Sawm

Are you a student, or working? Are you depressed or frustrated that you could not take the advantage of the last ten nights of Ramadan? There were midterms, assignments, and projects for all the working folk, all those cliched reasons, or maybe you did take advantage. Here is another chance. Its on our doorsteps, the most beloved days to Allah, the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah.

It was reported by Ibn ‘Abbas (رضي الله عنه) that the Rasoolullah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days.” The people asked, “Not even jihad for the sake of Allah?” He said, “Not even jihad for the sake of Allah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight, giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with nothing.” (al-Bukhari)

Now that Ramadan’s over, many of us feel sad–we miss the spirituality, the eman rush, the amazing strength that we all demonstrate in Ramadan. So what can you do to bring those feelings back?

One thing is to keep performing the deeds you performed in Ramadan–and this is one of the signs that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) accepted your deeds.

Another act you can perform is to fast six days of Shawwal, the month right after Ramadan. Check this hadith out:

Just like we have different starting dates for Ramadan, we have different Eid dates.

And you know what? That’s ok. Why? Because it’s all based on legitimate difference of opinion. Not some beardy guy making stuff up because he feels like it.

So when ‘Eid rolls around, enjoy it, and don’t hate on other people for when they celebrate. That’s messed up.

By the way–when ‘Eid rolls around, remember this: you just fasted for 30 days straight, give or take a day. You prayed. You abstained from sins, from backbiting, from looking a second time. Don’t stop doing that! That is taqwa of Allah–the real stuff–that you built up in yourself, fast by fast, day by day, and deed by deed. Nurture it. Improve it. Maintain it, so it doesn’t degenerate.

One of the verses of the Qur’an we hear all the time in the context of fasting is this one:

Translation: O you who believe! Allah prescribed fasting upon you, as it He prescribed for those before you, that you may attain taqwa (piety, God-consciousness). [Al-Baqarah, 2:183]

Those last two words summarize the entire purpose of fasting: to attain taqwa.

Ramadan is the month of Qur’an. A month where many of us fast, pray Taraweeh, pray Qiyam al-Layl, and read the entire Qur’an–maybe more then once!

But subhanallah, in our love for Ramadan and our zeal for good deeds, we sometimes aim to accomplish more then our human capacity. We’re humans, we all have limits.

But people say “I’m going to read the WHOLE QUR’AN this time!” when they can’t–sometimes, even reading only one juz, maybe even the last juz, is an accomplishment for them, one within their ability. But they plough on, undettered, increasingly more tired and more tired and more burned out every day, until finally ‘Eid arrives and they say “Thank God Ramadaan is over!”

The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) taught us five favourable (mustahab or “sunnah”) actions for us to follow while fasting. These are:

1. Hasten Iftaar: When Maghrib time arrives, hasten to break your fast–do not delay. It’s said that he, (صلي الله عليه وسلم), sent Bilal (رضي الله عنه) to stand on top of a high-up hill to see when the sun set, then broke his fast immediately.
2. Eat Suhoor: A lot of cultures teach us to skip suhoor and start fasting when we sleep. (Though nobody skips the sunnah of hastening iftaar …) Aside from being (medically) bad for you, it extends the length of your fast by a good six or more hours.

Forget that. Eat suhoor–and close to Fajr time–and with this, with iftaar, protects your fast–dawn to sunset. The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: My nation will remain in goodness as long as they break the fast as soon as it is due. [Muslim]

3. Pray Fajr: The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) never, ever missed Fajr intentionally, ever. Skipping salaah entails a major sin! Scholars differ on whether you are considered Muslim or not if you skip prayers intentionally, i.e. whether you will enter Hellfire forever–may Allah protect us all. So don’t do it! If you eat suhoor close to Fajr anyway, it becomes very easy to pray Fajr. If you have access to transportation, pray at the masjid and get the benefit of multiplied good deeds deposited in your account.
4. Avoid Foul Language: The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.) [Bukhari 3/31/127, Muslim] So no swearing, lying, backbiting, insulting, etc. You wouldn’t want to struggle though all that hardship, to end up with an unaccepted fast, would you?
5. Make Du’a at Iftaar: A lot of people miss out on this. We cram dates into our mouth when the adhaan sounds, then rush off to make wudoo or pray Maghrib.

The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: Three prayers are not rejected: the prayer of a father, the prayer of a fasting person, and the prayer of a traveler. [Al-Bayhaqi, Saheeh [according to Al-Albani][2]] [1]

So keep it simple: stick the date in your mouth and raise your hands to the sky. You get the best of both rewards!

And remember, the reward of following a sunnah (or musthabb–recommended act) is an accreditation of good deeds in your account. And we can all do with more good deeds.

Ramadan Mubarak to you and your families! May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) make this a most blessed and beneficial month for you all, and a source of taqwa and eman for the whole year, ameen!

Subhanallah, one of the companions of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) even said, “We spend half the year making du’a for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to allow us to see another Ramdaaan, and we spend half the year making du’a for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to accept the Ramdaan that passed.”

Ramadan kills all the excuses we make for ourselves throughout the year, and allows us to soar to new heights of eman!

If someone said to you, “let’s go to the masjid every day,” you’d say “we can’t do it!” but, in Ramdan, you do it! If someone said “let’s play Qiyam al-Layl all night,” you’d say “we can’t do it!” but, in Ramdan, you do it! Subhanallah, in Ramdan, wishes and hopes and dreams can become reality!

In many countries (mostly Western countries–America, Canada, Europe, etc.) our communities fight over the actual start date of Ramadan. This, itself, is not so bad–because, alhamdulillah, everyone backs up their opinion with a legitimate fiqh source (more on that in a second). However, the problem is that people in the same region fast on different days–sometimes, even two people in the same house fast on different days!

So how do we go about picking an appropriate date to start fasting?