Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam. It is observed by Muslims during the month of Ramadan, a season of intense worship. How can Muslims make the best use of those precious moments? What should they do and not do while fasting? And what are the benefits that can be gained out of this blessed month?
Watch this video to know the answers and more…
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By Editorial Staff
Ramadan is the month in which Muslims observe the obligatory fast which has been prescribed by God on those who believe in Him as it was prescribed on previous nations.
O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain piety. (Al-Baqarah 2: 183)
The above verse explains the main purpose of fasting. It is to attain taqwa (God-consciousness) which means that every Muslim must be watchful of everything. He must watch out every word he utters and every action he does.
In this Special Folder, we will focus on fasting and its related issues.
Prepare Yourself for Ramadan
Your First Ramadan: Get It Right
Ramadan: Ready for the Blessings?
How Did Prophet Muhammad Prepare Himself for Ramadan?
Preparing for Ramadan: 3 Top Tips
Ramadan Countdown for New Muslims
Prepare for Ramadan: Your Body
Prepare for Ramadan: Your Mind
What Is Fasting?
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Ramadan: Objectives & Lessons to Learn (Part 1)
Ramadan: Objectives & Lessons to Learn (Part 2)
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A Blessed Month of a Special Nature
Objectives of Fasting and Ramadan
Why Do Muslims Fast during Ramadan?
The Key to a Successful Day: Words of Remembrance and Supplication
Managing Ramadan with Your Non-Muslim Family
The ProductiveRamadan Online Course (Animation)
Fasting in Ramadan: Worship or Habit?
Ramadan: The Month of Fasting and Spirituality
Fast of Ramadan: A Way of Life
The Secret of Fasting in Ramadan
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Productive Ramadan Resource: The Ramadan Daily Planner
A Day in Ramadan with the Prophet
In the Shade of Ramadan
“In the Shade of Ramadan” is an annual online video series that is produced by MAS Youth during the month of Ramadan 
every year. It is a series of educational and motivational reflections on the month of Ramadan featuring various speakers across the country. This year’s season will feature 15 episodes (an episode every other day) with the theme: “Racing to Allah.”
Episode 2: Racing to the Houses of Worship
Episode 3: The Believer is Quick to Respond
Episode 6: Attaining a Pure Heart
Episode 8: Reach Out and Help Someone
Episode 9: Love for the Sake of Allah
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Episode 11: Overcoming Obstacles
Episode 12: Overcoming Our Whims
Ramadan Reminders
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Ramadan Reflections
Ramadan Reflections 2012: Introduction
Ramadan Reflections (1): Imam Ash-Shafi`i
Ramadan Reflections (2): Imam Al-Ghazzali
Ramadan Reflections (3): Imam Abu Hilal Al-`Askari
Ramadan Reflections (4): Imam Al-Ash`ari
Ramadan Reflections (5): Imam As-Suyuti
Ramadan Reflections (6): Imam Ibn Sayyid An-Nas
Ramadan Reflections (7): Ibn Khaldun
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Ramadan Reflections (8): Ibn Al-Jazari
Ramadan Reflections (9): Sibawayh
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Ramadan Reflection (10): Imam Ad-Dardir
Tarawih Prayer
Ramadan’s First Night: Open the Gates of Blessings
Live Tarawih Prayer from Makkah
Work Schedule and Tarawih Prayer
Q & A Session on Tarawih and Ramadan
Making the Most of Tarawih this Ramadan
How Can I Enjoy Listening to the Qur’an in Taraweeh When I Don’t Understand What Is Being Recited?
A Gift for the 27th Night: A Ramadan Du`a’ with English Translation
Qur’an Reflections
Join Imam Mohamed Magid, Dr. Jasser Auda, and Guest Scholars every Ramadan evening at 7 PM to listen to their reflections on the part of the Quran that will be recited in Taraweeh prayer that night.
Your Health in Ramadan 
What Happens to Your Body When You Fast?
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Last Ten Days of Ramadan
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The Last Ten Nights of Ramadan – Don’t Miss!
