Who Must Fast? - Ramadan

• Fasting is obligatory upon every adult Muslim who is sane, is able to perform it, and is not travelling. If he cannot meet any one of these conditions, he is excused from the fast without any penalty.
• Those who convert to Islam are not required to make up the fasts that they missed while they were still non-Muslims.
• Children are not required to fast until they reach a certain age. However, they should be encouraged as much as possible while they are still young to practice fasting by gradually expanding the time that they can observe it.
• Those who are insane, retarded, or somehow mentally impaired so that they do not (or cannot) function like normal people do not have to fast. They are not penalized in any way. The same is true for those who are very elderly and feel that they are unable to fast.
• Invalids such as very elderly persons or persons suffering from incurable illnesses are not required to fast. However they must compensate for this by feeding one needy person for every day of fasting that they miss.
• Those who fall ill unexpectedly and feel that their condition would worsen if they observed the fast are excused. After they recover, they must make up the fast by fasting the number of days that they missed.
• Pregnant and nursing mothers do not have to fast if they believe that it would cause them undue and unnecessary hardship or that it might harm the unborn child or the nursing infant. After this period of danger has passed, they must fast the number of days that they missed.
• Women who are having their menstrual period or experiencing bleeding due to recent child birth are not required to fast. They must make up the days that they have missed when their period or bleeding has finished.
• People who need to break the fast in order to save the life of someone else (i.e. being caught in a fire or drowning) are allowed to break their fast and to make it up at a later date.
• Those who are travelling are given the option of fasting or not. Those who choose not to fast during their journey must make it up after reaching their destination. This applies to all types of travel; for business, for personal reasons, or due to one's job (i.e. long distance haulers).

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Rules Of Fasting - Roza - Ramadan

• Rules Of The Fast - Roza
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• A person can state his intention to fast while he is ritually impure. After he has performed the necessary aboutions, he may begin his fast for the day. This must all be done before daybreak, when the daily fast starts.
• A woman coming out of her menses or child-birth bleeding before dawn must fast, even if she washes herself after dawn.
• It is permissible for a fasting person to apply ornaments, lotions, perfumes, and similar items to his head or body while he is fasting. However, he should avoid inhaling the smoke given off by burning incense. The use of ointments or medicine for medical reasons (i.e. tooth extraction, eye-drops, ear-drops) is also allowed, even if they can be tasted.
• Brushing one's teeth a siwak ( this is a twig from a certain kind of tree found in the Middle East and widely available in Muslim communities). The prophet said that it is desirable to use a siwak while fasting.
• A fasting person can cool himself with water, an air conditioner, or similar methods.
• It is permissible to use sprays designed to relive the pressure of asthma or similar afflications that cause difficulty in breathing.
• It is allowed to wet one's lips or rinse the inside of one's mouth with water without gargling.
• It is desirable to delay slightly the pre-dawn meal and to hasten to break the fast at sunset. This is in accordance with the practice of the Prophet, whose actions serve as models for the pious Muslims to imitate. The fast is usually ended by eating several dates or, if dates are not available, by drinking some water. If no permitted food or drinks is available, the individual should simply make intention to break the fast and then actually do so as soon as he finds something that is permissible to eat or drink. For example, he cannot break his fast by eating pork or drinking alcohol, as these foods are prohibited in all circumstances, with the exception of those that are life-threatening.
• While he is fasting, he should make a greater effort to draw closer to Allah by increasing his level of adherence to what Allah has asked of him.
• One who is fasting should also perform his obligations and abstain from that which is prohibited. He should offer his daily prayers on time and in congregation (if it is obligatory upon him) and avoid lying, backbiting, deceiving someone, dealing in interest(usury), or indulging, either mentally or physically, in that which is prohibited. The prophet said:"One who does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink."

