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The Fasting Person and the Love of Allah
Author : Dr. Mufti Sa`eid Farhan
Date Added : 31-01-2024

The Fasting Person and the Love of Allah

 

Ramadan, the month of fasting, is considered the master of months, and its nights are among the best nights of the year. Allah, in His wisdom, has distinguished Ramadan with divine virtues and blessings that are evident to everyone. In Ramadan, there is the Night of Qadr (Laylat al-Qadr), known as the Night of Power, which is the night the Quran was revealed. Additionally, Ramadan is the month of fasting, one of the pillars of Islam. It is a month of piety, blessing, and mercy, among other virtues highlighted by the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): "The master of the months is Ramadan." (Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi).

 

Just as Allah, the Most High, has distinguished Ramadan with divine blessings, the fasting person also receives additional heavenly gifts. The fasting individual is granted the honor of entering through the gate of Ar-Rayyan on the Day of Judgment, a privilege exclusive to them. Furthermore, their breath is described as more pleasant to Allah than the fragrance of musk. The fasting person is rewarded by Allah, the Almighty, for their fasting with abundant grace and blessings as He wills.

 

The greatest divine gift to the fasting person remains the love of Allah Almighty. The fasting person engages in an act of worship that is not observed by others as he refrains from consuming food and drink. This abstention makes him a vigilant guardian over himself, holding himself accountable. He worships Allah as if He sees him, embodying the concept of excellence (ihsan). The Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings be upon him, defined ihsan in a well-known hadith: "To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you." (Reported by Al-Bukhari). As a result, the fasting person enters into a state of goodness, in line with the Quranic statement: "Indeed, Allah loves the doers of good" (Al-Baqarah: 195).

 

The fasting person is patient in enduring the hardship of fasting, leaving food and drink for the sake of Allah and exercising patience in doing so. It was narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih that Sa'id bin al-Musayyib reported from Salman that the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) addressed the people on the last day of Sha'ban and said: "O people, a great month has approached you, a blessed month. In it, there is a night that is better than a thousand months. Allah has made fasting in it obligatory, and standing (in prayer) at night voluntary. Whoever draws near to Allah with a good deed in it will be like one who performs an obligatory act in any other time. Whoever performs an obligatory act in it will be like one who performs seventy obligatory acts in any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward for patience is Paradise" (Reported by Ibn Khuzaymah).

Abu Hatim said, "The gratitude of the one who provides for the fasting person is to feed the Muslim and then not to disobey his Creator, strengthen him, and complete his gratitude by performing acts of obedience with his limbs. This is because the fasting person associates patience with his act of avoiding prohibitions. Similarly, the one providing for him should show gratitude that approximates or matches this patience. It is the act of refraining from prohibitions" [Sahih Ibn Hibban (Vol. 2/P. 18)].

 

The fasting person thus embodies the saying of Allah, the Most High: "And Allah loves the patient" [Al-Emran, 146].

 

The ultimate goal of fasting is to attain Taqwa (piety), as mentioned by Allah in the Quran: "O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous (achieve Taqwa)" [Al-Baqarah, 183].

 

As the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stated: "(Fasting is a shield)" [Reported by An-Nasai and others]. The meaning of fasting being a shield is that it protects the worshiper from indecency, sins, and wrongdoing. All of these aspects are encompassed in the concept of Taqwa (piety), which requires the worshiper to establish a shield between themselves and the disobedience of Allah. The result is the entry of the fasting person into the category of those whom Allah loves, as mentioned in the verse: "Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves" [At-Tawbah, 222].

 

Indeed, fasting serves not only to purify the body for worship but also purifies the heart from grudges, envy, and all forms of sins. Through fasting, a person elevates themselves above responding to insults and wrongs with anything other than, "I am a person who is fasting." This spiritual purification of the soul undoubtedly leads to the fulfillment of Allah's love, as mentioned in the verse: "And Allah loves those who purify themselves" [At-Tawbah, 108].

 

The ultimate outcome for the fasting person is to attain the love of Allah, the Most Mighty and Majestic. This is the pinnacle of success, as there is no greater achievement for a Muslim. By fasting during these designated days, one fulfills their utmost hopes and aspirations. When Allah, in His sublime love, is on your side, is there anything that can harm you thereafter?

 

In conclusion, this is just a brief overview of the virtues of the month of the Quran, Ramadan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on Jumu‘ah (Friday) prayer for a traveler, and what are the conditions for it to be waived from him?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Jumu‘ah (Friday) prayer is not obligatory upon a traveler, whether on a long or short journey, provided that — according to the Shāfi‘ī school — he departs from his place of residence before the time for Fajr prayer begins, and that he does not intend to stay in the place he travels to for four days or more, excluding the day of arrival and the day of departure. If he intends to stay longer than that, he may not make use of the travel concession simply by arriving in that town. If he begins his journey after the adhān for Fajr has already been called, then Jumu‘ah prayer remains obligatory upon him, whether in his own town or in any town where Jumu‘ah is being held.
It is stated in Bushrā al-Karīm (Vol.1/p.383), from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "Jumu‘ah [prayer] is not obligatory upon a traveler on a permissible journey, whether long or short, if he departs from his place of residence before Fajr."
A "short journey" refers to travel covering a distance shorter than that of a long journey — that is, less than (81 km). The traveler begins to be entitled to travel concessions once he passes beyond the built-up limits of his town. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

I bought an apartment, and I am saving money to pay the remaining balance of its price — is zakāh obligatory on this money?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Zakāh is obligatory on all saved/hoarded wealth. Once the total wealth reaches the niṣāb (minimum threshold liable for zakah— equivalent to the value of 85 grams of pure 24-karat gold) and a full ḥawl (lunar year) has elapsed over it, zakāh becomes obligatory at a rate of (2.5%) — even if the wealth is earmarked for basic future needs, and even if the wealth's owner is in debt. Debt does not prevent the obligation of zakāh, nor is it deducted when calculating the zakāh due, based on the general and unrestricted wording of all the Qur'anic verses commanding zakāh, which draw no distinction between someone in debt and anyone else.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik, from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "If someone possesses exactly the niṣāb, and owes an equivalent amount in debt, zakāh remains obligatory on what is in his possession, and the debt does not prevent this obligation" — meaning, the obligation of zakāh on what is presently in his possession.
The ḥawl (annual cycle) recognized for zakāh, as well as for the other sharī‘ah obligations that Allah, the Exalted, has imposed upon Muslims, is the Hijrī (lunar) year. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

"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.

Is it permissible to sleep before the time of the Fajr prayer begins, with the intention of waking up shortly afterward?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is permissible for a Muslim to sleep before the time of the Fajr prayer begins, intending to wake up and perform the prayer, by setting an alarm or asking someone to wake him. What is to be avoided is that a person sleeps while he predominantly assumes that he will not wake up for the prayer.
If he does not wake up until the time of the prayer has ended, he must make it up. It is recommended that he hasten to make it up as soon as he wakes, and likewise recommended that he make up its sunnah along with it.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ by Shaykh al-Islām Imam al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him): “Whoever was obliged to pray and did not pray until the time passed must make it up, because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): ‘Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it.’ It is recommended that he make it up immediately, because of the ḥadīth we have mentioned. If he delays it, that is permissible, because it is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) missed the Fajr prayer and did not pray it until he had left the valley. Had it been required immediately, he would not have delayed it. Abū Is-ḥāq said: If he left it without a valid Sharia excuse, he must make it up immediately, because he was negligent in delaying it.”
It is therefore the duty of every Muslim to keep the prayer in its proper time, seeking help from Allah the Exalted and striving against the self to do so. And Allah Almighty knows best.

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