Sawm or fasting is obligatory on every Muslim who is physically and mentally sound, to be observed during the month of Ramadan. However supererogatory fasting throughout the year is generously rewarded by Allah Almighty.
“O You who believe, fasting has been enjoined upon you as was enjoined upon those before you so that you be God-fearing.”
— Qur’an 2:183
Sawm is the Arabic word for fasting and constitutes one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
Linguistically the term connotes abstaining from certain acts and idiomatically it refers to an obligation on Muslims to refrain from eating, drinking, having sex and all practices that go against Islamic law (Ithm) during the month of Ramadan from before the break of dawn till after sunset.
Sawm or fasting is obligatory on every Muslim who is physically and mentally sound, to be observed during the month of Ramadan. However supererogatory fasting throughout the year is generously rewarded by Allah Almighty, the Compassionate, the All Merciful.
Every year, and during the holy month of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar, all Muslims are required to fast from dawn until sundown. It’s one act of worship that is greatly rewarded by Allah, one that seeks God’s satisfaction by abstaining from all that displeases Him as well as natural and lawful acts such as food and lawful intimate intercourse, out of love and devotion. It definitely teaches man self-restraint and helps him develop a tighter grip over his desires in a way that raises him to a higher more elevated stature of a Strong Mum’in, or a Muslim of a strong Faith.
” It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives [for sexual relations]. They are raiment for you and you are raiment for them. Allah knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and forgave you. 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. And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques. These are the limits [set by] Allah , so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His ordinances to the people that they may become righteous.”– Qur’an 2:187
Some people may be exempted from fasting and they are those who fall under these criteria: children, the sick or the elderly, or those who are on a journey, and women during the menstruation period or period of confinement as a result of giving birth. They are licensed to break their fast during Ramadan to later make up for it by fasting equal number of days; and that when they are fit and conditions exempting them from fasting they are lifted.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven. Whoever prays during the nights in Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven. And he who passes Lailatul Qadr in prayer with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven”. — Narrated by Imams Bukhari and Muslim.
Fasting has a proved beneficial impact on the physical health, but also it carries quite unique and enriching spiritual characteristics of Islam, placing in one’s heart abound of virtues and moral values, taking one’s soul on a journey of purification over the span of a whole month, teaching it the real meaning of love, solidarity, and self-discipline.
Muslims are also encouraged to seize the spiritual euphoria experienced through the Holy month of Ramadan and refrain from all sorts of bad manners, evil thoughts, and foul language.
Fasting is also viewed as a means of controlling one’s base desires (of hunger, thirst and sexuality) and devoting oneself to Almighty Allah. Sawm furthermore teaches one the true meaning of love: because when one observes Fasting, he does so only out of deep love for Almighty Allah. It is also a show of faithfulness to Allah, for this particular is secret, you ma break your fast without anybody knows.
“(Fasting) for a fixed number of days; but if any of you is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed number (Should be made up) from days later. For those who can do it (With hardship), is a ransom, the feeding of one that is indigent. But he that will give more, of his own free will,- it is better for him. And it is better for you that ye fast, if ye only knew.”
— Qur’an 2:184
As marvelously put by Dr. Hamudda Abdul Atti (may his soul rest in peace) in his famous and best selling scholarly breakthrough, Islam in Focus, Fasting…
“It teaches man the principle of sincere Love: because when he observes Fasting he does it out of deep love for God. And the man who loves God truly is a man who really knows what love is.
– “It equips man with a creative sense of hope and an optimistic outlook on life; because when he fasts he is hoping to please God and is seeking His Grace.
– “It imbues in man the genuine virtue of effective devotion, honest dedication and closeness to God; because when he fasts he does so for God and for His sake alone.
– “It cultivates in man a vigilant and sound conscience; because the fasting person keeps his fast in secret as well as in public. In fasting, especially, there is no mundane authority to check man’s behavior or compel him to observe fasting. He keeps it to please God and satisfy his own conscience by being faithful in secret and in public. There is no better way to cultivate a sound conscience in man.
– “It indoctrinates man in patience and selflessness, as through fasting, he feels the pains of deprivation but he endures them patiently.
– “It is an effective lesson in applied moderation and willpower. Fasting also provides man with a transparent soul, a clear mind and a light body.
– “It shows man a new way of wise savings and sound budgeting.
– “It enables man to master the art of Mature Adaptability. We can easily understand the point once we realize that fasting makes man change the entire course of his daily life.
– “It grounds man in discipline and healthy survival.
– “It originates in man the real spirit of social belonging, unity and brotherhood, of equality before God as well as before the law.
– “It is a Godly prescription for self-reassurance and self-control.”
Hence, a proper analysis of Sawm doesnt restrict it to its linguistic meaning of physically abstaining from certain acts, but to rise above such superficiality, which however doesn’t involve any practical violation of Fasting, but adds to it an imperative spiritual and mental layer.
Like other acts of worship, Sawm, or fasting, strengthens one’s faith and asserts his commitment to Islam, and there’s a great difference between the two, a difference that stems from the prime differences between the Articles of Faith and the Five Pillars of Islam; which people always mix together.
The Five Pillars of Islam include:
1- The declaration of faith – called the Shahadah, saying that “There is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.”
2- Establishment of Prayers (Salah)
3- Zakah (Alms Giving)
4- Fasting (Sawm)
5- Hajj (Performing Pilgrimage to Mecca)
As for the Articles of Faith, which comprise of 6 main elements, all fed and asserted by Sawm, they include the Believe in:
1- One God;
2- The angels of God;
3- All Scriptures revealed by Allah (SWT), including the Quran
4- All prophets of God, the concluding of which was Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him);
5- The Day of Judgment (or the afterlife); and
6- Supremacy of the will of All (or predestination)- Qadar.
God states in the Qur’an:
“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (of right and wrong). And whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month, and whosoever of you is sick or on a journey, (let him fast the same) number of other days. Allah desireth for you ease; He desireth not hardship for you; and (He desireth) that ye should complete the period, and that ye should magnify Allah for having guided you, and that peradventure ye may be thankful.” — Qur’an 2:185
Fasting is more than a physical act, it’s a wholesome experience encompassing the physical, spiritual and mental being of humans.
Wassalaam
The Muslim Tribune Staff Writers
Posted on July 6, 2011
