The Shaykh’s remarks on the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become mindful of Allah.”

The Shaykh : Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says in the Noble Qur'an: As is clear to all those present, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, informed the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) of what He revealed to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this verse: that Allah made fasting obligatory upon them, just as He had made the like of it obligatory upon the nations before us. This is a matter known to all Muslims who read this Noble verse and understand its meaning clearly and distinctly. However, the point I wish to discuss is something else, to which few people pay attention, or rather, very few of the general public are aware of it. It is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, at the end of this verse: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has a custom with His believing servants: when He commands them with a command or legislates an obligation for them, His custom is to limit Himself, Blessed and Exalted is He, to mentioning the command without explaining the wisdom behind it. This is because the general wisdom behind Allah’s, Mighty and Majestic, imposing obligations on His servants is to test them and to reveal who among them obeys Him and who among them disobeys Him, Blessed and Exalted is He. But in this verse, He mentioned something not commonly found in the Noble Qur'an, which is explaining the command to fast by saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: Therefore, the wisdom behind the obligation of fasting for the believers is not merely that they refrain from pleasures and permissible things from the good things, although this is an obligatory matter for every person who fasts. But this is not the only purpose of this fasting, which Allah, Mighty and Majestic, concluded His command regarding it by saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: ; meaning: the wisdom behind the legislation of fasting is that the Muslim increases in obedience to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, during the month of fasting more than he was before. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) explicitly stated and fully clarified this divine wisdom by saying, peace and blessings be upon him, as in "Sahih al-Bukhari": he said, peace and blessings be upon him: , ; meaning: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, did not intend by the obligation of fasting, which is abstaining during a known, limited time, merely that these fasting people refrain from food and drink. Rather, they should also refrain from what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has forbidden of sins and disobedience, including speaking falsehood and acting upon it. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) confirms the verse: ; meaning: you draw near to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, by increasing in your abstention from food and drink, and also by abstaining from forbidden things such as backbiting, talebearing, falsehood, false testimony, and lying, and other forbidden morals, as we all know. For this reason, all Muslims must know that the things that break the fast are not only the material matters generally known, such as food, drink, and sexual intercourse; this is not the only aspect of fasting. Therefore, some scholars distinguish and divide the things that break the fast into two categories. This is my intention in this speech during this blessed season, if Allah wills, especially since it is the custom of preachers and admonishers in the month of Ramadan, when they speak about the things that break the fast, to speak only about the material things that break the fast, which we mentioned earlier, namely food, drink, and sexual intercourse. Whereas they should, as advisors and remindders to the general Muslims, speak a great deal, and a very great deal, about the second category of things that break the fast. This is because people have become accustomed to understanding that fasting is of the first type: abstaining from the material things that break the fast.