On June 17, 2015 we will go out at maghrib and attempt to sight the hilal of Ramadan. We consider it Fard to sight the hilal on the 29th of Shaban. We will also track any sightings west of Makkah and west of our location (Arizona). Islamic days begin at sunset, so if it is sighted anywhere in the world before midnight local time (Arizona), we will consider the Month of Ramadan to have begun at sunset on June 17. Therefore, we will pray tarawih before midnight on June 17. The first day of fasting will then be June 18th. Should the hilal failed to be sighted by anyone on the 17th, we will revise this post.
Sawm as Mentioned by the Sources
Sawm as Mentioned by the Sources
Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in the Holy Qur'an:
O ye who believe! fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you that ye may (learn) self-restraint. Al-Baqara 2: 125
2:184. (Fasting) for a fixed Number of days; But if any of you is ill, or on a journey, The prescribed number (Should be made up) From days later. For those who can do it.
(With hardship), is a ransom, The feeding of one That is indigent. But he that will give More, of his own free will,— It is better for him. And it is better for you That ye fast, If ye only knew.
2:185 . Ramadhān is the (month)
In which was sent down
The Qur'ān, as a guide
to mankind, also clear (Signs)
For guidance and judgment
(Between right and wrong).
So every one of you
Who is present (at his home)
During that month
Should spend it in fasting,
But if any one is ill, Or on a journey The prescribed period (Should be made up) By days later.
God intends every facility For you; He does not want To put you to difficulties.
(He wants you) to complete The prescribed period, And to glorify Him
In that He has guided you; And perchance ye shall be grateful.
God intends every facility For you; He does not want To put you to difficulties.
(He wants you) to complete The prescribed period, And to glorify Him
In that He has guided you; And perchance ye shall be grateful.
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said,
Oh people, there come upon you now a great month, a most blessed month, in which lies a night greater in worth than a thousand months. It is a month in which Allah has made compulsory that the prescribed fast should be observed during the day, and He has made the Special Prayer (tarawih) by night a tradition. Whosoever tries to draw near to Allah by performing righteous deeds in this moth, for him or her shall be such reward as if he or she had performed a prescribed act of worship in any other time of the year. And whoever performs a prescribed act of worship for Allah, for him or her shall be the reward of seventy prescribed acts. This is indeed the month of patience and the reward for true patience is paradise. It is a month of sympathy with one’s fellow human beings, it is the month wherein a true believer’s provisions are increased. Whosoever feeds a person performing the prescribed fast at iftar, for him or her there shall be forgiveness of his or her sins and emancipation from the hellfire. And for him or her shall be the same reward for as for the one he or she has fed, without diminishing their reward in the least.”
The Prophet also said, “The month of Ramadan, the month of blessings has come to you, wherein Allah turns toward you and sends down to you His special mercy, forgives your faults, accepts your prayers, appreciates your competition to perform the highest goods, and speaks highly to the angels about you. So show Allah your righteousness, for verily, the most pitiable and unfortunate one is he who is deprived of Allah’s mercy in this month.”
Fasting is the one form of ibada that Allah has told us is for Him and Him alone. He alone knows if we are really fasting. We may be able to show off in prayer, but no one can show off in fasting. And Fasting is one way we can show Allah our love and gratitude to Him for all His blessings.
One of the most important factors in the fard sawm of Ramadan, is our intention – our niyat. Whether we make it daily or once, whether verbally or in the heart, we must have the intention to fast. And one of the ways we can show proof of that intention is by taking the Sahur or predawn meal.
The Prophet said, “ Verily, Allah and His Angels send mercy on those who eat the pre-dawn meal.”
Why is this Sahur so important? Physically, it is obvious. Drinking fluids and eating a light meal prepares the body for a day of fasting, especially during the hot times of the year like now. Sahur is taken after sleep, a time when we are not taking any fluids or nutrition, so it is essential in preparing the body to fast. The ideal, set by our Prophet (SAW) is to pray the Isha and tarawih, and then sleep until the time of tahajjud. He SAW would then wake and pray the tahajjud and witr prayers. After that, he would rest and take a light sleep. Then he SAW would wake and take the Sahur meal before the time of Fajr prayer. And he would eat and drink up until the time when the “white thread was distinct from the black thread of dawn,” in other words, until the very time of Fajr itself. He did not observe what some call Imsak.
Imsak, as we have mentioned before, is observed today because, unlike the people at the time of Rasulallah, we are not as sure when Fajr begins. So people start fasting some time before the Fajr time determined by calculation , so as to be on the safe side.
