We are serialising some sections from the draft translation of الجامع لأحكام الصيام ‘Al-Jami li Ahkam as-Siyam’ (A complete guide of the rules of fasting) by Sheikh Abu Iyas Mahmoud bin Abdul Latif al-Uweidathis Ramadhan, please note this is a draft translation so please overlook errors.
Sawm linguistically means refraining, silence, suspension and what is included in its meanings. Sawm has been mentioned with this meaning in Allah’s (swt) noble book. Allah (swt) says:
"So eat and drink and be glad. And if you see any human being, say: ‘Verily, I have vowed a fast unto the Most Gracious so I shall not speak to any human being this day." (Surah Maryam Ayah 26)
Sawm linguistically means refraining, silence, suspension and what is included in its meanings. Sawm has been mentioned with this meaning in Allah’s (swt) noble book. Allah (swt) says:
{ فكُلي واشربي وقَرِّي عيْناً فإِما تَرَيِنَّ من البَشَرِ أَحَداً فقولي
إِني نَذَرتُ للرحمنِ صَوْماً فلن أُكلِّمَ اليومَ إِنْسِيَّاً }
"So eat and drink and be glad. And if you see any human being, say: ‘Verily, I have vowed a fast unto the Most Gracious so I shall not speak to any human being this day." (Surah Maryam Ayah 26)
As for
As-Sawm in the sharee’ah terminology, it is refraining from those things that
break the fast and they are: food, drink, sexual relations, excess water
through mouth/nose and vomiting, with the intention of getting closer to Allah
(swt) from Fajr of a day until its Maghrib. This Sharee’ah meaning of fasting
has been mentioned in numerous noble ayaat and there is no need to bring them
up here as they are well known amongst people who are knowledgeable of them.
The Merits
of As Sawm:
There are
many Ahaadeeth that mention the merit of Fasting of which I will mention some:
Narrated
from Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said:
1)
Narrated by Imaam Al Bukhaari (1904) and Muslim, Nisaa’i, Ibn Maajah
and Ahmad.
Also from Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said:
Narrated by Abu Daawud At
Tayaalissy (2485) and Ahmad.
And from Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said:
Narrated by Muslim (2707), An
Nisaa’i, Ad Daraami and Bayhaqi. Ahmad (9712) and Ibn Majah narrated it with
the following words:
< Every one of the sons of Adam’s
actions is multiplies, a good action will have ten of it’s like or up to seven
hundred times to what Allah wills, Allah Azza wa Jalla says: Except for
fasting, it is for me and I will reward
for it...> The addition is ‘ to what Allah wills’.
2) On the authority of Sahl bin Sa’d (ra) that the Prophet (saw)
said: . Narrated by
Buhkaari (1896) and Muslim and Nisaa’i. Ibn Maajah
(1640) and Tirmidhi narrated it as following: < So
those who were from amongst the Saa’imeen (faster’s) will enter, and whoever
has done will never feel the quench of thirst again>.
3) On the authority of Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood (ra) that he said that
the Prophet (saw) said: Al Bukhaari
(1905), Muslim, Daawud, Nisaa’i and Tirmidhi. Wijaa’a means to put pressure on
the testicles or its veins so as to cut the desire.
4) On the authority of Hudhayfah bin Al Yaman (ra) that he heard
the Prophet (saw) saying: . Al Bukhaari (1895) and Muslim. Ibn Abi Shaibah (595:8) reported it
with this wording: . And also from Hudhaifah (ra) from
the Prophet (saw): . Narrated by Al
Bazzaar (1038) and Ahmed and Al Haythami said that its people (narrators) are
trustworthy.
5) On the authority of Abdullah Ibn Umar (rah) that the Messenger
(saw) said: . Narrated by
Ahmad (6626) and its sanad (chain) is Hasan. Tabaraani also narrated it in his
Al Mu’jam Al Kabeer and Al Haakim
narrated it and verified its soundness.
6) On the authority of Abu Umaamah (ra) who said: . Narrated by
Ahmad (22501) and Nisaa’i, ibn Hibbaan, ibn Khuzaimah, Ibn Abi Shaybah, and
Tabaraani in Al Mu’jam Al Kabeer. And in another version from Ibn Hibbaan
(3425) and Nisaaa’i (Alayka bi sAum fa laa mithla lahu...) Fast as there is
nothing comparable to it. Here ‘mithla’ is used instead of ‘idla’ in the
previous version to mean ‘the like of/equal to’.
7) On the authority of Abu Hurairah (ra) who said that the
Messenger (saw) said: < There
are three whose requests (du’aa) will not be turned down: The just ruler, the
one who fasts until he breaks it and the one who is oppressed. Allah (swt) will
raise them on the Day of Judgement without (al ghumaam) clouds and the doors of
the heavens (skies) will be opened for them and He will say: With my Izza
(glory) I gave you victory even if it was after a while>. Narrated by
Ibn Maajah (1752). Al Gumaam
has the same meaning as mentioned in the following Ayaat as Allah (swt) states:
يومَ تَشَقَّقُ السماءُ بالغَمَامِ
And
(remember) the day that the Heaven will be rent asunder by clouds.. (Al
Furqaan: 25)
هل يَنْظُرون إلا أَن يأتيَهُم اللهُ
في ظُلَلٍ من الغَمَامِ
Do they then
wait for anything other than that Allah (swt) should come to them in the
shadows of the clouds (Al Baqarah: 210).
8) On the authority of Othmaan ibn Abi Aas (ra) that he said: ‘I
heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying’: . Narrated by
Nisaa’i (2231), Ibn Maajah, Ahmad, Ibn Hibbaan and Ibn Abi Shaybah.
9) On the authority of jaabir ibn Abdillah (ra) that the Messenger
of Allah (saw) said: < Our
Rabb Azza wa Jalla said: Fasting is a shield (Junnah) the servent seeks to
shield himself with it from the Naar (fire) and it (fasting) is for me, and I
will reward/recompense for it>. Narrated by
Ahmad (14724) with a sanad (chain) which is Jayyid (good) and also narrated by
Al Bayhaqi.
10) On the authority of Abi Ubaidah (ra) who said that he heard the
Messenger of Allah (saw) say: Ahmad
(1690/1700) In a version
of ad Daraami (1733): Tabaraani
narrated it in Al Mu’jam Al Awsat (4533) from Abi Hurairah (ra).
So how noble
are the Fadaa’il (merits) of the Ibaadah of Fasting. Fasting is a shield, i.e.
a guard and protection. It is a blocker of desires when one cannot marry and it
expiates the sins in the time of affliction. It intercedes on behalf of its
master on the Day of Judgement and for those who fast belongs the gate of Ar
Rayyaan, the one who enters from it will never experience thirst again. It is
sufficient alone to look at what came in the Hadeeth, ‘Every one
of the sons of Adam’s actions is multiplies, a good action will have ten of
it’s like or up to seven hundred times to what Allah wills, Allah Azza wa Jalla
says: Except for fasting, it is for me and I will reward for it’.
If there
were no other ahaadeeth mentioning the merits of fasting then this would have
been enough. It is true that there is no act equal to or like that of fasting
as mentioned in the sixth hadeeth and the only result of this act is entering
into Jannah as it came in the hadeeth reported by Hudhaifah (ra) and found with
al Bazzaar and Ahmad. Also as mentioned
in the seventh hadeeth; it is the deserved right of the faster to be honoured
by Allah (swt) and have his du’a responded to and answered.
The merits
of Ramadhaan:
In relation
to the merits of Ramadhaan the following ahaadeeth have been related:
1) On the authority of Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Prophet (saw) use
to say: . Imaam Muslim
(552), Ahmad and Al Bukhaari in his At Tareekh Al Kabeer.
2) And also from him (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: <’Shame/pity
(raghima Anf) on the man who when I am mentioned does not pray on me and pity
on the man who enters into Ramadhaan and does not have all of his sins forgiven
before its passing and pity on the man who when his parents reach an old age and
they don’t cause him to enter Jannah (because of his good treatment of them)’
Rabiy said: ‘I don’t know it (the hadeeth) except that he said:’ or one of the
two (parents)’>. Imaam Ahmad
(7444), Tirmidhi, Ibn Khuzaimah, al Haakim. Its Isnaad (chain) is jayyid
(good).
3) From Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: . Al Bukhaari
(1899), Muslim, An Nisaa’i, Ahmad, Ibn Hibbaan, Ad Daarami with differences in
some words.
4) From Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: . Al Bukhaari
(38) Nisaa’i, Ibn Maajah, Ahmad, Ibn Hibbaan, and Ahmad (8989) and Nisaa’i in a
second version stating ‘all of his previous and forthcoming sins will be
forgiven’. Al Mundhiri said the Isnaad is Hasan buy Hamaad had doubt in its
connection or that the addition to the Hadeeth only goes back to one link in
the chain from Qateebah bin Saeed from Sufyaan.
5) From ibn Abbaas (rah) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: . Ibn Maajah
(2994), Nisaa’i, Ahmad. Ibn Maajah (2991), Ahmad and Tirmidhi narrated the
Hadeeth with the same wording from Wahab bin Khanbash. Ahmad (14855) and Ibn Maajah also narrated it from Jaabir (ra).
Al Bukhaari (1863) narrated from Jaabir (ra) and Muslim and Abu Daawud with the
wording; ’Verily Umrah in Ramadhaan is like Hajj or Hajj with me>. Tabaraani
in his Al Mu’jam Al Kabeer (364/25) and Abu Daawujd, Ahmad on the authority of
Mu’qal (ra) (she) said: <’I have become old and sick. Is there an action
that can recompense me for my Hajj? He (saw) said: ‘Umrah in Ramadhaan will
recompense for it.’>
6) From Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: . Ibn Maajah
(1642), Ibn Hibbaan and Bayhaqi. Al Haakim narrated it and verified its
soundness (saheeh) and adh Dhahabi agreed. Ibn Khuzaimah (1883) narrated it
with a slight difference and Tabaraani in Al Mu’jam al Kabeer (1586) an Nisaa’i
narrated similar to it except on the way of Utbah bin Farqad (ra).
The
significance of the above ahaadeeth are clear and do not require further
explanation. If I add the ahaadeeth related to the merits of fasting in a
complete manner to this topic then the merits of both fasting and Ramadhaan
combined can be revealed in a perfect way. Ibn Abbaas (rah) said: ‘The
Messenger of Allah (saw) was the very best (most generous) of people, and he was
at his best in Ramadhaan when he would meet with Jibreel (rha) and he would
meet Jibreel every night and would go over (revise) the Quran. The messenger
(saw) was even better in bringing Al Khair (goodness) than the fair winds’. (al
Bukhaari (6), Muslim, Nisaa’i, Tirmidhi, Ahmad and Ibn Hibbaan).
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