In the Name of Allah, the All Merciful, the
Most Merciful
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| سورة البقرة 2:184 |
By Asmāʾ Ramaḍān
Translated by Mahdi Lock
With the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, in his iʿtikāf
Iʿtikāf means to stay in the masjid in
order to worship Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Allah the Exalted has said, “We
contracted with Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl: ‘Purify My House for those who circle it,
and those who stay there, and those who bow and prostrate.’” [al-Baqarah
2:125]
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, was the first person to perform iʿtikāf in Ramaḍān, seeking
out the Night of Power, and he called upon his Ummah to do iʿtikāf. He
did iʿtikāf in the first ten days of Ramaḍān and then he did iʿtikāf
in the second ten. When he learned that the Night of Power falls in the
last ten nights, he made his iʿtikāf therein, and the people did iʿtikāf
with him.
The last ten days of Ramaḍān were distinguished days
in his life, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in which he would
completely isolate himself for worship: prayer, recitation of the Qurʾān, dhikr
and seeking forgiveness, preparing and readying for the Night of Power. He
would not seek shelter with his family or sleep with any of his wives. It is on
the authority of ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said, ‘When the
[last] ten had entered, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, would stay up at night and wake up his family, and he wouldn’t sleep
with his wives.’[1]
As for his food and drink, they would be brought to
him while he was doing iʿtikāf in the masjid, and he would not leave the
masjid during his iʿtikāf except to go to his house to relieve himself
and renew his ablution.
However, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, would not cut off his wives or avoid them, and he wouldn’t
stop treating them with kindness and goodness. Sometimes, one of them would
visit him while he was doing iʿtikāf in the masjid and he would sit with
her and talk with her. Then she would leave and he would bid her farewell and
walk her back to his house, as is mentioned in the ḥadīth of Ṣafiyyah, may
Allah be pleased with her, who said, ‘The Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, was in iʿtikāf, so I went to visit him one night and I
conversed with him for some time. Then I stood up to leave and he said, {Don’t
rush. I’ll go with you.}He then stood up with me in order to escort me.’ Her
residence was in the house of Usāmah ibn Zayd.[2]
This is how we see the Prophet’s, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, eagerness to strive in worshipping Allah in the last ten
days of Ramaḍān, and this is because of the divine bounty and immense gifts
that these blessed days contain, bounties and gifts that cannot be imagined or
conceived of.
Therefore, we must pause and remember this sunnah
that has been neglected in our age, by way of us being engrossed in this
worldly life, turning towards distractions and being remote from Allah, Glorified
and Exalted. This sunnah of iʿtikāf means complete isolation for
the sake of worship, recitation of the Qurʾān, dhikr, seeking Allah’s
forgiveness and emulating the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, in his striving to worship and to teach his Ummah to seek out the
Night of Power, and to win immense spoils from doing so after preparing for it.
Waking
up his family, may Allah bless him and grant him peace
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, was not satisfied with just himself spending the last ten nights of
Ramaḍān in prayer. He also called on his family to do likewise. He would wake
them up for prayer and it was from his Sunna, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, to do so in Ramaḍān and outside Ramaḍān. It has been mentioned in the
two Ṣaḥīḥ collections that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
would knock on the door of Fāṭimah
and ʿAlī at night and say to them, {Will you not get up and pray?}
It has also been
related that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would encourage
spouses to wake up their partners to pray at night. It is on the authority of
Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said that the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, {May Allah have mercy on
a man who gets up at night and prays and wakes up his wife, and if she refuses
he sprinkles water in her face, and may Allah have mercy on a woman who gets up at night and prays and
wakes up her husband, and if he refuses she sprinkles water in his face.}[3]
This is how Ramaḍān was a school in the life of Muslims, teaching them to overcome desires however great or tempting, emulating the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and competing in seeking the Afterlife.
His supplication, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, in
Ramaḍān
It was from his
guidance, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to supplicate upon breaking
the fast and encourage others to do so. It is on the authority of Anas, may
Allah be pleased with him, who said, ‘When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, would break his fast, he would say, {In the Nameof Allah; O Allah, for You I have fasted and with Your sustenance I have broken my fast.}’[4]
The Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, encouraged his Ummah to supplicate upon breaking
their fasts and he clarified that it is a time in which supplication are
answered. It is on the authority of ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmr, may Allah be pleased
with him, who said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, saying, {Indeed the fasting person has a supplication when he
breaks his fast that will not be rejected.}’[5]
One of the subtleties
that those who investigate and reflect on Allah’s Book and its āyāt have drawn
attention to is that the āyāt that deal with the rulings of fasting in the
month of Ramaḍān are found in one place,[6] and that right in the middle comes the
Exalted’s statement: “If My slaves ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the
call of the caller when he calls on me. They should therefore respond to Me and
believe in Me so that hopefully they will be rightly guided.” [al-Baqarah
2:186]
It is a curious glance
that reaches the depths of the believing soul, and the secrets of the secret,
and thus you find the perfect compensation for the difficulties of fasting in
drawing nearer to Allah and in Him answering your supplications. From this we
realise that the believer is near to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and that
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is near to His slaves. He hears their supplications
and He answers their requests. In Ramadan, Allah is even nearer and He answers
more of our supplications and He is more merciful. If it is time to break the
fast then the answer and the supplication that is not rejected is by Allah’s
favour, and thus Ramaḍān is the month in which the supplications of those who
fast are answered. There is also the ḥadīth: {Indeed supplication is worship.}[7]
Supplication has
conditions, the most important of which are: seeking out noble times and pure places, that one not supplicate while
being inattentive, that one not be impatient for an answer, that one’s wealth
be lawful and pure and that one be certain that there will be an answer, because
it is proof that one trusts in Allah and that His storehouses are always full.
Also, one should seek a means to Allah (tawassul) through His exalted names
and attributes, for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would
say when something troubled him, {O Living, O Self-sustaining, by Your Mercy I
seek Your aid.}[8]
It is not permissible
to completely rely on one’s supplications and abandon one’s means, for leaving
them is disobedience to Allah the Exalted and contrary to the Prophet’s Sunnah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, he whom Allah, Mighty and Majestic,
made “…a guidance for mankind, with clear signs containing guidance and
discrimination.” [al-Baqarah 2:185][9]
His, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, increasing in good deeds
in Ramaḍān
From the
praiseworthiness of his manners and the sublimity of his characteristics, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, is his abundant generosity and profound
magnanimity in all situations, and throughout most of his life, may peace and
blessings be upon him. It is on the authority of Jābir, may Allah be pleased
with who said, ‘The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, never said “No” when asked for something.’[10]
And in this month he
would increase in generosity, magnanimity and kindness, and he would teach his
Companions and his family and inform them of the importance of this noble month
and the need to increase in good deeds therein. This is because the rewards for
good deeds are multiplied in Ramaḍān. It is on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, may
Allah be pleased with both of them, who said, ‘The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the most generous of people, and he
was even more generous in Ramaḍān when Jibrīl was meeting with him. Jibrīl
would meet with him every night in Ramaḍān and review the Qurʾān with him. Thus,
when Jibrīl met with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, he was more generous than the free-blowing wind.’[11]
One of the indications
of his sublime magnanimity is what al-Bukhārī and Muslim have related on the
authority of Abū Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, ‘I was walking
with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in a stony area in
Madīnah and we came across Mount Uḥud. He said, ‘O Abū Dharr.’ I replied, ‘At
your service, O Messenger of Allah.’ He then said, {It would not please me to
have the like of Uḥud in gold remain with me for more than three days and I
keep a dinar of it, unless it were to pay off a debt. I would distribute it
amongst Allah’s slaves like this and like this}, and he indicated to his right
and his left, and behind. Then he said, {Those who have a lot are those who
will have a little on the Day of Resurrection, except for those who distributed
it like this and like this}, and he indicated to his right and his left, and
behind.’ In all of history, has the world known anyone more generous than this?
