STUDENT NOTES QABEELAT HOSNA (ALMAGHRIB HOUSTON)
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STUDENT NOTES
QABEELAT HOSNA (ALMAGHRIB HOUSTON)
Table of Contents Introduction 3
CHAPTER ONE Fiqh of Fasting 5 I. 'Fasting is For Me Alone' 5 II. Important events which occured in Ramadan 17 III. The spiritual fast or the fast of hunger and thirst? 20 IV. 24 types of fasts 22 V. The basics of fasting 41
VI. The moonsighting conundrum 49
VII. The do's and dont's 55
VIII. The etiquettes of fasting 60
IX. Extras in Ramadan 62
CHAPTER TWO Fiqh of Zakah 76
I. Wealth in Islam 76
II. The Millionaire of the monk? 77
III. Intro to Zakah 79
IV. Types of wealth that Zakah is obligatory upon 88
V. Zakah on gold, silver and money 92
VI. Zakah on jewelry 94
VII. Zakah on businesses and shares 96
VIII. Recipients of Zakah 99
IX. Zakah tul Fitr 105 X. Sadaqah in Islam 109
A Hadith on the Etiquette of Seeking Knowledge
The Prophet (sal Allahualayhi wa sal-lam) once asked his companions sitting in
front of him, “Why do I see you ‘azeen?” - ‘Azeen means scattered because the
sahaba were sitting further from him and scattered. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi
wa sallam) recommended that people sit close to one another, especially if they are
gathered for knowledge. A man came while the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) was addressing the companions, and he saw a spot in the middle and he
filled it. Another person came and sat in the back of the line. Another person sat in
the back far away from the gathering. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam)
said, “This one (in front) has come closer and Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has
come closer to him. The person at the back of the line has listened, and Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) has listened. The person in the back has left Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala), and Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has left him too.”
Based on this the ulema said that whenever there is a gathering of knowledge, the
best place to sit is to come close to the teacher. Imam Bukhari reported this in his
chapter of adab al ‘ilm to show the etiquettes of seeking knowledge. Similarly
during khutbat’l-jumu’ah, the best spot is the closest to the khateeb.
INTRODUCTION
In terms of fasting, this course is a comprehensive but concise overview on the
fiqh of fasting, in Ramadan otherwise. We will be covering 24 different types of
fasting.
Fiqh of zakah is the shortest chapter in all books of fiqh. One of the reasons for
this is that there is a lot of agreement between the scholars on this issue and that
the issues are very limited. We will focus on the relevant issues in zakah.
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has made fasting one of the pillars of Islam. The
Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Islam is based on five pillars.”
1. Shahadah: the testimony that only Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) is to be
worshipped and the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) is His final messenger
2. Salah
3. Zakah
4. Siyam
5. Hajj
The ulema said that the shahadah has to do with belief that Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) is the only One worthy of worship. You translate this into action by the
salah. Salah is an action that is offered with the limbs.
Zakah is an act of worship that has to do with one’s wealth and finances. This is
where you offer charity and give a portion of what you possess. Zakah is thus
‘ibadat maaliyyah.
Siyam is an act of worship based on abstaining. In siyam, you abstain from
something (in contrast to salah which is offered.
Hajj is an amazing act of worship which includes all the previous types: you do
things (go to Makkah, tawaf), you abstain from things (perfume, intercourse,
cutting hair), and you purchase a sheep and offer it as a qurban or sacrifice and
you spend money to travel, which deals with finances. Hajj involves the limbs:
you move, stand, pray. The ulema say the pillars cover the belief, actions of the
belief (physical aspect of ‘ibadah), abstaining from things, and finances.
CHAPTER ONE: FIQH OF FASTING
I. ‘FASTING IS FOR ME ALONE’
THE SPECIAL CONNECTION OF THE SLAVE AND ALLAH
The Prophet (sal Allahualayhi wa sal-lam) said in a hadith Qudsi, “Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala), the Most High, says, ‘Every action of the child of Adam is
for him except fasting, for it is for Me, and I will reward it…” (Bukhari and
Muslim)
How do we understand the meaning of this hadeeth? In another narration, the
Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Every single deed of the son of Adam
will be multiplied ten times up to 700 except fasting. It belongs to Me and I will
reward it.” This means that the amount of reward that you get from fasting is not
700 but much more. Only Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) knows how much. Ibn Hajar
said this means that no one knows the amount of reward except Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala).
Sufyan b. Uyaynah recited the verse in Surah Zumar, “….there is no limit to the
reward of the sabiroon (patient)” He then said, “For the people who fast, there is
no limit to their reward.” Half of sabr exists in siyam as the Prophet (s) said in a
hadith
How do you make fasting a spiritual journey?
Your Headline: Sincerity (ikhlas)
In Surah Zumar verse 11, Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) says, “I have been ordered
to worship Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) sincerely.”
“We have sent down the Kitab with truth, so worship Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)
with sincerity.”
Unfortunately, many times sincerity is something we take for granted. One of the
meanings of being sincere is that you fast the month of Ramadan with faith and
seeking the ajr and reward from Allah (subhanahu wata’ala). That when you fast
every day, it is not because of culture or habit or because you are used to it. Many
people say it doesn’t make sense to abstain from water on hot days. We are
servants of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala), and this servitude is ikhlas. We say that
we follow what Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) ordered us to do. This is sincerity.
Ikhlas is the reason for your ajr to be multiplied. It is the reason for Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) to love you and to come closer to Him.
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (rahimahullah) gave a beautiful analogy on sincerity in
actions when he said, “If you want to know the difference between the action
based on sincerity and the action with no ikhlaas, it is like the dialogue that
occurred between a silkworm and a spider. The spider said to the silkworm, ‘Why
are so many people fascinated with your threads and not mine? Mine are more
sophisticated and complicated, and yours is just one long thread.’ The silkworm
told the spider, ‘Look at my thread and look at your thread! My thread will be
used to cover and wrap queens and princes and gentlemen and ladies. Look at your
threads. They will wrap and cover flies and insects. Look at my thread and what
happens when you touch it and your thread and what happens when you touch it.’”
When you touch silk, it is soft and nice and strong. When you touch the
spiderweb, it breaks. One thread of a silkworm can stretch one to two miles!
Deeds with ikhlas are a completely different level than deeds without ikhlas.
One of Sheikh Waleed’s teachers Sheikh Muhammad Salih ibn Uthaymeen was
talking about wudu. Sheikh Waleed asked him, “How can you have ikhlas when
making wudu?” He said, “You make the wudu for the salah. Part of the ikhlas is
that you do this for Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) while realizing you are doing it for
Him and copying His Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam).” Think that you are
wiping the sins you committed with your face, hands. You are washing yourself
from these sins. When you rinse your mouth, remember how the Prophet (sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam) rinsed his mouth. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) would lift his hand and let the water run down his arm. See how your
wudu feels after thinking about it this way. This is Ikhlaas in even a small action
such as wudhu, what about in fasting?
Ikhlas is of levels. Ikhlas was the hardest thing for the scholars to maintain fully
during their good deeds. When it comes to fasting, ikhlas is special. No one knows
if you are fasting except for Allah (subhanahu wata’ala).
A Bedouin came to the masjid once (Bedouins lived in the desert and do not have
much knowledge). He started praying. They said wow, the Bedouin is praying
well! He heard them and when he finished he said, “By the way, I’m fasting too!”
This is the opposite of ikhlaas.
Siyam demonstrates ikhlas clearly in the ‘ibadat. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi
wa sallam) said, “Indeed Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) gives victory to this
Ummah due to its weak ones, through their supplication, their Prayers, and their purity of intention ….” (Sunnan an-nasai). Don’t always rely and care for
the rich and powerful but know that even the weakest of Muslims can aid the
Ummah.
Nur al-Deen Zengi would give the righteous (scholars, worshippers and students
of knowledge) more money than the generals even though he was in a state of war
against the Crusaders. They asked him why he gave money to those who are not
fighting, and he said, “Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) gives victory through the
average people and their du’as. My soldiers’ weapons sometimes hit the target and
sometimes miss. The weapons of the righteous (du’a) never misses the target. I am
investing in the right way.”
In the hadith of Ubayy ibn Ka’b and reported by Muslim in his Sahih: The Prophet
(sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Give the glad tidings to this ummah that ease
is coming. Give the glad tiding to them that they will one day dominate and
victory will be given to them. If anyone among them does something that is
supposed to be done for the sake of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) alone and does it
for the worldly life, then they will have no reward for it in the akhirah.”
Your Goal: Piety (taqwa)
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) reminds us in the verses of fasting in Surah Baqarah:
Taqwa is of levels:
Worship of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) alone (sincerely)
To fulfill the obligations
Doing the recommended acts
Your Motto: AllahuAkbar
When you complete the days of Ramadan, you say the takbirat at ‘Eid. Why do we
make the takbir and why not another form of dhikr and glorification of Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala)? What is the relationship between saying “AllahuAkbar”
and fasting? We have proved with our fasting the entire month of Ramadan that
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) is greater than our desires. It is not easy to abstain
from base desires and needs for 29/30 days, but we have proven to ourselves that
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) is greater than anything in our hearts, which is why we
are able to make the takbeerat of ‘Eid.
Fasting is indeed all about control and self-restrain. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi
wa sallam) said, “If someone starts to fight with you, say, ‘I am fasting.’ You
don’t let your anger conquer you.
In another hadith, the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “If you don’t
stop saying and doing what is evil in Ramadan, Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) is not
in need of your abstaining from food and drink.” Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) is
greater than all these things you desire.
When you succeed to fast every day, you have demonstrated this word in action.
Your Battle: Fighting your desires
Sabr has two sides. Sabr means either to prevent or to push. You prevent yourself
from things you are not supposed to do and you push yourself towards things you
are supposed to do. It requires sabr to pray taraweeh every night and this is not
easy. It is not easy to commit yourself to read Qur’an. It is not easy to sleep little
in the last ten days of Ramadan and continue working. It is sabr in pushing
yourself towards these good deeds. It is sabr to abstain from what you are not
supposed to do.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Half of patience is in siyam.”