But the Sahur is important for other reasons as well. It reveals the degree of our Iman. How many people today watch soap operas all night, eat and drink until the early hours of the morning and then sleep through the time of Sahur and Fajr. Partying has become more “fard” than the fard acts of ibadah for too many of us. Waking up for Sahur, praying tahajud or witr before taking it, praying Fajr early in its time just after eating it, increases our Iman. It reminds us that Allah is the source of all of our provisions and in witnessing the dawn and the rising of the sun, some of His wonderous ayaat, we come to remember Him.
Some think they do not need Sahur. They are young or strong or above such things. Our Prophet was the strongest of us all and he took it. Are we better than him? Taking Sahur reminds us NO ONE IS STRONGER or BETTER! Allahu Akbar! We are only his slaves. Sahur is a cure for arrogance!
Don't Waste the Opportunity
The Prophet (SAW) said, “Many of those who fast obtain nothing through such fasting except hunger and thirst, and many a one performs fard prayer at night but obtains nothing by it except discomfort of staying awake.”
This is the month where in the Shaytans are chained and goods deeds become easy, but that does not mean that their performance will benefit us. We can still nullify them. we might fast by not eating or drinking or having sexual relations, but we do not fast with our tongues. We get enraged with each other, backbite each other, complain about each others behavior.
There are three levels of fasting. The Fast of the Body is abstention from food, drink, and sexual relations from dawn to sunset. Many friends freak out when you tell them you are fasting. "That's dangerous!" They do not understand the benefit of fasting. The same person might actually fast themselves without realizing it. Or they might go on some fad diet, not eat gluten, eat only fruit - who knows. But, when we talk of a fast connected to religion, they freak out.
Doctors have long touted the benefits of fasting. Many have mentioned the benefits of cleaning out the stomach, liver and bowels. Resting the internal organs is of great help in maintaining their function. Moreover, in an age of diabetes, fasting can help maintain sugar balance. Of course, all of these benefits depend on proper fasting. Too many of us over eat during Ramadan. We eat all night, and often we eat extremely sweet foods. So instead of benefits, we gain weight and get sick. This is not fasting... it is only gluttony. Fasting of the Body is not mere obtaining from food and drink during the day and then eating like crazy at night- it is an intentional practice designed to strengthen and condition the body.
The Fast of the Body also helps us maintain a proper relationship among the physical, mental and spiritual properties we all possess. We refrain from indulging in material pleasures and physical enjoyments. We remember that the source of our physical necessities - food, water, air, shelter and sex - the source is Allah SWT. Maslow, the social scientists, listed these as the fundamental necessities of human life. They are often called Maslow's needs. The great Muslim social scientist, ibn Kaldun also listed them as basic needs.
The Fast of the Body reminds us that the source of all these needs is Allah SWT, not the food itself, the water itself. There is no other source other than Allah SWT. Many today mistake their bosses, the companies they work for, and those who give them pay checks as their "rabb" or source of sustenance. They are deluded. Our bosses are only middle men. Allah SWT is the real source and Benefactor.
Others mistake themselves as "rabb." Pharaoh certainly was so deluded. But how many of us think it is our own efforts or work that provides us sustenance? "I am a doctor. I worked my way through school. I work in my office and so I provide for myself." How deluded we are? What if Allah SWT had not given us memory to memorize all the information we must retain to pass exams? What if we get Alzheimers? What if our parents and families had not provided us support while we were in school? What if we had not gotten that loan to start our doctor office? What if the patients had not shown up? What if we made a mistake and got sued for malpractice? What if..... Every moment of your life you are dependent upon Allah! Ramadan helps us to reconnect with this fact.
The second level of fasting is the Fast of the Mind. The goal here is not to cease using our minds - we do this often enough these days. The goal is to strengthen the mind, just as the Fast of the Body actually strengthens the physical body. Here, we exercise our Aql or intellect by consciously being aware of our thoughts, words and actions. We pay attention to what we are thinking, saying and doing. Too often we just act. We go on autopilot and do not maintain control of ourselves. It is ironic that so many seek to control others, but they cannot control themselves.
The Fast of Mind encourages us to pay attention and ensure that our thoughts, words and deeds are truly Islamic. We need to learn to "think like a Muslim." Our actions should always be consistent with our beliefs. We should never back bite, slander, create fitnah, seek division between friends or husbands and wives. We should never seek social strife. If we do, then we are hypocrits.
