1. Hadrat Sayyiduna
Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu reported that the Messenger of Allah
(SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has
said,
إذا
دخل
رمضان
فتحت
أبواب
السماء
(وفي
رواية)
فتحت
أبواب
الجنة
وغلقت
أبواب
النار
وسلسلت
الشياطين
(وفي
رواية)
فتحت
أبواب
الرحمة
“When Ramadan
begins, the doors of heaven are opened.” A version has, “the doors of Paradise
are opened and the doors of Hell are closed, and the Satans are tied with
chains.” Another version has, “the doors of Mercy are opened.”
[Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, Page 255 and Sahih
al-Muslim, Vol. 1, Page 346]
Hadrat Shaykh ‘Abd al-Haq Muhaddith-e-Dehlwi
Alaihir raHmah
comments:
The meaning of the “Doors of heaven” being opened is the continuous descending
of mercy, and the ascension of good deeds to the Court of the Almighty without
any obstacle (preventing it from ascending). It also means the acceptance of
(permissible) supplications. The meaning of the “doors of Paradise” being opened
is being encouraged and granted the ability to perform good deeds, and the
acceptance of these good deeds. The meaning of the “doors of Hell” being closed
is the protection of the souls of those who fast, from things which have been
forbidden by the Islamic Law, and rescue from the things which provoke a person
on doing bad deeds. It also means to break the desire which the heart has of
things of lust. The meaning of Satan being tied with chains is the sealing off
of all the ways by which evil whispers enter the mind.
[Ashi’ah al-Lam’at]
2. Hadrat Abu
Hurairah Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu reported that the Messenger of Allah
(SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has said,
من
صام
رمضان
إيمانا
واحتسابا
غفر
له
ما
تقدم
من
ذنبه
ومن
قام
رمضان
إيمانا
واحتسابا
غفر
له
ما
تقدم
من
ذنبه
ومن
قام
ليلة
القدر
إيمانا
واحتسابا
غفر
له
ما
تقدم
من
ذنبه
“Whoever
fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward (from Allah SubHanuhu wa
Ta'ala) all his past sins will be forgiven. Whoever prays during the night in
Ramadan with faith seeking his reward (from Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala) all his
past sins will be forgiven. And whoever passes Lailat-ul-Qadr in prayer with
faith and seeking his reward (from Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala) all his past sins
will be forgiven.” [Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 1, Page
255 and Sahih al-Muslim, Vol. 1, Page 259]
3. Hadrat Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu reported that the Messenger of
Allah (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has
said,
إذا
كان
أول
ليلة
من
شهر
رمضان
صفدت
الشياطين
ومردة
الجن
وغلقت
أبواب
النار
فلم
يفتح
منها
باب
وفتحت
أبواب
الجنة
فلم
يغلق
منها
باب
وينادى
مناد
يا
باغى
الخير
أقبل
ويا
باغى
الشر
أقصر
ولله
عتقاء
من
النار
وذلك
كل
ليلة
“When the
first night of Ramadan comes, the satans and the rebellious Jinn are chained,
the doors of hell are closed and not one of them is opened (during the entire
the month of Ramadan); the doors of Paradise are opened and none of them are
closed (for the entire month of Ramadan); and a crier calls, ‘Those who desire
what is good, come forward, and those who desire evil refrain from it’, and many
people are freed from Hell by Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala, and that happens every
night.” [Tirmidhi, Vol. 1, Page 153 and Ibn Maajah,
Vol. 1, Page 118]
4. Hadrat Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu reported that the Messenger of
