special effort for Laylatul Qadr, all of your sins are forgiven. So we have the guarantee of all sins being forgiven. Not only this, but if we do Ramadan properly, Allah guarantees we will be saved from punishment and be allowed to enter Jannah. Jannah's doors are opened and anybody who strives to get there shall be written amongst the people of Jannah in Ramadan. This is the highest goal. There is no goal higher than this. You shall attain Ramadan fastings and actions will allow you to attain the highest goal of Jannah. These are the 10 goals of Ramadan.

Make This Your Best Ramadan

Dear brothers and sisters, Allah has blessed us to inshaAllah attend yet another Ramadan. But for some amongst us, this will be our last Ramadan. We don't know who those will be. Last year we had people amongst us who are no longer here. Last year we had family and friends who attended Ramadan with us and we prayed janazah over them in the last 11 months. Throughout the next 11 months the same is going to happen. Allah knows who they will be. For some amongst us, maybe me, maybe one of you, this might be our last Ramadan.

So make it your niyyah to make it your best Ramadan. Make it your niyyah that this is going to be the best Ramadan of my life. And every time Allah gives you Ramadan again, make it your niyyah again. And every time Allah gives you another, make it your niyyah. Why? Because one of those years, that Ramadan will be your last Ramadan. And if you followed these 10 goals, and if you attempted to raise the bar, then guess what? The year that Allah has chosen you die. If you truly made that year the best Ramadan, then subhanAllah, خِتَامُهُ مِسكٌ, you have ended your life with the best Ramadan you've ever had. And with that inshaAllah, you will guarantee Jannah.

So make this Ramadan the best Ramadan. Make this Ramadan the Ramadan all of these 10 goals will be accomplished in your life. And if and when you do so, Allah will open up the doors of Jannah for you, will shut the doors of Jahannam for you, and will write you amongst the righteous and the pious. May Allah bless me and you within the Quran. And may He make us of those who His verses they understand, and applies halal and haram throughout our lifespan. Ask Allah's forgiveness, you as well ask Him for He is the Ghafoor and the Rahman.

Remaining Engaged in the World

Alhamdulillah, all praise is due to Allah, the One and the Unique. It is He whom we worship, and it is His blessings that we seek. He is the Lord of the oppressed, and He hears the prayer of the weak.

As to what follows, even though it is Ramadan, the world around us still continues. And just because we are fasting and worshiping Allah, it doesn't mean that we stop being involved in the world around us. We have to combine between ibadah and between activism. And my dear brothers and sisters, you should all be aware that for some reason, our community and our masjid has been the subject of vicious slanders and attacks from multiple segments of our public society, from the far right, from social media, and from our own governor, and from our own elected officials.

And two days ago, it is sad to inform you this, but some of you are aware, even in congress, our masjid was mentioned by name, and our scholars that are here were slandered by name, and snippets were taken out of context, and adjectives were used to describe you and this masjid as being not American, and not this, and not that. My dear brothers and sisters, the attack is getting very near, very personal. The first time an actual masjid is mentioned by congress, and called whatever they called it. لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ. And it went, there was a challenge there, but nobody from our community obviously was there, this is in DC.

My point to bring this up is very simple. While we are a 501C3, we cannot specifically mention candidates and who to vote for, what I can say legally, ethically, morally, Islamically. What I can and what I will say, some of those people were elected congressmen from Texas, from the greater Dallas area. One of them said, in my own backyard there is a radical mosque known as Epic. One of them said, in my own backyard. And I say, if we are in your backyard, why don't you have the guts to come and talk to us directly. Come to our mosque and speak and engage with us. You claim to represent us, and yet you don't even come to our mosque. You slander and lie, blatantly on TV in congress, and we are right here.

Oh Muslims, these politicians, they are paid by our tax dollars. They are supposed to be representing us. And if we are really Americans, then I urge every American in this audience to register to vote. To make sure the people that we elect actually represent us.

Civic Engagement and Political Awareness

How dare a politician that takes our own money and our own taxes, goes and slanders us. And the Muslim community in this country, in this city, isn't even aware. And they are still not even involved in the voting process. Our community needs to be involved so that the people that are elected represent the constitution that allows the freedom to worship, that allows mosques to be built, that allows Muslims to be Muslims. These people are contravening their own constitution. They are turning their back on their own values. How can we just sit and allow them to do this?

So, I urge all of you to be aware, to follow what's going on. At every level, there are politicians, whether it's in the civic, the court level, whether it's in the city level, whether it's in the council, whether it is in the state, whether it is in congress, whether it is in senate, whether it is in the governor. Every single level, there are people that are willing to slander and lie, to pander to votes. And there are others that are decent and dignified. They want to stand up for all civil rights.

Our Position on Sharia

I have said multiple times, our community is not asking for any perks. We don't want any privileges. We do not want any special treatment. We are not calling for the establishment of our sharia in our city or in anything. We will practice the sharia in our personal lives. That is our right to do so. But we are not calling for any other laws to be established anywhere else. This is a lie and a slander. And any politician who continues to lie, who continues to take our lectures and slander us knowing that they're taking a snippet.

My dear brothers and sisters, if you are not gonna get involved and vote for the moral, the correct, the ethical people, what else is gonna happen other than these corrupt politicians will continue. So I urge all of you to not be naive, to not be aloof, to not be away from this reality. This affects us.

The Power of Our Vote

And you know in these districts, سبحان الله, I swear to you, if all of us got involved, والله, we would easily bring about the politicians that are more open-minded, the politicians that will allow freedom for all. Unfortunately, we ourselves don't wanna get involved. We ourselves still don't, are not at the forefront, at the polls, at the political issues. We're not even aware of the names of these people.

Of course I cannot say them here from the mimbar. But do your research. I can tell you, it is your ethical, your political, your civic, and yes, your Islamic duty. It is your Islamic duty to know who these people are, to understand they are being voted for in our own districts of Dallas. Dallas has so many districts, three senators, three congressmen from Dallas, from Texas, have joined the anti-sharia caucus. How dare they?

The sharia, as we practice it, is allowed by the constitution because it is my personal code and conduct. Eating halal, praying five times a day, fasting Ramadan, this is sharia. And any other claims can be challenged in court.

The Current Reality

My dear brothers and sisters, the situation is getting worse and worse. And I have to say this bluntly, they know we are not actual people wanting to do something else. They know this. They're lying through their teeth. You know why they're lying? Because there's another scandal going on. Look at the news. There's a massive scandal going on about child pedophilia rings. أعوذ بالله. They're trying to bring attention away. And they're creating a controversy out of us. So it's a double agenda.

We need to stand up and defend our rights. And we need to point out who the real evil predators are. The real people who are the filthy people, they need to be pointed out. There's a double duty.

Call to Action

So I encourage all of you to do your research. Go back home, google, find out. There are Muslim pacts that are allowed to mention names. We cannot mention names. There are Muslim activists, you can go to them. But you, you at the grassroots level, every one of you that is a citizen, you must do your civic duty collectively. We can and we will make a difference. We have to make a difference.

Because if we don't, what is going to be the end result? Our masajid, our communities, our projects will be targeted and shut down. And we will have no one to blame other than ourselves. So I ask you for the sake of Allah to do your civic duty and do your due diligence and do your best to be involved in the process.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect all of us.

Closing Prayers

لا إله إلا الله, start with straight your rows, no gaps in the line.

Ameen

And when My servants ask you about Me, I say to them, I answer the supplication of the supplicant when he supplicates. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me, so that they may be guided.

الله أكبر، الله أكبر، الله أكبر

Amen.

الله أكبر، الله أكبر، الله أكبر، الله أكبر

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله