1) What is Ramadhan / Fasting?

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, may be 29 or 30 days long. An Islamic
month begins with the sighting of the new crescent in the western horizon, immediately after sunset.
Muslims look toward the western horizon for the new moon on the 29th day of Sha'ban, the eighth
month. If the new moon is sighted, Ramadan has begun with the sunset but fasting begins with the next
dawn. If the new moon is not sighted on this 29th day, Muslims complete 30 days of Sha'ban and
Ramadan begins the following day.

Allah says in the Qur'an: O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed
for those before you, that you may attain God-consciousness. (2:183)

In the month of Ramadan the Qur'an was revealed, a book of guidance with proofs of guidance
distinguishing right from wrong. Therefore whoever of you is present in that month let him fast. But who
is ill or on a journey shall fast a similar number of days later on. Allah desires your well-being, not your
discomfort. He desires you to fast the whole month so that you may magnify Him and render thanks to
Him for giving you His guidance. (2:185)

Accordingly, the month of Ramadan is called the month of the Qur'an. Therefore, Muslims have
tradition of reciting Qur'an frequently in this month. Sawm means a fast that begins with dawn and
ends with sunset. Muslims rise before dawn, eat Sahur (pre-dawn meal) and drink liquids for the
preparation of sawm.

Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the deeds of worship required of all Muslims who have
attained puberty. Women who are having their menstrual period or who have not fully recovered from
childbirth postpone the fast until they are completely out of their special conditions. In addition, those
who are ill or in travel may choose to postpone their fast.

2) What are the recommeded fast?

1. 6 Days in Shawal

The month of Shawwal immediately follows the month of Ramadan and offers a great opportunity
to continue the good habits gained in Ramadan. It can be difficult to switch eating habits so quickly after
Ramadan, so many find it fruitful to fast intermittent days after the end of Ramadan, and take advantage
of the blessings.

2. Mondays and Thursdays

Aishah narrated: "The Prophet used to try to fast on Mondays and Thursdays" [Tirmidhi, Nasai, and
Ibn Majah].

3. Fridays

Fridays are the most blessed day of the week. Rewards of good deeds are multiplied, however, one
should not fast Friday alone, but in combination with Thursday or Saturday.
4. The White Days (Ayam Al-Beedh)

Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to me: “It is
sufficient for you to fast three days every month, because for every good deed you will have (the reward
of) ten like it, so that will be like fasting for a lifetime” [Bukhari and Muslim].

5. Day of Ashura - 10th of Muharram

The 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, commemorates the day Allah saved
Prophet Musa, peace be upon him, and his followers from their adversaries. There’s no day better to
fast in after Ramadan than Muharram.

6. Arafah - 9th of Dhul-Hijjah

For those not performing Hajj, fasting the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah (the 10th being Eid Al-Adha)
is recommended. In particular, the Day of Arafah, being the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah, is highly recommended.

7. Shaban

The month of Shaban precedes the month of Ramadan, and is an ample opportunity to prepare for
Ramadan, both spiritually and physically.

3) What are the dislikes of fasting?

1. Exaggerating while rinsing the mouth and cleaning the nose is disliked during performing the Wudhu'
(ablutions for prayer).

2. Acts that lead to sexual arousal Kissing and embracing the wife with sexual desire (i.e. fondling, etc.)
or acts that lead to sexual arousal are disliked.

3. Not keeping away from sin The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: “When any of you is fasting, let him not commit
sin…” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, no. 1904). The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Whoever does not stop
speaking falsehood and acting in accordance with it, Allaah has no need of him giving up his food and
drink.” (Al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, no. 1903).

4. Among the things that can destroy one’s hasanaat (good deeds) and bring sayi’aat (bad deeds) is
allowing oneself to be distracted by quiz-shows, soap operas, movies and sports matches, idle
gatherings, hanging about in the streets with evil people and time-wasters, driving around for no
purpose, and crowding the streets and sidewalks, so that the months of tahajjud, dhikr and worship, for
many people, becomes the month of sleeping in the day so as to avoid feeling hungry, thus missing their
prayers and the opportunity to pray them in congregation, then spending their nights in entertainment
and indulging their desires.

5. Eating too much, The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: “The son of Adam fills no worse vessel than his stomach.”
(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2380; he said, this is a hasan saheeh hadeeth).
6. Stopping Suhoor at Imsaak Some people stop eating Suhoor 10-15 minutes earlier than the time of
Fajr to observe Imsaak.

7. Saying the intention to fast out loud or saying a specific dua to start fasting The intention is an action
of the heart.

8. Fasting but not praying The fasting of one who does not pray WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. This is because
not praying constitutes kufr as the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: "Between a man and shirk and kufr there stands
his giving up prayer." (Muslim)

4) What are the forbidden fasting?

Prohibited fasts are the fasts that are prohibited. The days on which fasting is prohibited include:

1. Fasting on the days of doubt: 1 or 2 days before Ramadhaan

2. Fasting every day of the year

3. A married woman keeping a voluntary fast without her husband’s permission

4. Fasting all day & night continuously

5. Fasting on Ayyaamut Tashreeq: The three days following ‘Eidul Adha.

6. Fasting on ‘Eidul Fitr and ‘Eidul Adhaa.

5) Give atleast five hadith regarding virtues of Ramadhan

1. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “The month of Ramaḍān has come to you, a blessed month in
which Allah – Exalted and Majestic is He – has obligated (its) fasting upon you. In it the gates of Paradise
are opened, the gates of Hell-fire are closed, and the rebellious devils are chained. In it, Allah has a night
which is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of its good is truly deprived!” (Nasā’ī
2106)

2. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “When it is the first night of the month of Ramadān, the devils
and the rebellious jinn are tied up; the doors of Hell-fire are closed, and none of its doors are opened.
The doors of Paradise are opened, and none of its doors are closed. A caller calls out: ‘O seeker of good,
come forward! O seeker of evil, stop!’ And every night, Allah frees slaves from the Hell-fire.” (Tirmidhī
682)

3. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Every action of the son of Ādam is multiplied: a good deed
receiving a tenfold to seven hundredfold reward. Allah the Mighty and Exalted has said: ‘Except for
fasting. It is for Me and I will (personally) reward it; he abandons his desires and food for My sake.’ The
fasting person will have two moments of joy: one when he opens his fast, and the other when he will
meet his Lord. The unpleasant smell coming out of his mouth is more fragrant to Allah than musk.”
(Muslim 1151)
4. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬quoting Prophet Yaḥyā (ʿalayhis-salām) said: “And I command you to
fast. Indeed, the similitude of (fasting) is a man carrying a pouch of musk in a crowd of people, all of
them marvelling at its fragrance. Indeed, the breath of the fasting person is more fragrant to Allah than
the scent of musk” (Tirmidhī 2863)

5. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Indeed, there is a gate in Paradise called al-Rayyān. Those who
fasted will enter through it on the Day of Judgement. No one else will enter through it along with them.
It will be said: ‘Where are those who fasted?’ Then they will get up, and there will be none other than
them to enter through it. Once they have all entered, it will be closed and no one else will enter through
it.” (Bukhārī 1896)

6. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Fasting is a shield from the Hell-fire.” (Tirmidhī 764)

7. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Whoever provides iftār for a fasting person, he will have the
same reward as him, without anything being diminished from the reward of the fasting person.”
(Tirmidhī 807)

8. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “There are three whose duʿā’ is not rejected: the fasting person
until he opens his fast, the just leader, and the supplication of the oppressed person…” (Tirmidhī 3598)

9. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Fasting the Month of patience (i.e. Ramaḍān) and three days of
every month remove the ‘evil traits’ (waḥar) of the heart.” (Aḥmad 7577)

10. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Whoever observes the fasts of Ramaḍān with firm belief and
hoping for reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven.” (Bukhārī 2014)

11. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Indeed Allah has freed slaves (from Hell) every day and night.
Every slave from them has an accepted supplication.” (Aḥmad 7450)

6) The Conditions required for fasting

1) Being a Muslim

Fasting is obligatory for a Muslim. Non-Muslims are not liable for the commands and prohibitions
of Islam.

2) Being Sane and Adolescent

Fasting is not obligatory for a child, a mentally ill person, an unconscious person, or a drunk
person. Since they are not qualified to fast, they are not the addressee of the order.

3) Being able to Fast and Being a Resident

Fasting is not obligatory for the ill and the travelers. However, if they fast, their fast is valid. If they
do not fast, they will make up for the days they could not fast.
7) What are the fasting of travellers?

A. TRAVEL DEFINED AND DELIMITED

The kind of travel that allows one to break one’s fast must fulfill at least three conditions, and a fourth,
according to all but the Hanafi juristic school:

1. DISTANCE: Enough for one to shorten the ritual prayer (about 50 miles, according to most scholars,
but the norm, which is the better measure, is what is considered by people of the time and place a
journey).

2. DURATION: The person in the state of travel or far from home does not have the intention of staying
at that destination for more than three days. In this latter case, the person may be permitted to not fast
during the travel (if they fulfill the requirements of distance, exceedance, and intentionality), but must
resume the fast when they arrive at their destination of more than three days.

3. EXCEEDANCE: One must go beyond the limits of the city or town one is staying in. This means if one
were to travel 50 miles but still be within his metropolitan or town area, it would not count as travel.
The question of whether one’s metropolitan area remains as one’s town or home region should be
taken seriously, such as Greater Chicago, for instance.

4a INTENTIONALITY: According to the majority of scholars, the person undertaking the journey must not
be making it for unlawful reasons or to unlawful destinations, like a gambling trip to Las Vegas. This is
because the allowance to break one’s fast is to make travel easy. If someone is undertaking an unlawful
action, they are not included in the principle of creating ease for the traveler.

