Fasting of the Limbs and Its Importance
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As for what one must fast from,Perhaps you will be surprised if I say: What one must fast from is: sins. A person must fast from sins, because this is the primary objective of fasting, as Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: [al-Baqarah: 183] He did not say: "Perhaps you will be hungry!" or "Perhaps you will be thirsty!" or "Perhaps you will abstain from your spouses!" No, He said: (PERHAPS YOU WILL FEAR ALLAH) . This is the primary objective of fasting, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) realized and emphasized this by saying: (Whoever does not abandon false speech and acting upon it and ignorance, Allah has no need of his abandoning his food and drink) So, for a person to fast from the sins of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, this is the true fasting.
As for the apparent fasting, it is fasting from the things that break the fast, abstaining from the things that break the fast in worship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, from the appearance of the dawn until the setting of the sun, as He, the Exalted, said: [al-Baqarah: 187] This is the fasting we call apparent fasting, fasting of the body only. As for the fasting of the heart, which is the primary objective, it is fasting from the sins of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
And in light of this: So whoever fasts an apparent, physical fast, but does not fast a spiritual fast, his fast is very, very deficient,We do not say: It is invalid, but we say: it is deficient. Just as we say regarding prayer, the objective of prayer is humility and submission to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and the prayer of the heart comes before the prayer of the limbs. But if a person prays with his limbs and does not pray with his heart, such that his heart is in every valley, his prayer is very deficient, but it is sufficient according to the apparent form. It is sufficient, but it is very deficient. Likewise, fasting is very deficient if a person does not fast from the sin of Allah, but it is sufficient according to the apparent form; because acts of worship in this world are based on the apparent.
So we say: If a person consumes any of the things that break the fast, between the appearance of the dawn and the setting of the sun, his fast becomes defective and he must make it up. And the greatest of the things that break the fast is intercourse. So if a man has intercourse with his wife during the day of Ramadan, and he is one upon whom fasting is obligatory, his fast becomes defective, and he must abstain for the rest of the day, and he must make it up, and he must pay the expiation, and he must bear the sin,Meaning: There are five things that follow from his intercourse during the day of Ramadan, if he is one upon whom fasting is obligatory: the sin, the invalidity of the fast, the obligation to abstain, making up the fast, and the expiation. This is if he is one upon whom fasting is obligatory. But if he is one upon whom fasting is not obligatory, such as a traveler who traveled with his family, and he and his family fasted, but it occurred to him to enjoy his wife, so he had intercourse, then nothing is upon him, except only making up the fast,Meaning: There is no sin upon him, no abstention, and no expiation. Only making up the fast is upon him. Because when he had intercourse, his fast became defective, but he made it defective with something permissible. Since it is permissible for the traveler to break his fast, even during the day, even without a reason, and he must make it up.
Then the expiation: And it is the freeing of a slave. If he does not find one, then fasting two consecutive months. If he cannot do that, then feeding sixty poor people,And there is no difference between saying: I swear by Allah, I did not know that I had an expiation. If I had known that I had an expiation, I would not have had intercourse.Or that he says: I know that I have an expiation, but he was unable to restrain himself. In any case, the expiation is obligatory. If a person knows that intercourse is forbidden, the expiation is obligatory upon him in all cases.The evidence for that: What is established in the two Sahihs from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: (O Messenger of Allah, I am ruined -And in a narration: I am ruined and I have ruined [my family]-So he said: What has ruined you?He said: I had intercourse with my wife in Ramadan while I was fasting. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him about the options of the expiation: free a slave,He said: I do not find one,He said: Fast two consecutive months,He said: I am not able,He said: Feed sixty poor people,He said: I do not find one. He did not find any of the options of the expiation and was not able to do them. So the man sat, and dates were brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: Take this and give it in charity,He said: To someone poorer than me? I swear by Allah, O Messenger of Allah, there is no household between its two banks poorer than me. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed,Until his molars appeared, then he said: Feed it to your family) ,And he did not say to him: If Allah enriches you, then pay the expiation. So this indicates that the expiation is dropped in the case of inability to perform it.And this is the implication of the generality of the saying of Allah, the Exalted: [al-Baqarah: 286] And the generality of His saying: [at-Taghabun: 16] .
O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous -
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَAs for the apparent fasting, it is fasting from the things that break the fast, abstaining from the things that break the fast in worship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, from the appearance of the dawn until the setting of the sun, as He, the Exalted, said:
So now, have relations with them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the sunset.
فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِAnd in light of this: So whoever fasts an apparent, physical fast, but does not fast a spiritual fast, his fast is very, very deficient,We do not say: It is invalid, but we say: it is deficient. Just as we say regarding prayer, the objective of prayer is humility and submission to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and the prayer of the heart comes before the prayer of the limbs. But if a person prays with his limbs and does not pray with his heart, such that his heart is in every valley, his prayer is very deficient, but it is sufficient according to the apparent form. It is sufficient, but it is very deficient. Likewise, fasting is very deficient if a person does not fast from the sin of Allah, but it is sufficient according to the apparent form; because acts of worship in this world are based on the apparent.
So we say: If a person consumes any of the things that break the fast, between the appearance of the dawn and the setting of the sun, his fast becomes defective and he must make it up. And the greatest of the things that break the fast is intercourse. So if a man has intercourse with his wife during the day of Ramadan, and he is one upon whom fasting is obligatory, his fast becomes defective, and he must abstain for the rest of the day, and he must make it up, and he must pay the expiation, and he must bear the sin,Meaning: There are five things that follow from his intercourse during the day of Ramadan, if he is one upon whom fasting is obligatory: the sin, the invalidity of the fast, the obligation to abstain, making up the fast, and the expiation. This is if he is one upon whom fasting is obligatory. But if he is one upon whom fasting is not obligatory, such as a traveler who traveled with his family, and he and his family fasted, but it occurred to him to enjoy his wife, so he had intercourse, then nothing is upon him, except only making up the fast,Meaning: There is no sin upon him, no abstention, and no expiation. Only making up the fast is upon him. Because when he had intercourse, his fast became defective, but he made it defective with something permissible. Since it is permissible for the traveler to break his fast, even during the day, even without a reason, and he must make it up.
Then the expiation: And it is the freeing of a slave. If he does not find one, then fasting two consecutive months. If he cannot do that, then feeding sixty poor people,And there is no difference between saying: I swear by Allah, I did not know that I had an expiation. If I had known that I had an expiation, I would not have had intercourse.Or that he says: I know that I have an expiation, but he was unable to restrain himself. In any case, the expiation is obligatory. If a person knows that intercourse is forbidden, the expiation is obligatory upon him in all cases.The evidence for that: What is established in the two Sahihs from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: (O Messenger of Allah, I am ruined -And in a narration: I am ruined and I have ruined [my family]-So he said: What has ruined you?He said: I had intercourse with my wife in Ramadan while I was fasting. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him about the options of the expiation: free a slave,He said: I do not find one,He said: Fast two consecutive months,He said: I am not able,He said: Feed sixty poor people,He said: I do not find one. He did not find any of the options of the expiation and was not able to do them. So the man sat, and dates were brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: Take this and give it in charity,He said: To someone poorer than me? I swear by Allah, O Messenger of Allah, there is no household between its two banks poorer than me. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed,Until his molars appeared, then he said: Feed it to your family) ,And he did not say to him: If Allah enriches you, then pay the expiation. So this indicates that the expiation is dropped in the case of inability to perform it.And this is the implication of the generality of the saying of Allah, the Exalted: