From The Virtues Of Fasting …

After acknowledging that all the praise is for Allah and sending prayers and peace upon the best, as well as the seal of the Prophets, I would like to remind myself first then you all about some of the major virtues of fasting. This comes at a time when Ramadan is right around the corner. Just as with any other year, some of us as Muslims are excited and others need someone or something to remind them about why they should be excited. I beg Allah to allow this to be from among those things. Allahuma ameen.

There is an authentic hadeeth which summarizes many of the virtues of this blessed action that we are about to partake in. This Hadeeth states that the Prophet (صلى الله عليبه و سلم) said,

“كُلُّ عَمَلِ ابْنِ آدَمَ يُضَاعَفُ الْحَسَنَةُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا إِلَى سَبْعِمِائَةِ ضِعْفٍ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلاَّ الصَّوْمَ فَإِنَّهُ لِى وَأَنَا أَجْزِى بِهِ يَدَعُ شَهْوَتَهُ وَطَعَامَهُ مِنْ أَجْلِى لِلصَّائِمِ فَرْحَتَانِ فَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ فِطْرِهِ وَفَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ. وَلَخُلُوفُ فِيهِ أَطْيَبُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ رِيحِ الْمِسْكِ”

“All the deeds of Adam’s descendants are for themselves, with each good deed rewarded tenfold to 700 times its worth – except for fasting, since it is for Me, and I will reward it. He leaves off his desires, his food, and his drink for My sake. As well, he that fasts has two moments of joy: one at the time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time when he will meet his Lord; and indeed, the smell of the mouth of the fasting person is better with Allah (SWT) than the smell of musk.”

[Reported by both al-Bukhari and Muslim]

From among the virtues of fasting is the fact that Allah separated the fast from other forms of worship and said that the fast is something that is for him specifically. He said because of this, that He will determine the reward for the fasting person that did it for his sake. We get this from the aforementioned hadeeth, where the Prophet (صلى الله عليبه و سلم) stated,

” يَدَعُ شَهْوَتَهُ وَطَعَامَهُ مِنْ أَجْلِى”

“He leaves off his desires, his food, and his drink for My sake.”

Another virtue of this blessed action, is the fact that what happens to the fasting person is something that is beloved to Allah. From among these things is that the smell of the fasting persons mouth changes because of their fasting. The fact that this happens because of the fact that the individual was being obedient to Allah, makes it something that is beloved to Him. We know this from the aforementioned hadeeth, when the Prophet said,

“وَلَخُلُوفُ فِيهِ أَطْيَبُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ رِيحِ الْمِسْكِ”

“The smell of the mouth of the fasting person is better with Allah (SWT) than the smell of musk.”

Also, from the virtues of fasting is the happiness that the fasting person receives in both this life and in the next life. First they get some happiness when it comes time for them to break their fast, by way of  those things that Allah has make permissible for them to do so with. The happiness that they will receive in the afterlife is that which Allah has prepared for them from a great reward. Both of these times of happiness are praiseworthy, due to the fact that they come about because of ones obedience to Allah. We see this in the Book of Allah when He states in Surah Yunus,

{قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّـهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا}

{Say: “In the Bounty of Allah, and in His Mercy (i.e. Islam and the Quran); -therein let them rejoice.”}

[Yunus 85]

From the virtues of fasting is that Allah has a special gate in the paradise for the fasting person. No-one will enter into that gate except the fasting person. This is taken from and understood from the hadeeth that is agreed upon in terms of it’s authenticity which states,

” إِنَّ فِى الْجَنَّةِ بَابًا يُقَالُ لَهُ الرَّيَّانُ يَدْخُلُ مِنْهُ الصَّائِمُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لاَ يَدْخُلُ مَعَهُمْ غَيْرُهُمْ يُقَالُ : أَيْنَ الصَّائِمُونَ فَيَدْخُلُونَ مِنْهُ فَإِذَا دَخَلَ آخِرُهُمْ أُغْلِقَ فَلَمْ يَدْخُلْ مَعَهُمْ أَحَدٌ”

“Verily, there is in Paradise a gate named Rayyan. Those who fast shall enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and no-one else will enter through it with them. It will be said, ‘Where are those who fasted?’, then they shall enter it. When the last one of them has passed through the gate, it will be locked and none shall be able to enter it thereafter”

[Reported by both al-Bukhari and Muslim]

As well, from the virtues of fasting is the fact the the duaa of the fasting person is and answered duaa. Therefore we know that the scholars of Islam advise the individual that is fasting, to make an abundant amount of duaa while fasting. We know that the duaa is answered by the statement of the Prophet (صلى الله عليبه و سلم),

” إِنَّ لِلصَّائِمِ عِنْدَ فِطْرِهِ لَدَعْوَةً مَا تُرَدُّ “

“Indeed there is for the fasting person when he breaks his fast a supplication which is not rejected.”

[Reported by Ibn Maajah and al-Haakim]

Also, it is known that from the virtues of fasting is that it is said to be a part of patience. We know this because of the fact that the Prophet (صلى الله عليبه و سلم) said,

” الصِّيَامُ نِصْفُ الصَّبْرِ”

“Fasting is half of patience”

[Reported by Ahmad, al-Bayhaaqi and Ibn Maajah]

The reason why it is so important that we mention that it is  part of patience, is because we know that Allah has informed us in His book  about the reward for the patient individuals. It is something that we all need to be striving for. He said that,

{إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ}

{Only those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full, without reckoning.}

[39:10]

In closing, we wanted to sit and remember some of the benefits of this major form of worship that Allah has legislated for us to take part of during this upcoming month. Hopefully, after looking at all of the benefits that we have to look forward to, we are a bit more excited to begin benefiting ourselves by fasting and doing our best to obtain these rewards and more. These obviously are not all of the benefits of fasting. In all actuality we have only listed a couple of them. As we said though, hopefully they were enough to make us firm in our desire to partake in this extraordinary form of worship.

May Allah make us diligent in the different types of worship that He has commanded us with, give us the taqwah necessary to carry them out and accept them from us. Ameen Ameen Allahuma ameen.