In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
The Obligation of Safeguarding the Tongue, the Limbs and Deeds in Ramadān, and Outside of it.
All praise is due to Allāh, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allāh be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers.
قَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: أَهْوَنُ الصِّيَامِ تَرْكُ الطَّعَامِ وَالشَّرَابِ
Some of the Salaf would say: “The easiest form of fasting is merely to leave off food and drink.”
وقال جابرٌ إِذَا صُمْتَ فَلْيَصُمْ سَمْعُكَ وَبَصَرُكَ وَلِسَانُكَ عَنِ الْكَذِبِ وَالْمُحَرَّمَاتِ.
وَدَعْ أَذَى الْجَارِ وَلْيَكُنْ عَلَيْكَ وَقَارٌ وَسَكِينَةٌ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ يَوْمَ صَوْمِكَ وَيَوْمَ فِطْرِكَ سَوَاءً
And Jābir ibn Abdillāh (رضي الله عنه) said: “When you fast, then let your hearing fast, and your sight fast; and your tongue fast from lies, and from what is unlawful. Do not harm neighbours. Let there be upon you, dignity and tranquillity. And do not make the day of your fasting and the day you do not fast, the same.” (Ibn Abī Shaybah no. 8973)
Know that fasting is not simply the abandonment of nourishment and water; it is also the abandonment of sin; it is the disciplining of the limbs; it is the cultivation of composure, humility, and restraint. So, the one who fasts truly is the one whose limbs fast from disobedience, just as his stomach fasts from food and drink.
Shaikh ʿAbdur-Rahmān Ibn Muhammad Ibn Qāsim (d. 1392H) mentioned some lines of poetry:
إِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي السَّمْعِ مِنِّي تَصَاوُنٌ
وَفِي بَصَرِي غَضٌّ وَفِي مَنْطِقِي صَمْتٌ
فَحَظِّي إِذًا مِنْ صَوْمِيَ الْجُوعُ وَالظَّمَأُ
فَإِنْ قُلْتُ: إِنِّي صُمْتُ يَوْمِي فَمَا صُمْتُ
“If there is no restraint in my hearing, no lowering in my gaze, and no silence upon my tongue—then my portion of the fast is nothing but hunger and thirst. So if I were to say, ‘Indeed, I have fasted this day,’ then in reality, I have not fasted.”
Fasting is not the keeping away from food and drink, but the safeguarding of the limbs from disobedience. For the one whose ears remain open to falsehood, whose eyes wander toward the unlawful, and whose tongue flows with vain and sinful speech—then his fast is deprived of its spirit, even if he has withheld from eating and drinking.
Ash-Shaʿbī (rahimahullāh) said that ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb (رضي الله عنه) said:
لَيْسَ الصِّيَامُ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ وَالشَّرَابِ وَحْدَهُ وَلَكِنَّهُ مِنَ الْكَذِبِ وَالْبَاطِلِ وَاللَّغْوِ وَالْحَلِفِ
“Fasting is not merely from food and drink alone — but it is withholding from lying, from falsehood, from useless speech, and from taking oaths [unnecessarily].”
Mujāhid Ibn Jabr (رحمه الله) said:
خَصْلَتَانِ مَنْ حَفِظَهُمَا سَلِمَ لَهُ صَوْمُهُ: الْغِيبَةُ وَالْكَذِبُ
“Two traits — whoever safeguards himself from them, his fast will be sound: backbiting and lying.” (Ibn Abī Shaybah 8981).
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said:
رُبَّ صَائِمٍ حَظُّهُ مِنْ صِيَامِهِ الْجُوعُ وَالْعَطَشُ وَرُبَّ قَائِمٍ حَظُّهُ مِنْ قِيَامِهِ السَّهَرُ
“Perhaps a fasting person receives nothing from his fast except hunger and thirst; and perhaps a person who stands in the night prayer receives nothing from his standing except sleeplessness.” (Ahmad no. 2/373, Ibn Mājah no. 1690, an-Nasāʾī in Sunan al-Kubrā no. 3249, and others—a sahīh hadīth).
Shaikh ʿAbdur-Rahmān Ibn Muhammad Ibn Qāsim said: ‘The wisdom in this is drawing near to Allah by abandoning what is permissible does not reach perfection except after drawing near to Him by abandoning the forbidden (harām). So, whoever commits the forbidden deeds then, seeks to draw near to Allah merely by leaving the permissible, is like one who abandons the obligatory acts and tries to compensate with voluntary acts.’
