يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ
كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ أَيَّامًا
مَّعْدُودَاتٍ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ
أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ فَمَن
تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُ وَأَن تَصُومُواْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن
كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى
لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ
الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ
أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ
وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُواْ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ
وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ (٢:
١٨٣-١٨٥)
Believers! Fasting has
been made for you as it was made for those before you so that you become fearful
of God. These are but a few days, but if any one among you is ill or on a
journey, let him fast a similar number of days later; and those who have the
capacity [to feed a needy] should feed a needy in place of it. Then he who does
a virtuous deed of his own accord, it is better for him and if you fast, then
this is even better for you if you but knew. It is the month of Ramadan in which
the Qur’an was revealed, as a book of guidance for mankind and in the form of
manifest arguments which are a means of total guidance and a means of
distinguishing right from wrong. Therefore, whoever among you is present in this
month, he should fast. And he who is ill or on a journey should fast a similar
number of days later on. [This leniency is because] God desires ease for you and
not discomfort. And [the permission given to travelers and the sick to feed the
needy has been withdrawn because] you can complete the fasts [and thus not be
deprived of the blessings of fasting] and [for this purpose the month of Ramadan
has been fixed so that in the form of the Qur’an] the guidance God has bestowed
to you, you glorify God and express your gratitude to Him. (2:183-185)
In these verses, the
Almighty has directed Muslims to fast in accordance with the shari‘ah which has
always existed regarding the fast in the religions of the Prophets. The Qur’an
has stated that the fast has been made obligatory for the Muslims in the same
manner as it was made obligatory for earlier peoples. A few number of days have
been fixed for this ritual. This last statement is meant to raise the spirits.
The implication being that if the blessings of Ramadan are kept in
consideration, then 29 days or 30 days are not a long period; they are a
relatively short period and a person instead of becoming anxious should make
himself ready to fully reap their benefits.
After these introductory
statements, the real directive is mentioned. It is said that people who are
unable to fast because of illness or travel should make up their missed fasts by
either fasting later or by feeding a poor person. This directive ends with the
words: فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُ وَأَن
تَصُومُواْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ (Then he who does a
virtuous deed of his own accord, it is better for him and if you fast then this
is even better for you, if you but knew it). In other words, this atonement for
not fasting is a minimum requirement which should be fulfilled. However, if a
person feeds more than one needy person or does some other virtuous deed as
well, then this will prove better for him. And to Allah even better is that a
person instead of feeding others makes up the missed fasts in other days.
However, the very next verse beginning with
the words
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ
shows that the permission to feed a needy for a missed fast was later revoked.
Consequently, the whole directive has been repeated after this verse while
omitting the words beginning with وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ
يُطِيقُونَهُ and ending with إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ.
Since it is difficult to fast in days other than Ramadan, the Almighty did not
make it incumbent until people got used to it. Hence, it has been said in the
Qur’an that feeding the needy for missed fasts has been revoked so that people
could keep their missed fasts and are thus not deprived of the blessings hidden
in them.
This then is the real directive of the fast.
It seems that after receiving this law, certain questions arose in the minds of
the Muslims. One of these questions related to having sexual intercourse with
the wife in the nights of the Ramadan. This notion probably originated because
among the Jews, the next fast would start right after one had broken his fast
and they would consider eating and drinking and having sexual intercourse with
the wife as prohibited. Muslims thought that they too would have to follow the
Jews in this matter. However, some Muslims in spite of thinking so deviated from
the view they held. This was something unseemly because if a person considers
something to be a requisite of religion and still does not act according to it
regardless of the fact that it is actually a requisite or not, then this is not
permissible to him. The Qur’an has called this attitude as deceiving one’s
conscience and has clarified:
أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَآئِكُمْ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ
لَّكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّ عَلِمَ اللّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَخْتانُونَ
أَنفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنكُمْ فَالآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ
وَابْتَغُواْ مَا كَتَبَ اللّهُ لَكُمْ وَكُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ
لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ثُمَّ
أَتِمُّواْ الصِّيَامَ إِلَى الَّليْلِ وَلاَ تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ
فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللّهِ فَلاَ تَقْرَبُوهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ
اللّهُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ (١٨٧:٢)
It is now lawful for you to lie with your wives on the night of the fast;
they are apparel to you as you are to them. God knew that you were deceiving
yourselves. He has relented towards you and pardoned you. Therefore, [without
any hesitation] you may now lie with them and [without any hesitation] seek what
God has ordained for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of the dawn
is totally evident to you from the black thread of night. Then complete the fast
till nightfall and do not lie with them [even at night] when you are stationed
for i‘tikaf in the mosques. These are the bounds set by God: do not approach
them. Thus He makes known His revelations to mankind that they may attain
righteousness. (2:187)
After this clarification made by the Qur’an,
the statutes on which the law of the fast and the i‘tikaf are based are as
follows:
1. The fast is abstention from eating and
drinking and from having sexual intercourse with the wife with the intention
that a person is going to fast.
