Salaam..
answer it with ALLAHUAKRAM..
InsyaAllah, int the next days it will be the first day of fasting in the month of full of blessing; Ramadhan Al-Mubarak. Alhamdulillah, we are given another chance to fast and fulfill this month with a lot of good deeds and all the reward these deeds are being multiplied. Syukur alhamdulillah, syukur alhamdulillah, syukur alhamdulillah..
The month of Ramadhan is the month where Al-Quran is sent down, all gates of hell is closed and all gates of heaven is opened wide for all muslim who perform his deeds best. This month also, syaitaan is locked up and all the wrong doings done by the muslim is not because of the syaitaan but it has became the habit of the person. See, how an act can turn into a habit and it is hard to remove the bad habit when it became our flesh and blood.
As Prophet Muhammad SAW has said,"There has come to you Ramadaan, a blessed month. Allaah has made it obligatory on you to fast (this month). During it, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are locked, and the devils are chained up. In it there is a night that is better than a thousand months, and whoever is deprived of its goodness is deprived indeed."
Here's some reminders about fasting. :)
Condition for fasting made obligatory
1. Islam – Islam is a requirement for all good deeds and all acts of worship to be accepted by Allah.
The thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he comes up to it,
he finds it to be nothing, but he finds Allâh with him,
Who will pay him his due (Hell). And Allâh is Swift in taking account."
(Surat An Nuur : 39)
The good deeds of a non Muslim are not accepted by Allah because he does not do them for the sake of Allah and the reward for the good deeds that he does is only in this life and not in the hereafter. Good deeds are of no avail in the hereafter if one is not upon the belief of tawheed and Islaam.
b. Age of baligh (Maturity) – One has to have reached the age of maturity in order for fasting to be obligatory upon him. It is the age of physical puberty, this is adulthood. The age of maturity is usually 14 for boys and 12 for girls. Upon attaining this age and fulfilling other conditions fasting becomes obligatory on each and every muslim. There is no excuse for him not to fast except those exceptions that will be mentioned later on. He/she will be held accountable for this if he/she does not fast and the parents as well if they did not teach them to fast.
c. Sanity – the person has to be mentally sane and this is the requirement for all acts of worship, as well as all transactions in Islam. And we get this from the hadith of The Prophet (sall Allâhu’ alayhi wa sallam) – “The Pen has been lifted from three: from the child until he reaches puberty, from the sleeper until he wakes up, and from the one who has lost his mind until he recovers.”
The pen had been lifted meaning that he/she will not be accountable for his deeds if they fall into the three categories mentioned above.
d. Ability – Allah said in the Quraan:
(Al-Baqarah : 233)
The person has to have the physical ability to fast. If one has a physical problem or a health risk that can intensify due to fasting, or it avoids him from taking medications then he is not required to fast during the month of Ramadhan. If he is under coma or unconscious then he cannot fast as well because he does not have the ability to do so. And the rule to be followed regarding this if fasting is a burden that a person cannot bear then he should avoid fasting.
Condition for a fasting to be valid
a. Islam – As we mentioned above in the conditions, Islaam is required for a person’s fast to be valid and accepted. Even when a group of non-muslims decide to fast with other muslims for an event like Fast A Thon or when a police chief in the community fasts to show solidarity and they break their fast with the muslims then they will not be rewarded by Allah for this.
b. End of menstrual or post-natal bleeding – This almost always applies to the women. She cannot be in these states in order to fast. If this is the case for any woman then she cannot pray the salawaat (prayers) nor can she fast during this period. The expiation for this will be mentioned later on in another section. For more information or questions on this matter, she can go to www.islamqa.com to get her answers.
c. Pre-maturity (age of rushd) – Children of this age usually around seven, who are physically able are to be ordered to fast by their parents to become accustomed to fasting. This is not the age when a person is obligated to do it rather this is the age when if one does it then the fast is still valid. So when he reaches the age of buloogh and it is obligatory upon him, then it isn’t as tough upon him because he has done this before and knows what to expect.
The Prophet (sall Allâhu’ alayhi wa sallam) said, “Order your children to fast at seven and punish them for not doing it at ten”
d. Sanity – Same as mentioned above that an insane person cannot and is not required to perform any act of worship. When he regains his sanity he is required to fast again, until then the fast is not valid.
e. Intention from the night – Merely being aware any time in the night that one is fasting is sufficient to make the following days fast valid. As mentioned earlier this is for the obligatory fasts.
The Prophet (sall Allâhu’ alayhi wa sallam) said, “Whoever does not intend to fast from before dawn, there is no fast for him (i.e., his fast does not count).”
This is an authentic hadith but there are certain complications surrounding it. This hadith doesn’t seem to apply to voluntary fasting because there are incidents with the Prophet (sall Allâhu’ alayhi wa sallam) when he would ask his wives whether they have food to eat and they would say that they had nothing to eat. So the Prophet (sall Allâhu’ alayhi wa sallam) would say that he is fasting. So from this we can deduce that it doesn’t apply to voluntary fasting and we can safely say that you can start a voluntary fast after you have started the next day.
Please refer to picture below for niat/intention. The one with double love signs. :)
I hope all of us may gain the reward Allah has promised us. InsyaAllah. May this Ramadhan become the point of Hijrah for us to be a better muslim. Remember,
behind him who protect him by the decree of Allah.
Indeed, Allah will not change
the condition of a people
until they change what is in themselves.
And when Allah intends for a people ill, there is no repelling it.
And there is not for them besides Him any patron.
Till then..
Wassalaam..
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