Question: "Could the Shaikh give us some words of benefit for the
blessed month of Ramadaan, on this fine occasion"
Shaikh al-Albaanee, may Allaah have mercy upon him said, "Allaah, the Exalted
and Most High, says in the Noble Quraan:
O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for
those before you, so that you may become people having Taqwaa. Soorah
al-Baqarah (2):183
So in this aayah, as will not be hidden to all those who are present,
Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, informs the Ummah of Muhammad,
sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, through this aayah, that He has made
Fasting obligatory upon them just as He had made its like obligatory upon the
nations before us. This is a matter that is well-known to all of the
Muslims who read this aayah, and clearly understand its meaning.
But what I wish to speak about is something else, a matter which very few
of the general people notice-‹and this is the saying of Allaah, the Exalted and
Most High, at the end of this aayah:
So that you may become people having Taqwaa.
So Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, when He commands His believing servants,
or obligates them with some Legislation, (then He) usually just mentions the
command, without explaining the wisdom for it. This is because the general
wisdom behind Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic¹s, placing duties upon His
servants is that He should test them by it, so that it should become apparent
(as to) those who will obey Him and those who will disobey Him, the Exalted and
Most High.
However in this aayah, He mentioned something that is not found
frequently in the Noble Quraan, which is that He mentioned the reason for the
order to Fast, by His Saying:
So that you may become people of Taqwaa.
So the wisdom behind the Believers to fast is not just that they should
prevent themselves from enjoyable and permissible and good things, even though
this is an obligation upon the fasting person - but this is not the only thing
that is required and intended by this Fasting. So Allaah, the Mighty and
Majestic, concluded His command to fast by His Saying:
So that you may become people of Taqwaa.
Meaning: that the wisdom behind the prescription of Fasting is that the
Muslim should increase in obedience to Allaah, the Exalted and Most High, in the
month of Fasting, and become more obedient than he was before it.
Then the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, clearly stated and
completely clarified this point of divine wisdom, by his, sallallaahu alaihi
wa sallam, saying, as is reported in the Saheeh of al-Bukhaaree (no.
1903), that he sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, said, "Whoever does not
abandon falsehood in speech and action, then Allaah has no need that he should
leave his food and drink." Meaning: that Allaah, the Mighty and
Majestic, did not intend and desire, by the obligation of Fasting - which is to
withhold for a stated time, well known to you all - that they should only
withhold from eating and drinking. Rather they should also withhold from
that which Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, has forbidden with regard to sins
and acts of disobedience to Him; and from that is falsehood in speech and
action.
So the Messanger, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, is emphasizing the
aayah:
So that you may become people of Taqwaa.
i.e. that you should, as an act of worship to draw you closer to Allaah, the
Mighty and Majestic, in addition to withholding from food and drink, also
withhold from forbidden actions such as backbiting, carrying tales to cause harm
to people, false witness, lying and so on, with regard to those forbidden
manners that we are all aware of.
Therefore it is obligatory that all the Muslims should be aware that actions
which disrupt the Fast are not just the physical acts, which are generally
known, which are eating, drinking and sexual intercourse. The Fast is not
just that you withhold from this. Therefore some of the scholars
differentiate, and divide those things which disrupt the Fast into two
categories, and this is what I intend by this talk of mine at this time that is
blessed, if Allaah wills. This is especially important since those who deliver Khutbahs and
admonish the people during Ramadaan, when they speak about those things
which disrupt the Fast, then they only speak about the material things, those
things that we have just mentioned‹eating, drinking and sexual intercourse.
But what they should do, as sincere advisers and people who give reminder
to the Muslims in general, is to concentrate a great deal upon the second
category of things which disrupt the Fast. This is because the people have
become used to thinking that Fasting is just to refrain from the first category,
to withhold from the material things. But there is another category of
things which disrupt the Fast, which we are able to call the non-material things
which disrupt the Fast.
So you have just heard his, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, saying,
"Whoever does not abandon falsehood in speech and action, then Allaah has no
need that he should leave his food and drink."
Therefore every fasting person should examine himself and see: is he just
withholding from the material things, or is he also withholding from those
non-material things? Meaning: has he made his manners and behaviour good
when the blessed month of Ramadaan comes? If that is the case, then
he has fulfilled the Saying of Allaah, the Exalted and Most High, at the end of
the aayah:
So that you may become people of Taqwaa.
