10 Objectives of Fasting in Ramadan

Should You Fast 6 Days of Shawwal Dr. Omar Suleiman Explains

 

Fasting six days in Shawwal after Ramadan holds immense rewards, but is it mandatory? In this insightful talk, Dr. Omar Suleiman explains the significance of the 6 days of Shawwal, its benefits, and whether it is an obligation or a recommendation. Should you fast these days? Watch now to get a clear answer!

The Incredible Benefits of Fasting During Ramadan

 

Ramadan is a sacred month for Muslims around the world, observed through fasting from dawn to sunset. While fasting is primarily an act of worship, it also comes with numerous benefits that extend beyond the spiritual realm. From strengthening faith to improving physical and mental health, fasting during Ramadan is a transformative experience. Let's explore some of its incredible benefits.

Spiritual Benefits

Strengthened Faith (Iman): Fasting deepens the connection with Allah by increasing devotion, patience, and gratitude.

Increased Taqwa (God-consciousness): Abstaining from food, drink, and negative behaviors fosters mindfulness of Allah throughout the day.

Self-Purification: Ramadan is an opportunity for self-reflection, repentance, and spiritual growth.

Greater Rewards & Forgiveness: The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) mentioned that fasting during Ramadan leads to the forgiveness of past sins (Sahih Bukhari, 38).

Charity & Empathy: Experiencing hunger fosters compassion for those in need, encouraging generosity and acts of kindness.

Physical Benefits

Detoxification: Fasting helps the body eliminate toxins, improving digestion and metabolism.

Improved Insulin Sensitivity: Fasting can regulate blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Weight Management: Controlled eating windows may aid in weight loss and fat reduction.

Better Heart Health: Fasting can lower cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation, and support cardiovascular health.

Boosted Immune System: The body's natural regeneration process strengthens immunity during fasting.

Mental & Emotional Benefits

Enhanced Self-Control: Fasting teaches discipline in managing hunger, emotions, and desires.

Reduced Stress & Anxiety: The spiritual and mindful aspects of Ramadan promote inner peace and reduce stress.

Improved Focus & Clarity: Many experience increased concentration and mental sharpness while fasting.

Better Sleep Patterns: Proper suhoor (pre-dawn meal) and iftar (breaking fast) routines can improve sleep quality.

Stronger Family & Community Bonds: Sharing iftar, engaging in prayer, and performing acts of worship together strengthen relationships.

Final Thoughts

Fasting during Ramadan is a powerful practice that benefits the body, mind, and soul. It is a time of spiritual renewal, self-discipline, and personal growth. By embracing this sacred journey with sincerity and mindfulness, one can experience its profound rewards in all aspects of life.

May this Ramadan bring you peace, blessings, and well-being. Ramadan Mubarak!

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Fasting: Training for the Believer

 

It is only natural that fasting should be decreed to the nation that is duty bound to launch a campaign to establish the Islamic way of life that Allah has laid down for mankind, to call people to accept it, and to testify against them in respect of their attitudes to it. Fasting is a manifestation of man’s determined will and his relationship with his Lord, which is based on total obedience and submission to Him. Fasting is also a demonstration of man’s deliberate disregard of all his physical needs. He willingly forgoes these needs in order to achieve his aim of winning the pleasure of Allah and earning His reward. These are necessary elements in the training of the believers so that they are able to bear the pressures and hardships of the way they have chosen. It is the thorny way, full of obstacles. 

On both sides of it there are all sorts of pleasures and temptations that beckon the travelers, trying to force them off their course. We may add also that fasting has numerous advantages for health that continue to be discovered as time passes. I am personally not inclined to relate religious duties and directives, especially in matters of worship, to their apparent physical advantages. The underlying purpose of all such duties and directives is to equip man adequately to fulfill his role in his life and to prepare him for the achievement of the standard of perfection designed for him in the hereafter. Nevertheless, I do not deny any benefit that we may observe or that scientists may discover to result from the fulfillment of such religious duties and directives. It goes without saying that Allah takes into consideration the physical constitution of man before He lays down his duties for him. We must not, however, relate our religious duties solely to what our human knowledge discovers. Our knowledge is, after all, limited and cannot comprehend fully the divine wisdom behind everything that relates to man and his education and training, let alone comprehend everything that relates to the universe.

