Fasting

As an Obligatory Ibadat
Introduction
SAWN
 One of the greatest acts of worship is fasting,
which Allah has made obligatory on Muslims
 Ramadan the ninth month of the Muslim year.
 Ordained in the Qu'ran,
 is an exacting act of deeply personal worship in
which Muslims seek a richer perception of God
 and in which Muslims assert that "man has larger
needs than bread."
True meaning of Fasting
The true meaning of Fasting is to Fast from
anything that distracts you from Remembrance of
God. n In Ramdan, fasting from food, water and
sex sets a context within which you can try to
establish God's presence in life.
Muslims are not supposed to only fast from food,
drinks and sex, but from all lust, all hypocrisy, all
lies, all dishonesty, all backbiting and all evil.
one must also refrain from cursing, lying, cheating,
and abusing or harming others n not eating too
much n being generous
The Reward of Fasting
Prophet Muhammad (saw) said that Allah (swt)
said :
All the deeds of man are for himself
except for fasting, which is for Me
and I shall reward it Myself(Al-
Bukhari, Al-Fath, 1904)
Significance of Ramadan
 It is the best of months
 The Quran was revealed in this month
 It is a month of Blessing, Mercy, and
Forgiveness
 The doors of heaven are opened
 The doors of hell are closed
 The shaytaan is chained up
 Rewards are multiplied from 10-700 times
 There is one night (laylatul-qadr) that is
better than 1000 months
Significance of Fasting according to
Ahdith
 Whoever fasts one day, seeking the pleasure of
Allah, if that is the last day of his life, he will enter
Paradise. (Reported by Ahmad, 5/391)
 In paradise there is a gate called al-Rayyan,
through which who will fast will enter, and no one
will enter it except them; when they have entered,
it will be locked, and no-one else will enter
through it. (Al-Bukhari, fath, no. 1797)
 Whoever fasts one day for the sake of Allah, Allah
will remove him a distance of seventy years’ from
the Hell-fire. (Muslim, 2/808)
Prophet (PBUH) said…..
Whoever breaks the fast during Ramadan
without a legitimate excuse has committed a
serious major sin. n The Prophet said that he
had a dream where: I saw people hanging
from their hamstrings, with the corners of
their mouths torn and dripping with blood.
And that these were those who broke their
fast before it was the proper time to do so,’
(Saheeh al-Targheeb, 1/420).
Obligations
“… Observing al-sawm (the fasting) is
prescribed for you as it was prescribed
for those before you, that you may
become al-muttaqoon (the pious).” [al-
Baqarah 2:183]
Who is obliged to fast?
 sane
 settled who is able to fast
 adult
 Muslim
Exemptions
 Travellers - make it up later
 The Sick - make it up later or give to the
poor if chronically ill n Elderly - "And as
for those who can fast with difficulty (e.g.,
an old man, etc.), they have (a choice
either to fast or) to feed a poor person
(for every day)" [al-Baqarah 2:184]: ” n
Soldiers in battle
Duration of Fasting
From Dawn to Dusk
When the dawn comes - which is the white
light coming across the horizon in the
East – till sun setting.
the fasting person must stop eating and
drinking straightaway, whether he hears
the adhaan or not.
Objectives behind its obligation
Fasting is prescribed to us
 so that we can learn how to appreciate
the things in life Allah gives us.
 It stops us from doing haram things.
 Fasting enables us to control our desires.
It also makes us feel compassionate
toward the poor
Benefits of Fasting
 Fasting teaches us patience
 It teaches us that we should stop wasting
our time on useless things such as
➢ TV-its not right to stay in the same position
for a long time
➢ Chatting with friends-useless talk
➢ Smoking
➢ Gheebat-eating dead brothers meat
➢ Excessive eating
➢ Excessive sleeping
What should be done during
Ramadan
Preparation
Repent n Right frame of mind
Read the Qu’ran many times
Rulings on fasting
 You must make up for fasting missed but
not on consecutive days, or Fridays or at
Eid.
 You cannot fast all of your life..