"Whoever does not abandon false speech and acting upon it..."

Question:
This questioner says: O esteemed Shaykh, the hadith: "Whoever does not abandon false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need for him to abandon his food and drink." What is the meaning of this hadith? And is it authentic?

Answer:
Answer 15: Yes, there is nothing wrong with the hadith. Backbiting and talebearing diminish the fast and wound the fast. The fast of the one who backbites may be transferred to those he backbited, and they will take from him on the Day of Resurrection by way of retaliation for the injustice. Therefore, the Muslim must fast his hearing, his sight, and his tongue from everything that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has forbidden. Fasting is not merely abstaining from food and drink; rather, it includes abstaining from backbiting, talebearing, listening to what is forbidden, and looking at what is forbidden. So he fasts his limbs just as he fasts his stomach and his private parts from intercourse while he is fasting.