Allah realizes that man requires help and motivation in order to respond to duty and fulfill it regardless of its benefits. It takes time for man to get used to a certain duty and to be convinced of its wisdom. Hence, the decree of fasting starts with the address made to the believers, which reminds them of their essential quality, that is, their belief in Allah. They are then told that fasting has always been a duty required of the believers in all religions. Its principal aim is their education and training so that their hearts acquire a high standard of sensitivity and purity and that the fear of Allah is well established in them: (Believers, fasting is decreed for you as it was decreed for those before you, so that you may be God-fearing.) To fear Allah, then, is the great aim of fasting that looms large before our eyes. As the believers fulfill this duty, in total obedience to Allah and in pursuit of His pleasure, they feel the quality of fearing Allah to be a life within them. 

 

This is, indeed, the quality that guards their hearts against spoiling their fasting by indulging in sin. Those who are addressed by the Qur’an are fully aware of the value Allah attaches to this quality of fearing Allah and being conscious of Him. Its acquirement is something for which they yearn. Fasting is a tool with which it is achieved, or we may say, a way that leads to it. Hence, the Qur’an raises it before them as a noble objective that they try to achieve through fasting. They are then told that fasting is prescribed only for a certain number of days. It is not to be practiced every day in their lives. Exempted from it, however, are the ill until they have recovered, and the travelers until they have settled: ((Fast) a certain number of days. But whoever of you is ill, or on a journey, shall fast instead the same number of days later on.) Taken at its face value, the statement concerning the exemption of the ill and the travelers is general, unrestricted. Hence any illness or journey is a good reason for exemption from fasting, provided that compensation is made when the case that justifies the exemption no longer obtains. This is my understanding of this general, unqualified Qur’anic statement. Moreover, it is more in line with the Islamic concept of relieving the strain and causing no hardship. The exemption is not related to the severity of the illness or the hardship of the journey; it is related to sickness and traveling generally. The purpose of the exemption is that it is Allah’s wish to make things easy, not hard, for man. We cannot claim to have full knowledge of the divine wisdom behind relating this exemption to sickness and traveling generally. There may be some considerations known to Allah and unknown to man in these two cases. There may be some hardships that may not immediately appear to us or we may tend to overlook. Since Allah has not attached this exemption to any particular reason, we refrain from making any judgment concerning it. We obey any statement Allah has made, even if its wisdom does not appear immediately to us. 

What is certain is that there is a wisdom behind it, although we may not necessarily recognize it. Some people may fear that such an opinion may cause people to be lax or to neglect their worship duties for any reason. Indeed, this is what has prompted Islamic scholars to adopt a more strict attitude and to lay down conditions. This argument, however, does not justify, in my opinion, attaching any restrictions to an unqualified statement made by Allah. Islam does not compel people to be obedient. Its method is to implant in them the fear of Allah so that they obey Him. The acquirement of the quality of fearing Allah is the particular aim of this type of worship. He who tries to make use of a certain concession made by Allah in order to evade fulfilling a duty is, in the first place, devoid of goodness. With such an attitude, the aim behind the religious duty cannot be fulfilled. We must not forget that Islam is a religion laid down by Allah, not man-made. Allah knows best that this religion achieves a perfect balance between the relaxation of certain duties and strict adherence to duty. A certain exemption or concession may serve a certain interest that cannot be served otherwise. Indeed, this must be the case. Hence, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has ordered Muslims to make use of the concessions and exemptions Allah has allowed them. If it so happens that people in a particular generation have become corrupt, their reform cannot be achieved through an extra-strict application of Allah’s rules, but through their education and motivation to acquire the quality of fearing Allah. 

