What are the religious matters that a fasting person should perform? Please inform us of this. May Allah reward you.
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The questioner : What are the religious matters that a fasting person should perform? Please inform us. May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : The religious matters that a fasting person should perform are all words that bring one closer to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), such as reciting the Qur'an, tasbih, tahmid, takbir, tahlil, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and treating creation well with gentle speech and a pleasant face. This includes all actions that bring one closer to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), such as prayer, charity, helping those in need of assistance, and other matters known from the Shari'ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that removing a harmful object from the road is charity, and that helping a man is charity.
Also, a fasting person should do what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to do, which is to eat the pre-dawn meal (suhur), which is eating at the end of the night. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 1692Sahih (Darussalam). He should do this to comply with the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), follow his guidance, and strengthen himself for fasting. It is also recommended for him to break his fast with fresh dates; if he does not find them, then with dried dates; if he does not find those, then with water. He should hasten to break his fast, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Jami` at-Tirmidhi 699Sahih (Darussalam), agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim from the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him).
It is obligatory for the fasting person specifically, and for every Muslim generally, to avoid everything that Allah has forbidden, such as leaving obligatory acts and being negligent with them, and committing forbidden acts. He must establish prayer at its times and in congregation. He must avoid lying, deception, backbiting, talebearing, and encroaching upon the rights of creation.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The questioner : Also, if a disbeliever converts to Islam during the day in Ramadan, is he required to fast with the Muslims, even though he has not yet learned the other matters of his religion?
The Shaykh : Similarly, if a disbeliever converts to Islam during the day, the scholars have disagreed on this, and the stronger position in my view is that he is required to abstain from food and drink, because this man has become one of those upon whom the obligation falls, and the cause of the obligation has newly arisen for him, so he is required to abstain. The parallel case is a young boy who reaches puberty during the day; he is required to abstain but not to make up the fast. Similarly, if a disbeliever converts to Islam during the day, he is required to abstain but not to make up the fast, because he has become one of those upon whom the obligation falls. The difference between these two cases and the case of a woman who becomes pure during the day is that the woman's purity during the day is the removal of a barrier, and she is permitted to break her fast for that day even though she is one of those upon whom the obligation falls. As for the disbeliever who converts and the boy who reaches puberty, this is not the removal of a barrier, but rather the new emergence of the cause of the obligation, because at the beginning of the day, neither of them was one of those upon whom the obligation falls. The woman is one of those upon whom the obligation falls from the beginning of the day, but there is a barrier in her case. The disbeliever and the boy are not among those upon whom the obligation falls at the beginning of the day. So when the obligation newly arises for them or in their case, they are required to abstain, and they do not have to make up the fast. By this abstention, they benefit, and they do not have to make up the fast.
The questioner : Thank you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah magnify your reward.
The Shaykh : The religious matters that a fasting person should perform are all words that bring one closer to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), such as reciting the Qur'an, tasbih, tahmid, takbir, tahlil, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and treating creation well with gentle speech and a pleasant face. This includes all actions that bring one closer to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), such as prayer, charity, helping those in need of assistance, and other matters known from the Shari'ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that removing a harmful object from the road is charity, and that helping a man is charity.
Also, a fasting person should do what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to do, which is to eat the pre-dawn meal (suhur), which is eating at the end of the night. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Eat Suhur, for in Suhur there is a blessing.
تسحروا فإن في السحور بركةThe people will remain upon goodness as long as they hasten to break the fast.
لا يزال الناس بخير ما عجلوا الفطرIt is obligatory for the fasting person specifically, and for every Muslim generally, to avoid everything that Allah has forbidden, such as leaving obligatory acts and being negligent with them, and committing forbidden acts. He must establish prayer at its times and in congregation. He must avoid lying, deception, backbiting, talebearing, and encroaching upon the rights of creation.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The questioner : Also, if a disbeliever converts to Islam during the day in Ramadan, is he required to fast with the Muslims, even though he has not yet learned the other matters of his religion?
The Shaykh : Similarly, if a disbeliever converts to Islam during the day, the scholars have disagreed on this, and the stronger position in my view is that he is required to abstain from food and drink, because this man has become one of those upon whom the obligation falls, and the cause of the obligation has newly arisen for him, so he is required to abstain. The parallel case is a young boy who reaches puberty during the day; he is required to abstain but not to make up the fast. Similarly, if a disbeliever converts to Islam during the day, he is required to abstain but not to make up the fast, because he has become one of those upon whom the obligation falls. The difference between these two cases and the case of a woman who becomes pure during the day is that the woman's purity during the day is the removal of a barrier, and she is permitted to break her fast for that day even though she is one of those upon whom the obligation falls. As for the disbeliever who converts and the boy who reaches puberty, this is not the removal of a barrier, but rather the new emergence of the cause of the obligation, because at the beginning of the day, neither of them was one of those upon whom the obligation falls. The woman is one of those upon whom the obligation falls from the beginning of the day, but there is a barrier in her case. The disbeliever and the boy are not among those upon whom the obligation falls at the beginning of the day. So when the obligation newly arises for them or in their case, they are required to abstain, and they do not have to make up the fast. By this abstention, they benefit, and they do not have to make up the fast.
The questioner : Thank you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah magnify your reward.