Allah (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has
said,
أتاكم
رمضان
شهر
مبارك
فرض
الله
عز
وجل
عليكم
صيامه
تفتح
فيه
أبواب
السماء
وتغلق
فيه
أبواب
الجحيم
وتغل
فيه
مردة
الشياطين
لله
فيه
ليلة
خير
من
ألف
شهر
من
حرم
خيرها
فقد
حرم
“Ramadan, a
blessed month, has come to you during which Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala has made
it obligatory for you to fast. In it the doors of Heaven are opened, the doors
of Hell are closed, and the rebellious satans are chained. In it there is a
night (worshiping in it) which is better than (worshiping for) a thousand
months. Whoever is deprived of its good (and blessing) has indeed been deprived
of all good.” [Nasa’i, Vol. 1, Page 299 and Mishkat,
Vol. 1, Page 173]
5. Hadrat Salman al-Farisi Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu reported that on the last day
of Sha’ban the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) delivered a
sermon. He (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said,
يا
أيها
الناس
قد
أظلكم
شهر
عظيم
،
شهر
مبارك
،
شهر
فيه
ليلة
خير
من
ألف
شهر
،
جعل
الله
صيامه
فريضة
،
وقيام
ليله
تطوعا
،
من
تقرب
فيه
بخصلة
من
الخير
كان
كمن
أدى
فريضة
فيما
سواه
،
ومن
أدى
فريضة
فيه
كان
كمن
أدى
سبعين
فريضة
فيما
سواه
،
وهو
شهر
الصبر
،
والصبر
ثوابه
الجنة
،
وشهر
المواساة
،
وشهر
يزاد
في
رزق
المؤمن
،
من
فطر
فيه
صائما
كان
له
مغفرة
لذنوبه
،
وعتق
رقبته
من
النار
،
وكان
له
مثل
أجره
من
غير
أن
ينقص
من
أجره
شيء
“O people, a
great month, a blessed month, a month wherein there is a night which is better
than a thousand months has come to you. Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala has made the
observance of fasting during it as obligatory, and the standing (in prayer) in
its nights as voluntary. Whoever draws near to Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala during
it with some good (voluntary, optional) act he is like the one who fulfils an
obligatory duty in another month, and whoever fulfils an obligatory duty in it
is like the one who fulfils seventy obligatory duties in another month. It is
the month of endurance and the reward of endurance is Paradise. It is the month
of sharing with others, and a month in which the believer’s provision is
increased. Whoever gives one who has been fasting something with which to break
his fast it shall result in the forgiveness of his sins and it shall save him
from Hell, and he will have a reward equal to his without his reward being
diminished in any respect.”
We said,
يا
رسول
الله
،
ليس
كلنا
يجد
ما
يفطر
الصائم
“O Messenger
of Allah (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam), none from among us has the means to give
one who is fasting something with which to break his fast.
He said,
يعطي
الله
هذا
الثواب
من
فطر
صائما
على
مذقة
لبن
أو
تمرة
أو
شربة
من
ماء
،
ومن
أشبع
صائما
سقاه
الله
من
حوضي
شربة
لا
يظمأ
حتى
يدخل
الجنة
،
وهو
شهر
أوله
رحمة
،
وأوسطه
مغفرة
،
وآخره
عتق
من
النار
من
خفف
عن
مملوكه
فيه
غفر
الله
له
وأعتقه
من
النار
“Allah
SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala gives this reward to him who gives one who is fasting some
milk, or a date, or a drink of water with which to break his fast; and whoever
gives a full meal to one who is fasting Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala will give him
the drink from my Pond (fountain – Kauthar) and he will not feel the thirst till
he enters Paradise. It is a month whose beginning is Mercy, whose middle is
Forgiveness, and whose end is Freedom from Hell. Whoever makes things easy for
his slave during it, Allah will forgive him and free him from Hell.”