If a strict application of the rules that govern human transactions may be used as a deterrent or as a means to prevent evil when corruption spreads, the same cannot be applied to matters of worship. Worship is a relationship between man and His Lord that has no direct effect on the interests of human beings, in the same way as the rules governing human transactions have. Appearances in matters of worship are irrelevant, unless worship is based on fearing Allah. If this quality is present, no one would try to evade a duty or utilize a concession except when he is fully satisfied that making use of it is preferable, in obedience to Allah, in the particular case in which he finds himself. A strict application of the rules that govern acts of worship generally or a tendency to restrict the exemptions that have not been qualified originally may cause some people to refrain from using them when they need them. Moreover, it has little effect in checking those who want to be evasive. It is far better to handle matters in whatever way Allah has made clear to us. He has far more wisdom than us and He knows best the interests, immediate and not so immediate, served by all His rules that lay down duties or relax them. As for the exemption from fasting in cases of illness, it appears to me that the exemption applies to every case that may be reasonably described as illness, regardless of its nature or intensity. It is compulsory for anyone who makes use of this exemption to compensate for the days of Ramadan that he does not fast because of illness or traveling. Each day is compensated for by fasting one day at any time during the year [except for those days in which fasting is originally prohibited such as the two `eids]. The weightier opinion is that there is no need to fast on consecutive days when one fasts in compensation for the days he did not in Ramadan. By Sayed Qutb

Read More on islamonline :

Sha`ban Fasting: Any Specific Days?

 

No doubt that Muslims are urged to strive hard in getting close to Allah with all forms of acts of worship; they should take that as a top priority. However, they are instructed that whatever they do, they should not deviate from the teachings and principles set by the noble Prophet, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He has set for us a shinning model that we should follow in order to keep firm on the right path. Therefore it’s very important for a committed Muslim to make sure that his acts of worship have basis both in the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In this regard, the prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al- Qaradawi states: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was keen on fasting in the month of Sha`ban more than he was in other months. `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) never fasted for a whole month except in Ramadan. This refutes what some people do; observing fast for three consecutive months: Rajab, Sha`ban and Ramadan, followed by six days of Shawwal . That is, they start fasting at the beginning of Rajab until the seventh of Shawwal, leaving nothing but the Day of `Eidul-Fitr.

 Neither the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) nor his Companions or even their successors were reported to have done so. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to fast some days of every month. `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sometimes would observe fasting continuously, to the extent that his Companions thought he would never break fast, and in other times he would refrain from fasting to the extent that they thought he would never fast again. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) usually observed fasting on Mondays and Thursdays and three days of each month (the 13th , 14th and 15th). He sometimes used to fast every alternate day, following the pattern of Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him). He even made this clear: “The best way of fasting in Allah’s sight is that of Dawud, who used to observe fasting every alternate day.” 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to observe fasting in Sha`ban more than he did in other months. This was a kind of self-preparation for the coming of Ramadan; that is, to act as some sort of girding oneself for Ramadan. But there are no textual evidence that there are specific days in Sha`ban in which fasting is commendable. It is, by and large, impermissible for one to prefer certain days to observe voluntary fasting or certain nights to perform Night Prayers, lacking any juristic basis for that action. Religious acts are not left for man’s whims. Rather, they are subject to Divine legislation. Thus, specifying certain times and places for worship and the description of different acts of worship are the matters of the Divine, not that of human.

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The Day of ’Ashura

What is ’Ashura?

’Ashura or ’Aashoora is derived from the word ’Asharah, which means ten in Arabic. ’Ashura is the 10th day of Muharram. Al-Muharram is one of the sacred months alluded to in the following Qur’anic verse: ‘Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them…’ (Qur’an, 9:36)

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “The best fasting after Ramadan is the month of Allah Muharram, and the best prayer after the obligatory prayer is prayer at night.” [Muslim]

He (pbuh) called this month “the Month of Allah.” When Allah azza wa jal connects His Name to something, it shows the great status and virtue of the subject.

The most important things that happened on this day are:

• Allah azza wa jal accepted the repentance of Adam (pbuh) after he committed the sin of eating from the forbidden tree in Paradise.
• The Arc of Prophet Noah (pbuh) landed safely on the Mount of Al-Judiyy in modern day Turkey after the flood .
• Allah azza wa jal saved the Children of Israel (Jews) and Prophet Moses (pbuh) from Pharaoh, who also drowned also on that day.

As a side note, al-Husayn ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was killed by Yazid on the day of ’Ashura.

