mh52+@andrew.cmu.edu (Mohamed Adzlee Harun) (03/16/91)
FASTING As we all know fasting is one of the 5 pillars of Islam without which the Muslim or Muslima cannot be regarded as a full believer. Allah says: ~You who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you,.........~ (2: 183) With this kind of instruction, we know that fasting is compulsory for Muslims. Sawm means to abstain and saim is the person who abstain from his/her food, drink, etc. In Sura Al-Baqara, Allah says ~And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn appears to you distinct from its black thread. Then complete your fast till the night appears.~ (2: 188) Significance of month of Ramadhan: 1. ~The month of Ramadhan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs of the guidance and criterion of right and wrong.~ It was in the month of Ramadhan that all the revealed books of Allah were sent for the guidance of mankind. The sahaif(treatises) of Prophet Ibrahim (as) were sent to him during the first or third of this month. Prophet Daud~s Zabur (psalms) were sent to him during the 12th or 18th of this month. Prophet Musa(as) got his Torah on 6th of Ramadhan and Prophet Isa(as) was given Injil(Gospels)on 12th and 13th Ramadhan. In this way the month of Ramadhan is a month of Guidance for the entire mankind. 2. Reference has also been maid in Sura Al-Qadr : ~ We have indeed revealed this message in the night of Power and what will explain to thee what the night of power is? The night of power is better than a thousand months.~ 3. The month of Ramadhan is the month of self-discipline for Muslims. Fasting helps bring our passions under control and thus gives a shine to soul and gives special taste in our prayers and devotions and removes false sense of prestige in our minds. Fasting keeps our faith in Al Mighty Allah a living force. Wahat may be contrary to feelings or views of many non-Muslims, fasting is not intended to inflict punishment or saddle upon the saim unbearable burden. Fasting cleanse our spiritual and moral being, and is indeed dispensable for these moral and spiritual training. 4. We eat, drink and develop many habits we have easily become slaves of. Allah has made fasting obligatory to free us from those slavish habits. When we fast, our soul which is essentially divine gains its freedom by subjugation of the carnal desires. By voluntarily abstaining from food, suppression of sexual desires and keeping away from any form of moral degradation, the soul attains victory over the flesh and this begins to understand his duties to Allah and his duties towards fellow beings. Fasting is a form of social democracy as well. The king and the servant, rich and poor alike are the same as all are commanded by Allah to fast. In this way the rich must also experience the pain and suffering the poor experience. 5. Whereas other forms of Ibadah are peculiar to Muslims, fasting is not. It is ordained by Allah to all mankind at different periods of time to our day. 6. During Ramadhan, our acts and rewards for them are multiplied about seventy times. This was narrated by Salman that the messenger of Allah(saw) said that if someone fulfills any fardhu activity during Ramadhan, it is as if he fulfilled seventy obligatory acts during the time other than Ramadhan. This is the month of forbearance and the reward for it is paradise. 7. According to another hadith by Qudsi, Allah says all our actions are for ourselves, except fasting. ~ It is for Me and I shall give reward for it~. 8. Another distinguishing feature of Islamic fasting is that it does not train a person for complete renunciation but of his pleasures but for perfect and cheerful obedience as to the Lord. All those things which man is commanded to abstain during fast, such as eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse become permissible for him at the end of the fast. Islam does not look down upon the appetite of flesh as taboo and thus fit to be rooted out. 9. Fasting as institution for moral elevation can be judged from the fact that Allah does not impose check only upon eating, drinking and the like, but also exhorts us to refrain from other foul acts like backbiting, foul speech, telling lies. Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet (saw)had said, ~If one does not abandon falsehood and other actions like it Allah Has no need that one should abandon one~s food and drink~. Conditions for fasting 1. Making niyya(intention) 2. Attahara(cleanliness) -the woman must not be under menstruation and men must have taken his ghusul(bath) if he had ejaculation. 3. Akal(mental stability) 4. Baligh(Adulthood) 5. Muslim 6. Capability - fasting is not obligatory for those incapacitated over old age, chronic diseases,etc.