Fasting is the first step to
attainment of taqwa. A believer
who fasts leaves the permissible
(i.e. eating and drinking) solely for
the sake of pleasing his Lord. Think
about it: if a believer is willing to
avoid a permissible act i.e. to eat
and drink to gain the pleasure
of his Lord, then why would he
not abstain from that which is
inherently haram? Do you think
a sinful believer who is thirsty
and fasting on a hot day, sitting
in a room with a fridge that contains ice cold water would
break the fast knowing no one will see him and pretend
to be fasting at the time of iftar? Absolutely not! He has
kept this fast for his Lord and will not break it under any
circumstance.
Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi
Ramadan al-Mubarak ki Tayyari, p. 33
Before the month of Ramadan began, the Prophet a would
lay on the Sahaba l the importance of this blessed month.
But it was not about the Sahaba l only. The purpose was
to inform his Umma of the importance of connecting with
our Lord and strengthening our relationship with Him.
The rust that accumulates throughout the year by our
unmindfulness of Allah and immersion in the material life
can be removed in Ramadan. Think of it as a factory. As
machines and equipment in a factory need servicing and
maintenance to operate, similarly our hearts need servicing
and cleaning so that we can remain connected to Allah
through out the year.
Mufti Ahmad Khanpuri
Ramadan al-Mubarak ki Tayyari, p. 17
Fasting is of three types:
1. Fasting of the general public (saum al-‘umum)
2. Fasting of the select few (saum al-khusus)
3. Fasting of the selected within the select few (saum khusus
al-khusus).
The fasting of the public involves refraining from
satisfying the appetite of the stomach and the sexual
desires. The fasting of the select few is to keep the ears,
eyes, tongue, hands, and feet as well as the five senses free
from all sin. The fasting of the selected within the select
few is the abstinence of the heart from vile thoughts,
worldly concerns, and complete indifference to everything
but Allah. The fast of the khusus al-khusus is broken by
thinking about anything other than Allah and the Last Day
and worldly concerns insofar as
it does not promote the faith and
relates to the Hereafter. Thus, the
veracious ones say, “He who spends
his day worrying over what he will
have for iftar is sinning.” This is
because he has little confidence in
the bounty of Allah and that the
provisions decreed for him will be
received. The third type of fasting
is for the prophets, the auliya Allah
and the chosen ones of Allah. We
shall not elaborate on the practical
application of this fast but define it through its underlying
purpose. It is to seek Allah with all one’s strength and to
turn away from all other things beside Him. In short, it is to
embody the words of Allah, “Say Allah, then leave them to
play with whatever indulges them” (6:91).
Imam Al-Ghazali
Ihya‘ Uloom al-Deen
You must make every effort to break your fast with
lawful food and not fill yourself so much that you end up
consuming more than you normally do every night. There
is no difference if you end up eating the same amount,
whether you do that in one meal or two. The purpose of
fasting is to break your desire and weaken your appetite so
you can have the strength to increase your taqwa. If you
eat in the evening as much as you missed eating during
the late afternoon, then there is no benefit in your fasting,
and you have placed a burden on your stomach. There is
no container that Allah dislikes more than a stomach filled
with the lawful.
Imam Al-Ghazali
The Beginning of Guidance
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