Sabr is either related to shar‘ or qadar. One is related to the Shari’ah rules
(abstaining from sins, striving in worship) and sabr related to qadar is having
patience with what is decreed upon you. Sabr is to control your emotions and
adjust yourself to the new situation you are in. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) said half of patience is siyam because it has to do with the Shari’ah part of
sabr
Your Weapon: Being conscious of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) (muraqabah)
You are always conscious of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) while fasting. If you can
abstain from drinking and eating the halal, don’t you think it is much easier to
abstain from eating and drinking the haram? After Ramadan, we should be able to
stay away from the haram.
Your Prize: The gate of Rayyan
This gate is for those who fast a lot and fast other than Ramadan. There are eight
gates of Jannah. Those who are good to their parents will enter through that gate,
and later on others will be allowed. As for the gate of Rayyan, after the people
who fasted entered, then it will be locked. Only they will know the unique aspects
of that gate and what is in it. This distinguishes the gate of Rayyan from the other
gates.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “In Jannah, there is a gate…’” The
ulema said that this gate is already inside Jannah, and it is not like the rest of the
gates outside of Jannah that lead to entry into Jannah. This gate of Ar-Rayyan is
actually part of Jannah. You experience the reward as soon as you access it. The
Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said the gate of Paradise is as big as what is
between the east and the west and he further said, “Glad tidings! The day will
come when people will be crowded walking into Jannah.” Imagine the traffic
going into Jannah!
There was a mother who buried four of her children during her lifetime. Losing
one child is enough to reward you with Jannah. She was old and told Shaykh
Waleed she saw a dream. She saw the Day of Judgment and the gates of Jannah
opened. Everyone was directed to one specific gate and others were going up high,
and she tried to go with this small group and the angel pushed her and said, “This
way.” She asked, “Why?” They replied, “This is what Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)
has said.” She said, “But all of my life I fasted and had patience.” Then she heard
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) speak in her dream telling the angels, “Let her go to
the highest of Jannah. Let her go to the highest of Jannah.” She passed away one
week later.
Siyam has a great reward for a person who offers it.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said in many ahadith, if a Muslim does
such and such, all the gates of Jannah will be opened for them, and they can
choose which one to enter from...
As an example, the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) told a man that if he is
patient with the loss of his son, then his son will take his hand and they will enter
Jannah through whichever gate he wishes.
How can we reconcile between these ahadith that say that certain people of good
will get to choose to enter through any gate they want and the hadith that the gate
of Rayyan is only for those who fasted and will be locked after they entered
through it?
Some ulema took the most common position and said that the hadith of entering
through any gate is a generality and that this hadith of a specific gate of Ar-
Rayyan is an exception to this rule. Those who did these deeds have the chance to
go through this gate but it will be locked for everyone else.
Other ulema said they will be given the choice to see the eight gates but will never
choose Rayyan and Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) will always keep it for those who
fast. Al-Manawi, a famous scholar of hadith, mentioned this opinion.
Power tip: A person who reaches the level of enjoying fasting will fast at any and
every opportunity
What’s in it for me?
10 Virtues of Fasting
1. Attainment of lofty ranks and stations
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said that Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)
(subhanahu wata'ala) said, “Every deed of the son of Adam will be multiplied to
700…”
Two people came and said, “Ya Rasulullah, pray that we die in the battlefield.”
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) prayed for Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)
to save them and have them go home safely. They said, “We want to go to
Jannah.” The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Is this what you want?
Fast! There is nothing similar to it in reward.” The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) preferred fasting for them over dying as shahudah!
In hadeeth of Talha, the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) received three new
Muslims in the city of Madinah and he asked, “Who will take care of these three
new Muslims?” (Lesson: We should assign people to take care of new Muslims
and we should support them). Talha hosted these three new Muslims in his house
for some time. Two of them died in the battlefield and one of them lived after for a
year and died in his bed. Talha saw in a dream that the one who died later in his
bed was in a higher level of Jannah than the other two who died as shuhudah. He
thought that this could not be true, so he asked the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) about it. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Didn’t the man
live one year longer and strove in ‘ibadaat including that extra year that he fasted
and prayed taraweeh?” In another narration, he said, “He said more subhanAllah,
alhamdulillah, and la ilaha ilAllah” Fasting is something that will advance you in
Jannah and on the Day of Judgment.
2. Fasting is limitless in reward
The reward of it is unbelievable as we have discussed
3. Worshipping Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) through one of His attributes
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) does not eat and drink. Ibn Hajar said fasting is like
resembling an attribute of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala). The one who doesn’t eat is
better from one perspective and weaker from another. He needs the food to stay
fresh, and he is dependent on food and in need of it, which shows your weakness.
4. Expiation for sins
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Those who fast the month of
Ramadan, with emaan and seeking the reward of it, their previous sins will be
forgiven.” The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) also said “Whoever fasts the
day of Arafah, it will erase the sins of the previous sins and the previous year” and
he said “Whoever fasts Ashurah, the sins of the previous year are forgiven” This
forgiveness refers to the minor sins which are acquired in daily life. The Prophet
(sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said they will be erased by fasting, salah, sadaqah
etc.
Fasting the day of Arafah erases the previous sins and the sins of the next year.
Arafah occurs in dhul hijjah which is in the 12th month of the lunar calendar while
Ashurah is in the 1st month of the lunar calendar. How can fasting on Ashurah take
care forgiving sins from the previous year when fasting on Arafah did the same
thing? Example: you fast Arafah in 1435 and Ashurah in 1436.
The ulema said that the power of forgiveness is based on the power of your ibadah
and how sincere you are with your fasting. If it was done with 100% sincerity,
then it will wipe 100% of sins away. If it was 50%, then it will wipe 50%. You
follow up with Ashurah to wipe out the rest.
Ibn Taymiyyah gave the analogy that it is like your thawb which has stains. You
wash it but sometimes it will not be clean 100% so you need to wash it over and
over again to achieve cleanliness. One fast may wipe some of your sins, and the
second one will completely clear it out. Unfortunately, on a daily basis people
acquire a lot of sins. This is why there are so many opportunities for cleansing and
having one’s sins forgiven.
5. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) and His angels pray for those who fast
The angels praise the Muslim who fasts and are proud of him. Ibn Hibban reports
in his Sunan that the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) and His angels pray on the one who makes suhur.” The
ulema said that they praise him because he is about to fast.
6. A Veil from the Fire
Imam Ahmad reports in his Musnad and al-Nasa’I report, the Prophet (sal Allahu
alayhi wa sallam) said, “Al-sawm is a veil from His Punishment.” In another
narration: “It is a veil from the punishment of the Hellfire.” In another narration:
“It is a strong partition between you and the Hellfire.” The Prophet (sal Allahu
alayhi wa sallam) said, “If a person fasts a single day for the sake of Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala), Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) will keep that person away
from Hellfire a distance of 70 years.” (Tabarani)
What does 70 years mean? It means that the distance would be crossed in 70 years
of traveling.
In another narration: 100 years of fasting (Imam Muslim)
In another narration: Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) will make between you and
Hellfire a trench like the distance between the heavens and the earth. (al-Tirmidhi)
7. Whoever fasts a hot day will have his thirst quenched on the Day of
Judgment
Ibn Abbas reported that at the time of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam),
he sent Abu Musa al-Ashari and a group of companions for a trip to the sea. Abu
Musa said that on one of the nights there was no wind and it was pitch black. All
of a sudden they heard a voice calling on them, “O people of the ship, listen to
what Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has decreed on Himself.” Abu Musa said,
“Whoever you are, tell us what you have.” The voice said, “Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) has prescribed upon Himself whoever fasts one hot summer day and
becomes thirsty, Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) will quench his thirst on the Day of
Thirst.” Abu Musa told the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) about this, and
he approved of what was said. Abu Musa said, “After I heard this, I never missed
a fasting on a single one of the hot and long summer days”
Mu’adh b. Jabal, the most knowledgeable person in halal and haram (as said by
the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam), said upon his death, “Welcome death! I
have been waiting for you. I used to fear you but now I want and need you. Oh
death, come and collect my soul. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) knows that I never
loved to live in this life to plant trees and build farms and houses. I only loved this
dunya for the following reasons: so that I am thirsty in the hot days of the summer
fasting, the long nights I spent praying, sitting in the gatherings of knowledge
learning from the scholars. These are the only things I will miss after my death.”
In Surah Haqqah verse.29: Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) (subhanahu wata'ala) says,
Mujahid said this verse was revealed in relation to the people who fast. Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) will send His angels to provide food and drink to these
people who fasted in their lives on the Day of Resurrection. It will be a feast for
them on a day of 50,000 years of standing when other people will be tired, thirsty
and searching for any form of shade. In another narration, the people will see a
long table full of food and drinks, and when people approach it, they will be told it
is only for those who fasted.
8. The call of the gate of Rayyan
9. A sure path to Paradise
Fasting will assure you a path to Paradise. In the hadith of Hudhayfah reported by
Imam Muslim, the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said “Whoever ends his
life while saying la ilaha ilAllah will enter Jannah. Whoever ends his life while
fasting will enter Jannah. Whoever ends his life while giving charity will enter
Jannah”
Sayyidah Nafisah was a pious lady from the previous generations who lived in
Egypt. She was so righteous that when al-Dhahabi wrote her biography, he said
from her piety the ignorant people in Egypt worshipped her after her death. She
made Hajj 30 times in her lifetime and constantly stood for the truth and forbade
the evil. She did so much for the public as well and was known for her charity.
Once when the procession of the leader was passing by her neighborhood, she
walked through the lines of people to get to the leader and stopped his horse. The
leader recognized who she was. She gave him beautiful advice and reminded him
of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) (subhanahu wata'ala) and admonished him so much
that he started crying and came down from his horse to her. He promised the end
of the aggression of his generals and governors.
Sayyidah Nafisah used to fast a lot, so much so that at the end of her life she
continuously fasted every day of her life except ‘Eid. On the day she died, she was
so sick that the people asked her to break her fast. She replied, “I have been fasting
and seeking this day for the last 20 years.” She wanted to meet Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) while she was fasting. She died right before Maghrib and did not break
her fast.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “There are lofty and unique rooms
in Jannah. They are see-through. These rooms were made for the following
people: the person who provides food for people, the person who speaks softly
and gently, the person who continuously fasts and the person who prays in the
night while people sleep.” (Imam Ahmad)
10. Fasting will intercede for you on the Day of Judgment
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Qur’an (especially Surah
Baqarah and Surah Ale-‘Imran) and fasting will intercede for you on the day of
Judgement. The Qur’an will say, “Ya Rabb, I did not let him sleep in the night.”
Siyam will say, “Ya Rabb, I prevented him from eating and drinking during the
daytime.”
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said the best form of fasting is the fast
of Dawud (fasting one day and breaking the fast the next day). It has been
mentioned that Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) said to Musa (‘alayhi’l-salam): “We
have appointed for Musa 30 nights and then 10 so he completed 40 days.” The
mufasiroon said that he fasted 40 days straight. How could Musa fast for so many
days? Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) provides food and drink to the prophets and
messengers and so they can be in a state of perpetual fasting.
Fasting is an act of worship Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) obligates on the believers,
“as it was prescribed on nations before you…” Other religious groups also have
fasting. Sikhs are the one of the few religions that do not fast, in fact they mock
the concept of fasting. Baha’is believe in fasting the month, but their month is
always in March and only from March 3-March 22.
What is the best form of fasting?
The best form of fasting is that of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam).
Aishah (radhi Allahu'anha) said, “He would fast almost every day. I never saw
him fast many days in the month like the way he fasted in Sha’ban.” Anas said,
“There were days when I would think this is a good day to fast until I would find
the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) fasting the same days” Ibn Abbas said,
“The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) used to fast until we would say he
never breaks his fast and he would not fast until we used to say the Prophet (sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam) doesn’t fast.”
He (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) used to fast Mondays and Thursdays and would
fast three days from every month. Aishah (radhi Allahu'anha) said he used to fast
the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at the beginning of the month and in the next
month Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Ibn Abbas said, the Prophet (sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam) fasted the first three days of every month and in another
narration the last two days of every month.
Abu’l-Darda said, “I remember one time we were traveling in the summer and it
was so hot and none of us could take the heat of the sun without putting a wet
towel on the head. None of us was fasting except two: Rasulullah (sal Allahu
alayhi wa sallam) and Abdullah ibn Rawahah.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) would come to the house and if his wife
said there was no food to cook, then he would say he is fasting.
Ibn Hajar collected the days the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) used to fast
and found that he used to fast like Dawud: that he fasted half of the year.
The sahabah and tabi’in and the scholars of our past also loved fasting as much as
the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam). Right before his death, Umar ibn
Khattab would fast every single day (reported by Bayhaqi). Aishah (radhi
Allahu'anha) said that while the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) was alive,
she did not fast much and after the death of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam), she used to fast every single day. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) ordered the
Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) to take Hafsa back because she was a
woman who fasted a lot and prayed a lot.
Abdullah b. Amr b. al-‘Aas was a young man who used to fast a lot. The Prophet
(sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) told him to fast less but he replied that he could do
more because he was young and wanted to enjoy his youth on the ‘ibadah of Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala). Eventually they settled that he would fast every 2nd day.
What good is our youth if we do not use it in the worship of Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala)? If you miss your teens, 20s and early 30s in the worship of Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala), then you will not have much to do after that. This is the
golden time to spend and invest in the worship of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala).
This is when you are still full of energy and strength.
One of Aishah’s favorite students was a freed slave by the name of Masruk and he
named his daughter after her. Anytime ‘Aisha bint Masruk asked him for
something, her father would never refuse. One day Masruk was fasting even
though he was very sick and the doctor recommended him not to fast. They
reasoned that the only one who could convince Masruk to break his fast would be
his own daughter. When Masruk saw her coming he knew what the plan was and
asked, “They brought you?” She replied, “Yes. Do you know why? I want you to
break your fast and take medicine and eat.” He said, “Why do you want to ask me
this?” She said, “My father, I would like to make it easy for you.” He said, “That
is why I am fasting. I want to make it easy for myself on the Day that is 50,000
years long. This is why I am doing what I am doing today.”
Urwah b. Zubayr was the son of Asma and al-Zubayr. His grandmother was
Safiyyah, the aunt of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam), and his aunt was
Aishah and his grandfather was Abu Bakr. Al-Zuhri studied 7 years with Sa’id b.
al-Musayyib and said there is no greater scholar than him until he met Urwah b.
Zubayr and found him on another higher level than Sa’id. He said that Urwah had
an ocean of knowledge and manners.
Urwah b. al-Zubayr never broke his fast except on the two Eids. At the end of his
life, Urwah had gangrene on his feet and it had to be amputated. The doctors asked
him to drink analgesics so that he would not feel the pain but he responded that he
was fasting and told them to just amputate the leg anyway. When they cut it off,
they said he never once screamed but rather was making dhikr and tasbeeh. The
narrators add that the only way they knew the procedure was complete is because
they smelt the cauterization or burning of the skin of Urwah’s leg after it was cut
off. This was the level of control and sabr that ‘Urwah was able to achieve over
his nafs.
Urwah fainted eventually and when he woke up, he asked for his leg. When it was
brought he said, “Ya Rabb, You took from me, but You have left me with so
much. You have tested me with this one thing, but many times You have saved
me.” He still finished his wird from the Qur’an that night (reciting 1/4 of the
Qur’an). It is narrated that the same night Urwah’s son fell of a roof and passed
away, but Urwah kept patient.
The righteous people of the past were on a completely different level in their
fasting and set the bar very high for us to aim for. We see that they cared so much
about fasting.
II. IMPORTANT EVENTS WHICH OCCURRED DURING THE MONTH
OF RAMADAN
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) revealed the Qur’an in Ramadan. This was a major
change in human history.
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) also elevated ‘Isa to the heavens in Ramadan, which is
another incident which changed history. In Ramadan, the Prophet (sal Allahu
alayhi wa sallam) lost many close friends and companions.
Battles
Badr
For the first time ever, the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) defeated the
Quraysh. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) won with only around 310 to
313 scarcely armed Muslims against an army of 950 soldiers of the Quraysh with
weapons, horses and camels.
Preparation for the battle of Khandaq (the trench)
Conquest of Makkah in 8 Hijri
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) entered Makkah on this day of
Ramadan with 10,000 soldiers. Himas b. Qays heard that the Prophet (sal Allahu
alayhi wa sallam) was in the outskirts of Makkah and put on his armor. His wife
asked where he is going. He told her not to worry and that he will bring back one
of his friends to be her slave. He came back very soon after scared and locked the
door and told her to be quiet because, “Muhammad said if you go to your house
and lock yourself in then you are safe.”
Destroying the idols of the Quraysh
The biggest idol Hubal was made of rubies. One time it fell and the arm broke so
they made an arm of gold for it. It was kept inside the Ka’bah. The Prophet (sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam) took an ax and broke it.
Victorious return from Tabuk
The battle of Buwayb in Iraq
The conquest of Andalus
Deaths
Death of Khadijah
How honored was she? One day the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) was in
the house and Jibril came down to the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) to tell
him to tell her that Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) says salam to Khadijah.
She believed the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) when no one else did and
supported him when no one else did. Her death marked a change in the life of the
Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam).
Death of ‘Ali
Death of Aishah
Deaths of al-Zuhri, Ibn Mubarak, Abu’l-Abbas Abdullah
Other Events
The slander of Aishah
The Islam of Thaqif
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) destroyed al-Lat, worshipped by the
people of Thaqif. Al-Lat had an endowment for it.
Some historians said the flood of Noah took place during the month of Ramadan.
‘Isa (alayhi’l-salam) was raised
What is the most important incident that ever took place in Ramadan? The
incident that has to do with you. This Ramadan is the most important date in your
history. So you have to ask yourself: What will you change and do? Will you
become among those whom Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) accepts from every night?
Will it be the time when Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) promises you Jannah?
Change in Ramadan is at many levels: personal, family, community / masjid. The
most important changes are those related to these areas. Start thinking about it
before Ramadan starts so you know exactly what you want to achieve! How will
we change for the rest of the year? How will it be an opportunity for us to grow?
Spend quality time with your family. Build a strong bond with the Qur’an. Build a
strong bond with salah.
Points on How to Make this the Best Ramadan Ever
Make a lot of du’a that Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) makes this the best Ramadan
ever
Watch what you eat. Have a good diet. Someone asked what will bring taqwa, and
Al-Hasan al-Basri said, “Empty stomach.”
Pray taraweeh in the masjid. Have iftar with the community.
Make a lot of dhikr.
Have a schedule and organize your time.
Have a good attitude.
Write down your du’as.
Choose one bad habit to get rid of. When you try to do too much, you end up with
nothing. When you focus, you end up with a lot.
Increase your good deeds every day.
III. THE SPIRITUAL FAST OR THE FAST OF HUNGER AND THIRST
There are 3 categories of people when it comes to fasting:
The ‘ulema have said that there are three categories of people when it comes to
fasting:
The fast of the masses
Not eating or drinking and abstaining from sexual relations during the daytime.
This is the minimum requirement of fasting
The fast of the elite
Preventing their eyes, ears, tongue and other organs from disobedience and
committing sins.
The fast of the super elite
Fast of the heart from the thoughts of the dunya and in complete submission to
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala). Fasting means abstaining and staying away from.
This is the highest level of fasting.
These terminologies were started during the early times of Islam by the tabi’in.
Later on, it became a common terminology used by Sufis. They stretched these
meanings further than what the early generation meant. They said the super elite
are those who have so much love for Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) that they don’t
need to worship Him anymore because they see Him and feel Him all the time.
They say that you pray and fast to get connected to God but if you are connected
to Him all the time, then there is no point. And so they started dropping the rules
of Islam. They would say weird things such as the Ka’bah is making tawaf around
them so they don’t need to make tawaf. This is not what the ulema meant by these
categories. What the Sunni scholars meant was the person who perfected his or her
iman and has a high level of iman and that they were committed to the Sunnah of
the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam).
When Imam al-Shafi’I was asked about people who call themselves by these
categories, he said to look at their prayer. If he prays on time and according to the
Sunnah, then he is from them. If he doesn’t pray according to the Sunnah, then he
is not special. In the famous statement, the Egyptian scholar Layth ibn Sa’ad said,
“if I saw a man of innovation walking on water I would not believe him”. Imam
Shafi’ said, “Imam Layth did not go far enough, rather if I saw a person of
innovation flying I would still not believe him”
The spiritual fast consists of:
Ibn al-Jawzi said, “Fasting is of three types: the soul fasting, which is to know that
life is temporary so you abstain from being attached to it until you break your fast
in Jannah.” This means the soul is never attached to the dunya but always to the
akhirah. “Also, the fasting of the mind, which is that you don’t think about that
which is haram. And the fasting of the limbs.” Ibn al-Jawzi looked at the soul,
mind and body.
Many scholars mentioned these three categories when talking about the fast. Try
to make your eyes, ears, and tongue abstain. This should also lead you to continue
this after fasting through the rest of your life.
Power Tip: The months of the year are like the sons of Ya’qub (both are 12). The
superiority of Ramadan is like the superiority of Yusuf over his brothers. Just as
Yusuf was the beloved of the sons of Ya’qub, Ramadan is the most beloved month
to Allah (subhanahu wata’ala).
IV. 24 TYPES OF FASTS
No. Type of Fast Ruling
1 Ramadan Obligatory
2 2 continuous months (manslaughter) Obligatory
This is when someone kills another person by mistake. For example, in a car
accident where the driver caused the crash that killed the passenger.
The ruling is that you have to free a slave for the sake of Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) (subhanahu wata'ala). If you could not find a slave to free, then you have
to fast 2 consecutive months. You have to give blood ransom, which is an amount
of money given to the family of the one killed. This diya is equal to the price of
100 camels. In modern times, this would be around $150K - $200K.
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) (subhanahu wata'ala) mentioned this is in the Quran in
4:92 (below). This is to complete your tawbah (repentance).
Killing someone is one of the greatest sins because giving life and death is a
special quality of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) and if a person kills, then he is
competing with Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) in one of His special qualities. The
murderer has not only violated the right of the person but also Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala)’s Right. Capital punishment in Islam is intended to save lives and stop
the cycle of violence.
3 3 days (expiation for oaths) Obligatory
For example, someone says, “I swear by Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) I will do
this.” If he doesn’t do it, then the penalty is: feed 10 miskeen, and if he cannot,
then he has to free 10 people or give them a set of clothes and if he cannot do that,
then he has to fast 3 days.
Is there an order to the expiation or is there a choice?
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) (subhanahu wata'ala) said, “Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) does not hold you accountable for the oath that you make
unintentionally…” In Surah Ma’idah verse 89
If you intend to commit yourself to something, then this is when Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) will hold you accountable if He Wills.
The food that is given is the average food that you and your family eat (according
to your means). You don’t feed them cheap fast food. Similarly, you clothe them
with the average clothes your family members wear.
There is an order and it is not a choice. Only if you cannot feed them and cannot
clothe them, then you fast for three days.
Rule: Anytime Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) gives us an expiation and mentions
several things, if the letter “aw” (meaning “or”) is used, then you can choose from
any of them. Anytime in the Qur’an it says “falam” meaning you cannot afford it,
then you cannot choose directly but only if you cannot do the first do you go to the
second.
Do you have to fast these three days consecutively? This is an issue the ulema
debated over.
Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Sufyan al-Thawri (had his own madhab but this
died out, he also lived in Kufa during the same time as Imam Abu Hanifa did) and
Imam Muzani (shafi’I scholar who ulema said deserved to have his own madhab
because he has many of opinions that carry heavy weight in the Shafi’I madhab)
and the old position of Imam Shafi’i: it has to be consecutive days. Why? Because
when Ibn Mas’ud recited this verse, he said, “Those who cannot find the means to
do the feeding or providing clothes fast three consecutive days.” This became
shadd, meaning you don’t pronounce it anymore in the Qur’an but the meaning
remained.
Imam Malik, the official opinion of Shaf’I madhab and Imam Ahmad, one
position of Hanabilah: no need for consecutive days because the qira’ah does not
suggest consecutive days, and the qira’ah of Ibn Mas’ud was not authentic.
Shaykh Waleed’s opinion: It seems that the qira’ah of Ibn Mas’ud, even if we say
it is authentic, does not necessarily establish that the 3 days must be consecutive
but may only indicate it is recommended.
Note: we are not recommended to use Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)’s Name to
commit to everything as some people do nowadays in being so easy and quick on
the tongue to swear by Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) in all their affairs. There is a
difference between committing to a person and committing to Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) because of respect for Allah (subhanahu wata’ala). This penalty is there
to make us control our tongue.
Note: Feeding a person means one major meal. In the traditions of fiqh, they spoke
of lunch because that was the major meal. In America, dinner is the major meal of
the day.
NOTE: There are 2 types of teaching. This session is to teach knowledge and not
to give fatwas and answer specific questions. We are learning what the Muslim
jurists said and why they said it. This helps us to understand the knowledge of the
Shari’ah. Shaykh Fawzan used to always say that he is not teaching fatwas or
personal choices but to teach what the Muslim scholars said. If the khilaf is strong,
then it is mentioned, and if the difference of opinions is very weak, then it is also
explained.
4 3 days (expiation for cutting the hair during ihram) Obligatory
This is referenced in Surah Baqarah, ayah 196
If you break the rules, you have to sacrifice a sheep, and if you cannot, then you
have to fast 3 days.
A person is in a state of ihram during Hajj, and there are certain rules that comes
with this ihram that they must follow. If someone has to cut his hair (e.g. if they
have a disease la qadrAllah (subhanahu wata’ala)), or if he has to wear any form
of clothing that is form fitting such as pants or underwear for a health reason, then
the ruling is that a fidyah has to be given. The fidyah is to sacrifice an animal. If a
person cannot, then he can replace it by fasting 3 days.
Al-Nawawi said there is consensus amongst the scholars that these days can be
fasted anytime – either in Makkah or when coming home. When al-Nawawi says
there is ijma’ (consensus), then 99% of the time he means amongst the Shafi’I
scholars. For this case though, Imam Nawawi was correct in that all scholars said
this, Shafi’ and outside of the madhab. Al-Shinqiti said this is agreed upon that
you can fast these 3 days anywhere if you break a rule and if don’t have the means
to offer a sheep.
5 10 days (expiation for no sacrifice) Obligatory
The 10 days is if someone does hajj tamattu’ (the hajj in which the ‘umrah and hajj
itself are separated in that after ‘umrah one will leave the state of ihram until they
start hajj) and if he doesn’t have a sheep, then he replaces it with 3 days in Hajj
and 7 days when coming back.
This is also referenced in Surah Baqarah, ayah 196
3 days during Hajj and 7 after coming home. These 10 days are obligatory.
6 Fasting for hunting while in ihram Obligatory
The penalty for hunting during ihram is in 5:95:
You have to sacrifice an animal for the sake of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) equal
to the size of the animal you hunted. If you don’t have the means to do that, then
you feed the number of needy people equal to the size of the animal hunted, and if
you cannot, then you fast the number of days equal to the size of the animal
hunted.
How can you figure this out? Ibn Abbas explained: if one hunted a gazelle, then
the penalty is to offer a sheep or ram. If he doesn’t have the means, then he feeds 6
miskeen, and if he doesn’t have the means, then he fasts 3 days. If he hunted an
elk or buffalo, he sacrifices a cow, and if he cannot, then he feeds 20 poor people
and if he cannot, then he does 20 days of fasting. If he hunted an ostrich or zebra,
then he sacrifices a camel and if he doesn’t have the means, then he feeds 30
miskeen and if he cannot, then he fasts 30 days.
No one else interpreted this verse other than Ibn Abbas. This was then agreed
upon by the companions and successors.
7 Mondays, Thursdays Recommended
Hafsah narrated that the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) used to fast
Mondays and Thursdays (al-Nasa’i). Abu Hurayrah also said that he used to fast
Mondays and Thursdays the most. Aisha narrated that he used to look forward to
these days.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “the record of our deeds is
presented to Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) on these days and I would like them to be
presented while fasting (hadith of Usama).” Ibrahim al-Nakha’I used to cry on
Mondays and Thursdays when he heard this hadith because he that said these are
the days when our records are presented to Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) and he was
not proud of his record. Think about how much your record is made up of
beneficial things and how much it is made up of sins. This is what made Ibrahim
al-Nakha’I cry.
8 Day of ‘Arafah Recommended
Fasting this day is not recommended for the one at Hajj. The Prophet (sal Allahu
alayhi wa sallam) made Hajj in the year 9 hijri. This means he had fasted 8
Arafahs in Madinah.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said in regards to the virtue of fasting
this day, “When you fast Arafah, it erases the sins of that year and the previous
year.”
During his Hajj, some companions were debating on whether the Prophet (sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam) was fasting, and one of them knew he was not, so she
said, “I sent to him a cup filled with laban (buttermilk) in front of them and he
drank it.”
Ibn Umar (radhi Allahu'anhu) said, “The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) did
not fast the day of Arafah while making Hajj. Nor Abu Bakr nor Umar nor
Uthman. That is why I don’t do it, but I don’t order you to fast and I will not
forbid you from it.” He understood that since the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) broke his fast during Hajj, it is optional.
Why didn’t the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) fast the day of Arafah while
at Hajj? To make it easy for the people and help them have strength for the
remainder of Hajj and so they can focus on making du’a, which is the most
important thing to do on the day of ‘Arafah
Only Yahya b. Sa’id al-Ansari said it is wajib to fast. All other scholars
recommended not to fast the day of Arafah while making Hajj. Abdullah b. al-
Zubayr, Usamah b. Zayd and Aishah and al-Hasan were all reported to have fasted
on the day of Arafah while making Hajj, which shows the companions believed it
was permissible.
Al-Tabari said, “We should not fast the day of Arafah because it is Eid for the
Muslims and we cannot fast on Eid.” Umar (radhi Allahu'anhu) said that Arafah is
one of the Eids of the Muslims. Eid means something the Shari’ah honors and
something we go back to every year at the same time. This is why Mina and
yawm’l-tashreeq are Eids. If al-Tabari’s logic was correct, then we could not fast
Arafah ever, so this logic is not consistent. This is why ulema did not agree with
what al-Tabari said.
We don’t fast Arafah during Hajj only for the reason of having the strength to
continue Hajj. You want to be fresh and strong to make a lot of du’a. For those
who are not making Hajj, it is highly recommended to fast.
9 Day of ‘Ashura Recommended
This is the 10th of Muharram. Ibn Abbas said it is the 9th of Muharram, but the
correct opinion amongst the scholars is that it is the 10th. The Prophet (sal Allahu
alayhi wa sallam) said that fasting this day expiates the previous year. The sins
that are forgiven are the minor sins.
The ‘ulema said that Ashura is the day that Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) saved Bani
Isra’il, and it is the Eid of Musa and his people while Arafah is the Eid of
Muhammad and his people, and because the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam)
is of a higher level, then the gift is higher for his ummah and which is why fasting
Arafah expiates for two years and Ashura expiates for one year.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “If I live until the next year, I will
fast the 9th and 10th.” In another narration he added the 11th. Sheikh Bin Baz and
other scholars said that the best format is to fast one day before and after Ashurah
i.e. the 9th, 10th and 11th of the month. The Jews used to only fast the day of
Ashurah itself and we have more rights over Musa than them, so we celebrate it in
a greater way than they do.
10 Six Days of Shawwal Recommended
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Whoever fasts the month of
Ramadan and follows with the six days of Shawwal, it is as if he fasted the entire
year.” (Muslim)
Why is there a special reward here? The ‘ulema said that Shawwal is the month
after Ramadan and people are not as interested in fasting because they just
completed 29/30 days of fasting. Many people will be busy with other things and
forget about this act of worship. This is why the Shari’ah encourages us to not
abandon fasting in Shawwal.
Also, ulema said that Ramadan is equal to 10 months (30 days of fasting times ten
times the reward is 300 days or 10 months) and the six days is equal to 60 days,
which adds up to one year. (al-dhahr can be mean lifetime or one year, and in this
hadith, it means one year)
There is a narration in Ibn Majah in which the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) said, “One month is equal to ten, and six days is equal to two months,
which equals a year.” Is this something the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam)
said or narrated? Sufyan b. Uyaynah said it was an explanation of the companions
and not a statement of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam).
Ibn Abbas, Tawus, Abdullah b. Mubarak, Shafi, Ahmad, Ibn Ishaaq all
recommended fasting these six days. Imam Shafi said it is recommended to be
done consecutively in the beginning of the month. Imam Ahmad and Waki ibn al-
Jarrah (imam shafi’s teacher) and the vast number of scholars said it does not need
to be consecutive.
Some scholars did not agree with it: Sufyan al-Thawri, Abu Hanifah, Abu Yusuf,
and Imam Malik said that there is no such thing as fasting the 6 days of Shawwal.
The later Hanafi scholars disagreed with Abu Hanifah and Abu Yusuf and said it
was good to fast these 6 days.
Why did they reject fasting these 6 days? They said it was imitating the people of
the book and they had not come across the hadith of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi
wa sallam) regarding these 6 days. They said some people fast and add to it like
the people of the book would do, and they said you should be satisfied with what
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has given. This is not a good argument because the 6
days comes from the hadith of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam). Those
who said this did not come across the hadith of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) about the 6 days. That is why Imam Malik said he didn’t see his teachers
doing it.
What is the benefit of fasting the six days of Shawwal?
- It is equal to fasting the whole year (including Ramadan).
- Physically you have fasted an entire month, and it is not good to start eating
too much right after.
- It continues the spirit of Ramadan.
- One of the signs of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) accepting your ibadah is that
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) opens the door for you to do another good deed.
Whenever you follow good deeds with another good deed, then it is a good
sign that Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has accepted it. If you find yourself doing
more good deeds after fasting, then it is a sign Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has
accepted it.
- It helps you build the habit of fasting outside of Ramadan.
- The ulema said the 6 days of Shawwal is to complete whatever was missing in
your Ramadan. For example, if you Ramadan was not perfect (i.e. you slept
most of the day or you lost your temper or said something bad) then it will be
completed by the nafl. This is similar to the salah: Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)
will look at your wajib salah and if it was not complete, then Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) will tell the angels to look at his record to see if he has voluntary
prayers which can complete it. The voluntary will fill in the holes in the wajib.
- Fasting these 6 days of Shawwal is a form of gratitude to Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) for allowing us to fast in the month of Ramadan.
A review on Shukr:
When we thank Allah (subhanahu wata’ala), we thank Him through three
ways: by the tongue (by saying alhamdulillah), by the heart (to believe any
blessing is from Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)) and by the actions (e.g. to thank
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) for a beautiful family, you do good to them; if
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) gives you money, you spend it for a good cause).
You thank Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) for giving you the blessing of fasting
the month of Ramadan through actions. Fasting the 6 days shows your
gratitude to Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) for fasting in Ramadan.
Some of the salaf said that if someone prays in the night, Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) opens the door for that person to enjoy it so much. He will say the
way he wants to thank Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) as a form of shukr for that
qiyam’l-layl is that he will fast the next day.
Can you fast the 6 days of Shawwal if you did not complete Ramadan due to valid
reasons such as being sick, travelling or due to menses?
Many scholars said you must make up the days of Ramadan first and then follow it
with 6 days of Shawwal because the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said,
“Whoever fasted Ramadan and then followed it with 6 days of Shawwal…”
Therefore, if you didn’t fast the entire month of Ramadan, then you don’t deserve
the title. Also, they said Ramadan is 30 days and multiplied by 10 is 300 and the
six days multiplied by 10 is 60 which makes a year and if you do not complete the
fasting of Ramadan then it doesn’t add up to one year completely.
Counter-argument: The scholars said that missing the days of Ramadan for a valid
reason does not strip you from the description / category of those who fasted
Ramadan. It is like the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said whoever makes
qiyam’l-layl in Ramadan, Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) forgives his sins, and the
sisters do not pray every night because of menses (a valid reason), and they are
still included in this group.
What about it not adding up? When you make up the days later on, then it will add
up. This is Shaykh Waleed’s opinion: you don’t have to make up Ramadan before
fasting the 6 days of Shawwal.
The Hanafis and Shafi’is and one narration of Imam Ahmad said it is acceptable to
do the voluntary fasting before making up the obligatory fasting. The Malikis and
Sa’id b. Musayyib (scholar of Madinah) said you need to do the wajib first.
Can you make the intention to make-up Ramadan and fast a day of Shawwal on
the same day? No, you cannot!
A rule on joining intentions: Any 2 specific acts of worship cannot be done at the
same time with one intention. For example, salat’l-fajr is 2 rak’ahs and the sunnah
of fajr is 2 rak’ahs - and you cannot do them together because they are separate
acts of ibadah.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Fast three days every month.”
This is general. You can combine this intention with fasting the days of Shawwal.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said to pray tahiyat’ul-masjid and this
can be done combined with the sunnah of fajr.
If you only have 5 minutes before sunrise, then you don’t pray sunnah. You only
pray the faridah because you only have time for that.
Can you have the intention for making up one day of Ramadan and fasting
Arafah? No! Because Arafah is specific.
11 Three days of every month Recommended
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Those who fast three days every
month are like those fasting the entire year.” We look at the Sunnah of the Prophet
(sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and his practice of fasting three days each month.
Some ulema said the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) used to mix the three
days in the beginning of his life. It was reported by Aisha that he would fast
Saturday, Sunday and Monday of one month and in the next month he would fast
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and so on. Later on, he fasted the first three
days of every month. Some narrations stated he would fast the last days of the
month. The ‘ulema also said that the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam)
recommended fasting on the white days when the moon is full: 13th, 14th, and 15th.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “if you want to fast three days,
fast the 13th, 14th, and 15th (Musnad imam Ahmed).”
We can conclude that it seems like the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) at the
end of his life used to continuously do the 13th, 14th, 15th of the month as his three
days and in the beginning of his life he was looking for the best days to fast and
this is why he changed the days every month.
Some scientists mention an interesting medical reason for fasting the white moon
days: When the moon is full, it affects the quality of water on the earth.
12 Fast a day, miss a day continuously Recommended
This is the fasting of Dawud. He would sleep half of the night and pray 1/3rd of the
night and then sleep the rest until fajr. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam)
said there is no maximum fasting beyond the fast of Dawud, and it is the best of
fasting.
Al-Tirmidhi: The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said the hardest type of
fasting is the fast of Dawud.
13 Fasting certain months such as Muharram (meaning most of the
month) Recommended
In Islam, there is agreement between the jurists that the only month you are
allowed to fast entirely is Ramadan. Fasting an entire month other than Ramadan
is bid’ah unless it is a penalty. If a sahabah fasted the entire year, he fasted all
months but did not pick out one month specifically to fast. The scholars agree on
this concept.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “The best fasting after Ramadan is
to fast the month of Muharram.” (Muslim) This is because it is the first month of
the year and gets you ready for the year.
Al-Nawawi said he looked at the practice of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) and could not find that the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) fasted
this month. He (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) only fasted Ashurah. The month he
(sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) fasted the most was Sha’ban and thus it is highly
recommended to fast the month of Sha’ban.
