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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

"I told my family at night: 'I will fast tomorrow as qaḍā' (a make-up fast),' but I forgot to make the intention before sleeping. Is my fast valid?"

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
 
The intention is obligatory in acts of worship. For obligatory fasting, the required intention is to resolve to fast during the night [before dawn]. Its proper locus is the heart, while verbalizing the intention out loud in acts of worship is a sunnah — so that the tongue may align with the heart. If the intent behind the statement in question was the intention to fast, then it is valid; but if the intent was merely to inform someone, or reflected hesitation or doubt, then it is not valid.
 
It is stated in *Bushrā al-Karīm* (Vol.1/P.216): "It is a sunnah to verbalize the intention — that is, whatever has already been intended in the heart, whether an obligatory or a voluntary act — such as specifying the number of rak‘ahs, just before the opening takbīr — so that the tongue may assist the heart, and because this is further removed from whispered doubts (waswasah), and in order to accommodate the view of those who held it obligatory in every act of worship that requires an intention (even though this is a minority position), by analogy with Ḥajj."
 
Accordingly: if the intention to fast arose in your heart before the second adhān [i.e., before Fajr], then your fast is valid.
 
And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Should one who doesn`t perform prayer out of laziness make it up later, and how should he/she do so?

All perfect praise be to Allah,The Lord of The Worlds                                                                                                                                                              He/she is obliged to make up missed prayers by offering with each obligatory prayer another one, and if he/she offers two, then it is better. And Allah Knows Best.

My husband discloses all our marital disputes to his family. What is the ruling of Islamic Law on this?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is impermissible to divulge spousal secrets or expose one another's faults, whether during the subsistence of the marriage or after its dissolution. The foundational principle governing marital relations is that it is built upon confidentiality and mutual affection. Divulging marital secrets constitutes a breach of trust and a grave sin.
 
A husband ought not to resort to his family to complain about his wife over every dispute, nor is the reverse permissible for the wife, especially when such actions lead to stirring up malice and animosity between the spouses or between their respective families.
 
Islam has enjoined the preservation of secrets in general and commanded against revealing them; safeguarding the privacy of the home holds an even greater priority. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on eating or drinking during the circumambulation?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is disliked (makrūh) to eat or drink during the circumambulation (ṭawāf).
Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī states in al-Majmūʿ: "It is disliked to eat or drink during ṭawāf, and the dislikedness of drinking is lighter. Neither of them, nor both together, invalidates the ṭawāf. Al-Shāfiʿī said: 'There is no objection to drinking water during ṭawāf, and I do not consider it sinful; however, I prefer that it be avoided, as refraining from it is more befitting in terms of proper conduct.' Among those who explicitly stated the dislikedness of eating and drinking, and that drinking is the lesser of the two, is the author of al-Ḥāwī."
If, however, a person is in genuine need of drinking, then there is no dislikedness in doing so. In any case, the ṭawāf itself remains valid. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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