Benefits of Fasting and Some Masaail (Rulings) of Ramadhaan

Hadhrat Mawlana Abdul Raheem (Hafidhahulah)’s personal notes regarding the Masaail of Sawm.

Benefits of Fasting Which Are Mentioned in Quran and Hadith:

1. Taqwa
2. Countless rewards
3. Acceptance of Duas
4. Fast intercedes
5. Special door in Jannah
6. Allah grants ability to do good deeds
7. Good health
8. Fast is Zakat of the body
9. Control over carnal desires
10. Sins are forgiven
11. Thinking about & praying for the destitute around the world

To avoid fasting, without a valid reason, is a severe and grave sin. If such a person was to fast for the whole life he wouldn’t be able to make up for one fast that was missed:

من أفطر يوما من رمضان من غير رخصة ولا مرض لم يقض عنه صوم الدهر كله وان صامه

The Reasons Why One Can Be Exempted From fasting:

1. A severely ill person
2. A traveller
3. A pregnant lady
4. A woman who is breast feeding

Preferable Acts During Fast (Mustahabbat):

1. To partake of Suhoor (to have it late at night, perhaps close to subh Sadiq)
2. To keep busy during the day in Tilawat, Zikrullah, Durood and Istigfar
3. To spend with generosity upon relatives, orphans and the poor
4. To perform Tahajjud, Ishraaq, Chast and AwwabeenRegarding Awwabeen, a very beautiful Hadith in Ibn Majah:
   من صلي بعد المغرب ست ركعات لم يتكلم بينهن بسوء عدلت له عبادة اثنتي عشر سنةWhosoever performs 6 rak’ats after Maghrib, in between which he doesn’t speak any wrong, then he will get the reward of worshipping for 12 years.Also, one should try to perform Salatut Tasbeeh when possible
5. To perform Itikaf in the last ten days. Also, whenever one enters the masjid he should make the intention of Nafl Itikaf
6. To keep busy in Dua especially at the time of Iftar
7. To do Iftar as soon as sun sets
8. To break the fast with dates
9. To take the dates in odd numbers
10. To recite the Dua at the time of Iftar:
    – اللهم لك صمت و بك آمنت و عليك توكلت و علي رزقك افطرت
    – ذهب الظما و ابتلت العروق و ثبت الأجر ان شاء الله
11. One has to make intention everyday for his fast. One intention for the whole month is not enough. Intention is in the heart, however, one can also verbally say it. One can read the following: نويت ان أصوم غداً لله

Disliked Acts During Fast (Makroohat):

1. Gathering saliva in the mouth and then swallowing it
2. Tasting food without any genuine reason. This could be a lady whose husband is a hot head and she needs to taste the salt or spice to avoid his wrath
3. Using toothpaste etc. if the toothpaste goes down the throat it will also break the fast
4. Females applying lipstick when there is a risk of it being swallowed
5. Caressing wife when at risk of fast being broken
6. Hard labour work which weakens the body
7. Doing sins during the fast such as backbiting, slandering, unlawful gazing, watching movies, listening to songs etc.
8. Exaggerating in gargling
9. Delaying Suhoor until doubtful time
10. To exaggerate whilst cleansing one’s self in big Istinja. Similar to exaggerate in gargling and in snuffing the nose

Things That Don’t Nullify the Fast:

1. To eat and drink while forgetting that you have fasted
2. To use miswak, rather it is preferable to do miswak, unless it’s flavoured and there is risk of the flavour going down the throat
3. To have an injection in the veins, if something is injected directly in the stomach or in the brain it will break the fast.
4. To apply surma
5. to use eye drops
6. To have a blood test
7. If water goes into the ears. However, to deliberately put water or medicine in the ears nullifies the fast
8. If smoke or a fly goes in the mouth unintentionally
9. Vomiting unintentionally
10. Ihtilam (wet dream)
11. If blood comes out from the teeth or gums and one doesn’t swallow it but spits it out
12. To kiss the wife, when there is no risk
13. If Mazi comes out
14. To have a shower
15. If tears or sweat go down the throat
16. To clean the ears
17. If a bit of vomit comes in the mouth and goes back unintentionally
18. A person burps and a bit of watery stuff comes in his mouth
19. To use perfume
20. Just by making intention that “I am going to break my fast”

Those Acts That Break the Fast and One Has to Keep a Qadha Later on:

1. To use asthma pump
2. To vomit mouthful intentionally. If less than mouthful, it won’t break
3. If whilst gargling water goes down the throat while one knows and one remembers that he is fasting
4. To put oil or medicine in the ears
5. To use snuff or put some medicine in the nose
6. To swallow a pebble or mud
7. If blood comes out from the gums and a person swallows it
8. To smoke cigarettes
9. To chew a gum
10. To use enema
11. To masturbate

There are three acts which after doing one has to keep Qadha and give Kaffarah:

1. To intentionally eat
2. To intentionally drink
3. To have sexual intercourse

In Kaffarah there must be continuity. If for some reason one fast was missed from the 60 fast then one has to start all over again.

If during Kaffarah, a woman starts her menstruation then this doesn’t stop the continuity but rather she would continue after her period goes.

The Reasons One Can Break Their Fast:

1. A life threatening illness
2. A pregnant lady who kept fast but got weak and fears for her life or the life of her child
3. A person who gets so thirsty that he is unable to bare it and could die. If a person does such hard work intentionally that he reaches such a state that he has to break his fast because of thirst, then he would also be sinful for doing so much hard work
4. A breast feeding mother who gets so weak that she fears over her life or the life of her child

Some Important Masail of Taraweeh:

1. It is sunnat-e-muakkadh to perform Taraweeh
2. If someone misses few rak’ats of Taraweeh and the imam stands up for Witr then one should join the imam in Witr then pray the remaining rak’ats of Taraweeh
3. If for some reason one didn’t get to perform his Esha with jamat he can still go to the Masjid and perform Taraweeh and Witr with jamat
4. It is not permissible to hold a Quran in the hand and read from it, nor is it permissible to use any other gadgets e.g. projector screen or listening on earphones and following the reciter etc.
5. Sometimes during Taraweeh it so happens that the imam reads a sajdah ayat then goes into sajdah. After getting up from sajdah he mistakenly reads surah Fatiha then continues his Qiraat- This doesn’t nullify the salah nor does he have to do sajdah sahw

Note: One should keep himself busy in as much worship as possible and stay away from futile activities especially gossiping.

Shaykh-ul-Hadith Hadhrat Mawlana Abdul Raheem (Hafidhahullah)