But as for he one who restricts himself in his fasting to just withholding
from food and drink, but who continues and persists upon the evil manners which
he was upon previously, before Ramadaan, then this is not the Fasting that is
desired and required from the wisdom behind the legislation of this noble month,
which our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic indicates in His Saying:
So that you may become people of Taqwaa.
So therefore we advise and remind our brother Muslims that they should remind
this other category of things, those that are non-material, which disrupt the
Fast, and it is something which the admonishers and those who seek to direct the
people to the correct way rarely speak about, not to mention the general people,
who are not aware of this category of things which disrupt the fast, i.e., the
non-material things.
This is what I wanted to remind our brothers who are present in this fine
gathering about, if Allaah wills, so that it may be cause of their increasing in
acts of worship seeking to draw closer to Allaah, the Exalted and Most High, in
this blessed month, the month of Fasting, which is such that we hope that
Allaah, the Exalted and Most High, will guide and grant us all the success of
fulfilling the due right of this blessed month, which is that we withhold from
both the material and the non-material things which disrupt the Fast.
Then in addition to this word, I hope that you will pay attention to some
affairs which have been neglected by the majority of the general Muslims, indeed
and also by those having knowledge.
There is a hadeeth which is very often
neglected because of another hadeeth, because the majority of people are
unable to reconcile in practice and application between them. So this
hadeeth is his, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, saying, "My Ummah
will continue to be upon good for as long as they hasten to break the fast and
delay the pre-dawn meal."
So here two matters were mentioned, and they are neglected by most of
the people, and they are: hastening to break the fast, and delaying the pre-dawn
meal (Suhoor).
As for neglect of the first matter, which is hastening to break the
Fast, then in the view of some people it contradicts another hadeeth,
which is his, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, saying,
"My Ummah will continue to be upon good for as long as they
hasten to pray the Maghrib Prayer."
So here we have two commands, to hasten with two matters. So it appears
to some people that we cannot hasten to perform both of them together.
But reconciling between the command to hasten with breaking the Fast and the
command to hasten to pray the Maghrib Prayer is a very easy matter.
So it is something which our Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam,
made clear to us by his action and practice. So he, sallallaahu alaihi
wa sallam, used to break the Fast with three dates. He would eat three
dates. Then he would pray the Maghrib Prayer, then he would eat
again if he found that he needed to eat the evening meal.
But today we fall into two offences: (i) Firstly we delay the Adhaan from its legislated
time. Then after this delay comes another delay, which is that we
sit down for a meal - except for a few people who are eager and pray the
Maghrib Prayer in the mosque. But the majority of the people wait
until they hear the Adhaan, and then they sit down to eat as if they are
having a dinner, or their evening meal, and not just breaking their fast.
So the Adhaan these days - in most of the lands of Islaam, is,
unfortunately, I have to say, and not just in Jordan, and I have known this from
investigation, in most of the lands of Islaam - the Adhaan for
Maghrib is given after the time it becomes due. And the reason for
this is that we have abandoned adhering to and applying the Islamic rulings, and
instead we have come to depend upon astronomical calculations. We depend upon
the timetable.
But these time-tables are based upon astronomical calculations which count
the land as being a single flat plane. So they give a time for this flat
plane, whereas the reality is that the land, particularly in this land of ours
varies, varying between the depression of valleys and the elevation of
mountains. So it is not correct that a single time be given which covers
the shore, the planes and the mountains. No, each part of the land has its
own time. So therefore whoever is able in his place of residence, in his
city or his village, to see the sun set with his own eye, then whatever time it
sets at, then that is the hastening that we have been commanded with in his,
sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, saying, which we just mentioned, "My
Ummah will continue to be upon good as long as they hasten to break the
fast." So the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, was careful
to implement this Sunnah by teaching it, and by putting it into practice.
As for his teaching, then he, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, said, in
the hadeeth reported by al-Bukharee in his Saheeh (no. 1954),
"If the night appears from this side," and he pointed towards the east
,"and the day has departed from here," and he pointed towards the west ,
"and the sun has set‹then the fasting persons fast is broken"
What does, 'the fasting persons fast is broken' mean? It
means he has entered under the ruling that he should break his fast. So
then comes the previous ruling where the Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam, encouraged hastening to break the Fast, and the Messenger,
sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, used to implement this, even when he was
riding on a journey.
