Do Not Stop Fasting

Do Not Stop Fasting

Alhamdulillah Rabbil 'alamin, we have so many blessings that we're enjoying today right now after Ramadan is over. But let us not forget about the lessons that we learn from the month of Ramadan.

Brothers and sisters, SubhanAllah, I had a conversation with a few people in the past couple of days in regards to fasting after the month of Ramadan — when they heard about fasting the six days of Shawwal. Some people said, "Alhamdulillah, Ramadan is enough for me." They said, "Do I have to?" I said, it's not a matter of you have to. Then I said, well, what did you learn from Ramadan then?

For many people, it seems that when Ramadan is over, it's a relief. And it is — there's no doubt about it. Because you're carrying right now the burden of fasting every single day, stopping yourself from following what your body desires: the food and drinks and other pleasures. But then when Ramadan is over, it's a relief. There's no doubt about it. But what else comes with that?

Allah Wills Ease for You

See, Allah says, in the context of the ayat about Ramadan, that Allah wills and intends for you ease, not hardship. And that is in what? Even when He prescribed fasting for you. Even as He asked you to fast the month of Ramadan, His enactment of this obligation is bringing some ease for you. Maybe you don't see it in the moment as you fast. But overall, the concept of Ramadan itself — the fasting, the social life that comes with it, the whole transformation — all of this brings so many khairat, so many blessings that come with the fasting of the month of Ramadan.

Brothers and sisters, those who fast Ramadan and then stop — may Allah reward them. They've done their obligation. But those who would like to do more, I have good news for you. There is a great reward that you can gain, insha'Allah, from fasting after the month of Ramadan — beginning with the six days of Shawwal.

The Six Days of Shawwal

As the Prophet ﷺ says in the hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1164)

Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan and follows that with six days of Shawwal, it will count as if you fasted your entire year. The word dahr could mean the year, and if you do that every single year, that would be — for your lifetime. If you do it every year, it's as if you've been fasting your entire lifetime. We need these opportunities, jama'ah. We need these opportunities.

SubhanAllah, I heard a comment from some of the reverts who embraced Islam this year — it was their first Ramadan ever. When Ramadan was over and they were talking about their experience, somebody in the comment section told them: "Hey, don't forget to fast six days of Shawwal." They said, "What is that?" And when they were told, they were so excited that there is even more. For them it was like, wow, you get the reward for the whole year? Who wouldn't want that? Because they were new in faith. And for them that was an excitement, that was an experience. But for many of us who are born in the faith, it just goes by because of tradition — and that has unfortunately become the case.

So my dear brothers and sisters, don't stop fasting, even after Ramadan is over.

The Story of the Bedouin

A man once came to the Prophet ﷺ — a Bedouin from the desert. The Companions, even when they heard him speaking to the Prophet ﷺ, couldn't make out what he was saying because of his heavy desert accent. And then finally when they heard the Prophet ﷺ giving the answers, that's when they realized: oh, he's asking about Islam. One of the questions he was asking was: what are my obligations? He was told: five times a day. He asked: do I need to do anything more? He was told: no, unless you want to add on your own. What else? Fast the month of Ramadan. Anything else? No, unless you want to add on your own. Give zakah. Anything else? And the man kept asking until the Prophet ﷺ laid out all the obligations. Then the man said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 46; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 11)

"You have my word. I would never take away from this, but I'm not going to add anything more. I'll do the bare minimum — what's required of me, I will do that." As the man was leaving, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 46)

"I swear, if he did that, he is successful."

Brothers and sisters, that is the bare minimum. But that's not what you need to strive for. That's the Bedouin level. Someone who is looking for a higher level in Jannah is going to have to work more than this — and they have to be better than that. And that's where the reward for fasting comes in, my dear brothers and sisters.

The Rewards of Fasting

The Prophet ﷺ said — and I'll share with you some of these rewards, insha'Allah, hopefully they become an incentive for us to continue with fasting after Ramadan is over. In the hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said — he mentioned prior to this that every good deed the son of Adam does, he will get ten times the reward, up to seven hundred times. Then he said:

"Every good deed that the son of Adam does is for him — except for fasting. It is exclusively for Me, and I will give its reward."