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An Unmatched Night: Don’t Miss
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In the Shade of Ramadan (5) Episode 12: Overcoming Our Whims
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By Editorial Staff
Ramadan is the month in which Muslims observe the obligatory fast which has been prescribed by God on those who believe in Him as it was prescribed on previous nations.
O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain piety. (Al-Baqarah 2:183)
The above verse explains the main purpose of fasting. It is to attain taqwa (God-consciousness) which means that every Muslim must be watchful of everything. He must watch out every word he utters and every action he does.
In this Special Folder, we will focus on fasting and its related issues.
Looking ahead to your first Ramadan as a Muslim? How do you expect it to be? What plans do you have for the Holy Month? How achievable are they?
Devotion and piety can themselves become habits. When a person starts concentrating in prayer, it is difficult at first to keep focus. The mind is easily distracted. However, after years of persistence, devotion …
What kinds of supplications are there, and what should we say in our prayer in Ramadan? What if I don’t speak Arabic? Can we supplicate to God, get in touch with Him in other languages? Dr. Tariq Ramadan …
Welcome to this new fascinating series titled Qur’anic Gems with Nouman Ali Khan.
What virtues does the first night of Ramadan have? At whom will Allah look in that blessed night? Why? What did the Prophet say about it?
In some cases, fasting could do more harm than good to some ill people, but could be beneficial to others, and even improve health. Who is exempted from fasting, who can decide this? How should fasting…
The last ten nights of Ramadan are very special. These are the nights that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would spend in constant worship. Among these nights is Laylat al-Qadr…
With the coming of Ramadan, every Muslim has to prepare himself for that blessed month. This book tackles the most important issues that a Muslim has to be aware of before going on fasting. It tries to present the rulings of fasting as well as the spiritual objectives for which fasting was obligated. Take your time in going through this helpful book and we hope that we provided something that has been beneficial for you.
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Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars upon which the structure of Islam is built. The other four are the declaration of one’s belief in God’s oneness and in the message of Muhammad (peace be upon him), regular attendance to prayer, payment of zakah (i.e. obligatory charity), and the pilgrimage.
If we examine these five pillars, taking into account the fact that Islam aims at improving the quality of human life at both the individual and social levels, we find that the first of these five pillars is concerned with beliefs which influence man’s conduct. The second, i.e. prayer, provides a constant reminder of man’s bond with God. Zakah, the third pillar, is a social obligation which reduces the gap between the rich and the poor, while the fifth, i.e. the pilgrimage, has a universal aspect that unites the Muslim community throughout the world.
Fasting in Ramadan, which is the fourth of these pillars, has a particularly high importance, derived from its very personal nature as an act of worship. Although in a Muslim country it is extremely difficult for anyone to defy public feelings by showing that one is not fasting, there is nothing to stop anyone from privately violating God’s commandment of fasting if one chooses to do so. This means that although fasting is obligatory, its observance is purely voluntary.
The fact is that fasting cannot be used by a hypocrite in order to persuade others of one’s devotion to God. If a person claims to be a Muslim, he is expected to fast in Ramadan. On the other hand, a person fasting voluntarily at any other time should not tell others of the fact. If he does, he detracts from his reward for his voluntary worship. In fact, people will find his declaration to be fasting very strange and will feel that there is something wrong behind it.
This explains why the reward God gives for proper fasting is so generous. In a sacred, or Qudsi hadith, the Prophet quotes God as saying: “All actions done by a human being are his own except fasting, which belongs to Me and I reward it accordingly.” This is a mark of special generosity, since God gives for every good action a reward equivalent to at least ten times its values. Sometimes He multiplies this reward to seven hundred times the value of the action concerned, and even more. We are also told by the Prophet that the reward for proper fasting is admittance into heaven.
It may be noted that we have qualified fasting that earns such great reward as being ‘proper’. This is because every Muslim is required to make his worship perfect. Perfection of fasting can be achieved through restraint of one’s feelings and emotions. The Prophet said that when fasting, a person should not allow himself to be drawn into a quarrel or a slanging match. He teaches us: “On a day of fasting, let no one of you indulge in any obscenity, or enter into a slanging match. Should someone abuse or fight him, let him respond by saying: ‘I am fasting! I am fasting!’” (Al-Bukhari)
This high standard of self-restraint fits in well with fasting, which is, in essence, an act of self-discipline. Islam requires us to couple patience with voluntary abstention from indulgence in physical desire. This is indeed the purpose of fasting. It helps man to attain a standard of sublimity, which is very rare in the practical world. In other words, this standard is actually achieved by every Muslim who knows the purpose of fasting and strives to fulfill it.
Fasting has another special aspect. It makes all people share in the feelings of hunger and thirst. In normal circumstances, people with decent income may go from one year’s end to another without experiencing the pangs of hunger which a poor person may feel every day of his life. Such an experience helps to draw the rich nearer to the poor.
Indeed we are encouraged to be more charitable in Ramadan in order to follow the Prophet’s lead who was described by his companions as “the most generous of all people.” Yet he achieved in Ramadan an even higher degree of generosity. His companions say of him that he was in Ramadan “more generous and charitable than unrestrained wind.”
Fasting has also a universal or communal aspect. As Muslims throughout the world share in this blessed act of worship, they feel their unity and equality. Their sense of unity is enhanced by the fact that every Muslim individual joins voluntarily in the fulfillment of this divine commandment. The unity of Muslims is far from superficial; it is a unity of action and purpose, since they all fast in order to be better human beings. As a person restrains himself from the things he desires most, in the hope that he will earn God’s pleasure, self-discipline and sacrifice become part of his nature. He learns to give generously for a good cause.
The month of Ramadan is aptly described as a “festive season of worship.” Fasting is the main aspect of worship in this month, but people are more attentive to their prayers in Ramadan than they are in the rest of the year. They are also more generous and charitable. Thus, their devotion is more complete and they feel in Ramadan much happier because they feel themselves to be closer to God. Therefore, they love this month, which is one of endless benefits and blessings.
Indeed, nothing describes our great month better than the words of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as he addresses his companions and all generations of Muslims on the eve of Ramadan, saying: “A great and blessed month is approaching. One of its nights is better than a thousand months. God has made fasting in it obligatory and worship in its nights voluntary.
He who fulfils one religious obligation in it receives the reward of 70 such obligations fulfilled in other times. It is the month of perseverance and endurance, which can be rewarded only be admission into heaven. It is the month of comforting in which the means of a believer are improved. He who gives food to another to break his fast is forgiven his sins; thus he saves his neck from hell. He is also given a similar reward to that given to the fasting person without detracting anything from the other’s reward…
God gives this reward even to a person who offers another a piece of a date, a drink of water or milk… the beginning of this month is compassion, its middle is forgiveness and its end witnesses people’s release from the fire of hell.”
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Taken with slight modifications from: www.arabnews.com.
Adil Salahi teaches Islamic Studies at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education, Leicester, England. After working for the BBC Arabic Service for several years, he worked for the Arabic daily, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. He continues to publish a column, “Islam in Perspective”, in its sister publication, Arab News, an English daily published in Saudi Arabia.
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Why do Muslims fast in Ramadan? Does a person achieve the objectives of fasting when he/she is fasting? Why do not all people achieve these objectives?
Watch this episode of Ramadan: A Day with Dr. Zakir Naik to know the answer to these questions…
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For a people enjoined and assured with the divine decree: “You have a good example in God’s Messenger for whoever hopes for God and the Last Day, and remembers God oft” (Al-Ahzab 33:21), the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during the month of Ramadan, the most sacred month on the Islamic calendar – as with his daily life during all other times of the year – demands great importance.
Just as Muslims are required to pray how he prayed, fast how he fasted, and turn to their Creator with utmost sincerity and devotion, they are instructed to make it their life’s endeavor to live as he lived, emulating him in each and every facet of their humanly existence.
The greatest jewel on the crown of the Islamic year is the blessed month of Ramadan, the month described by the Messenger himself as the month of his community. The manner in which the Last Prophet spent this month, every minute detail of which is recorded, is the model, the very blueprint for the Muslim who aspires to earning the pleasure of God and attracting His infinite grace and mercy during this sacred month.
Let us take a glance at a single day in the month of Ramadan with the Messenger of God – a page out of that remarkable Prophetic diary which has permeated through the centuries.
The exact time for the pre-dawn meal, the sahur, would be determined after which the pre-dawn meal would be consumed. The Messenger of God advised believers to partake in this meal prior to fasting, even if it be with only a morsel of food, or a mouthful of drink, as there was great blessing concealed therein.
The meal would be delayed until just before the Morning Prayer. God’s Messenger would make an intention to fast for the day as, like all other acts of worship, intentions were pivotal in fasting also. He would clean his teeth with siwak, a piece of the root of the arak tree used as a toothbrush.
There are several Prophetic traditions indicating that God’s Messenger would have guests with him for the sahur from time to time.
The morning prayer would be performed in congregation in the Prophet’s Mosque, with God’s Messenger leading the prayer.
Throughout the entire day, God’s Messenger would engage in acts of generosity and charity, so much so that, although he was the most benevolent among people, his benevolence increased markedly during the month of Ramadan.
At the call to the Evening Prayer at sunset, the breaking of the fast was not delayed. The Prophet would break his fast before performing the Evening Prayer, with fresh dates, or dried dates if fresh ones were not available. If neither was available, he would break the fasting with water, and sometimes with a particular kind of soup.
The Prophet supplicated at the time of breaking fast, saying, “O God, I have fasted for Your sake, I have broken my fast with what you have provided. Thirst is gone and the veins are moist once again. God willing, the reward is established, too.” The Prophet would not seek any food in particular, but eat from what was available. As per usual practice, he would not eat to his full.
The Prophet Muhammad would lead the night prayer in the mosque. This was followed by the tarawih, the eight or twenty-cycle voluntary prayer reserved only for the nights of Ramadan, with rests after each four cycles. He would then retreat to his chamber adjacent to the mosque. He would spend a significant portion of the night in worship, reflection and supplication.
God’s Messenger would devote more time to the recitation of the Qur’an during Ramadan and reflecting upon its meaning. Archangel Gabriel would come to the Prophet each night and listen to his recitation of the Qur’an. Angel Gabriel would then reciprocate by reciting the same verses in order to compare and confirm them, in way of ensuring its preservation and protection.
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Taken with kind permission from: Lastprophet.info.
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Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam. But why do we fast during Ramadan?
A number of sheikhs and da`iyahs speak in this documentary about the virtues and rewards of fasting during the month of Ramadan and how this duty positively impacts the way Muslims lead their lives and gives them doses of spirituality.
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Fasting is not purely intended for deprivation of food and drink and lawful sexual relations.
In fact, fasting serves other purposes as well, such as uplifting the spirit of a fasting believer and giving him or her self-restraint and control over vain desires.
To know more about the secrets of fasting, watch this lecture by Sheikh Yasir Birjas…
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This booklet is aimed at helping you understand the health issues related to fasting, so that you are able to make more informed choices, minimise complications and maximise the benefit of your fast. The booklet will:
The booklet also contains a section for doctors and medical professionals to enable them to provide more informed services.
The booklet has been put together by medical experts, Islamic scholars and researchers, who have stayed within the spirit of Islam, while ensuring the medical advice and suggestions are scientific and culturally sensitive.
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Muslims all over the world wait eagerly for the yearly coming of Ramadan during which they fast, recite the Qur’an, and perform qiyam (Night Vigil Prayer). Fasting is by no means an easy obligation to carry out.
Yet, harder still is to fast from one’s vain desires and bad habits. In this lecture, Sheikh Bilal Assad sheds light on the latter type of fasting…
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