When a person is overcome by material
desires and cravings, he becomes negligent of his spiritual being and indifferent
to the obligations imposed on him by his Creator. To help man in combating
this onslaught, the Almighty has made fasting compulsory once every year
for one whole month -- the month of Ramadhaan. With Ramadhaan comes restriction
on our eating and marital relationship. Compared with some other forms
of worship subscribed by Islam, fasting is somewhat demanding because its
aim is to discipline and channel our soul. This objective, obviously, can
only be achieved by a tough training programme.
When we are having sehri, all of a
sudden we hear the azaan and we stop eating at once. Now however much we
feel the need or want to do things not allowed to us during our fast, we
do not give in to our wishes and temptations. This restriction remains
till the maghrib azaan as God has appointed this time for us to discontinue
our fast. Therefore, as soon as the muazzin begins his azaan, we rush forth
to eat and drink. After this, there is no restriction throughout the night.
We spend the whole month of Ramadhaan in the same way. There is no doubt
in the fact that we feel a certain amount of weakness and inability to
perform to our full capacity but the patience and piety we acquire in return
is as essential to the soul as air, water and food are to the body, for
man does not live by bread and water alone but also by that which comes
from his Lord.
Fasting is obligatory on every adult
and sane Muslim. If during Ramadhaan, a person is ill or is travelling
or is unable to keep fasts due to some reason, then he is required to keep
the fasts he has missed whenever he is able to do so.
We gain a lot from fasting. The greatest
achievement is that a man’s soul is liberated from the shackles of his
wishes and desires and moves a step further towards the lofty summits of
knowledge and intellect. He moves a step closer to the Kingdom of Allah
by rising above all mundane needs. For this purpose, fasting puts a restriction
on all such things which cause an increase in our desires and incline us
towards pleasure. When a person endures such constraints, he is able to
break his bond with this world and come closer to his Creator. It is this
aspect of fasting because of which God says that fasting is for Him and
He alone will bestow the reward for it.
The second achievement of fasting
is that the doors of temptation and revolt are closed to a great extent.
It is the tongue and the private parts on which the devil attacks the most.
The Prophet (sws) said that whosoever could give him guarantee of the two
things one between the two cheeks and the other between the two legs, he
would guarantee him Paradise. Fasting puts a check on both these instincts
and weakens all inclinations of going overboard with these two. It makes
it easy for a person to do all things that are pleasing to Allah and refrain
from those which are displeasing to Him. It is this fact which the Prophet
(sws) has stated by saying that Satan and his army are chained during the
month of Ramadhaan.
The third thing which a person gains
from fasting is that his actual distinction -- freedom of will -- is given
a great chance to develop and strengthen so that his character become adorned
with the qualities of resolve and determination. He gets disciplined enough
to control all sorts of emotions and reactions arising in his self. If
a person’s will power is weak he can neither control his wishes from exceeding
the limits nor can he remain steadfast on the Shariah. Moreover, he cannot
keep such emotions as greed, provocation, hatred and love in check. This
requires patience and to be patient it is necessary that he possess a strong
power of decision making. Fasting increases this power and disciplines
it. It is this power that helps a person to stand for the truth instead
of evil. This is the reason that the Prophet (sws) called fasting a shield
and asked Muslims to use it in combating evil by just saying: ‘I am fasting.’
The fourth thing a person attains
from Fasting is that it inculcates and strengthens the spirit of sacrifice
in a person and urges him to show compassion to people who are less fortunate
than he. To experience hunger and thirst in a fast brings him closer to
the poor and makes him realize their needs. Fasting effects everyone according
to his own disposition. People who are sensitive become even more sensitive
to and aware of the suffering and sorrow around them.
The fifth thing that a person achieves
in Ramadhaan is that the solitude and isolation he has in this month inclines
him to spend more time in reciting the Holy Quran with a view to
understand and practice its teachings. Allah revealed His Holy Book in
this month and made this the month of fasting so that people could thank
Him for this bounty. Different Ahaadith have revealed that Gabriel used
to come to the Holy Prophet (sws) in this month to hear and recite the
Quran.
