The description of the month of Ramadan and its virtues, blessings, and rewards, and the ruling on fasting and standing in prayer in it, as Allah the Exalted said

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
This meeting will be the last one in the month of Sha'ban, and it is the one hundred and sixteenth meeting, taking place on Thursday, the twentieth of Sha'ban in the year one thousand four hundred and sixteen. Since the month of Ramadan is at the door, it is appropriate that we speak a few words about what concerns this blessed month.
The month of Ramadan has virtues over other months: among them is that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, revealed the Qur'an in it, as the Exalted said: .
And among them is that Allah made in it the Night of Decree, for which Allah revealed a complete surah, and He said: And in it He said: So Allah the Exalted described it with blessing.
And among them is that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has decreed the forgiveness of sins and transgressions for whoever fasts it with faith and seeking reward, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: .
And the meaning of his saying: is: with faith in its obligation, and faith in the reward Allah has decreed for it, for this reward, meaning: that you calculate your fasting upon Allah, Mighty and Majestic, that He will reward you for your fasting. So whoever fasts it with faith and seeking reward, Allah will forgive him what has passed of his sin.
And among them is that whoever stands in prayer in it with faith and seeking reward, Allah will forgive him what has passed of his sin, as this is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
And among them is that whoever stands in prayer at night with faith and seeking reward, Allah will forgive him what has passed of his sin.
And among them is that it is the month of generosity and kindness, so - the brother ... so that you expand for the group and so that you do not look at the one in front of you -
And among them is that it is the month of generosity, kindness, and pardon and excellence, so And Aisha asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), she said: .
So a person should seize this opportunity in the blessed month, and increase in prayer, dhikr, and reading the Qur'an, and charity and doing good to people by helping and good intercession, and other types of righteousness and good deeds, so that Allah the Exalted may treat him with good and blessing.
We speak first about fasting:
Fasting is undoubtedly obligatory upon the Muslim community, and it is a pillar of Islam, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, made it obligatory in the second year of the Hijrah. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained for fourteen years after the revelation without fasting being made obligatory, until the souls were trained in Islam and became settled and stable, and it was made obligatory in the second year of the Hijrah. And the first thing that was made obligatory was that a person was given a choice between fasting or feeding a poor person for each day. But Allah encouraged fasting, so He said: So whoever wished fasted and whoever wished broke the fast. Then Allah the Exalted made its fasting an individual obligation, so He said: But the fasting of Ramadan is not obligatory except upon every Muslim, adult, sane, capable, resident, free from preventers, meaning: with six conditions. So the disbeliever is not obligated to fast, and we do not say: "Fast." If we found a disbeliever eating and drinking in his house during the day of Ramadan, we would not say: "Abstain," because he is not one of the people of fasting. Rather, if he fasted while he had not submitted to Islam, Allah would not accept it from him, because Allah the Exalted said: So he is not commanded to fast, and if he fasts, it is not valid from him, and he is not disciplined for breaking the fast, but he is prevented from displaying the breaking of the fast among the Muslims.
And the child is not obligated to fast, but the scholars said: it is obligatory upon his guardian to command him to fast if he can bear it, so that he becomes accustomed to it and practices it, and he meets it with energy and determination when he reaches puberty.
And the insane person is not obligated to fast, because he is not one who is subject to religious obligation; the pen has been lifted from him. And nothing of the acts of worship is obligatory upon the insane person except zakah, for zakah is obligatory in the wealth of the insane person, because zakah is a right of the wealth.
And the incapable person is not obligated to fast, but if his incapacity is continuous and its removal is not expected, then he feeds a poor person for each day, like incapacity due to old age, or due to an illness whose cure is not expected. So this person feeds a poor person for each day and is not obligated to fast. And the incapacity whose removal is expected, like a person who is ill with a sudden illness whose cure is expected, we say to him: wait until the illness is removed, then fast, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And the traveler is not obligated to fast; he may eat and drink, whether he is in the desert and has not reached the city he intended, or he is in the city itself, even if he resides or intends to reside for the whole month. He is a traveler who may eat and drink, by the saying of Allah the Exalted: And there is no difference between his journey being for obedience, like one who travels for 'Umrah, for example, or for maintaining family ties, or to visit a sick person, or for other than obedience, like if he travels to trade.
As for the forbidden journey, this is a place of disagreement among the scholars. Some say: the one who travels a forbidden journey takes the dispensations of travel. And some say: he does not take the dispensations.
And as we said: there is no difference between the traveler walking in the desert on the road or residing in a country he intended to go to, as long as his intention is to return to his country, he is still a traveler.
And the one who has preventers is not obligated to fast, and this only applies to the menstruating woman and the woman with post-natal bleeding. So there is no fasting upon them, and if they fast, the fasting is not valid from them. But they must make up the fast. These are the conditions that are required for the obligation of fasting, and they are six: the first is Islam, the second is puberty, the third and fourth are capability, the fifth is residence, and the sixth is being free from preventers.
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 purpose of fasting, as Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: He did not say: "Perhaps you will be hungry!" or "Perhaps you will be thirsty," or "Perhaps you will refrain from eating." No, He said: This is the primary purpose of fasting. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) realized and emphasized this by saying: So, the reality of fasting is that a person fasts 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 to the setting of the sun, by the saying of Allah the Exalted: This is the fasting we call apparent fasting, fasting of the body only. As for the fasting of the heart, which is the primary purpose, it is fasting from the sins of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
And upon this: whoever fasts an apparent, physical fast, but he did not fast a heart fast, then his fast is very, very deficient. We do not say: it is invalid, but we say: it is deficient. Just as we say in prayer, the purpose of prayer is humility and submission to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and the prayer of the heart is before the prayer of the limbs. But if a person prays with his limbs and does not pray with his heart, as if his heart is in every valley, then his prayer is very deficient, but it is sufficient according to the apparent form. It is sufficient, but it is very deficient.
So 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 only based on the apparent.
So we say: if a person consumes something from the things that break the fast, between the appearance of the dawn and the setting of the sun, then 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 up the fast, and he must pay the expiation, and he must bear the sin. Meaning: five things follow from his intercourse during the day of Ramadan if he is one upon whom fasting is obligatory: the sin, the defect of the fast, the obligation to abstain, making up the fast, and the expiation. Five things. This is if he is one upon whom fasting is obligatory.
As for the one who is not obligated to fast, such as a traveler who traveled with his family, and he and his family fasted, but he then decided to enjoy his family, so he had intercourse, then he owes nothing except making up the fast. That is to say: no sin is incurred, no abstention is required, and no expiation is due; he only has to make up the fast. Because when he had intercourse, his fast became invalid, but he invalidated it with something permissible, since it is permissible for a traveler to break his fast, even in the middle of the day, even without a reason, and he has to make it up.
Then the expiation: freeing a slave. If he does not find one, then fasting two consecutive months. If he is unable to do that, then feeding sixty poor people. There is no difference between saying, “I swear by Allah, I did not know that an expiation was due on me; if I had known an expiation was due, I would not have had intercourse,” or saying, “I know that an expiation is due on me, but I was unable to control myself.” In any case, the expiation is obligatory. If a person knows that intercourse is forbidden, the expiation is obligatory on him in every case. The evidence for this is what is established in the two Sahihs from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): And in a narration: So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him about the aspects of the expiation, , and he did not find any of the aspects of the expiation and was unable to perform them, , and he did not say to him, “When Allah makes you wealthy, then expiate.” This indicates that the expiation is dropped due to inability to perform it, and this is the implication of the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted: and the generality of His saying: .
Then know: that among the mercy of Allah the Mighty and Majestic is that Allah has lifted from this nation the ruling of error and forgetfulness.
Meaning: if a person makes a mistake and eats or drinks while fasting, he owes nothing. So if a person eats and drinks thinking that the dawn has not appeared, and then it turns out that it has appeared, for example, he hears a takbir and thinks it is the adhan, the first adhan, so he eats and drinks, but it turns out to be the iqamah for the prayer, we tell him: you owe nothing, because you did not intend to commit a sin, and Allah the Exalted said: .
And if he thought that the sun had set and he ate and drank, but it turns out that it had not set, and this happens often in the days of winter when the sky is covered with clouds, so people think the sun has set, and he eats or drinks, and then the sun appears, he owes nothing, because this man did not intend to commit a sin and did not intend to eat during the day. And Allah the Exalted said: We are worshipping Allah the Mighty and Majestic. He told us: the worship is invalid. We said: we hear and obey, we will redo it. He told us: the worship is valid. We said: praise be to Allah. Meaning: we do not judge Allah by His legislation; rather, Allah is the one who judges us. So if He tells us in His words: Do we say: no, we do not accept? That is wrong. We say: praise be to Allah for His blessings, and for His well-being, we owe nothing.
In fact, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) applied this exactly. In Sahih al-Bukhari, from Asma bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both): that they broke their fast on a cloudy day in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then the sun appeared, and he did not order them to make it up.
If making it up had been obligatory, he would have ordered them to do so, because he is responsible for conveying the Shari'ah. And if he had informed them of it, it would have been transmitted to us, because preserving the Shari'ah is something Allah has guaranteed: So Allah is the Preserver of His remembrance and His legislation.
So we say: the person owes nothing if he is mistaken and eats before the sun sets. And this also happens often, even in days other than winter. Sometimes a person hears an adhan on the radio and thinks it is the adhan of his country, so he breaks his fast, but the sun has not set. We say: you owe nothing, because you did not intend what? Sin. And Allah the Exalted said: .
With these texts, it becomes clear the invalidity of all analogies that necessitate a contradiction of the text. Meaning: if someone said: abstaining with the fast is a condition, and a condition is not dropped by ignorance or forgetfulness, we would say to him: who said this? This is the word of Allah and the word of His Messenger and the Sunnah of His Messenger. And in the two Sahihs also, from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Look, he completed it, meaning: he did not break his fast We are content with this amount regarding fasting.
As for what concerns standing in prayer, you have heard that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But who stands, meaning all night and day, praying? Answer?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : No, but whoever stands the prescribed standing, and that is at night. Does this standing have a specific number or not? We say: as for a definitive ruling, there is no specific number. If a person prays thirty rak'ahs or forty rak'ahs, there is no blame on him, and it is not said to him: why? Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not specify a number for standing in night prayer. Rather, a questioner asked him and said: .
So there is no specific number, but the number that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was consistent with was either eleven or thirteen, as Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked, and she is among the most knowledgeable people about his state. How was the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Ramadan? She said: So this is the best number, but there is no objection to increasing it.
Then, the reward of standing in night prayer is obtained by whoever stands with the imam until he finishes, even if he does not spend but a small part of the night. The evidence for this is: A blessing and praise be to Allah. If you stand with the imam until he finishes, you are as if you stood the whole night, even though you are sleeping on your bed or enjoying your family. But if you stand with the imam until he finishes, standing the night is recorded for you. For this reason, it is recommended for a person not to be in the nights of Ramadan standing with this imam for one taslim, and with the second imam for one taslim, and wandering in the mosques, so his time is wasted and his reward is wasted. We say: if you start with an imam, continue until he finishes, in order for standing the night to be recorded for you. And it is known that everyone of us wants the reward and seizes the opportunities. So we say: this is the opportunity. Stand with the imam until he finishes.
And it is recommended, rather obligatory, for the imams of the mosques to fear Allah the Exalted regarding those whom Allah has placed under their care. The imam of the mosque is a shepherd, and the ma'mum are the flock. It is obligatory for him to lead them according to the Sunnah. The requirement of the Sunnah is tranquility in prayer. Tranquility is: settling down and not rushing. For this reason, if a person prays without tranquility, we say: your prayer is invalid, even if you prayed a thousand times. Because a man came and prayed without tranquility, then greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: Look, he did not pray. He negated the prayer, even though the man prayed or not? He prayed. But the Messenger said: , because a prayer that is not according to the Shari'ah, its existence is like non-existence. Then he taught him and said: .
And many of the imams, we ask Allah for their guidance, rush with a speed that compromises tranquility. Even if we assume that he is tranquil and performs the obligatory tranquility, but those behind him are not able to, because among them are those who are not quick in movement, either due to illness or old age or otherwise. You find that they are not able to achieve tranquility, and this is forbidden for him. It is forbidden for the imam to rush with a speed that prevents the ma'mum from doing what is obligatory, because the ma'mum is between two things: either to leave him, or to follow him in an invalid prayer, and this is problematic.
Therefore, we say to our brother imams: it is obligatory for you to fear Allah, and to consider the sanctity of the Muslims behind you. And if it happens that you complete the rak'ahs in an hour with haste, even though I do not think it reaches an hour, but hypothetically, let it be an hour and a half. But in my opinion, those who rush with this speed can complete it in two-thirds of an hour. So we say: what harms you if you increase?
Second: some of the ma'mum want to maintain twenty-three rak'ahs with speed, and this is wrong, because by doing so, he misses two things. The first thing: the best number, because the best number is eleven or thirteen, and there is no doubt in our view that it is better than twenty-three.
Second: the rushing. Let the people be tranquil, let them call upon Allah the Glorified and Exalted in their prostrations, let them be humble to Allah, let them be submissive before Him, so that it becomes a true standing.
We ask Allah the Exalted to bring us and you to Ramadan, and to make us among those who fast and stand in Ramadan in faith and seeking reward. Indeed, He is capable of all things.
And now to the questions. There are twenty-five minutes left until the adhan for the midday prayer, and in it is blessing, if Allah wills.
In the first place, only the traveler shortens.