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The Fruit of Fasting: "God-fearing"
Author : His Grace Shiekh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh
Date Added : 01-07-2014

The Fruit of Fasting: "The Fear of Allah, The Most Exalted"

His Grace/The Mufti-General: Abdulkareem Al-Khassawneh

Ramadan is the month of blessings, and fasting it is one of the five pillars of Islam. Allah, The Almighty, prescribed it to Muslims as He had done to those before them: "O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint." [Al-Baqarah/183]. The aim of fasting and its fruit are meant to make a fasting person have piety in Allah's Sight and All that which He has forbidden.

 

The command for fearing Allah is what He enjoined/directed those of old and those of later times to do. Allah Says in The Glorious Quran (What means): "Verily we have directed the People of the Book before you, and you (O Muslims) to fear Allah." [An-Nisa`/131].

 

Actually, those who adhere to Allah`s direction achieve great success, but those who fail to do so are at manifest loss. Therefore, we should strive to hold on to the directives of Allah until we die doing that. Allah, The Almighty, Says in the Holy Quran (What means): "O ye who believe! Fear God as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam." [Al `Imran/102]. I.e. fear Allah as he should be feared. Ibn Mas'ood (May Allah be pleased with him)said: "Allah is to be obeyed so as not to be disobeyed, to be remembered so as not to be forgotten, and to be thanked so as not to be shown ingratitude."

Al Imam Al-Ghazali added: "God-fearing is a great treasure which once obtained, one will have generous sustenance and great dominion because it contains all that is good in the life of this world and in the Hereafter."

 

The Glorious Quran has shown many benefits for God-fearing:

 

First: Being made a way out and being provided for from sources that one never could imagine. Allah Says (What means): "And for those who fear God, He (ever) prepares a way out, And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine." [At-Talaq/2-3]. Accordingly, one who fears Allah and abides by His injunctions, Allah prepares a way out for him, and provides for him from sources he never could imagine.

 

Second: Allah, The Almighty, protects the nation against its enemies as long as its people are pious and fear Him. Allah Says (What means): "But if ye are constant and do right, not the least harm will their cunning do to you; for God Compasseth round about all that they do." [Al-Imran/120]. Therefore, one who observes piety in his words and deeds won`t be harmed by the cunning of the enemies.

 

Third:  Accepting righteous deeds. Allah, The Most Exalted, Says (What means): "Surely," said the former, "(Allah) doth accept of the sacrifice of those who are righteous." [Al-Mai`dah/27]. Thus, one who fears Allah and has sincere intentions, Allah Accepts his righteous deeds: This indicates that an act of obedience is only accepted from a God-fearing believer.

 

Fourth: The love and the good pleasure of God. Allah Says (What means): "for God doth love the righteous." [At-Tawbah/7].

 

Fifth: God`s friends are the people of piety, and it is their provision in the life of this world and in the Hereafter since Allah says in this regard: "And take provision. But the best provision is piety." [Al-Baqarah/197]. Those who take piety as their best provision, Allah bestows upon them, in the life of this world and in the Hereafter, that which pleases them: While on their death bed, the angels give them glad tidings of Allah`s good pleasure and mercy. In the Hereafter, they give them good tidings of the Gardens of Bliss and great triumph. Allah Says (What means): "Behold! verily on the friends of God there is no fear, nor shall they grieve; Those who believe and (constantly) guard against evil;- For them are glad tidings, in the life of the present and in the Hereafter; no change can there be in the words of God. This is indeed the supreme felicity." [Yunus/62-64]. 

 

Sixth: The comparison between people is based on the depth of their piety, and not on their descent; therefore, one who aspires for honor in the life of this world and a privileged place in the Hereafter should fear God. Allah Says in this regard (What means): "O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)." [Al-Hujurat/13].

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

My father has debts and asked me to repay them years ago, and I promised him I would do so upon his death — is it permissible for me to go back on my promise given that I am unable to repay them, especially since he refuses to contribute to repayment on the grounds that the debt has become my responsibility by virtue of my promise?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The established principle is that a father's debt is to be repaid from his own wealth, if he possesses sufficient means. As for the promise made by the son to repay it on his father's behalf, fulfilling such a promise is strongly recommended, and breaking it is considerably disliked. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Fulfilling a promise is emphatically recommended, and breaking it is severely disliked. The evidences for this from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah are well known." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn,Vol. 2/P.278] Shaykh al-Islām Imām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī, may Allah have mercy upon him, further states: "The reason fulfilling a promise is not obligatory and breaking it is not forbidden is that a promise is in the nature of a gift, and a gift does not become binding except upon receipt." [Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib,Vol. 2/P.487]
Given that the son does not possess the financial means to fulfil his promise to his father, breaking this promise falls beyond his capacity — and Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Since the father himself possesses sufficient wealth to settle his own debt, repayment must be made from his own funds. Should he pass away before doing so, the debt is to be settled from his estate. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible for a woman to sit with her brothers-in-law?

It is impermissible for a woman to sit with her brothers-in-law, and it is also impermissible for a person to have a Khulwa (seclusion) with his sister-in-law.

Is a person rewarded for refraining from all that breaks their fast when required to do so, and is it considered a valid fast?

If a person eats or drinks thinking that Fajr has not yet arrived, but then someone informs them that Fajr had already begun, they must refrain from eating for the rest of the day and make up the fast later.
If they observe the required restraint (imsak), they will be rewarded for obeying the command because fulfilling an obligation brings reward.
However, this is not considered a valid fast in terms of rulings. For example:
● It is not disliked (makruh) for them to use a miswak after noon.
● They are not encouraged to hasten the breaking of the fast at sunset.
● Other fasting-related rulings do not apply to them.

What is the ruling on reciting the Chapter after Al-Faatihah , and what should a worshiper who forgets it do?

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds.                                                                                                                                                                  Any other part of Qur'an that a worshiper reads after Al-Faatihah during the first and the second Rak`ahs is a Sunnah, and forgetting to do so doesn`t nullify prayer, and doesn`t require performing Sujood As-Sahw (prostration of forgetfulness). And Allah Knows Best.

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