So, true nearness to Allah begins with obedience to Him, and the abandonment of sin, not merely with extra nawāfil acts. The foundation must be strong and secure before what is built over it can be accepted. And that requires Imān, ikhlās, and struggle. Abud-Dardāʾ (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
خَمْسٌ مَنْ جَاءَ بِهِنَّ مَعَ إِيمَانٍ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ: مَنْ حَافَظَ عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ عَلَى وُضُوئِهِنَّ وَرُكُوعِهِنَّ وَسُجُودِهِنَّ وَمَوَاقِيتِهِنَّ وَصَامَ رَمَضَانَ وَحَجَّ الْبَيْتَ إِنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً وَأَعْطَى الزَّكَاةَ طَيِّبَةً بِهَا نَفْسُهُ وَأَدَّى الأَمَانَةَ .قَالُوا يَا أَبَا الدَّرْدَاءِ: وَمَا أَدَاءُ الأَمَانَةِ قَالَ: الْغُسْلُ مِنَ الْجَنَابَةِ
“Five matters—whoever comes with them, along with true Imān, shall enter Paradise: [Firstly] Whoever safeguards the five daily prayers—along with guarding the wudūʾ (ablution), the bowing (Rukūʿ), the prostration (sajdah), and their appointed times; [secondly] whoever fasts Ramadan; [thirdly] whoever performs Hajj to the House whenever he is able to find a way to it; [fourthly] whoever gives the zakāh with a willing heart, and [fifthly] the one fulfils the trust.” They said: “O Abu al-Dardā’, what is the fulfilment of the trust?” He said: “Making ghusl from [every] janābah.” (Abu Dawood no. 429, graded hasan by al-Albānī).
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said:
لِلصَّائِمِ فَرِحَتَانِ: فَرِحَةٌ عِنْدَ فِطْرِهِ وَفَرِحَةٌ عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ
“The fasting person has two times of joy: joy when breaking the fast, and joy upon meeting his Lord.” (Al-Bukhārī no. 1894 and Muslim no. 1151)
As for the joy of the fasting person at breaking his fast: the human soul is naturally inclined toward that which pleases it—food, drink, and intimacy. So, when it is prevented from these at a certain time, then permitted at another, it rejoices at the allowance of what it was previously denied, especially when the need for it is intense.
For indeed the soul naturally rejoices at this. And if this joy is beloved to Allah, then it is also beloved in the Sharīʿah, and likewise is the case for the fasting person at the time of breaking his fast.
Just as Allah has prohibited the fasting person from indulging in these pleasures during the day, He has permitted them at night and even loves that His servant hastens to partake in eating and drinking at the beginning and end of the night. The most beloved of His servants to Him are those who hasten to break their fast, as reported in al-Bukhārī (no. 1957) and Muslim (1098) from Sahl (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said:
لَا يَزَالُ النَّاسُ بِخَيْرٍ مَا عَجَّلُوا الْفِطْرَ
“People will not cease to be in goodness as long as they hasten the breaking of the fast.”
And Abu Saʿeed al-Khudrī narrated that the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said:
السُّحُورُ أَكْلُهُ بَرَكَةٌ فَلَا تَدَعُوهُ وَلَوْ أَنْ يَجْرَعَ أَحَدُكُمْ جُرْعَةً مِنْ مَاءٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى الْمُتَسَحِّرِينَ
“Suhūr is a meal of blessing, so do not abandon it, even if one of you only takes a gulp or sip of water. Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon those who take the suhūr.” (Ahmad no. 11101—graded sahīh by al-Albānī in Sahīh al-Jāmiʿ no. 3683)
The suhūr, therefore, is not merely physical nourishment, but a Sunnah. It brings Barakah to the fast, strengthens the servant, and brings about Allah’s blessings and the prayers of the angels upon the fasting person.
Anas Ibn Mālik (radiyallāhu ʿanhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَيَرْضَى عَنِ الْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ الأَكْلَةَ فَيَحْمَدَهُ عَلَيْهَا أَوْ يَشْرَبَ الشَّرْبَةَ فَيَحْمَدَهُ عَلَيْهَا
“Indeed, Allah is pleased with His servant when he eats a meal and praises Him for it, or drinks a drink and praises Him for it.” (Muslim, no. 2734)
Abu Hurairah said that the Prophet (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) said:
ثَلاَثَةٌ لاَ تُرَدُّ دَعْوَتُهُمُ الإِمَامُ الْعَادِلُ وَالصَّائِمُ حَتَّى يُفْطِرَ وَدَعْوَةُ الْمَظْلُومِ يَرْفَعُهَا اللَّهُ دُونَ الْغَمَامِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَتُفْتَحُ لَهَا أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ وَيَقُولُ بِعِزَّتِي لأَنْصُرَنَّكِ وَلَوْ بَعْدَ حِينٍ
“Three supplications are not rejected: the supplication of a just leader, the supplication of a fasting person until he breaks his fast, and the supplication of the oppressed. Allah raises it above the clouds on the Day of Resurrection, and the gates of the heavens are opened for it, and He says: ‘By My Might, verily I will support you, even if it is after a while.’” (Ibn Mājah no. 1752—graded sahīh by al-Albānī)
May Allah make us among those who benefit from the month of Ramadan. And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the Worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allāh be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers.
Abu Khadeejah.