Every Ramadan I vow not to speak ill of others, but inevitably temptations and opportunities to do so arise over and over again, threatening to drown my good intentions. One year, I told a friend who regularly put down other Muslims, especially those whom we only see during Ramadan, that I had vowed to make the Fast of the Mind and that I did not want to speak of anyone in a negative way. The friend said that was great and that no one should put others down. He then proceeded to say, "but did you see those Ramadan Muslims, they are so ignorant..." I could not get the friend to see what he was doing. I sincerely pray to Allah (SWT) that this year will be different!
The Prophet is reported to have said, “Fasting is a protective shield for believers, as long as they do not tear it up.” Muslims should take care of five things in order to ensure their protective shield is not destroyed. First, one should watch one’s eyes – We must avoid looking at prohibited things, so are those masasal soap operas many of us watch really appropriate during this blessed time?
Second, one should be careful of the tongue – We should avoid lying, unnecessary conversation, backbiting, arguments, swearing. Remember that Allah compares backbiting to eating the flesh of one’s dead brother. And backbiting is saying something about someone that they would not be comfortable with or would not like. The difference between slander and backbiting is that slander is false – it is a lie, but backbiting is something that is true. Many a backbiter uses as his or her excuse, “ but it is true, fulan or fulanah is that way!” That is the essence of backbiting. The Prophet (SAW) warns us, “the backbiter and the one who listens are equal partners in the wrongdoing.”
Third, we should be careful of our ears and what they hear. We should listen more to the Qur’an, the word of Allah, than to the words of men, even if they are contained in nasheed.
Fourth, we should take care of the body, especially the stomach. We should not gorge on food all night. Some people gain weight in Ramadan. It is the best for both physical and spiritual health to eat less and to eat simply of the whole and natural foods Allah has produced.
And fifth, we should take care of whether our fast is accepted by Allah. This means that we should never assume it is. Our hearts should both fear that Allah has not accepted and hope that Allah has accepted all of our ibadah.
Second, one should be careful of the tongue – We should avoid lying, unnecessary conversation, backbiting, arguments, swearing. Remember that Allah compares backbiting to eating the flesh of one’s dead brother. And backbiting is saying something about someone that they would not be comfortable with or would not like. The difference between slander and backbiting is that slander is false – it is a lie, but backbiting is something that is true. Many a backbiter uses as his or her excuse, “ but it is true, fulan or fulanah is that way!” That is the essence of backbiting. The Prophet (SAW) warns us, “the backbiter and the one who listens are equal partners in the wrongdoing.”
Third, we should be careful of our ears and what they hear. We should listen more to the Qur’an, the word of Allah, than to the words of men, even if they are contained in nasheed.
Fourth, we should take care of the body, especially the stomach. We should not gorge on food all night. Some people gain weight in Ramadan. It is the best for both physical and spiritual health to eat less and to eat simply of the whole and natural foods Allah has produced.
And fifth, we should take care of whether our fast is accepted by Allah. This means that we should never assume it is. Our hearts should both fear that Allah has not accepted and hope that Allah has accepted all of our ibadah.
A couple rules on the fard fast of Ramadan!
Remember that the niyat should be made either at the beginning of the month or the night before the day you are intending to fast. Most madhahib require niyat to be made the night before.
Women in hayd and nifas (post-childbirth bleeding) are exempt , and they should make it up afterward.
Women who are pregnant or nursing need to consider their health and that of the child. The four Sunni Madhahib say she may fast and her fast is valid, but she is also permitted to refrain and to make up the days missed later. The Jafaari school maintains that her fast is NOT valid because of the prohibition of doing harm- la darar wa la daraar. Therefore, if harm is feared for the child, she should refrain from fasting and make it up later as well as feeding a needy person one Mudd of food. If she only fears harm for her self, then she need only make up the missed days.
All the schools agree that hardships such as travel or extreme heat may validly be used as an excuse to break the fast. Several Muslim countries have taken special measures this year to make fasting easier this year. Some ulema have issued fatawa making sure that the people understand, they may break the fast if they become unduly thirsty or faint. Islam is the religion of ease, not of hardship and fasting is an ibadaah not a suffering.
Finally, this is the month of Ramadan, the blessed month. We should use it wisely and remember Allah much.
152. Then do ye remember
Me; I will remember
You. Be grateful to Me,
And reject not Faith.
Me; I will remember
You. Be grateful to Me,
And reject not Faith.
