Ramadhan preparation

RAMADHAN PREPARATION –
Notes taken during Ustaza Nagheba Hayel’s class (July 2010)

Fast of the elite (Inner form)
1) Guard the eyes
- ‘A glance is an arrow from the arrows of Iblis, whoever leaves it out of Godly fear, then Allah Exalted be He will grant him iman, the sweetness in which he will experience in his heart.
2) Guard the tongue
- ‘Fasting is a shield with which one protects itself, so let not him (who fasts) utter immodest (or foul) speech, nor let him act in an ignorant manner; and if a man quarrels with him or abuses him, he should say twice, I am fasting.’
- Allah created two barriers after the tongue: lip and teeth.
- Allah will send down tests upon us – liyabluwakum ayyukum ahsanu ‘amala (a good you want from Allah is Ghaliya)
3) Guard the ears
- All that is sinful to utter is sinful to listen to. (‘The backbiter and the listener are partners in sin – At-Tabrani)
4) Guard the limbs
- Imam Ghazali: keep all limbs away from sins: the hands and feet from reprehensible deeds, and the stomach from questionable food at the time for breaking fast. It is meaningless to fast – to abstain from lawful food – only to break one’s fast and eat what is unlawful.
- Try to find halal and tayyib food (good and pure)
- Food is our source of energy which will result in our action.
- A young boy took milk to Sayidina Abu Bakar RadhiyaAllahu ‘anhu. He was really hungry at that time and drank it straightaway. The boy said, “Ya Abu Bakar, you do not ask me the source of this milk. The milk was from goat that graze in so-and-so field. (The field belongs to orphans).” Upon hearing this, Sayidina Abu Bakar RadhiyaAllahu ‘anhu forced his finger down his throat and vomited out the milk. He said that any meat and flesh that grow in impermissible, the fire have more right to it.
- 50 years ago in Tarim, all the food consumed by the people of Tarim were grown in the city itself. They always said basmala when planting anything and the barakah can be seen from it. It goes to the people who eat it and the animal that ate it.
- ‘innamal bai’u anil turadhi’ A hadith which meant Verily buying and selling is by mutual agreement. Buying and selling should be based on fair trade.
- Imam Haddad said that those who eat good food, whether he wants it or not, he will do worship and if one eat impermissible food he will do sinful act whether he wants it or not.
5) Not to overeat
- Imam Ghazali: Anyone who puts a bag of food between his heart and his breast becomes blind
- The sunna was to eat bread made from wheat, and he Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam eat once a day only. If he eats in the daytime, he will not eat at night time and vice versa.
- A student came to a syeikh and asked him, what do you say about a man who eats once a day? The Syeikh said that it is the food of prophets. The student asked again, what do you say about a man who eats twice a day? The Syeikh said that it is the food of the righteous. The student asked again, what do you say about a man who eats three times a day? And the Syeikh replied, why don’t you just build him a stable for him to graze?
- Overeating will prevent hudhur in our prayers.
- In tarim, they will break their fast with dates and water, then they will stand up and pray Maghrib prayer. After that, they will pray the Nawafil prayers and continue with Tasbih prayer. After the du’a for Tasbih prayer, they continue with Ratib Al-Haddad and after finishing all that, they will begin eating. According to Hababah Nur, this is the sa’atul Ghafla (the hour of heedlessness). A lot of people lost control at this time.

Outer form of fasting

Legal ruling pertaining the fast
1) Obligatory
- Fasting in the month of Ramadhan
- Make up fasts
- Expiation that requires fasting
- To fast for the prayer of rain if ordered to do so by the Hakim
- To fast if one has made an oath to do so

2) Mandub fasts (recommended)
- Yearly
o 1st of Muharram
o Asyoura (10th of Muharram) – by extension 9th of Muharram
o Day of Arafah – the mercy of Allah descend upon the earth, sunnah to fast if we are not in Arafah.
o 1st of Rajab
o 15th of Sha’ban – Imam Ali KaramaAllahu wajha said that five nights in a year that Allah will not reject du’as: 1st of Rajab, 15th of Sha’ban, night of Jum’ah, Night of Eidul Fitr and night of Eidul Adha. He never sleep on these nights.
o 6 days of Shawwal – Rasul sallalllahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wasssalam fasted 6 days straight after Eid.
o 9th of Zulhijja
o 1-9th of Zulhijja – The first ten days are sacred: Wal Fajr, wa layalin ‘asyr
- Monthly
o The white days (13th, 14th, 15th of every month)
o The black days (28th, 29th, 30th of every month) – Every good deeds in these days will be written 10 times ie if we fast 3 days in a month (3 x10 =30) is equal to fasting for the whole month.
- Weekly
o Monday, Thursday – Monday is the day I was born (Rasul sallallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam); Thursday is the day that actions is taken to Allah and I want it to be taken while I am in worship.
- Makruh (dislike)
o Single out Friday – Friday is the day of worship and we need strength to worship. According to Imam Ghazali Rahmatullahi ‘alayh, on Friday we should pray 4 rak’at to greet the mosque (Tahiyatul masjid) and in each raka’at we read 50 times Al-Ikhlas
o Single out Saturday
o Single out Sunday
o To fast for ones entire life if one fears it may harm
- Haram
o Fast on Eidul Fitr
o Fast on Eidul Adha
o Fast on Day of Tasyriq (11th, 12th and 13th of Zulhijja)
o Fast on second half of Sya’ban (16th onwards) – even if we start on 14th or 15th, that is fine; but if we break even one day after 16th, we shouldn’t start again.
o Fast on the day of doubt (30th of Sha’ban)
• exception for makruh and haram fasts are when the fasts become obligatory upon us.

(question: In Syafi’e school, it is sunnah to buy new clothes for Eid if we are able to do so, and sunnah to give away old clothes.)

Entering of month of Ramadhan:
Communal obligation to fast:
- the completion of 30 days of Sha’ban
- sighting of the new moon by a single witness that is considered upright
Individual obligation to fast:
- The sighting of the new moon by a single witness that is not considered upright
- If one believes a person that has informed him that he has sighted the moon.
- Through reasoning (ijtihad) that the month has entered.
According to Syafi’e school, moon should be seen with naked eyes.
If one person saw the moon with naked eyes at any city of the world, Imam from the Syafi’e school said that if it cause split in the community and if the leader command to fast, it is obligatory to fast (if we are sure that someone saw the moon in other places, whereas if we are sure that no one can see the moon, it is obligatory to complete 30 days of Sya’ban).

Question: we should always follow the land we are in, even if it will result in a traveller to fast 31 days or 28 days in Ramadhan.

Integrals of fast:
1) Intention
2) Specify the fast is obligatory
3) To abstain from everything that breaks the fast

Intention
a) the obligatory fast
enter: the maghrib preceding fast
exit: the fajr preceding fast
b) the recommended fast
enter: the maghrib preceding fast
exit: the zenith on the day of fasting (Zohor enters just after zenith)
Rasul salllallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam came to Sayidatina A’isya RadyhiaAllahu ‘anha and asked whether they have any food. Upon hearing there is no food, he Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam decided to fast on that day.
- If one forgets that it is Ramadhan, it is obligatory upon him to fast (imsak) but the fast is not counted and he has to make up for it later. The fast is in honouring the month of Ramadhan.
- To specify the type of fast is obligatory: one specify the type of fast whilst making the intention ie I intend to fast for Ramadhan or I intend to fast for my oath or I intend to fast for make up fast.
- It is recommended to specify a Sunnah fast that is attached to a specific time ie the Day of Arafah, ‘Asyoura etc.
- The intention should be in the heart and tongue act as the reminder of the heart (It is sunnah to say it with tongue).
- The optimal intention is I intend to fast tomorrow the current obligatory fast of Ramadhan in the present year for Allah the Most High (Nawaytu Sawma Ghadin an ada’I fardhu syahri ramadhana fi hazihi sanah lillahi ta’ala.)

