The Mention of the Spiritual Fast-Breakers
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The Shaykh : What remains for us is the spiritual fast-breaker. The spiritual fast-breakers are the prohibitions, that which Allah the Mighty and Majestic has forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Bulugh al-Maram 5:14 There is no wisdom if the purpose of fasting were merely to burden people by abstaining from food, drink, and intercourse. The wisdom lies in leaving false speech, leaving the practice of falsehood, and leaving ignorance. So, is backbiting a spiritual fast-breaker or a physical one?
The student: Spiritual.
The Shaykh : Backbiting means speaking about the honor of people. This is a spiritual fast-breaker, meaning it may nullify the reward of the fast entirely. Now, what about talebearing?
The student: Spiritual.
The Shaykh : Spiritual, a spiritual fast-breaker. So what is talebearing? Talebearing is conveying the words of one person about another with the intention of causing discord between them. However, if it is for the purpose of reconciliation, it is not talebearing. If you convey someone’s words about someone else in order to warn him, because some people, may Allah protect us, come to you with a smooth, easy tongue and say such and such, and their intention is to deceive you and extract words from you, then beware of this type of person. That is, some people come to you, being gentle and speaking to you with kind and soft words, saying, "What do you think about such and such?" May Allah grant us safety. This man has such and such qualities, in order to get a word out of you that he can convey to him. So beware of this type of people, those who try to coax words out of you in order to report them to others. This is the one who sows discord among people. But if the intention is benefit, and you say, "Beware of so-and-so, for he has such and such qualities," then this is not talebearing in any way; rather, it is a benefit. Now, a fasting man who is an employee used to stay up at night and sleep during the day. When the end of the workday came, he went to the workplace, signed in, and half of him was asleep, then he went to finish sleeping. Does he have a fast-breaker or not?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : He has a fast-breaker. Spiritual or physical?
The student: Spiritual.
The Shaykh : Spiritual, because he did not perform his duty, and his fast should have been a motivator for him to perform his duty.
Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions and does not abandon foolishness, Allah is not in need of his leaving food and drink
من لم يدع قول الزور و العمل به والجهل فليس لله حاجة في أن يدع طعامه وشرابهThe student: Spiritual.
The Shaykh : Backbiting means speaking about the honor of people. This is a spiritual fast-breaker, meaning it may nullify the reward of the fast entirely. Now, what about talebearing?
The student: Spiritual.
The Shaykh : Spiritual, a spiritual fast-breaker. So what is talebearing? Talebearing is conveying the words of one person about another with the intention of causing discord between them. However, if it is for the purpose of reconciliation, it is not talebearing. If you convey someone’s words about someone else in order to warn him, because some people, may Allah protect us, come to you with a smooth, easy tongue and say such and such, and their intention is to deceive you and extract words from you, then beware of this type of person. That is, some people come to you, being gentle and speaking to you with kind and soft words, saying, "What do you think about such and such?" May Allah grant us safety. This man has such and such qualities, in order to get a word out of you that he can convey to him. So beware of this type of people, those who try to coax words out of you in order to report them to others. This is the one who sows discord among people. But if the intention is benefit, and you say, "Beware of so-and-so, for he has such and such qualities," then this is not talebearing in any way; rather, it is a benefit. Now, a fasting man who is an employee used to stay up at night and sleep during the day. When the end of the workday came, he went to the workplace, signed in, and half of him was asleep, then he went to finish sleeping. Does he have a fast-breaker or not?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : He has a fast-breaker. Spiritual or physical?
The student: Spiritual.
The Shaykh : Spiritual, because he did not perform his duty, and his fast should have been a motivator for him to perform his duty.