The Secret of Fasting ‎‎‎- III

12/07/2011| IslamWeb

Imitating angels‎

‎Fasting is abandoning food, drink and sexual desire, so it entails becoming similar to angels and making the soul more elevated in a way that brings it closer to the state that Allah The Almighty created at first. When abandoning food, drink and sexual desire, one tightens the channels of the devil in the blood as fasting is an act of obedience that brings the slave closer to Allah The Almighty and disgraces His enemies.‎

Favorable to Allah The Almighty‎

‎‎"With the exception of fasting, for it is done for Me and I will give a reward for it." It is a great honor for fasting that Allah The Almighty attributed it to Himself as it is one of the most favorable acts of worship for Him.‎‎ ‎The Prophet, , said:‎ ‎"Abide by fasting as nothing is like it (in reward)." [An-Nasaa’i] [Al-Albaani: Saheeh]‎ ‎This Hadeeth means that fasting is the best act of worship in the sight of Allah The Almighty and this is why He grants rewards for it without informing anyone about the amount of this reward.‎

‎Answering supplications and great bounties‎

‎Fasting is one of the best means of answering the supplication and this is why the verse that deals with supplication was mentioned between two verses that deal with fasting. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): ‎

·        ‎‎{The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Quran} ‎[Quran 2:185]‎ 185]

·        ‎{And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near.}‎ ‎[Quran 2:186]‎

·         ‎{It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives [for sexual relations].}‎ ‎[Quran 2:187].

·        This includes four interesting points:‎

‎The first one indicates that the verse alludes to the priority of responding to the supplication of those who are fasting.‎

‎The second one ‎is that Allah The Almighty does not place a mediator between Him and His slaves with regard to responding to their supplication even if His slaves used a mediator to supplicate Him.‎ ‎In the Quran, you can find more than thirteen different occurrences of ‎ ‎"they ask you about such, tell them..."‎ ‎An example of this is the verse in which Allah The Almighty Says (what means):‎ ‎{They ask you about wine and gambling.}‎ ‎[Quran 2:219] and there are many other examples.‎ ‎When the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, asked the Prophet, , about Allah The Almighty, ‎"Is our Lord near so we would converse with Him privately or Is He far so that we would call Him (loudly)?” Allah The Almighty answered them Saying (what means):‎ ‎{And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.}‎ ‎[Quran 2:186] Thus, Allah The Almighty removed any mediation between Himself and His slaves.‎

‎The third one ‎ is ‎saying "when he calls upon Me" indicates that the supplication will be answered just as the slave supplicated His Lord.‎

‎The fourth one‎ ‎is that Allah The Almighty concluded His speech about fasting by Saying (what means):‎ ‎{And do not consume one another's wealth unjustly...}‎ ‎[Quran 2:188] This indicates that the fruit of fasting is that one would avoid consuming the wealth of others unjustly. This is because fasting means abandoning the consumption of one's wealth justly, so how can one consume the wealth of others unjustly? ‎

‎Abandoning what is lawful‎

‎Fasting is to abandon what is lawful such as food, drink and sexual intercourse (with one's wife), so it is preferred to abandon what is prohibited. The Prophet, , said:‎ ‎"…while his food is ill-gotten, his clothing is ill-gotten and he is fed from ill-gotten money; then how could his supplication be answered?" [Muslim]‎

‎Perhaps silence is the way to be saved‎

‎One type of fasting is to abstain from permissible speech since that is recommended. Allah The Almighty Says (what means):

·        {"Your sign is that you will not [be able to] speak to the people for three days except by gesture.}[Quran 3:41]‎ ‎

·        {say, 'Indeed, I have vowed to the most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man.' "} [Quran 19:26]‎ ‎

Fasting includes abstaining from prohibited speech such as obscenties, backbiting, tale-bearing and falsehood. The Prophet, , said:‎ ‎"Whoever does not eschew false statements and working accordingly, Allah does not need him to abstain from his food and drink." [Al-Bukhari]‎

‎The time of fasting is Ramadan‎

‎Fasting has been made obligatory during the month of Ramadan which is the best month and it is the month when the Quran was revealed. It is the month of Allah The Almighty and this is why fasting is worthy of the reward of Allah. ‎ ‎In Arabic, the word Ramadan is derived from a word that means 'burning' as this month burns sins.‎

‎O Allah! Allow us to live to witness Ramadan and help us fast it and pray in it, and accept from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing.‎

The Secret of Fasting - I

The Secret of Fasting - II