To abstain from all that breaks the fast
- apostasy
- the menstrual cycle, post natal bleeding or giving birth (it is sunnah to eat something to break the fast, and similarly it is sunnah to fast (imsak) once bleeding stop even if it is in the middle of the day).
- Insanity
- To lose conscience for the entire fasting day e.g. fainting, epileptic fit or comma
- Eating on purpose (if it is a sunnah fast and one normally fast for example on a Monday, and he forgets that it is a Monday, he can still fast even after eating breakfast and realised it is a Monday).
- Drinking
- Taking snuffs (through nasal cavity that affected sinuses)
- Suppositories (for istinja’, hands should not be placed far inside)
- Pouring water, oil or the like into the ears until it reaches the eardrum
- Anything that enters the body cavity whether stabbed into it or for medical reasons (intramuscular injections do not break fast).
- Vomiting (if done deliberately)
- Sexual intercourse or deliberate orgasm (If a man enters a woman, the man has to pay dispensation: 1. free a slave, or if he can’t 2. qadha (make-up fast) for two consecutive months), and if he can’t eg for medical reasons 3. feed 60 impoverished people a mudd)
(Deliberate orgasm means a person looked intentionally on a pornographic images with intention for orgasm, or doing masturbation).

That which is disliked (Makruh) to do during fasting

- to chew on something (chewing on things that have no flavour like wood)
- to taste food (it is mubah (permissible) for one who is cooking or a restaurant owner to taste food and spit it out and rinse their mouth).
- Blood letting (hajama) – including taking blood
- To rinse mouth with water
- To immerse oneself in water
- To use miswak after the zenith – to brush teeth with toothpaste is makru as it falls in the tasting category)
- To sleep much during the day
- To eat much after breaking the fast

Recommended (sunnah) acts during fasting

- to hasten breaking up the fast
- to take sahoor (to eat or drink after mid-night: rely upon the sahoor in your fast)
- to break the fast up on odd number of fresh dates (best:3), or dry dates, or zamzam water, or water, something that is sweet and fress (honey, figs, raisins), or sweet and cooked (halawa). The best things to break our fast are according to the order above.
Ulama said after breaking the fast, make intention, after maghrib: make intention, after tarawih: make intention and after sahoor make intention (The best time to make intention is after sahoor).
- To make du’a (the moment breaking the fast: Allhuma laka sumtu , wa ‘ala rizqika aftartu)
- To feed people that are fasting (community spirit, when you break a fast of a fasting one, you will get his reward without his rewards being lessen)
- To make ghusl because of any higher ritual impurities before fajr (Makruh to immerse onself in water)
- To pray tarawih each night of Ramadhan (rasul sallallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam always prayed at least 20 rak’ah of tarawih each night, 8 rak’at in masjid and he will continue the rest at home).
- To recite much qur’an with contemplation of its words.
- To implement as many sunnahs as one can
- To increase in righteous acts (giving charity, visiting the sick etc.)

Qadha (to make up the fast)

An obligatory fast that has been missed due to breaking the fast, lawfully or unlawfully. (Lawfully : menstruation, forgetting ones intention etc; unlawfully = breaking the fast intentionally etc)

Qada and fidya (dispensation

A person who does not fast due to fear of other than one self ie.
- the pregnant one who fears for her unborn child
- the breastfeeding one that fears for her suckling child
A person who has not made up obligatory fasts before the entering of the next Ramadhan.

Fidya

- A person unable to fast an obligatory fast due to old age, illness or the like.

Fidya is to give to the needy one mudd (0.51litre) of the staple of the land one is in for each day missed. (A needy one is a muslim who can’t meet all his requirements)

If make up fast is delayed for a second Ramadhan then the fidya is doubled, if one delays it for another Ramadhan then the fidya is tripled and so on.

Q&A
- In Syafi’e mazhab, it is not permissible to replace Fidya with money.
- The prayer timetable of a community is reliable if the ‘ulama follow it.
- For the intention, make all the good intention that we can think of and finish it with what Rasul sallallahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wassalam intended, and the awliya’ and the soliheen intended.