Some quick facts about ’Ashura:

• Giving charity on ’Ashura is equal to an entire year’s worth of charity: ’On the authority of ’Abdullah bin ’Amr bin al-’As (may Allah be pleased with both of them) that he said, “Whoever fasts ‘Ashura’ it is as if he has fasted the entire year. And whoever gives charity this day it is like the charity of an entire year”’. (Ibn Rajab’s Lata’if al-Ma‘arif)
   
• Fasting on ’Ashura wipes out the sins of the past year: ’On the authority of Abu Qatadah (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw), was asked about fasting on the day of ‘Ashura’, and he said, “It expiates [wipes out the minor sins of] the past year”’.(Muslim)
   
• The covering (Kiswah) of the Ka‘bah used to be changed on ’Ashura: ’On the authority of ’Aishah (ra) who said, “The people used to fast on ’Ashura before the fasting of Ramadan was made obligatory. And on that day the Ka‘bah used to be covered with a cover. When Allah made the fasting of the month of Ramadan compulsory, Allah’s Messenger (saw) said, ’Whoever wishes to fast (on the day of ‘Ashura’) may do so; and whoever wishes to leave it can do so”’. (Bukhari)
   
• ’Ashura is an immense day of repentance: ‘The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “If you will fast after the month of Ramadan, then fast al-Muharram, for indeed it is Allah’s month in which there is a day that Allah accepted the repentance of a people, and in which He accepts the repentance of other people”’ (Tirmidhi).
   
• Be generous to your family on ’Ashura: ’The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “One who generously spends on his family on the day of ‘Ashura’, Allah will be generous on him for the entire year”’ (Baihaqi).

Please Fast on the day of Arafah (9 Dhul Hijjah)

Please Fast tomorrow on the day of Arafah, do a lot of Dhikr (Zikr) and Duas and Repent to Allah عزّ وجلّ‎

For more details see:

• Dua for Arafah Day, Takbir & Tashreeq 
• Ten Blessed Days: First Ten Days of Dhu'l-Hijjah 
• Invocation to be recited on the Day of Arafat

I fasted for 7 days for Ramadan (It changed my life)

Hadith:Fasting

 

 

Abu Umamah reported: "I came to the [Prophet Muhammad, PBUH] and said: 'Order me to do a deed that will allow me to enter Paradise.' He said: 'Stick to fasting, as there is no equivalent to it.'" 

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If anyone fasts for a day out of a desire to please God, God will remove that person from (Hell) as far as a crow flies from the time it is a young bird until it dies of old age." Al-Trimidhi

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever does a voluntary good deed during this month [Ramadan], it is as if that person performed an obligatory good deed at another time, and whoever performs an obligatory good deed, it is as if that person performed 70 obligatory good deeds at another time."

A rich man once said to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): "Tell me how to conduct my life and how to spend (my money)." The Prophet replied: "Give (regular charity) out of your property, for truly it is a purifier, and be kind to your relatives and acknowledge the rights of the poor, neighbors and (those in need who seek your help)."

A British boy fasting Ramadan in Saudi!

Why do I Fast in Ramadan? (Non-Muslim perspective)

Amazing Benefits of Prolonged Fasting

Sittu Min Shawwal: Fasting 6 days of Shawwal

Shawwal is the tenth month in the lunar calendar, as mentioned earlier. The first of Shawwal is Eidul Fitr. After the festivity of Eid it is recommended to observe six days of fast. This fast may be observed continuously non-break, or it may be observed one day at a time. If you observe it continuously, you may start on the fourth day and end on the ninth of day Shawwal, or you may select days at random, provided you complete six days before the end of Shawwal. For instance, you may observe the third, fifth, seventh, ninth, 14th and 15th days. Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari (raa) related the Messenger of Allah, (saas), said:

"Whoever observes the Ramadan fast and follows it with six days of fast in Shawwal, it is as if he has fasted Dahr (the whole year)." (Bukhari) It has been mentioned earlier that Dahr means the whole year. Possibly it may also mean forever, or for life.

Analyzing this hadith, our jurists (`Ulama) explained how according to this hadith, a Muslim who fasts during Ramadan every year and follows it with six days fast of Shawwal, will be credited for fasting a whole lifetime. The Jurists correctly said: a good deed (hasanah) is rewarded a minimum of ten times its equivalent. It follows, then, that one Ramadan is equivalent to ten months of fasting, and the clincher, six days, is equal to two months, (6x10=60). That undoubtedly completes the year's twelve months. Thus, we see the wisdom and the reason why the Prophet (saas) mentioned six days after Ramadan in Shawwal, not five or seven.


More details on Islam Awareness homepage here: https://www.islamawareness.net/Calendar/Shawwal/