We ask Allah to teach
us this glorious Muḥammadan biography and to enable us to follow our master Muḥammad,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in excellence.\
His, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, recitation of the
Noble Qurʾān
The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had immense love for the Qur’ān
and he would recite it a lot, inside Ramaḍān and outside Ramaḍān, and he would
love to hear the Qurʾān from others. His recitation, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, was beautiful. He would not hasten in his recitation but he
would recite it in the best way, exalting it and revering it, answering Allah’s
command, Mighty and Majestic: “…or a little more, and recite the Qurʾān
distinctly.” [al-Muzzammil 73:4] And he would stand for several hours at
night, reciting its verses.
If this is how he was
with the Qurʾān outside Ramaḍān, then how was he with the Qurʾān in Ramaḍān,
the month in which the Qurʾān was sent down? It is on the authority of Ibn
ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with both of them, who said, ‘The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the most generous of
people, and he was even more generous in Ramaḍān when Jibrīl was meeting with
him. Jibrīl would meet with him every night in Ramaḍān and review the Qurʾān
with him. Thus, when Jibrīl met with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, he was more generous than the free-blowing wind.’[12]
Ramaḍān was the annual
occasion for reviewing the Qurʾān with Jibrīl, one time every year, and the
year in which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
fasted his last Ramaḍān, Jibrīl reviewed the Qurʾān with him twice.
The Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, would encourage the recitation of the Qurʾān in
Ramaḍān and outside Ramaḍān, just as several āyāt in Noble Qurʾān encourage us
to do so. The Exalted has said, “Those who recite the Book of Allah and
establish the prayer and give of what we have provided for them, secretly and
openly, hope for a transaction which will not prove profitless.” [Fāṭir
35:29]
The Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, {Recite the Qurʾān, for indeed it will
come on the Day of Resurrection as an intercessor for its adherents.}[13]
It is appropriate for
this Ummah, as it receives Ramaḍān every year, to see it as a month of reciting
the Qurʾān, studying it, understanding it and reflecting on it, and
establishing its letters and meanings in our souls so that they become dyed
with its dye, and through its āyāt we move from darkness into light by the
permission of our Lord. How often do fighting and division rip this Ummah
apart, its livers consumed by animosity and hatred because of its remoteness
from the Qurʾān? Allah the Exalted has said, “And this is a Book We have
sent down and blessed, so follow it and be godfearing, so that hopefully you
will receive mercy.” [al-Anʿām 6:155]
Indeed, anyone who
seeks the truth in any matter of life from other than this Qurʾān is misguided
and misled.
When the Muslim reads
the Qurʾān in Ramaḍān and outside Ramaḍān it fills his heart with overflowing
joy, and he is covered in certainty because he is reminded of Allah the
Exalted’s statement: “This Qurʾān guides to the most upright Way and gives
good news to the believers who do right actions, and they will have a large
reward.” [al-Isrāʾ 17:9]
Allah the Glorified
also says, “Is he who knows that what has been sent down to you from your
Lord is the truth like him who is blind? It is only people of intelligence who
pay heed.” [ar-Raʿd 13:19]
The Prophet’s, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, continuous
fasting (wiṣāl) and his prohibition of it
Continuous fasting
means to fast two days or more without eating or drinking, and the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would do so sometimes, but out
of mercy towards his Ummah he forbade them from doing likewise. How could this
be otherwise when he is gentle and merciful towards the believers,[14]
and he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, guiding mercy to this Ummah?
It is on the authority
of Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, ‘The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, {Beware of wiṣāl.}
They replied, “But you do wiṣāl, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, {You
are not like me in this matter. I spend the night and my Lord feeds me and
gives me to drink, so be answerable for the deeds that you are able to do.}’[15]
However, he, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, allowed for wiṣāl to be done until just
before dawn for whoever wants to, which would mean going without ifṭār
and sufficing with suḥūr. It is on the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī,
may Allah be pleased with him, that he heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, saying, {Do not do wiṣāl. If any of you wants to
then do so until just before dawn.}[16]
This is because maintaining one’s fast until just before dawn is possible and
bearable, but hastening to break one’s fast and delay one’s suḥūr
remains preferable, and in the ḥadīth: {The most beloved of My slaves to Me is
the quickest of them to break his fast.}[17]
Wiṣāl remains as a ruling that is exclusive to the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, an act of worship that he did
but no one from his Ummah. As for his Ummah, they are responsible for fasting
from the crack of dawn until the sun has set, without any increase or decrease,
and no one worships his Lord, Glorified is He, with wiṣāl, the way the
Prophet did, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. All praise be to Allah,
who guided us to the straight path and perfected the religion for us.
His bathing between the two Ishāʾs
in Ramaḍān
It is mentioned in a
report that is not free of weakness that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, would bathe between Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ every night in the last
ten nights of Ramaḍān. Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim has related with a mutaqārib chain
of transmission[18]
on the authority of ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said, ‘If it
was Ramaḍān, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
would fast and stand in the night and if it was the last ten nights he would
avoid sleeping with his wives and he would bathe between the two adhāns,[19]
and he would make his dinner his suḥūr.’
In another narration,
he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would bathe every night (i.e. in
the last ten nights) between Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ. Based on these weak reports,
and others, which strengthen one another, some scholars have recommended
bathing between Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ in the last ten nights of Ramaḍān. Also,
such an action comes under virtuous actions (faḍāʾil al-ʿamāl), which
are permissible to do based on a weak ḥadīth, and especially if that ḥadīth is
supported by other aḥādīth and thus they strengthen one another.
Warning against not fasting in
Ramaḍān
The reality of Muslims
today is that some people do not carry out this obligation that is owed to
Allah, Mighty and Majestic. They neglect it along with all the other
obligations. In reality, these people are of two groups:
The first group are those
who don’t fast because they scorn fasting and deny that it is an obligation.
These people have disbelieved in Allah and the Last Day and thus there is
nothing for us to discuss with them in this matter until they have come to
believe in Allah alone, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has commanded us not to
rely on them or seek their protection: “Do not rely on those who do wrong,
thus causing the Fire to afflict you, for you have not protector besides Allah;
then you will not be helped.” [Hūd 11:113]
The second group are
those who leave off Allah’s obligations because they find them difficult and
declare themselves incapable of carrying them out based on flimsy arguments. If
what they claimed were true Allah wouldn’t have obligated these matters upon
His slaves, and He is the All-Knowing with regards to His slaves. Allah, Mighty
and Majestic, has said, “Allah does not impose upon any soul more than it
can bear.” [al-Baqarah 2:186] He is the One Who created them for these
obligations, ennobling them and raising their rank, even though He, the
Glorified, is independent of His entire creation. The Exalted has said, “I
only created jinn and man to worship me.” [adh-Dhāriyāt 51:56]
The Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, warned severely against not fasting in Ramaḍān.
He said, {The bonds of Islām and the pillars of the Dīn are three. They are the
foundations of Islam. Whoever leaves off one of them is a disbeliever and his
blood is lawful: the testimony that there is no god but Allah, the prescribed
prayers and fasting Ramaḍān.}[20]
It is on the authority
of Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said {Whoever doesn’t fast a day in Ramaḍān and
doesn’t have a valid concession from Allah will never be able to make it up,
even if he fasts an entire year.}[21]
However, should it be understood from the aforementioned that whoever doesn’t
fast in Ramaḍān cannot make amends and will have an evil end, and Allah will
never forgive him?
Allah, Mighty and
Majestic, says, “Allah does not forgive anything being associated with Him
but He forgives whomever He wills for anything other than that. Anyone who
associates something with Allah has committed a terrible crime.” [an-Nisāʾ
4:48]
And He calls on His
slaves to repent to Him and seek His forgiveness, and He says, “I said, ‘Ask
forgiveness of your Lord. Truly He is endlessly forgiving.’” [Nūḥ 71:10]
And there is the ḥadīth of Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī, may Allah be pleased with him:
{Indeed Allah extends His Hand at night to receive the repentance of the
sinners of the day and He extends His Hand in the day to receive to receive the
repentance of the sinners of the night, until the sun rises from the west.}
Maybe one tear that a
believer sheds out of fear of Allah while crying out to Him, while resolutely
regretting his sins, will result in Allah wiping out all of his sins and
misdeeds.