4b INTENTIONALITY: The Hanafis allow for one who is traveling for something unlawful to break fast
because there is no Text of revelation (a verse of the Quran or hadith statement of or report regarding
the Prophet, on him be peace) that specifies that the justification for fast breaking is restricted to one
traveling for lawful purposes. Further, they specify that the act of traveling itself is not unlawful. So, the
fasting exemption, according to the Hanafis, is connected to travel itself, not what occurs thereafter or
as a result of it.

B. THE ELEMENT OF “TIME OF DAY” AND TRAVEL

The time of day when one begins traveling affects the permissibility of fast breaking during Ramadan.
Jurists identify three time-oriented situations, and append to this discussion a fourth occurrence
regarding the breastfeeding or pregnant woman:

1. THE PRE-DAWN TRAVELER: A traveler who begins his or her travel in Ramadan before fajr (dawn),
who has intended to travel at that time and to break his or her fast in so doing, has the consensus of
jurists that he or she can break fast. The rationale is that such a one is already in a state of travel when
the cause for the obligation of fasting — namely, the onset of dawn — begins.
2. THE POST-DAWN TRAVELER: A traveler who begins his or her travel after fajr (dawn) — according to
the majority of jurists — is disallowed from breaking fast, since such a one has already begun an
obligatory fast in a state of being settled, or resident. Ahmad ibn Hanbal dissents from this position and
holds that once travel begins one is permitted to break fast, as travel, unrestricted by time, is itself the
cause for the allowance of fast breaking.

8) The fasting of ill person

Illness is any condition that takes a person outside the bounds of health as the result of some
indisposition. Ibn Qudamah (d. 1223ce) said: “There is consensus among the scholars regarding the
permissibility of breaking the fast due to illness in general, as stated in the verse of the Quran: Yet if one
among you is sick or is on a journey, [such a person shall then fast] the same number of other days
(Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:185).

Some scholars divide the sick into four classes regarding the obligation to fast:

A. THE UNABLE: One who cannot fast because of a valid fear of an illness or debilitating weakness that
fasting will likely cause. In this case, one must break one’s fast. It is an obligation to do so.

B. THE ABLE WITH HARDSHIP: Fasting imposes a great hardship on this person. Such a one must fast,
unless it is legitimately determined that the fast is very likely to result in physical harm.

C. THE ABLE WITH HARDSHIP AND FEAR OF ILLNESS: One who is able to fast, but with great hardship,
who fears that fasting will exacerbate his or her sickness. Such a person is justified in breaking fast.
According to one opinion, this person “must” break the fast. According to another, he or she “should”
break the fast.

D. THE ABLE WITH DIFFICULTY: One for whom fasting creates great difficulty but to whom it does not
present any genuine physical danger. This individual is obligated to complete his or her fast.

9) The fasting of pregnant or breastfeeding women

With regard to breastfeeding mothers – and also pregnant women – two scenarios may apply:

1- If the woman is not affected by fasting, and fasting is not too difficult for her, and she does not fear
for her child, then she is obliged to fast, and it is not permissible for her not to fast.

2- If the woman fears for herself or her child because of fasting , and fasting is difficult for her, then she
is allowed not to fast, but she has to make up for the days that she does not fast.

In this situation it is better for her not to fast , and it is makruh for her to fast. Some of the scholars
stated that if she fears for her child, it is obligatory for her not to fast and it is haram for her to fast.

10) The sunnah recommended act of fasting

1. Sunnah To Eat Suhoor or Sehri.

 Anas (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah’s Messenger (‫ )ﷺ‬as saying: Take meal a little
before dawn, for there is a blessing in taking meal at that time. [1]

2. Sunnah To Avoid Getting Angry or Swearing.

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (‫ )ﷺ‬as saying: Allah the Exalted and Majestic said:
Every act of the son of Adam is for him, except fasting. It is (exclusively) meant for Me and I (alone) will
reward it. Fasting is a shield.

3. Sunnah To Be Generous.

It was narrated from ‘Ubaidullah bin ‘Abdullah bin ‘Utabah that ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas used to say:
“The Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬was the most generous of people, and he was most generous in
Ramadan when Jibril met him.

4. Sunnah To Break The Fast With Dates.

Narrated Anas ibn Malik: The Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬used to break his fast before praying
with some fresh dates; but if there were no fresh dates, he had a few dry dates, and if there were no dry
dates, he took some mouthfuls of water. [4]

5. Sunnah To Break The Fast As Soon As You Can (Hasten to Iftar).

Sahl b. Sa’d (Allah be pleased with him) repotted Allah’s Messenger (‫ )ﷺ‬as saying: The people
will continue to prosper as long as they hasten the breaking of the fast. [5]

6. Sunnah to Avoid Negative Talk.

Narrated Abu Hurairah: The Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬as saying: Fast is a shield; when one of you is fasting,
he should neither behave in an obscene manner nor foolishly. If a man fights or abuses him, he should
say: I am fasting, I am fasting. [6]

7. Pray Taraweeh.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬said, “He
who observes optional prayer (Tarawih prayers) throughout Ramadan, out of sincerity of Faith and in
the hope of earning reward will have his past sins pardoned.” [7]