[Shau'ab al-Imam lil Bayhaqi, Vol. 8, Page 120 and
Mishkat, Page 173]
6. Hadrat Abu
Hurairah Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu reported that the Holy Prophet (SallAllahu
Alaihi wa Sallam) has
said,
أنه
يغفر
لأمته
في
آخر
ليلة
من
رمضان
،
قيل
:
يا
رسول
الله
أهي
ليلة
القدر
؟
قال
:
لا
،
ولكن
العامل
إنما
يوفى
أجره
إذا
قضى
عمله
“My Ummah is
granted forgiveness in the last night of Ramadan. It was asked, “O Messenger of
Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala, is it Lailatul Qadr?” He said, “No, but a workman
(slave of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala) is paid wages in full when he finishes
work.” [Musnad Imam Ahmad, Vol. 2, Page 567]
7. Hadrat Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu reported that the Messenger of
Allah (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has
said,
من
ذرعه
القىء
فليس
عليه
قضاء
ومن
استقاء
عمدا
فليقض
“It is not
necessary to fast again (do qaza) for a person who naturally vomited. Those who
vomit on purpose, then it is necessary on them to fast again.”
[Tirmidhi, Vol. 1, Page 153 and Sunan Abi Dawud,
Vol. 1, Page 324]
8. Hadrat Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu reported that the Messenger of
Allah (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has
said,
من
لم
يدع
قول
الزور
والعمل
به
فليس
لله
حاجة
فى
أن
يدع
طعامه
وشرابه
“If one (who
is fasting) does not give up falsehood and action according to it, Allah
SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala has no need that he should give up his food and his drink.”
[Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, Page 255]
Shaykh ‘Abd Al-Haq Muhaddith-e-Dehlwi Alaihir
raHmah comments:
This means that his fast shall not be accepted, as the main purpose of fast
being made obligatory on a Muslim is not that one stays hungry and thirsty; but
in fact the main purpose is to break the desire for lust, and to cool the fire
of selfishness, so that the soul instead of being inclined towards the desires
of lust, it becomes obedient towards the commands of The Almighty.
[Ashi’ah al-Lam’at, Vol. 2, Page 85]
9. Hadrat
Salmah ibn Muhabbaq Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anha reported that the Messenger of Allah
(SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has
said,
من
كانت
له
حمولة
تأوى
إلى
شبع
فليصم
رمضان
حيث
أدركه
“Whoever has
a riding animal (conveyance) which carries him to where he can get sufficient
food, he should observe the fast of Ramadan wherever he is, when it comes.”
[Sunan Abi Dawud, Vol. 1, Page 327]
10. Hadrat Anas ibn Malik al-Ka’bi Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu reported that the
Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has
said,
إن
الله
تعالى
وضع
عن
المسافر
شطر
الصلاة
والصوم
عن
المسافر
وعن
المرضع
أو
الحبلى
“Allah
SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala has remitted half the prayer to the traveller ; and fasting
to the traveller, the woman who is suckling an infant and the woman who is
pregnant.” [Tirmidhi, Vol. 1, Page 152 and Sunan Abi
Dawud, Vol. 1, Page 327]
Hadrat Shaykh ‘Abd al-Haq Muhaddith-e-Dehlwi
Alaihir raHmah comments:
The Islamic Law allowing the omission of fast for the breast-feeding and the
pregnant woman is only in the situation when fasting shall harm or damage
herself or the child (otherwise there is no permission not to fast).
[Ashi’ah al-Lam’ah, Vol. 2 Page 94]
11. Hadrat Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anhu reported that the
Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has
said,
من
صام
رمضان
ثم
أتبعه
ستا
من
شوال
كان
كصيام
الدهر
“Whoever
fasts during Ramadan then follows it with six days in Shawwal, it will be like a
perpetual fast .” [Sahih al-Muslim, Vol. 1, Page
369]
12. Hadrat
Abu Qatada Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu reported that the Messenger of Allah
(SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has
said,
صيام
يوم
عرفة
أحتسب
على
الله
أن
يكفر
السنة
التى
قبله
والسنة
التى
بعده
“I seek from
Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala that fasting on the day of ‘Arafah may atone for the
sins of the preceding and the coming year.” [Sahih
al-Muslim, Vol. 1, Page 367]
It is disliked for a Haji, who is in the plain of ‘Arafah on the 9th of Dhul
Hijjah, to fast on that day [so that he can perform worship and engage himself
in the remembrance of Allah to his maximum).