As for the ḥadīth: {… will
never be able to make it up, even if he fasts an entire year}, this is to
frighten people about not fasting and to clarify what an immense sin it is, as
well as the loss of the immense good deeds that are obtained by way of this
obligatory fast.
Indeed the best way to
repent from not fasting in Ramaḍān without an excuse would be to make up those
days one did not fast, and if one is unable to due to the sheer amount of days
then one should make up the days one is able to and feed people for the days
one is unable to. If one can’t make up one’s fasts or feed people then one
should feel immense regret and do much seeking of Allah’s forgiveness, and one
should have a good opinion of Allah and know that Allah is Ever-Forgiving and
Most Merciful.
With the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in standing
in the nights of Ramaḍān
The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the most worshipful of
people and had the most taqwā of Allah the Exalted: {By Allah, I hope to
be the most fearful of them for I know what I have taqwā of…} This was
related by Aḥmad and this is how he was in Ramaḍān and outside Ramaḍān, and
standing in prayer at night was an obligation for him.
Some of the first
verses revealed to him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, were the words
of Allah the Exalted: “You who are enwrapped in your clothing! Stay up at
night, except a little, half of it, or a little less, or a little more, and
recite the Qurʾān distinctly.” [al-Muzzammil 73:1-4]
The obligation to stay
up at night was exclusive to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, and in standing for lengthy periods of time and weeping much he arrived
at states that called for deep reflection and examination, until his feet
split. He was the exemplar and model. Oftentimes, his beard would be soaked
with his tears and so would the ground, may the best blessings and peace by
upon him, as he turned to Allah and drew nearer to Him, showing his gratitude
to him, Mighty and Majestic.
It is on the authority
of ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said, ‘The Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, would stand at night until his feet split, so I
said to him, “Why do you do this, O Messenger of Allah, when Allah has forgiven
you for any sin[22] you
could have committed in the past as well as in the future?” He replied, {Should
I not be a grateful slave?}’[23]
As for in Ramaḍān, he would stand more and strive more due to the virtue of
this month and the virtue of standing in it.
It was his wont, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, to encourage his Ummah to stand in Ramaḍān.
It is on the authority of Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, {Whoever stands in Ramaḍān
with faith and anticipating reward will have all of his previous sins
forgiven.}[24]
And the standing in Ramaḍān is the Tarāwīḥ prayer, and not the standing
at night that is recommended throughout the rest of the year.
In the time of Allah’s
Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the Companions prayed it in
separate groups, and they prayed once with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, in the masjid. However, the following day, word
spread regarding this prayer and the following night the masjid was overflowing
with people. He prayed ʿIshāʾ with them and then went into his house while the
people remained, until he came out and saw them for the Fajr prayer. He said, {O
people! By Allah, I did not spend my night unaware and your remaining here was
not hidden from me. However, I feared that it would become an obligation upon
you and I would thus make your responsible for something that you couldn’t
carry out. Indeed Allah does not become weary until you become weary.} This is
from his complete mercy and compassion towards his Ummah, for he feared that it
would become an obligation upon them and they would be incapable of doing it,
or that later believers would be reluctant to do it and thus become sinful for
not doing it. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
passed away and this was how Tarāwīḥ was.
As for the number of rakaʿāt
for standing in Ramaḍān, the preferred position is that it is twenty rakaʿāt
not including witr (as has been transmitted by [Imam Muwaffaq ad-Dīn] Ibn Qudāmah in al-Mughnī, which is that twenty rakaʿāt is the consensus of the imams andscholars.). Al-Bayhaqī has related in as-Sunan al-Kubrā, with his own
chain of transmission, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Khuṣayfah, on the authority
of as-Sāʾib ibn Yazīd, who said, ‘In the time of ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased
with him, the people would pray twenty rakaʿāt in Ramaḍān.’