Al-Nawawi said that this could be for one of the following reasons:
- He (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) didn’t know about the virtue of fasting
Muharram until the end of his lifetime
- The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) traveled a lot during the month of
Muharram so he did not get an opportunity to fast then
14 The 10 days of Dhu’l-Hijjah Recommended
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “One of the best deeds you can
please Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) with are the deeds done during these first ten
days. The best days of the year are the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.” (Reported by
Ibn Hibban)
Is it recommended to fast all of the first 9 days of Dhul hijjah? Hafsah (radhi
Allahu'anha) said the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) used to fast most of
Ashurah and the first ten days of every month, but this is not authentic. Aishah
said she never saw him fasting the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. Ulema said that
maybe Aishah meant he never fasted all ten days, but it doesn’t seem that this is
the case. She means that he did not fast those days except Arafah. Shaykh Waleed
doesn’t believe it is sunnah to fast these days, but because the ajr is multiplied, it is
okay to fast those first 9 days.
Ibn Sirin said, “I recommend you to fast the first 9 days of Dhul Hijjah, and each
day is equal to fasting a year).
Fasting these days is general and can be combined with another intention.
(Similarly with the 13th, 14th, and 15th). Your intention can be to make up a day of
Ramadan and if it happened to fall on the best days of the month than there is no
problem with that.
15 Optional fasts for a woman Conditional
A woman cannot fast without the permission of her husband unless he is traveling.
16 Traveler Optional
What is considered travel? Note: Terminology is defined in three ways:
1) By Shari’ah itself.
For example, the word “nisab” is a certain amount which if you have, you have to
give zakah. What is that amount? Islam defines it as 80 g of gold, 595 g of silver.
It is defined by the Shari’ah.
2) By the language (linguistically),
Sometimes terminologies are not defined by the Shari’ah but rather defined by the
language.
3) ‘Urf (culture / custom).
The culture and custom can be related to the culture of the companions. For
example, miqyar or measurements such as pounds or a type of food. We look at
what it meant at that time.
‘Urf can also be defined according to the specialists in culture today. For Zakah
and sadaqah purposes, we asked sociologists who have defined the line of poverty
today.
‘Urf can also be defined according to a specific group. For example, the ‘urf of
the doctors will determine sickness. If the doctors determine that fasting is not safe
for someone, then we go with his opinion.
There is also ‘urf for everyone.
Was the word traveling ever defined by Qur’an and Sunnah? No. Was it defined
linguistically? No.
Ulema said that travelling must then be defined by ‘urf or culture and custom; it is
based on what people consider traveling. What do people consider as travel? For
example, anytime you ride an airplane, it is considered travel. Checking into a
hotel with a bag is considered travel. Moving to another residence for a short time
is considered travel. Travelling is when you pack your belongings and organize
your home with a certain mindset that you will not be back because you know that
you are travelling. We thus look at what is culturally recognized as travel.
Whoever is considered a traveler has the option to break his fast and make it up
later. Some scholars held the opposite view: Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, Abu Hurayrah,
Al-Awzai and al-Nakha’I said if you fasted while traveling, then the fast is invalid.
Ibn Jubayr used to dislike fasting during travel. The Dhahiris said it is not of
righteousness to fast while traveling; however, no jurists understood that Ibn Umar
and the companions said it is invalid but just disliked it so much.
Hanifah, Malik, Shafi’I, and Ahmad and the companions and successors said
fasting while traveling is an option: You can fast or break it. Abu’l-Darda said
they traveled with the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) on a very hot day and
the only one fasting was the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam). (Bukhari)
Anas said they used to travel with the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and
the people who were fasting never looked down on those who were not and those
who were not did not criticize those who were.
Hamza al-Sulaymi asked the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) if he could fast
while traveling, and the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “If you wish.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
These evidences said it is suggest that it is optional
1. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “It is not of righteousness to
travel while fasting.”
2. A few companions came to the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and told
them how they went on a journey and that there were some companions that were
fasting and they received all the reward. the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam)
asked who were the ones who were serving and working for the convoy. And
these were the ones who were not fasting. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) said, “The ones who did not fast today got all the ajr.” This shows that
helping others is much better than just fasting. The Shari’ah wants to make things
easy on people.
If someone has made the intention to travel, when can they break their fast? Imam
Ahmad said the moment you leave your home is when you are allowed to break
your fast. Another narration said the moment you reach your camel (i.e. your car).
Muhammad b. Ka’b said he saw Anas in Ramadan and he was planning to travel.
He put his clothes on and said, “Bring me food.” He ate the food and then rode the
camel leaving the city. He broke his fast at home when he was about to leave.
Another opinion says that you can break your fast if traveling the moment you
have all your stuff ready to go to the car.
What if you are travelling and returning to your city while not fasting? If you
arrive at noon and are not fasting, can you eat and drink? Ibn Mas’ud said if you
ate in the beginning of the day then you can continue eating.
Jabir b. Zayd arrived from traveling and found his wife had just finished her
menses at noon time, and they had intercourse. This shows that the ruling of
fasting doesn’t apply to you if you arrive to your home while not fasting.
What if you know that you are going to arrive at noon? Yes, you can still not fast
because it is not guaranteed that you will arrive and you are still a traveler at fajr.
But why should the modern Muslim fast when travelling is so easy nowadays and
does not involve much hardship?
The Shari’ah has not connected breaking the fast to the hardship, effort or to being
tired but rather only connected it to traveling. Some people say traveling is easy,
but it is not. Even if you are in your own luxurious private jet, you can break the
fast because you are travelling
17 Sick Optional
Sickness is of two types: temporary sickness and sickness for which there is no
cure (permanent sickness)
The person is excused from fasting if the doctor recommends not fasting. If the
sickness is permanent and without a cure, the person will feed a poor person for
each day. It can be 30 meals to one person or one meal to 30 people. If the
sickness is temporary, than they do not fast that day and make it up after
Ramadan.
What if you are fasting and then get very sick later on the same day? In this case,
you break your fast and make it up later on. If you are fasting and sick and this is
worsening your established health condition, than you must break your fast.
The doctor needs to determine the criteria for a Muslim to fast or not based on
what the doctor knows of the sickness. Most Muslim jurists said it needs to be a
Muslim doctor because they understand the value of fasting. Shaykh Waleed
agrees with asking a Muslim doctor. If the non-Muslim doctor understands the
value, then you can ask him as well.
18 The last half of Sha’ban Disliked
According to the Shaf’I scholars, after the first 15 days it is discouraged.
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “This is a month a lot of people
don’t pay attention to. It is between Rajab and Ramadan. This is the month when
the deeds are presented before Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) and I would like my
deeds presented while fasting.” The scholars said the deeds are presented on a
weekly and yearly basis. On a weekly basis it is on Thursday and Monday, and on
a yearly basis the deeds are presented Sha’ban. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) never specified what day of Sha’ban the deeds are presented. It has been
narrated that he (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) used to fast most of Sha’ban except
a few days (Sahih Bukhari).
Ulema further state that the only days in Shaban you are not supposed to fast are
the two days before Ramadan. It is highly disliked and according to some scholars
haram to fast yawm’l-shakk (the day of doubt), which is the last day of Shaban.
You cannot fast that day unless it is your habit to fast Monday and Thursday and
the 30th of Shaban happens to fall on a Monday or Thursday.
Thinking “just to be safe” and fasting that day because you don’t know if this is
the start or Ramadan or not is not allowed in Islam. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi
wa sallam) said in al-Tirmidhi: “Don’t fast the day or two before the month of
Ramadan (unless it is your habit to fast).” The Hanabilah are the only madhab that
allowed fasting yawm’l-shakk but the majority agree with not fasting.
Abu Hanifah said it is highly recommended to fast the first 15 days of Shaban and
then reduce the frequency of fasting after that until Ramadan.
19 ‘Id al-Fitr, ‘Id al-Adha, Days of Tashriq Prohibited
It is not allowed to fast on the days of Eid.
What are the days of Eid? Eid’l-Fitr is one day and is on the first of Shawwal. Eid
al-Adha is the day of Eid and the days of Tashriq. Tashriq comes from the word
sharq which comes from the sun (ishraaq means sunrise). People used to put the
meat in the sun to dry out so it is called tashriq. Tashriq also comes from the word
for sunrise because you sacrifice the sheep for Hajj only when the sun rises.
What are the days of tashriq? There are two opinions:
1. The minority opinion: Eid and two days after
2. The majority opinion: The day of Eid and three days after. Shaykh Waleed
agrees with this opinion. This means you are allowed to do your qurban on Eid
until ‘Asr and three days after.
You cannot fast these days because you are the guest of Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) on those days and Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) is providing you the food
on those days.
It is only permissible to fast the days of tashriq if you are at Hajj while you are in
Makkah. This is the only exception.
20 Day of Shakk Prohibited
21 Wisal Prohibited
This means the fasting of the night. Sometimes the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) would fast continuously for 48 hours or 72 hours and would not break his
fast at all. The sahabah would ask him, “Ya Rasulullah, we see you fasting days
after each other. Should we do that?” He (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “No.
The Prophets are not like regular people, Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) provides me
with food and drink.” Is this fasting tangible or intangible? Intangible. Food and
drink gives you nourishment and energy. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) provided the
Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) the same result, so he had strength as if he
ate and drink. In Bukhari it is narrated that the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam) forbade the Muslims from fasting continuously through out the night.
There is one opinion among the Shafi’yyiyah which is different than the Muslim
scholars. They said that there is a hadith that the companions came to the Prophet
(sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and said he had to give them permission to fast like
him and he gave them permission to fast until suhur time, when they had to break
their fast. However all ‘ulema agree that this is not recommended. Some Shafis
said it is permissible but not recommended. The majority of ulema said it is not
allowed and abrogated in Islam and you have to break your fast at Maghrib.
22 Continuous fasts Prohibited
This means you fast every day in the year except the days of Eid. The Prophet (sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Those who fast every day have not fasted and
have not broken their fast.” This hadith shows that fasting every day of the year is
not something the Shari’ah encourages. This is why Imam Ahmad disliked it when
he heard about it.
Some of the Shafi’yyah and Imam Abu Yusuf (student of Imam Abu Hanifa) and
Ibn al-Arabi (famous Maliki scholar) said it is permissible to fast every day except
‘Eid and what the Shari’ah forbade was to fast every day including Eid.
What is their reasoning? There were a large number of companions who did this
and we never heard of any other companions objecting to their practice. Some of
the Shafiyyah said whoever can offer it then it is recommended. However the
Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said the best fasting is the fasting of Dawud.
23 Friday Disliked
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Do not specify Friday with
fasting unless you fasted one day before it or one day after it.” (Bukhari and
Muslim)
There is debate amongst the scholars regarding the fasting of Friday. Imam Malik
believed fasting Friday by itself is permissible, but there is a Maliki scholar al-
Dawud who said, “If Malik heard this hadith, then he would not say it is
permissible. It seems he did not hear this hadith.” However, it seems Imam Malik
heard it later in his life. A famous Maliki scholar mentioned another narration of
Malik saying it is disliked.
Abu Hanifah said that it is permissible to fast Friday. Why? He based his opinion
on a hadith reported in al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban that the Prophet (sal Allahu
alayhi wa sallam) used to fast three days of every month and he would almost
never miss Friday. However, this hadith does not mean he fasted Friday by itself.
He would fast the three days (13th, 14th, 15th), and if Friday happened to be one of
them, then he fasted either before or after it.
In Bukhari and Muslim there are very clear ahadith on not fasting Friday by itself.
Is it allowed to fast on a Friday if there is another reason for it, such as if the white
days of the month or the fasting of Ashura fall on the Friday? Yes because the
fasting is not for the Friday itself but for a different reason
24 Saturday Disliked
In the hadith of Ghurayb (who was the freed slave of Ibn Abbas), he said, “Ibn
Abbas and a few of his companions were arguing about the fasting of the Prophet
(sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) sent me to Umm Salamah to ask her the days the
Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) fasted the most, so I asked her and she told
me that he fasted the most on Saturday and Sunday. They said, ‘You heard her
wrong.’ So I went back and asked her again and she told me the same thing. They
did not accept this from me the second time. Ibn Abbas took his friends and went
to ask Umm Salamah themselves. They said, ‘We sent this young man to you and
he claimed you said that the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) fasted the most
on Saturday and Sunday.’ She replied, ‘Yes, this is true. He used to fast these days
the most and said ‘these are Eids for the mushrikeen and I want to be different
from them’”
But there is another hadith which may imply the disapproval of the Prophet (sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam) fasting on Saturday:
In another hadith of the woman from Yemen, As-Sam-ma, came to the Prophet
(sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) while her daughter was fasting, the Prophet (sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam) disapproved of her fasting on Saturday and said, “If you
are fasting on a Saturday and you cannot find anything to eat that day to break
your fast except that you go to a green branch and bite it to take the water out of it
to break your fast, then do so.”
The ‘ulema commented that the strong language means that one should not fast on
a Saturday.
How can we reconcile between these?
The majority of the ulema said he (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) used to fast
Saturday and Sunday, but it is not allowed to fast Saturday by itself (similar to not
fasting on Friday by itself). If you fast Saturday, then follow it with fasting on
either the Sunday or the Friday.
Other ulema said it was haram originally and then abrogated when he (sal Allahu
alayhi wa sallam) said to fast Friday and Saturday.
What seems to be forbidden is to fast Saturday by itself. If Saturday is Arafah,
then you don’t need to fast the day before it because you are not fasting that day
for the sake of it being Saturday. If Saturday is the only day you are able to make
up a fast from Ramadan, then it is also okay because this is a valid reason.
25 Sunday Disliked
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said it is highly disliked to fast Sunday
by itself and instructed to add one day to it, similar to the rulings on fasting Friday
and Saturday by themselves.
26 The month of Rajab Not Recommended
This is not recommended. Umar said, “Eat! Don’t be among the rajabi’een who
believe the month is special.”
V. THE BASICS OF FASTING
Definition
Linguistic definition:
To withhold
Technical definition:
To withhold from certain things during a certain period of time with certain
conditions
Let’s examine this definition in detail…
“Certain things” include food, drink and intercourse (including related sexual
activities). The issue is of a person reaching orgasm in any format unless in a
dream state. A person is not held accountable for wet dreams.
Ibn Hazm, a Dhahiri imam, said it will not invalidate the fasting. The other ulema
countered that because the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said that “the
siyam on the Day of Judgment will say, ‘Ya Rabb, I prevented him from food and
drink and he left his sexual desires for me.’”
There are other things which should be avoided such as anger, using foul language
and sinning, but if they are done they will not invalidate the fast.
“During a certain period of time” means that the fasting is specific from fajr until
Maghrib. In fajr we mean the true fajr when it appears
What was the fajr adhaan during the time of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam)?
The one who would call the first adhaan of fajr was Bilal ibn Abi Rabah and the
second adhaan of fajr was called by ibn Abi Umm Makhtoom, the blind sahabi. He
would be sitting in the masjid waiting for the fajr when the sahaba would rush in
to the masjid to him to tell him that it was fajr and to call the adhaan. So he would
leave the masjid, check, return and call the adhaan, and TPS said: eat and drink
until you hear the adhaan of ibn Abi Umm Makhtoom.
From this we learn that from the time of fajr coming until ibn Abi Umm
Makhtoom stood up to call the adhaan is a few minutes of space. The sahaba
would still continue to eat even after the other sahaba told ibn Abi Umm
Makhtoom that fajr was in fact in, until he finally called the adhaan. Ibn Mas’ud
was once eating fish and the adhan was called and he did not stop until he finished
it.
Based on this, we hope that people will not abuse this and eat often for a few
minutes after fajr as regular habit, but we must realize that the shari’ah has not
given us a strict but rather a loose ruling. If the adhaan is called and there is
something in one’s hand, they may finish consuming it.
This also defeats the argument of the jurist opinion of “imsaak,” which is to stop
eating or drinking ten minutes before fajr. The Prophet (s) said eat or drink until
you hear the adhaan of ibn Abi Umm Makhtoom, which in itself was delayed!
It is also reported in the hadith from Abu Hurayrah (Musnad of Imam Ahmad and
Abu Dawud) that the Prophet (s) said: “If you hear the adhan and have in your
hand a container of drink of food, then don’t put it down until you finish your
desire for it.” This means that even during the adhan you can still eat. However, if
the adhan has finished, then you should avoid it. If the adhan just finished and a
few seconds after someone took a sip, then the siyam is still valid. The majority of
sahabah considered the siyaam start time and when it was absolutely forbidden to
eat from when the light appeared (when you see the clear light from the darkness)
because of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) saying “…eat and drink until you see the
clear light from darkness” (Surah Baqarah, ayah 187)
Regarding the issue of Imsaak, some shafi’iyyah said that the companions would
finish their tahajjud and between their finishing the tahajjud and the onset of fajr
was the time of reciting 50 verses of Quran, and in another narration that from
finishing suhoor to fajr was the time of reading 50 verses of the Quran (~10-15
minutes). The proper thing to do is to delay the suhoor right until fajr
What if someone wakes up in the night thinking it is not yet fajr and eats and then
later finds out that the adhan was already called? It is fine because it was certain
that it was night.
What if he thinks it is Maghrib and eats and then opens the curtain and sees it is
daylight? It is invalid because the default rule is of fasting since it is daytime. He
should not move from what he is certain (i.e. that it is daytime and he should be
fasting) about until he has proof otherwise that it is definitely Maghrib. This is the
position of ibn abbass, imam malik, imam ahmed and imam sufyaan thawree.
Ruling & Status
The ruling of fasting the month of Ramadan: Obligatory (Fard)
It is one of the pillars of Islam and the ulema have agreed upon this.
History of its obligation
Fasting before Ramadan: fasting of Ashura and the first three days of the
month Ramadan was not an obligation until the 2nd year of Hijrah. Before this the ruling
was that fasting Ashura was a must and Muadh bin Jabl said that the fasting the
first three days of the month was also waajib.
First Stage: Ramadan was optional Later on the only obligation days of fasting were the days of Ramadan. In the
beginning, fasting the month of Ramadan was unique: one could fast but if they
chose not to fast though they had the ability to fast than this was ok, they could
feed one miskeen for each day missed.
Second stage: Ramadan became waajib, with iftar only allowed at Maghrib
time Later on, rules developed to the following: You fast the day of Ramadan but if you
miss the iftar time at Maghrib, then you cannot eat until the next day at Maghrib.
During the time of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam), one of the
companions returned home exhausted and over-slept after Maghrib. His wife
forgot to wake him up for Maghrib and so he had to wait for the next day. The
next day at ‘asr he fainted. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) then revealed the verses in
Baqarah and Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) changed the rules to what we have today.
Third stage: Ramadan becomes waajib, with fasting from from Fajr to
Maghrib only You are allowed to fast only between fajr and maghrib. You have from maghrib
until fajr to eat and drink and after maghrib the person is free to do what they
want.
The important question that one may ask is that did Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)
cancel the ruling of fidya or not (first stage)? Where Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)
had said in ayah 184 of Surah Baqarah that fasting is optional and if one chooses
not to fast they do not need to and they can feed instead.
The sahabah like Ibn Abbas said it was not fully abrogated; rather kept as an
option for the old people or someone sick. He said that this ruling remained for
people like this.
Mu’adh b. Jabal agreed that this ruling remained and he gave the analogy of the
rulings of salah. At the beginning of Islam, all prayers were two rak’ahs. Later on,
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) made them four. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) canceled
the two to the residents but not for the traveler, so the ruling again was partially
abrogated.
The conditions that must exist for a person to fast
1. Maturity
This means the age of puberty according to the consensus of Muslim scholars
What about kids? The scholars have debated over this.
Imam Shafi’ and Ahmed said fasting should be treated like salah - forced at 10 and
encourage at 7.
Imam Awzaii said that at 10 make sure they fast for three days, if fasting a week
than give them a break.
The point is to make sure that they fast at an early age.
The sahaba would make infants of 1-3 years old fast, making them busy with toys
and games without giving them food unless they started crying.
Rabiya bint Munawad narrated that she would take her kids to the masjid with
dolls and let them play until Maghrib came.