So it is reported in the Saheeh of al-Bukharee (no.1955) that
the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, ordered one of his Companions
to prepare the Iftaar for him. So he replied, O Messenger of Allaah
it is still daytime before us.¹ Meaning: the light of the sun, so even
though it had set, yet its light was still clear in the west. So the
Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, did not respond to what he had
said, rather he re-emphasised the command to him to prepare the Iftaar.
So the narrator of the hadeeth who said, We could see daylight in
front of us,¹ meaning: the light of day, the light of the sun, When we broke our
fast,¹ said, "If one of us had climbed onto his camel he would have seen the
sun." The sun had set from here, and the Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi
wa sallam, ordered one of the Companions to prepare the Iftaar .
Why? To hasten upon good "My Ummah will continue upon good
for as long as they hasten to break the Fast."
So what is important is that we notice that the Iftaar which is
legislated to be hastened must be done with a few dates. Then we must
hasten to perform the Prayer. Then after this the people can sit and eat
as they need.
This is the first matter which I wanted to remind of, and it is how to
reconcile the two matters which the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam, commanded we should hasten to perform. The first being the command
to hasten the breaking of the Fast, and the second being the command to hasten
to perform the Maghrib Prayer. So the Iftaar should be done
with some dates, as occurs in the Sunnah, and if dates are not available,
then with some gulps of water. Then the Prayer should pray in congregation
in the mosque. (ii)Then the other matter which
I want to remind of is what occurs in the previous hadeeth, "And they
delay the pre-dawn meal" Meaning: what is required here is
the opposite to the case of the Iftaar. So he, sallallaahu
alaihi wa sallam, commanded us to hasten to perform the Iftaar.
But as for the Suhoor, then it should be delayed. But what
happens today is totally contrary to this, since many people eat their
Suhoor before the appearance of Fajr by perhaps an hour.
This is not befitting. This is contrary to the Sunnah shown
by the saying of the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, and by his
practice. So the Companions of the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam, used to leave the Suhoor so late, that one of them would
almost hear the Adhaan and he would still be eating. He delayed the
Suhoor.
Indeed there is an authentic hadeeth reported from the Prophet,
sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, which shows the ease afforded by Islaam,
which is to be counted as one of the principles of Islaam, which the Muslims are
proud of, especially with regard to the matter of Fasting, since Allaah, the
Mighty and Majestic, concluded the aayahs concerning Fasting with His
Saying:
Allaah desires ease for you, and He does not desire to make things
difficult for you.
So from this ease is his, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, saying,
"If one of you hears the call to Prayer and the vessel is in the hand of one
of you, then let him not put it down until he fulfils his need from it."
" If one of you hears the call to Prayer and the vessel" the vessel
containing food, whether it be milk, some drink, water, anything which a person
may take as Suhoor, and he hears the Adhaan, then he should not
say, Now the food is forbidden by the Adhaan being heard for the person
who has had enough of it. It is not allowed for him to then have any more,
whether it be a drink, or some fruit, when he has had his fill of whatever he
was eating.¹
But as for the one who hears the Adhaan and he has not yet taken what
he needs from the food and the drink, then the Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi
wa sallam, made that lawful for him. So he clearly said, in the clear and
eloquent Arabic language, "If one of you hears the call to Prayer, and the
vessel is in his hand, then let him not put it down until he fulfils his need
from it."
And what is meant here by the call is the second call, the second
Adhaan. It is not the first Adhaan, which they wrongly call
the Adhaan for withholding (al-Imsaak). We must know that
there is no basis for calling the first Adhaan the Adhaan for
withholding (imsaak).
The second Adhaan is when we are to withhold, and this is clearly
stated in the Quraan, since Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, says:
And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes clear to you from
the black thread of the night.
So eating becomes forbidden at the start of the time of the Fajr
Prayer. There is no separation between these two things. There is no
withholding from food and drink for a quarter of an hour, or less than that, or
more than that, before the start of the time for the Fajr Prayer.
Not at all.
Because the Prayer becomes due when the true dawn appears, and food becomes
forbidden for the fasting person when the true dawn appears. So there is
no separation between these two matters at all.
So therefore there occurs in the hadeeth agreed upon by al-Bukharee
and Muslim, from the hadeeth of ¹Abdullaah ibn ¹Umar ibn al-Khattaab,
radiyallaahu ¹anhumaa, that the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam, said, "Let not the Adhaan of Bilaal deceive you Š" meaning,
the first Adhaan, "Š because he gives the Adhaan in order to awaken
the person who is sleeping, and so that the person who wishes to eat the
pre-dawn meal can do so. So eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktoon gives the
Adhaan."