There is no difference
of opinion regarding the fact that standing in Ramaḍān is a sunnah,[25]
i.e. one is rewarded for doing it but one is not censured for leaving it off,
even though one misses out on an immense reward. The lesson is not in the
number but rather the lesson is that the one praying be in a state of humility
(khushūʿ) and sincerity and that he perform his prayer well. It is not
appropriate for Muslims to differ over the number because of the division and
animosity that this differing leads to, which Allah has forbidden. There is
disparity amongst people in terms of their capacity and their levels of energy
but all of their prayers will be accepted by Allah as long as they are done
sincerely for Him, Mighty and Majestic.
The Prophet’s fasting, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while
travelling
People often need to
travel and they often need to travel in Ramaḍān, and thus the Muslim has two
hardships: the hardship of fasting and the hardship of travelling. The Prophet,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, described travelling when he said, {Travelling
is a portion of punishment.}[26]
This is why the verses
that include the obligation to fast also include the concession for those who
are travelling or ill. Allah the Exalted has said: “…for a specific number
of days. But any of you who are ill or on a journey should fast a number of
other days. For those who are able to fast, their fidyah is to feed the
poor. And if someone does good of his own accord, it is better for him. And if
you fast it would be better for you, if you only knew.” [al-Baqarah 2:184]
Thus, whoever wants to
can fast and whoever wants to can break their fast and feed a poor person for
every day missed, and this is before fasting becomes a necessity.[27]
Then Allah, Mighty and
Majestic, revealed the other verse: “The month of Ramaḍān is the month in
which the Qurʾān was sent down as guidance for mankind, with clear signs
containing guidance and discrimination. Any of you who are resident for the month
should fast it. But any of you who are ill or on a journey should fast a number
of other days. Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire difficulty for you.
You should complete the number of days and proclaim Allah’s greatness for the
guidance He has given you so that hopefully you will be thankful.” [al-Baqarah
2:185] Thus, fasting is established for the one who is resident and healthy and
there is a concession for those who are ill and travelling. For the elderly andill who won’t be able to make up the fasts, they are to feed the poor.
Ḥamzah al-Aslamī, may
Allah be pleased with him, said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I find that I am able
to fast while travelling. Will that be held against me?’ He replied, {It is a concession
from Allah the Exalted, so whoever takes it does well, and there is nothing against
the one who prefers to fast.}[28]
[1] Agreed upon
[2] Related by the two Sheikhs [al-Bukhārī
and Muslim]
[3] Related by
Abū Dāwūd with an authentic chain of transmission
[4] Related by Abū Dāwūd
[5] Related by Ibn Mājah
[6] (tn): i.e. Sūrat al-Baqarah 2:183-189
[7] Related by at-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah and
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal
[8] Related by at-Tirmidhī on the authority of Anas
[9] (tn): as the guidance
of the Sunnah is an extension of the guidance of the Qurʾān, as Allah says in Sūrat an-Naḥl 16:44:
“And we have sent down the Reminder to you so that you can make clear to
mankind what has been sent down to them, so that hopefully they will reflect.”
[10] Agreed upon
[11] Agreed upon
[12] Agreed upon
[13] Related by
Muslim
[14] Please see
Sūrat at-Tawbah 9:128
[15] Related by
Muslim
[16] Related by
al-Bukhārī
[17] Related by
Aḥmad and at-Tirmidhī
[18](tn): i.e. a chain of transmission
that is similar to others
[19] (tn): i.e. the call to
prayer for Maghrib and the call to prayer for ʿIshāʾ
[20] Related by Abū Laylā and
ad-Daylamī, and classed as authentic by ad-Dhahabī
[21] Related by Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah and
at-Tirmidhī
[22] (tn): and the only
“sin” of Prophets is to leave off something more praiseworthy for something
less praiseworthy
[23] Agreed upon
[24] Agreed upon
[25] (tn): i.e. a
recommended act
[26] Related by al-Bukhārī
[27] (tn): For further
clarification, please see this fatwā
[28] Related by Muslim
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