2. This abstention is from fajr to nightfall;
hence eating and drinking and having sexual intercourse with the wife during the
night is permitted.
3. The month of Ramadan has been fixed for
fasting; hence it is obligatory for every person who is present in this month to
fast.
4. If owing to sickness, travel or any other
compelling reason a person is not able to keep all the fasts of Ramadan, it is
incumbent upon him to make up for this in other months by keeping equal number
of the fasts missed.
5. The pinnacle of the fast is the i‘tikaf. If
a person is given this opportunity by God, he should seclude himself from the
world for as many days as he can in a mosque to worship the Almighty and he
should not leave the mosque except because of some compelling human need.
6. During i‘tikaf, a person is permitted to
eat and drink during the night but he cannot have sexual intercourse with his
wife. This has been prohibited by the Almighty.
This law regarding the fast is substantiated
by the consensus of the Muslims and by their perpetual adherence to it and the
Qur’an too has explained it to a great extent. Following are the explanations
afforded by the words and deeds of the Prophet (sws) regarding the fast:
i. The Ramadan should begin with the sighting
of the moon and it should end with it too. The Prophet (sws) is reported to have
said: “Begin the fast with the sighting of the moon and break the fast with
sighting it too. Then if the weather is not clear, end the month of Sha‘ban by
completing thirty days.”
ii. Fasts should not be kept just one or two
days before the Ramadan begins. The Prophet (sws) did not approve of this
practice and remarked that the only exception to this is the person who keeps
fasting.
iii. One should eat the sahur (pre-fast meal)
before beginning the fast. The Prophet (sw) asked people to eat it because
eating it brings blessings.
iv. If the adhan begins and a person has a
plate in his hand, then he should go on to finish what he is eating; there is
nothing wrong in this.
v. During the fast a person can be intimate
with his wife in whatever way he chooses except for having sexual intercourse
with her. ‘A%i’shah (rta) narrates that during the fast the Prophet (sws) would
kiss her and press her closely to him.
vi. The fast can be kept in the state of
janabah (ceremonial uncleanliness). ‘Ai’shah (rta) narrates that the Prophet (sws)
sometimes would begin the fast in this state and then do ghusl (the ceremonial
bath) after the time of fajr.
vii. If a person eats forgetfully then this
does not break the fast. The Prophet (sws) remarked that it is Allah who has fed
him.
viii. The Prophet’s way of observing i‘tikaf
was to sit in a central mosque during the last ten days of the Ramadan.
‘Ai’shah (rta) narrates that a person who has sat for i‘tikaf should not go to
visit the sick, nor participate in a funeral procession nor go near his wife nor
go out of the mosque except for some compelling human need
ix. Intentionally breaking the fast is a grave
sin. If a person commits this sin he should atone for it. The atonement which
the Prophet (sws) prescribed was the same as the one the Qur’an has prescribed
for zihar. However, it is evident from the Hadith that when the person expressed
his inability the Prophet (sws) did not insist on it.
x. The supplication ascribed to the Prophet (sws)
for breaking the fast is:
ذهب الظماء و ابتلت العروق و ثبت الاجر ان شاء الله تعالى
“The thirst has been quenched, the canals are
brimming with water and if God wills then the reward of this [fast] has also
been acknowledged.”
(Translated from Ghamidi’s Mizan by Shehzad Saleem)
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