Ibn Umm Maktoon, and his name was ¹Amr, he was a blind man, and he was the
one about whom the Saying of Allaah, the Exalted and Most High, came down:
He frowned and turned away, that the blind man came to him
to the end of the Aayahs.
So he used to give the second Adhaan, the Adhaan which means
that eating becomes prohibited, and that it is now time for the Fajr
Prayer. How had he used to give the adhaan when he was blind? This is a
question which naturally occurs to some people. So ¹mr ibn Umm Maktoom
used to climb upon the roof of the mosque, and he could not see the dawn, but he
would wait until someone passing by saw the dawn. So when someone saw that the
dawn had appeared and spread across the horizon, then they would say to him, It
is morning. It is morning. Then he would give the Adhaan.
So you will notice here that the Adhaan of 'Amr ibn Umm Maktoom was
after the Fajr had appeared, and had been seen by the people whilst they
were walking in the streets. So the when it was said to him, "It is
morning. It is morning," he would give the Adhaan.
So therefore there is latitude in the affair, since the muadhdhin
would be delayed in giving the Adhaan until he heard the people telling
him, "It is morning, it is morning." And then Allaah¹s Messenger,
sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, said, "If one of you hears the call to
Prayer and the vessel is in his hand, then let him not put it down until he has
fulfilled his need from it."
So Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, spoke truly when He said at the end of
those Aayahs relating to Fasting:
Allaah desires to make things easy for you, and He does not desire to make
things difficult for you.
and
And that you should complete the number of days, and that you should
glorify Allaah by mentioningtakbeer for His having guided you, and that
you should be thankful.
O people of the Book! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do
not say anything about Allaah except the truth.
And our Messenger sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, said to us, or he,
sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, said, "Beware of (ghuluww) exceeding the
limits in the Religion. Because those who came before you were destroyed by
their exceeding the limits in their Religion."
So when Allaah¹s Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, has made
it clear to us that there is in the matter of a persons taking suhoor,
latitude and a margin of ease, to the extent that he said, "If one of you
hears the call to Prayer whilst the vessel is in his hand, then let him not put
it down until he has completed his need from it."
So it is opposition to Allaah and to the Messenger that a person says
that one who hears the adhaan whilst he has food in his mouth must spit
it out upon the ground. This is not from the Sunnah. Rather this is
contrary to the Sunnah, and is contrary to the clear command of the
Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam,.
And I have been asked many times, so I will not leave the need for such a
question, but rather I will precede you in it, by stating that this
hadeeth is to be found in some of the most famous books of the
Sunnah. From them being the Sunan of Aboo Daawood, and it is the
third book from the well-known six books. The first of which is
Saheehul-Bukhaaree, the second being Saheeh Muslim, and the third
being the Sunan of Aboo Daawood.
This hadeeth is to be found in it, and it is likewise reported by Aboo
Abdullaah al-Haakim in his Mustadrak, and it is likewise reported by the
Imaam, the Imaam of the Sunnah Ahmad ibn Hanbal, rahimahullaah, in
his tremendous book known as the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad.
So the hadeth is not a strange hadeeth, rather it is a
well-known hadeeth, and was reported by the Imaams of the sunnah
in the early times, and with an authentic chain of narration.
So here I say, to conclude this talk, since perhaps some of you have
questions, which we will answer if Allaah wills, so I conclude it with his,
sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, saying "Allaah loves that His allowances
be acted upon just as He loves that His prescribed duties be carried out,"
and in one narration, "Just as He hates that disobedience to Him be
committed."
So there are two narrations, "Allaah loves that His allowances be acted
upon just as He loves that His prescribed duties be carried out", and the
second narration is, " as He hates that disobedience to Him be
committed."
So therefore the Muslim should not practice false piety, and (as a result)
refrain from obeying the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, in that
which he encouraged us upon and clarified to us.
And what has been said is sufficient, and all praise is for Allaah, the Lord
of all of the creation."
So therefore from the Fiqh that is to be criticised, and which
runs contrary to this Sunnah, is that a person says, "If someone hears
the Adhaan and has some food in his mouth, then he must spit it out."
So this is over strictness, and (ghuluww) exceeding the limits in
the Religion, and the Lord of all of the creation admonished us, and reminded
us, in His Book and in the Sunnah of His Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi
wa sallam, that we should not exceed the due limits in our Religion. So He
said, in the Noble Quraan:
***************************************************************************
{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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