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Ramadan -Golden Hours

The blessed month of Ramadhan is like ‘golden hours on angel wings’ it will descend upon us it’s blessed moments. It will summon Muslims, as individuals and as a corporate body, to an intense and sustained month of fasting and prayer, of worship and obedience, of devotion and discipline – all centred on the Qur’an which was sent down in these very moments in the custody of ‘noble and trustworthy’ angels. Call will go forth to every believer to take to prolonged companionship with the Book of Allah

, to a life of redoubled endeavour to become what Allah desires Muslims to be. Joyfully and dutifully the Muslim will respond. Every day will be spent in fasting from dawn to sunset, not a morsel of food, nor a drop of water, indeed nothing shall pass down the throat; nor will intimate relations be indulged in. Each night, hours will be devoted to standing in Prayers before Allah, reciting and reading His words sent down in the Qur’an.

Ramadhan is no trivial event. It is the month ‘in which was sent down the Qur’an; the guidance for mankind, the Criterion (by which to judge the right from wrong) (2:185) Its sole purpose is to prepare us for the Dive guidance, for living the Qur’an, for witnessing the Truth and Justice that it perfects, for striving to make the word of Allah supreme. Fasting generates Taqwa (God conscious) which becomes directed to the supreme goal of entering the world of the Qur’an and of living therein. It is the key which unlocks all the doors leading to the blessings which the Qur’an has to offer: honour, prosperity and freedom from fear and anxiety in this world; success, Paradise and Allah’s good pleasure in the life to come. No time for Fasting other than Ramadhan could have made Taqwa such a potent force.

Let us look at Taqwa. What it is? Literally saving ourselves from harm. In moral life, therefore, Taqwa must primarily mean, firstly, accepting that some actions and beliefs are harmful, that is to say, right and wrong do exist, and secondly, having the resolve and will to avoid the wrong and do right. Thirdly as a consequence, conduct should reflect this consciousness and resolve, if we are not a hypocrite.

To have Qur’anic Taqwa, which will entitle us to its guidance, we must know that these are realities and values beyond matter, beyond what we are incapable of perceiving by our physical senses, beyond this world, that man needs to be guided to what is right and away from what is wrong. We should also be prepared to submit, willingly all that we possess – mind, body, and wealth – to the truth that we know and believe.

Every moment in Ramadhan engraves these lessons on our hearts, integrates them in our practice. The most elementary physical needs – food, water and sleep – are readily and joyfully sacrificed. Hunger and thirst are no more harmful; Allah’s displeasure is. Physical pleasures no more hold any lure; Allah’s rewards do. The scale of values is turned upside down. The measures of comfort and pain, success and failure are radically changed. Without this change, none is entitled to take up Allah’s cause. To the uninitiated, or an outsider, the regimental devotion of Ramadhan may appear harsh and austere, but, in fact, it is eagerly awaited by believers.

The sight of the new moon, the crescent that signals the beginning of Ramadhan is met with celebration and jubilation. Even children who are not required to fast look forward to their first experience of Ramadhan fasting. The sick to, remain restless for having been deprived of this blessing. Such jubilation and eagerness, to sacrifice time, wealth, and life in submitting to what ever God asks of us, and regret and sorrow if prevented from doing so for reasons beyond our own control, is highly desirable in the way of Allah. Whatever the physical discomfort, the mortification of flesh is certainly not a desired object in Islam. The gifts of Allah are there to be enjoyed, but limits by Him must also be strictly observed.

As the sun sets, the fast must be broken, and sooner the better. All that became forbidden at His command becomes permissible again at His command. Similarly eating before dawn is strongly urged, even though the hour can be, depending on the time of year, unearthly, for it provides the necessary strength for the rigours of the day ahead. Fasting and praying are obvious acts of worship, but eating, and sleeping too, constitute forms of worship. The month long regime of dawn to sunset abstinence from food, drink and intimate relations with ones spouse, for the sake of Allah alone, internalises the lesson that one must never touch, acquire or enter that which does not belong to one under the law of Allah. A man can no more remain a slave to his own self-indulgence as he prepares for the arduous journey on the road to His Lord. For many it is difficult to see the value of long hours of hunger, thirst and sleeplessness. Productivity losses are difficult to accept in an age that has tried to make gods of gross national product and economic growth. According to Islam, however, man is created to live a life of total submission to the One and Only God, and this purpose must be paramount in all scales of values. Ramadhan fasting is crucial to this understanding. It shows that its purpose, like Allah’s guidance through His prophets and Books and all other rituals of worship, is to train the believer in how he must live totally and unreservedly, at all costs, in submission to Allah.

