Chapter on the Obligation of Fasting Ramadan and the Excellence of Fasting and What Is Related to It: Allah the Exalted said

The Reciter: He said -may Allah have mercy on him-: “Chapter on the Obligation of Fasting Ramadan and the Excellence of Fasting and What Is Related to It:
Allah the Exalted said:

O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous -

يا أيها الذين آمنوا كتب عليكم الصيام كما كتب على الذين من قبلكم لعلكم تتقون

[Al-Baqarah 2:183]

up to His saying:

The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.

شهر رمضان الذي أنزل فيه القرآن هدى للناس وبينات من الهدى والفرقان فمن شهد منكم الشهر فليصمه ومن كان مريضًا أو على سفرٍ فعدة من أيام أُخَر يريد الله بكم اليسر ولا يريد بكم العسر ولِتكملوا العدة ولِتكبروا الله على ما هداكم ولعلكم تشكرون

[Al-Baqarah 2:185]

“.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author said -may Allah have mercy on him- in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: “Chapter on the Obligation of Fasting Ramadan and the Excellence of Fasting and What Is Related to It”:
He mentioned it -may Allah have mercy on him- after speaking about zakah, because this is the order that came in the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the questioning of Jibril of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) about Islam, faith, excellence in worship, the Hour, and its signs:
Fasting Ramadan is: “worshipping Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, by abstaining from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse from the appearance of dawn until the setting of the sun”. This is fasting: that a person worships Allah by abstaining from these things, not that he abstains from them out of habit, or for the sake of a physical diet, but he worships Allah by doing so. He refrains from food, drink, and intercourse, as well as all other things that break the fast, from the appearance of dawn until the setting of the sun, from the crescent of Ramadan to the crescent of Shawwal. Fasting Ramadan is one of the pillars of Islam. This is its status in the religion of Islam, and it is obligatory by the consensus of the Muslims due to the indication of the Book and the Sunnah.
Then the author mentioned the verses that came regarding this, saying -the verses that indicate this-: : So Allah addressed the believers, because fasting Ramadan is among the implications of faith, and because fasting Ramadan completes faith, and because leaving off fasting Ramadan diminishes faith.
The scholars differed on whether one who leaves it off out of negligence and laziness commits disbelief or not? The correct view is that he does not commit disbelief, and that a person does not commit disbelief by leaving off any of the pillars of Islam other than the two testimonies and the prayer.
And His saying: means: it was made obligatory. And His saying: means: as it was made obligatory. : And Allah the Exalted mentioned that it was made obligatory on those before us and did not mention such a thing regarding the prayer, because fasting involves hardship, it involves toil, it involves leaving off what is customary. It is not hidden that in days of heat and long days, it becomes severe on the souls. So Allah mentioned that He made it obligatory on those before us to console us, because when a person knows that this thing is for him and for others, it becomes easy for him. And He mentioned it also in order to make clear that He, Exalted and Majestic is He, perfected for us the virtues just as He perfected for those who came before us whatever He willed of virtues.
And His saying: means: in order that you may fear Allah, because fasting is a shield; it protects you from sins and protects you from the Fire. . So His saying: means: for the sake of taqwa (mindfulness of Allah), and this is the wisdom behind making fasting obligatory. And indicating this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): : Because Allah did not intend to punish the servants by leaving off what they desire and are accustomed to, but He intended that they leave off speaking falsehood and acting upon it and ignorance.
Then He said: : He mentioned it in a way that minimizes it to make clear that the matter is not months or years, but days, and not long days, but a few counted days. : And this is also another facilitation. First: the days are few, counted days. Second: whoever finds fasting difficult or is traveling, he breaks his fast and has to make up an equal number of other days: : and they are residents. : This was in the beginning, at the first time Allah made fasting obligatory, He said to those who are able to do it: upon you is a ransom of feeding a poor person. If you give charity, it is better. And if you fast, it is better for you. So Allah gave people a choice in the beginning between a person fasting or feeding a poor person for every day. Then fasting became specified in the verse that follows: meaning: if you are among those of knowledge who understand. The reason for this is that fasting is more difficult for many people than feeding a poor person. So when it was more difficult, it was known that it is better, because when a person performs a difficult act of worship by the command of Allah, its reward is greater. And thus, the one who is farther from the mosque has a greater reward than the one who is closer to the mosque because he does more work. But this does not mean that a person seeks hardship in the acts of worship that Allah has made easy. This is from excessive strictness in the religion. But if Allah tasks you with an act of worship and it is difficult for you, this becomes greater. As for seeking hardship as some ignorant people do in the days of winter, for example: he goes to perform wudu' with cold water, saying: because performing wudu' with difficulty is among the things by which degrees are raised and sins are erased. We say: O my brother, this is not what the Messenger intended. The Messenger intended that if a person performs wudu' with cold water in the days of winter, his reward is greater, but he did not say: intend the cold water. So if Allah blesses you with hot water in which you can perform wudu' completely, then that is better. And the rest of the speech on the verses will come, if Allah wills. And Allah knows best.