The smell from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk

The Hadeeth of Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) where he said:

كُلُّ عَمَلِ ابْنِ آدَمَ لَهُ، إِلاَّ الصَّوْمَ فَإِنَّهُ لِي، وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ، وَلَخَلُوفُ فَمِ الصَّائِمِ أَطْيَبُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ رِيحِ الْمِسْكِ

“Allah said, ‘Every deed of the son of Adam is for him except fasting – it is for Me. And I shall grant a reward for it.’ Verily, the smell from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk.”

Is this only for the one who fasts in the month of Ramadan, or is it also for the other types of fasting whether obligatory, recommended or voluntary?

Answer: This narration is general, and it applies to the obligatory fast as well as the voluntary fast.

(See: Fatāwā ʿAlat-Tareeq fee Masā’il Mutanawwiyah of Al-ʿAllāmah Muhammad Ibn Sālih Al-ʿUthaimeen, p. 409, no. 865)