Now the scholars are wondering: what does that even mean? Aren't we doing everything for the sake of Allah? When I fast, I do it for the sake of Allah. When I pray, I do it for the sake of Allah. When I give zakah and charity, I'm doing this for the sake of Allah. So what does it mean that fasting is exclusively for Him?

The scholars said: one reason is that fasting is one of the most private and subtle acts of worship. When you pray, people can see you — it becomes public. When you give, the news might spread. But when you fast, the whole day goes by and only your family even knows you're fasting. It's the most private act. That's one way to look at it.

The second thing they say — and Ibn Rajab rahimahullah is quoting Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah rahimahullah as saying this — is that on the Day of Judgment, when people have to start paying back each other with their hasanat: if you wronged somebody — may Allah protect us from this moment — they are going to take from your hasanat. If you slandered someone, backbit someone, lied about somebody — all these things. There will be no money exchanged on that day; it will be taken from your hasanat, from your merits. And may Allah protect us — when the person's hasanat are all gone, they start taking from their sayyi'at and throwing that burden onto the individual.

So he is saying, based on this hadith, that the hasanat used to compensate others will be taken from everything except the fasting. The reward for fasting will not be touched — it will stay — because that was done exclusively for Allah, and Allah will compensate the other people for what they had to go through.

My dear brothers and sisters, that day — and Allah must'an — we all come, alhamdulillah hopefully, with mountains of hasanat. But how many of us can claim: "I came with no liabilities. I haven't wronged anybody. I haven't said anything bad about someone." How many can claim that? We all need to be compensated for our good deeds, alhamdulillah, and forgiven for our sins. But be careful — if you've done something to somebody in this dunya, it's going to come back at you. Watch what you say and what you do with people.

Two Moments of Joy for the Fasting Person

The second thing the Prophet ﷺ mentioned about fasting is that the one who fasts has two moments of joy and happiness:

The first moment of joy is when you break your fast — that is a joy in this dunya. Alhamdulillah, I'm thirsty, now I'm quenching my thirst with this beautiful drink. I'm eating this meal, I'm now satisfied — I'm so joyful for that. And joy, obviously, also because you made it to the end of the day. As the days get longer and longer right now, you can imagine how much harder it gets to fast in the summer — but he still does it.

And the second moment of joy is when you meet your Lord with a list of days — and perhaps years — of fasting. Brothers and sisters, if you know that the One providing the reward is the most generous, what do you expect from Him? Then He says:

"The Day when every soul shall see for itself what it had sent forth from this dunya." You're going to see it. You're going to see the reward for it. And if it's coming from the most generous, what do you expect from Him?

The Breath of the Fasting Person

Another thing the Prophet ﷺ mentioned:

The smell that comes from the mouth of the fasting person is sweeter to Allah than the scent of musk. Now we know exactly what is happening biologically — because you're hungry and your stomach is empty, that smell comes out. But why did the Prophet ﷺ say — why did Allah consider this smell, which is regarded as unpleasant for humans, to be more beautiful to Him than musk? It's because you are enduring hardship, thirst, and hunger — all for the sake of Allah. You're going through an unpleasant experience to please Allah, and Allah will be pleased with you for that.

This is just like when you go to Hajj. The Prophet ﷺ mentioned that on the Day of 'Arafah — one of the most blessed days of the entire year — he described the people who came to 'Arafah, saying to the angels: "What do my people need from me? What are they asking?" They came disheveled, dusty, and sweaty. Not a pleasant condition to be in. But Allah relieves us from feeling bad about that by saying, "I love that from you." So when you endure the hardship of an act of worship that results in unpleasant outward conditions, it's okay — Allah will be pleased with you because of that.

The Gate of Ar-Rayyan

Brothers and sisters, there is a special gate in Jannah called Ar-Rayyan. The Prophet ﷺ says:

There is one special gate in Jannah called Ar-Rayyan — where people quench their thirst — and this is exclusively given to those who fast regularly. Not just Ramadan — regularly. And he ﷺ said that once those people enter, the door will be closed after them. What does that mean, jama'ah? It means they will be recognized. Each and every one of them will have that very special, unique title. And after they all enter, it will be closed. The other doors of Jannah will still be open — but this one is exclusive. That's an exclusive club. An exclusive group of people. Won't you want to be one of those very unique, special people of Allah? I want that. So I'm going to increase my fasting throughout the whole year.

Distance from the Fire

Brothers and sisters, the Prophet ﷺ says about the reward for fasting just one single day:

If you fast one single day for the sake of Allah, Allah will put a distance between you and the Fire of about seventy years of travel — far away from Jahannam — for just one single day. Imagine when you do that on a regular basis, how far you put yourself away from that punishment.

Fasting as a Shield

Brothers and sisters, the Prophet ﷺ says fasting is a shield — and indeed it is. Because when you're fasting, you remind yourself what you're doing is right or wrong. You feel guilty if you're doing something bad because you realize: I'm fasting, I'm not supposed to watch these things or do these things. It's a protection. It's a shield. It's supposed to prevent you from doing something you know is wrong. And if you start doing it, it's a reminder to reflect, stop, and stay away from it.

So if you know that you have bad habits and you need to stop them, fasting will help you — it will. But don't let the Shaitan deceive you by saying, "Are you really going to fast? You do all these things during the night and tomorrow you're going to fast?" Say: yes, I will. I'm not going to deprive myself from the mercy of Allah because of my own fault. It's a golden opportunity, my dear brothers and sisters.

Worldly Benefits: Intermittent Fasting

Fasting indeed has all these beautiful benefits — from the akhirah and the dunya. One more thing I want to add is a worldly benefit: nowadays one of those trending things people promote for health and diet is intermittent fasting, in which they ask people to fast regularly. And in the article I read about this, they even suggested to fast on Mondays and Thursdays. The only thing left from that article was to say: rawahu al-Bukhari. They wrote everything that we already know from our deen — and then they discovered it just recently as something wonderful. Alhamdulillah, we don't need their research to tell us it's good. We have Rasulullah ﷺ as the best example.

Fasting in Solidarity with Our Brothers and Sisters

So don't stop fasting, my dear brothers and sisters — for all those beautiful rewards, and on top of that, because I want to keep this as a constant reminder: as long as our brothers and sisters in Gaza are going through what they're going through, I want to feel with them. I don't want to stop feeling their pain. I don't want to stop remembering what they're going through. And not just our brothers and sisters in Gaza — what's happening in Sudan right now, our brothers in China and the Uyghur community, what's happening in Yemen and Syria — there are many, many people out there who don't have the privilege of having a meal after a long day. At least we can share that pain so we can always remind ourselves to be there for our brothers and sisters around the world.

When Should You Fast?

My dear brothers and sisters, if you're asking what days you should fast, here are a few suggestions. There are specific occasions that happen annually:

Six days of Shawwal — you still have about twenty days left to do that, alhamdulillah. And for the ladies, if they are wondering whether to make up their missed days of Ramadan versus fasting the six days of Shawwal: you can still do the six days of Shawwal and then make up your Ramadan days afterwards. That is what 'A'ishah radiAllahu 'anha used to do.

The Day of 'Arafah is coming up soon insha'Allah, and 'Ashura after that. These are special occasions — don't miss the opportunity to fast these days. But they each happen only once a year.

On a monthly basis, you have the three blessed days that the Prophet ﷺ called Ayyam al-Bid — the white nights, when the moon is full: the 13th, 14th, and 15th of every lunar month. Make sure to do that.

And if you want something on a weekly basis, alhamdulillah you have Mondays and Thursdays. The Prophet ﷺ used to do that regularly.

If you want to do even more, then the best fast the Prophet ﷺ suggested for us was Siyam Dawud — fasting every other day. But take it easy on yourself. The most consistent practice you can maintain is the best way to do it.

Can You Fast Without Prior Intention?

One last point: if someone woke up in the morning and it's already 10am, and they haven't eaten anything since Fajr time — can they fast that day as an optional nafl fast? The answer is yes. You can do that; you don't have to have made the intention from the night before. That requirement is for the fard, not for the nafl. For nafl fasting, the Prophet ﷺ used to go home and ask if there was anything to eat. If they said, "Ya Rasulallah, we have nothing today," he would say, "Don't worry about it — I'm fasting." And he would fast ﷺ to get the reward for that day. So you can do it.

You can do it, my dear brothers and sisters. Make it a culture. Wallahi, it would help us as a community feel with one another. And that's the least we can do for each other insha'Allah — to be there for each other.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا