The Successful and the Not So Successful

When Ramadan comes to an end, and the moon of ‘Eid is sighted, people will be divided into two groups.  This first group will be of those people that have lamented, begged, cried tears of remorse and regret, and ultimately earned the pleasure of Allah and have gotten their sins forgiven.  These people are the successful ones.

When the moon is sighted for ‘Eid, there shall be a second group, which will consist of those people that have not let go of their sins in this most blessed month.  Unfortunately, these people were unable to please Allah.  They were unable to cry, and beg Allah to forgive their sins.

The Virtue of Suhoor

Those people that are the lovers of sleep or that are the kings of sleep will often say that they will just fast without having suhoor.  Sadly, they fail to realize that this is a cause of great deprivation of the blessings of suhoor, which undoubtedly will have a negative impact on their fast overall.  The Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) said, “Most definitely, Allah sends special mercy upon those that partake in suhoor and His angels pray for their forgiveness.” (Saheeh Ibn Hibbaan 8/245 #3467)

This is the unique method of Allah’s dealings with His servants.  Just like in a wedding where people enjoy the happy occasion and enjoy the dates and other snacks being handed out as well.  Similarly, those that have suhoor enjoy the food they get to eat, and also enjoy the spiritual benefits of Allah’s mercy and benefit from the prayers of forgiveness the angels make for them.

At the time of suhoor, shaytaan attempts to scare people by whispering to them about how will you possibly make it through the rest of the day, and that you will be hungry for the entire day, food will only be available at maghrib.  With these thoughts already implanted in the person’s mind, shaytaan further whispers to them that you might as well stuff yourself with as much food as you can at suhoor…Fill up the first floor, the second floor, and the basement if possible, whether you have to deal with indigestion and heartburn for the rest of the day or not.  So do not eat so much.  Have some faith in Allah.  Eat, but only eat the amount that can be easily digested, as this will lead to more strength, whereas overeating will just cause weakness and laziness.  Overeating will cause disruptions in the body’s natural digestion mechanism.  All this I say from experience.

Eating suhoor is an established Sunnah.  If it was extremely necessary, then the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) would have made it wajib, however, that is not the case.  So do not stretch yourself so thin in trying to fulfill the Sunnah where it has adverse effects on the body and soul, because that will then be contrary to the Sunnah.  If there is nothing to eat for suhoor or one is not hungry, then just have some water or a glass of milk, because that much will also fulfill the Sunnah of suhoor.  The Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) has made the execution of this Sunnah so easy, then why should you make it something that is a hassle?  Have some faith in Allah, He will make fasting easy for you, and the day will pass by with significant ease.  Therefore, there is no cause for concern or worry.  Just sit back, relax, and enjoy suhoor within reasonable limits.

Two Moments of Joy and Iftar Common Sense

Imam Tirmidhi (RA) narrates a hadeeth that the person who fasts will receives two joys: 1) In this world at Iftar time, and 2) On the day of judgment when they will meet their Lord. The person who fasts experiences such happiness at the time of Iftar that is inexplicable, while the person that neglects to fast is deprived from this joy.  This is clearly evident by the look on the face of the  fasting and non-fasting person at Iftar time.  If a person has neglected to fast and is still eating Iftar thinking, “Man, how I can I leave such a delicious dahi bada (a typical Iftar item of the Indo/Pak subcontinent)”, the zaalim’s face will clearly show that he was not fasting.  The fasting person’s face will have a natural noor, and a unique shine to it.

As I mentioned earlier, that Hazratwala (RA) always kept the Shari’ah in the forefront, so he mentions further, that on this note, due to Iftar parties and invitations, it is not permissible to leave the congregation of Maghrib.  Wherever and whenever there is an Iftar party, and there is a samosa or dahi bada  dish or some fancy exquisite fish, but the fishy part is to leave Maghrib on account of some food that isn’t going to run away upon returning from salat wth jama’at.  Have a couple of dates for Iftar, drink some water, go pray, and then come back and then eat comfortably in peace.  Eating quickly to go pray quickly will eliminate the enjoyment in both the food and the prayer…A loss of the dunya and the aakhirah.  That is why it should be mentioned clearly to the host of such gatherings that we will pray Maghrib in congregation, and then upon our return, we will eat as much as you would like us to.  That way the host will not be offended either, otherwise the host will be worried since they made so much in preparing such a wonderful Iftar and everyone is leaving to go pray.  So it is best to inform the host ahead of time so that each action can be done with ease, and a person can break their fast, pray in peace, and enjoy their meal upon returning in peace as well.  However to stuff one’s self so much for Iftar that when you go for sajdah, the dahi badas and samosas are falling out from your throat is not allowed.  You yourself are going into sajdah saying, “Allahu Akbar, Allah bada hai,” and at the same time the dahi bada is saying, “I’m bada as well, so I’m going to come out first!”  So what genuine need is there to stuff yourself so much for Iftar?!  Eat enough to be able to pray Maghrib, Isha and Taraweeh properly.  Do not eat so much that you feel sleepy, and skip Taraweeh altogether, or you are burping away during Taraweeh announcing to the guy next to you everything that was on the menu for your Iftar.  No one is saying not to eat, rather I am saying to eat and enjoy your food…Just eat such an amount that you no longer feel very hungry afterwards, and it digests properly without any issues, because intentionally causing yourself and your stomach to go through pain is also not allowed. 

A Great Reward for the Ones that Fast

Hazrat Hakeem-ul-Ummah (RA) has mentioned in Behishti Zewar under the chapter of fasting, that Allah will reward the people that kept their fasts by calling them under His throne and will say to them, “O people that fasted in Ramadhan! You are Our guests because you kept your stomachs hungry despite food being readily available out of fear for Us.  Come under the shade of Our throne, and a table spread shall be laid out for you.” (Ibn Abi Dunya , Kitab al-Joo’)

On the day of judgment when people will be giving an account of their lives, and their brains will boil due to the heat of the sun being so near, a table spread shall be laid out for those who fasted the month of Ramadhan under the shade of Allah’s throne.  There will be no reckoning of deeds under the shade of Allah’s throne, and where there will be reckoning of deeds, there shall be no shade there.  Attaining the shade of Allah’s throne is a proof that Allah will not punish those people.

 

Do Not be Disturbed by the Arrival of Ramadhan

Some people feel disturbed and scared by the arrival of Ramadhan.  Once in a village, a visiting scholar mentioned to the people of the village that Ramadhan is coming, and now they will have to fast.  The people of this village were so ignorant that they began to ask the scholar what exactly does fasting entail.  The scholar replied that it entails abstaining from food and drink from a little prior to sunrise up until sunset.  Once the sun sets, you may break your fast.  The villagers asked, “We cannot eat or drink the entire day?”  The scholar replied, “Yes.”  The villagers then asked, “How does fasting become obligatory?”  The scholar replied, “When Ramadhan comes from the west” implying that the sun will set and the moon will be visible in that general direction, but he made no mention of the moon.  So when the villagers asked where Ramadhan comes from, the scholar mentioned that it comes from the west. The villagers then asked, “What day does Ramadhan arrive?”  The scholar said, “Either the evening of the 29th or 30th of Sha’baan.”

Anyway, the scholar departed and the villagers were anticipating the arrival of Ramadhan.  On the evening of the 29th of Sha’baan, the villagers stood on the western boundary of their village armed with sticks.  They decided to beat up Ramadhan and drive him away so that Ramadhan will not have come to their village and therefore they will not have to fast.  Towards the west, they saw a man riding a camel approaching them after the sun had set.  They asked the man, “What is your name?”  The man replied, “My name is Ramadhan Ali.”  The villagers exlaimed, “This is Ramadhan! He will make the fasts mandatory upon us!”  Consequently, they beat the poor man with their sticks and canes.  Poor Ramadhan Ali fleed from there on his camel, without even knowing why he was being chased out and beaten.  A month or so later, the same scholar visited again, and asked the villagers, “O brothers, did you all fast?”  The villages collectively replied, “We didn’t even let Ramadhan come into our village!  We beat him up and chased him away.”

So Ramadhan is not a time to be scared or disturbed.  The manner in which the obligation of fasting is stated by Allah in the Quran is proof that Allah is the Only One True God.  He is not merely a ruler over His creation but also the Most Merciful.  A ruler speaks in a style that is similar to martial law, such as, “You all must fast, or else there will be sever consequences.”  Compare that to the kind and sweet style Allah says, “O you who believe, fasting has been made obligatory upon you, just as it had been obligatory upon those before you…”  In other words, “Don’t worry, this is not a hard or difficult task.  ‘Allamah Aalusi (RA) states in his tafseer, Rooh ul Ma’aani, “The mention of how fasting was also obligatory on previous nations is to instill the idea within His servants that fasting is easy and simple.  People can function just fine without eating from sunrise to sunset.  People do not die from fasting in this manner.  The people who fasted in a similar manner before you were fine despite fasting and abstaining from food and drink all day.  Therefore, O the followers of My beloved (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam), do not worry and stress.  It is a little sacrifice but the reward is extremely superb.”  If a person were to receive a great reward in the end, they would easily sacrifice whatever is required in this world.  It would be the month of June, a hot summer, and the government announces that whoever walks 30 miles to a certain place will be given a large plot of land with a gas station on it, basically coming out to about $500,00.oo (five hundred thousand dollars) for free.  Think of all those people that are currently sitting in air conditioned rooms that would now leave their nice cool environment to acquire that plot of land.  Similarly, the reward that Allah wants to give for fasting is easily attainable, and thus there is no reason to be perturbed and inconvenienced by the arrival of Ramadhan.