13. Hadrat Hafsah Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anha reported,
أربع
لم
يكن
يدعهن
النبى
-صلى
الله
عليه
وسلم-
صيام
عاشوراء
والعشر
وثلاثة
أيام
من
كل
شهر
وركعتين
قبل
الفجر
“There were
four things which the Holy Prophet (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) never
omitted: fasting on ‘Ashurah (10th of Muharram), the first nine days of
Dhul-Hijjah and three days (13th, 14th and 15th) every (Islamic) month and
praying two rak’ats before the Fard prayers of Fajr.”
[Nasa’i, Vol. 1, Page 328]
14. Hadrat Abu Dhar Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu reported that the Messenger of Allah
(SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has
said,
يا
أبا
ذر
إذا
صمت
من
الشهر
ثلاثة
أيام
فصم
ثلاث
عشرة
وأربع
عشرة
وخمس
عشرة
“O Abu Dhar
(Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu)! When you intend to fast three days in a month, fast
on the thirteenth, fourteenth and the fifteenth.”
[Nasa’i, Vol. 1, Page 328 and Tirmidhi, Vol. 1, Page 159]
Important Notes:
1. It is Makruh-e-Tehrimi (strongly disliked) and not permissible to fast on the
1st of Shawwal and the 10th, 11th, 12th or the 13th of Dhul Hijjah.
[al-Tahtawi Page 387, Radd al-Muhtar Vol. 2 Page 86]
2. A person who woke up in the state that Ghusl was wajib upon him due to
ihtilam (nocturnal emission) or after having intercourse, and stay in that state
for the whole duration of the day, then he/she is very sinful due to missing the
prayers, but the fast kept shall have to be kept (as fast does not break due
being in a defiled state). [al-Bahr al-Ra’iq Vol. 2
Page 273, and Fatawa-e-‘Alamgiri – Vol. 1, Page 187]
3. If an ill person has a strong chance that his/her illness shall increase or
shall heal after a long period of time or a healthy person has the chances of
becoming ill, then these persons are allowed to break their fast.
4. There are 3 conditions needed in order to establish a strong estimation of
something happening:
a) There are visible signs present.
b) The person has their own experience.
c) A Sunni Muslim doctor who is an expert in the field and who is Mastur-ul-Hal
(not a fasiq) has informed the patient of this.
5. If there are no visible signs, nor is there any experience nor has he/she
been informed by a Sunni Muslim expert doctor; but rather on the informing of a
Non-Muslim, a fasiq, a misguided doctor or a physicist, the person broke his
fast, then they are obliged to give a kaffara (atonement) for it.
[Radd al-Muhtar Vol. 2 Page 120 and
Bahar-e-Shari’at]
6. A person who purposely eats in front of people, then the Islamic Sultan
(ruler) should kill him.
7. It is not permissible for people other than the Mu’takif to break their fast
(do Iftari), eat or drink in the Masjid. Hence, all those besides the mu’takif,
who want to eat, drink or break their fast in the Masjid should make the
intention of I’itikaf, then enter the Masjid. Now, after performing some dhikr
and having recited Durud, one is permitted to eat and drink. However, even in
this situation, it is necessary to take into consideration the cleanliness of
the mosque. We see many people who disrespect the mosque; making it unclean by
eating and drinking in it. This is strictly forbidden and Haram. People who have
responsibilities and have authority should pay attention to this and prevent
such disrespect to the mosque.
— — —
Extracted From
Anwaar al-Hadith, Chapter 6, Pages 235 to 242
by Hadrat Allama Mufti Jalal al-Din Qadiri al-Amjadi
English Translation: Mawlana Kalim al-Qadiri [Bolton – U.K.]