It is this relationship of the Book
of Allah with this month that pious people recite the Quran in their
late night prayers while the general masses hear the Quran in the
Taraaveeh prayer said after the Ishaa prayer. The Holy Prophet (sws) said
that whosoever fasted in this month and stood for prayers at night would
be absolved from his previous sins.
The sixth thing that a person gains
from fasting is that if he so desires he can become attentive to his Creator
with all his heart and soul. For this, the ibaadat of Aitakaaf has been
prescribed in this month. Although this is not obligatory on everyone,
it is a very essential form of worship to incline our hearts towards God.
In religious parlance, Aitakaaf means that a person should isolate himself
from everyone in the mosque for ten days or less according to his convenience
and devote himself to the Almighty, and unless an indispensable need arises,
he should not come out. The Prophet (sws) was very particular in observing
Aitakaaf throughout his life.
All these things can be attained from
fasting but for this it is necessary that the person who is fasting should
refrain from all wrong doings, which if present during a fast, obliterate
all its blessings. Although these wrongs are many, but there are some about
which everyone should be aware of at all times.
One of these wrongs is that people
tend to make Ramadhaan a month of festivities and fun time. They think
that they are not answerable for the extravagance made in this month. They
relish everything they eat. The result is that instead of trying to discipline
themselves they end up pampering themselves. Throughout their fasts they
keep dreaming about the delicious things they will eat once the fast is
over. The result is that they end up learning nothing from their fasts.
To prevent such a thing from happening,
it is necessary that a person should eat just enough to keep him working
and not make eating the sole object of his life. Whatever is obtainable
without too much of an effort should be eaten with thankfulness to the
Almighty. Whatever is presented by the family should be consumed without
fuss even if it is not tempting. The rich instead of overindulging themselves
should give more to the needy and the poor. This is something which increases
the blessings of fasting and has been commended by the Prophet (sws).
The second wrongdoing one often comes
across is that because hunger makes anger easily provocable people instead
of making fasting a way of correcting it give hungar as a reason to justify
it. They tend to quarrel at the slightest pretext with their wives and
children and those under them. They do not hesitate to utter any slighting
remark which may come to their mind and sometimes if matters get out of
hand even resort to abusing and beating. After this they tend to defend
themselves by saying that things like this happen during fasting.
The remedy which the Prophet (sws)
of God has suggested in this regard is that instead of using fasting as
an instigation for anger one should use it as a shield and whenever a person
is incited he should remind himself that he is fasting. If we can remember
this every time we get angry, we will see that slowly and gradually the
greatest of provocations tend to lose their sting. Once we realize that
we can conquer the Satan within our soul, this feeling of conquest gives
us peace and a sense of greatness. Thus such a reminder becomes a means
of our correction.
The third wrongdoing often perpetrated
in fasting is that a lot of people, when restricted from eating and enjoying
some other pleasures of life, tend to keep themselves busy with other things
which they think would not harm their fast. They play cards, read novels,
listen to music, watch movies, sit among friends and gossip, and even indulge
in backbiting. When one’s stomach is empty, one tends to enjoy his brothers’
meat more. The result is that sometimes a person begins his morning with
one of these pastimes and ends when the muazzin announces the break of
fast. It is obvious that all these things ruin a fast.
One solution to this problem is that
a person should try to remain silent in respect of his fast and at least
for this month put a lock on his tongue. Allah’s Prophet (sws) says that
if a person keeps telling all sorts of true and false things during his
fast, then God does not need his abstinence from food and drink.
The second remedy for this is that
whatever time he has to spare, he should spend it in the study of
the Quran and Hadith and in understanding his religion. He should try to
learn some of the supplications mentioned in the Quran and also those narrated
in the Ahaadith. In this way, he will keep away from the above mentioned
activities and later use this store of prayers to remember his God.
The fourth wrongdoing in this regard
is that sometimes a person does not fast for God but just under pressure
of his family or to prevent other people to think badly of him or just
to put on a religious posture. This is also quite obviously something which
negates the purpose of a fast.
The cure for this is that every person
should keep reminding himself about the importance of fasting and think
that if he is going to abstain from food and other things then why not
for Allah. Apart from Ramadhaan, he should keep additional non-obligatory
fasts and try to conceal them and hope that the obligatory ones will also
one day be for Allah alone.
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