Obedience is not limited to mere outward conformity with the letter of the law. The law must be observed, but evil, in all its forms must be eschewed. Ibn Maja, the great Hadith scholar, reports that the Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘When the month of Ramadhan arrives, the gates of paradise are flung open while those of Hell are closed. All the satans are put in chains and a herald cries out, O you who seek good come here and those who desire evil desist’.

Imam Bukhari, the most renowned Hadith scholar narrated: Eyes should refrain from seeing evil, ears from hearing evil, heart from reflecting evil, and tongue from speaking evil. The prophet (pbuh) said ‘For One who does not give up speaking false words and acting by them it is not required by Allah that he give up only his food and drink’.

On another occasion the prophet (pbuh) said ‘Many are the observers of fast who gain nothing from their fast but thirst and hunger’.

As a collective experience Ramadhan suffuses the entire life of communities with the spirit of Taqwa; even the air, it seems, is changed with a new fervour. In Ramadhan, we can see a beautiful example of how Islam unites the individual and the society under One Lord alone. Therefore, the demands of Allah take precedence over all other demands; no part of personality; no aspect of our life remains out-side His writ, even aspects as mundane as timings for eating and going to bed. Thus, will is strengthened, determination is reinforced, spirit of sacrifice is intensified, self-control is heightened.

That is why the Fasting is placed in Ramadhan. In this technological age, when the clock has become the only measure of time and every concept of sacredness of time has been erased from human memory, some may find it difficult to visualise how every moment of Ramadhan encompasses centuries within it, how it allows us to draw nearer to Allah at a much faster pace. Acts of virtue during the month are especially rewarded: an obligatory acts increases seventy times; a voluntary one is rewarded like the obligatory. Each of its moments offers immense possibility of great spiritual journeys.

The end of Ramadhan brings Eid-al fitr, the feast of breaking the fast, which celebrates the revelation of the Qur’an. The Qur’an makes it clear: ‘that you complete the number, and proclaim the greatness of Allah for His having guided you, and that you render your thanks. (2:185). Man’s response to the Divine initiative of guidance must be gratitude and ex-tolling Him as the Greatest. That is why constantly on the lips is the tasbih: Allahu Akbar…Walillahil hamd - God is great and only He is to be Praised!

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Zakaat al-Fitr - Ramadan Articles

• Zakat al-Fitr :  which is part of the fast of Ramadan, is characterized by the following elements:
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• It consists of approximately 2.5 kilograms (slightly more than one pound) of rice, wheat, dates, or similar food or items.
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• It is not proper to give the Zakat al-Fiter in the form of money, clothes, or any other non-food items. However, one school of Islamic law-the Hanafites-say that one is allowed to give the Zakat al-Fiter in monetary form if he wishes to do so.
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• It must be given on the day of Eid, which is known as Eid al-Fiter, and signifies the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan. It can also be paid one or two days before Eid al-Fitr.
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• It cannot be given after the Eid prayer, unless one has a valid reason for such a delay.
• It should be given on behalf of every Muslim whether male or female, adult or minor.

ZAKAT MEANING

Zakaah al-Fitr is often referred to as Sadaqah al-Fitr. The word Fitr means the same as Iftaar, breaking a fast and it comes from the same root word as Futoor which means breakfast. Thus, Islamically, Zakaah al-Fitr is the name given to charity which is distributed at the end of the fast of Ramadaan.

CLASSIFICATION

Sadaqah al-Fitr is a duty which is Waajib on every Muslim, whether male or female, minor or adult as long as he/she has the means to do so.The proof that this form of charity is compulsory can be found in the Sunnah whereby Ibn `Umar reported that the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) made Zakaah al-Fitr compulsory on every slave, freeman, male, female, young and old among the Muslims; one Saa` of dried dates or one Saa` of barely. [collected by Bukhaaree - Arabic/English, vol. 2, p. 339, no. 579]

The head of the household may pay the required amount for the other members. Abu Sa'eed al-Khudree said, "On behalf of our young and old, free men and slaves, we used to take out during Allaah's Messenger's (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) lifetime one Saa` of grain, cheese or raisins". [collected by Muslim - English transl. vol. 2, p. 469, no. 2155]

SIGNIFICANCE

The significant role played by Zakaah in the circulation of wealth within the Islamic society is also played by the Sadaqah al-Fitr. However, in the case of Sadaqah al-Fitr, each individual is required to calculate how much charity is due from himself and his dependents and go into the community in order to find those who deserve such charity. Thus, Sadaqah al-Fitr plays a very important role in the development of the bonds of community.

The rich are obliged to come in direct contact with the poor, and the poor are put in contact with the extremely poor. This contact between the various levels of society helps to build real bonds of brotherhood and love within the Islamic community and trains those who have, to be generous to those who do not have.

PURPOSE

The main purpose of Zakaah al-Fitr is to provide those who fasted with the means of making up for their errors during the month of fasting. Zakaah al-Fitr also provides the poor with a means with which they can celebrate the festival of breaking the fast (`Eed al-Fitr) along with the rest of the Muslims. Ibn

Abbaas reported, "The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made Zakaah al-Fitr compulsory so that those who fasted may be purified of their idle deeds and shameful talk (committed during Ramadaan) and so that the poor may be fed. Whoever gives it before Salaah will have it accepted as Zakaah, while he who gives it after the Salaah has given Sadaqah." [collected by Abu Dawood - Eng. transl. vol. 2, p. 421, no. 1605 - rated Saheeh by Shaikh Naser Al-Albanee]

Hence, the goal of Sadaqah al-Fitr is the spiritual development of the Believers. By making them give up some of their wealth, the believers are taught the higher moral characteristics of generosity, compassion (sympathy for the unfortunate), gratitude to God and the righteousness. But, since Islaam does not neglect man's material need, part of the goal of Zakaah al-Fitr is the economic well-being of the poorer members of society.

CONDITIONS

Zakaah al-Fitr is only Waajib for a particular period of time. If one misses the time period without a good reason, he has sinned and can not make it up. This form of charity becomes obligatory from sunset on the last day of fasting and remains obligatory until the beginning of Salaah al-'Eed' (i.e. shortly after sunrise on the following day).

However, it can be paid prior to the above mentioned period, as many of the Sahaabah (companions of the Prophet(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) ) used to pay Sadaqah al-Fitr a couple days before the `Eed. Naafi reported that the Prophet's companion Ibn `Umar used to give it to those who would accept it and the people used to give it a day or two before the `Eed. [collected by al-Bukhaaree - Arabic/English, Vol. 2, p.339, no. 579] Ibn `Umar reported that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) order that it (Zakaah al-Fitr) be given before people go to make the Salaah (al-'Eed). And Ibn `Abbaas reported that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Whoever gives it before the Salaah will have it accepted as Zakaah, while he who gives it after the Salaah (will not, for it will only be considered as) ordinary charity." Therefore, one who forgets to pay this Zakaah al-Fitr on time should do so as soon as possible even though it will not be counted as Zakaah al-Fitr.

RATE

The amount of Zakaah is the same for everyone regardless of their different income brackets. The minimum amount is one Saa` (two handfuls ) of food, grain or dried fruit for each member of the family. This calculation is based on Ibn `Umar's report that the Prophet(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made Zakaah al-Fitr compulsory and payable by a Saa` of dried dates or a Saa` of barley. The Sahaabee, Abu Sa`eed al-Khudree said, "In the Prophet's time, we used to give it (Zakaah al-Fitr) as a Saa` of food, dried dates, barley, raisins or dried cheese". [collected by al-Bukhaaree - Arabic/English vol. 2, p. 340, no. 582]

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