During the time of Ummar bin Khattab they caught a man who was drunk during
Ramadan. Ummar asked the man to come closer so Umar could smell his breathe,
and after initially refusing the man came closer with his mouth covered, and
Ummar insisted that the hand from the mouth be moved. The moment the man put
his hand down, the man burped in the face of Ummar with a very strong smell of
alcohol. Ummar was extremely angry and said, “It isn’t only that you are drinking
alcohol, but you are doing it in Ramadan and while our kids are fasting.” Ummar
ordered the man to be lashed 80 times and he was sent to Shaam after this
- Imam Bokhari mentioned this hadith to prove that kids should fast as well.
Imam Malik said that kids should not fast because they are not mukalaf.
But again the idea is to train them: encourage them and be easy on them to get
them in the habit of fasting. Sheikh Waleed’s kids are ten and fast almost all of
Ramadan.
2. Of Sound Mind An insane person is not allowed to fast.
This also includes one who loses their consciousness; such as if they fainted
during the day or were put to sleep due to anesthesia. For such people their fast
would not be valid.
3. Healthy and resident Sick persons and non-residents are excused from fasting
What about a woman who is pregnant and breast feeding?
Scholars debated over this.
First opinion: The woman who is pregnant and breast feeding are only required to
feed a meal to the poor person for every day that is missed.
This is the position of Abdullah ibn Umar (ra), Abdullah ibn Abbas (ra), Saeed ibn
Jubayr (r) who was asked by a woman who was pregnant and he gave this fatwa
Second position: The woman who is pregnant and breast feeding must make up
the days, and nothing else
This is the position of Imam Shafi and a narration from Imam Ahmed. The scholar
Ad-Dhahak, Imam Zuhri, Imam Hasan Basri , Imam Awzaii, Imam Abu Hanifa,
Ibrahim An-nakhae, Sufyaan at-Thawree and abu Thawr also held this position.
Third position: The woman who is pregnant and breast feeding must make up the
days and must feed every day
This is the position of Imam Shafi in one opinion and Imam Ahmed in one
narration. Mujahid, student of Ibn Abbass and the famous tafseer scholar, had the
same opinion
Fourth position: For the woman who is pregnant and breast feeding, if she breaks
her fast because of herself only than she must only make up the days. If she breaks
the fast because she is worried about the baby than she must make up the days and
feed the poor for the days missed
Imam Malik, Shafi’ had this one opinion and it is famous amongst the Hanabila
who hold this position.
How did the scholars reason this opinion? If the woman broke it for herself, she
becomes like the sick person, and so the days must be made up. If she did it for the
baby than she has to do both. Why?
Recall the verse where Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) made fasting optional; that
either one can fast or they can feed (see below where Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)
says “.. and upon those who are able to fast (but do not because of a valid reason,
than they must) feed the poor person (for each day missed)). Ibn Abbas (ra) and
other scholars said that this verse is not 100% abrogated. Those who have the
ability to fast and do not fast for a valid reason must still feed thus.
How do we reconcile between this opinions and which opinion is stronger?
Sheikh Waleed follows with the first opinion that this woman only needs to feed
and does not need to make up the days,
Firstly this was the opinion of Abdullah ibn Ummar (ra) and Abdullah ibn Abbass
(ra) and no one ever opposed this opinion, Secondly and from a practical
standpoint this is the easiest way for the woman who is pregnant and
breastfeeding. Imagine a sister who gives birth to 5 kids and then spends time
breast feeding them; this means that 5-24 months of fasting would need to be
made up! This would be a hardship for sisters that have many kids and especially
those that do so regularly. This opinion thus goes with the nature of the shari’ah to
make things easy.
4. Purity The woman must be free from menses and post-natal bleeding. The category for
the woman here would be the same as a “sick person” in the shari’ah in that she
would have to make up her fasts.
5. Intention When must this intention be made?
Hafsa (ra) narrated in Tirmidhi that The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam)
said: those who have no intention to fast before fajr will not have a fast for the
day.
In another narration in Daraqutni, The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said
“that there is no fast for the one who does not intend so at night”
Thus not having an intention before fajr invalidates the fast.
Are there any other ahadith contradicting this?
In Sahih Muslim, Aisha (ra) narrated that the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-
lam) entered the house one day and asked if there was anything to eat, and when
she said no the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said that he was fasting.
She narrated that another day he came and she said that she received food as a gift,
the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) asked to see it and that he woke up
fasting. The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam), broke his fast and ate with
her.
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) once asked her if she had food, if she
said yes he would eat and if no than he would say that he was fasting.
In another hadith in the sahihayn (Bokhari, Muslim), one day Salama ibn abi
akwah was sent by the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) who announced to
the sahaba that whoever woke up and is fasting must continue fasting, and
whoever had eaten should stop eating and begin fasting. This was the fast of
‘Ashura which was an obligation at that time.
Based on this, the scholars concluded that since the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa
sal-lam) said that there is no fasting for those without intention to fast this means
that you cannot start a voluntary or obligatory fast without an intention before the
night. This is the opinion of imam malik, muzani (shafi), ibn hazm, showkani, the
dhaahiri madhab and imam hasan basri
The majority of the scholars (shafi, ahmed, hanifa, ishaac ibn rahawayy) all said
that the obligatory fasting needs an intention prior to the day i.e. the night but for a
voluntary the intention can be imitated after fajr, because the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) went to Aisha and if she didn’t have food he would start
the intention for fasting than.
Sheikh Waleed argued as the scholars have that it could be that the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) already woke up fasting (in the Sahih Muslim narration)
i.e. that he was already fasting and he simply stated that he would continue the
fasting after ‘Aisha said there was no food. This is a stronger understanding of the
hadith.
IT, Imam Zuhri all had the opinion of having the niyyah prior to the fajr fast,
regardless of it being voluntary or obligatory. At the least, we say that this hadith
(which is further narrated in multiple different ways) is not clear on when the
Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) made the intention to fast, before or after
fajr.
With this ambiguity in mind, the original hadith is very clear that the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said that there is no fast for the who does not intend so
before fajr, so we must take this at face value for its clarity.
More importantly, what if one goes to sleep not knowing if it is Ramadan or not
and when woken up they are told that it is Ramadan?
Some scholars said that they can initiate the fasting even if they wake up after fajr
and this is sufficient. This is the opinion of Umar ibn AbdelAziz (r) and others.
They based their argument on hadith Umm Salamah (ra) on ‘Ashura, that whoever
ate must stop eating at that time and continue fasting. Ashura at the time was an
obligation and the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) approved the intention
after fajr for those sahaba who hadn’t intended to fast that day. They did not know
about the rulings and the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) informed them.
Other scholars including Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (r) said that one cannot fast on such
a day and it must be made up. This is the opinion of the shafi, hanafis and hanbalis
and they further added that the person must not eat at all and make the fast up on a
different day. Other scholars said that it is ok to eat and make up the fast later.
Sheikh Waleed’s opinion is that the one who does not have the fast from the night
before cannot fast an obligatory or voluntary fast. The hadith of ‘Ashura is a
specific incident which cannot be generalized.
Must the intention be renewed every day or is the intention to fast the month
sufficient?
Imam Abu Hanifa said that a specific intention is not needed for each day, rather
than a general intention at the start of the month is enough and he felt that the
other scholars were too strict when requiring people to make a renewed intention
every day. All the scholars agree that waking up for or eating suhoor is sufficient
enough as an intention.
What about making the intention out loud? This is an innovation that the Prophet
(sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam), nor the companions, successors ever did
VI. MOONSIGHTING CONUNDRUM
The declaring of the beginning of the month of Ramadan is an Islamic ruling and
this is decided by the scholars, not the government or rulers. There are two
calendars; the movement of the sun i.e. the Gregorian calendar or the moon and
this is the lunar calendar. The shari’ah has commanded us to use the lunar calendar
and so like all Islamic matters we turn to the shari’ evidences with regards to the
moonsighting issue.
The next logical question is if the shari’ah made it an obligation for us to follow
moonsighting or was this left for us to figure this out via calculations? There is no
doubt that there are two methods to figure out the start of the month; to calculate
or to sight the moon.
The reality is that those people who follow astronomical calculations do not
realize that the Prophet (s) recognized the two methods and he cancelled one of
them, literally saying in a hadith in the sahihayn (Bokhari, Muslim), “we are a
nation that is literal and we do not calculate” and this is a specific hadith that the
Prophet (s) specifically said about moonsighting.
This hadith does not mean that we do not calculate in our religion as we do when
calculating shari’ issues such as inheritance, zakah etc. The Prophet (s) was being
very specific that we do not calculate when it comes to the matter of sighting the
moon. So when we see the new moon we declare Ramadan and when we see the
new moon we declare ‘Eid.
So when it comes to the new month we sight the moon, the Prophet (s) said “do
not fast Ramadan until you see the moon and do not start ‘Eid until you see the
moon”. The Prophet (s) said that “if it is cloudy than complete the full 30 days of
sha’baan”
Is it possible on a cloudy day for the new moon to be behind the clouds? Yes. The
shari’ah usually stays on the safe side but it this matter it does not, it orders us to
finish the month of 30 days. Ibn Abdul Barr lived at a time that was more
advanced compared to the Prophet (s) and the sahaba – we can argue that we are
more advanced (and in the future societies can argue that they are even more
advanced!) but this argument holds no weight – he narrated that astronomical
calculations were a well-known method to the Muslim jurists but they all
categorically abandoned this method. This means that the Prophet (s), sahaba,
tabi’een and righteous generations all left astronomical calculations and none of
the 4 madhaahib follow this method of declaring the beginning of the month; they
all said it must be based on the sighting of the moon.
Secondly, what frustrates people is the unity. It is a mistake to think that
astronomical calculations will unite the Muslims. In fact those who follow
astronomical calculations are divided due to differences in criteria that they
employ for their calculations. In Egypt, Turkey and other countries that follow
astronomical calculations they still never agree on a day and debate on details. As
an example, they debate – as ISNA did – a position that the existence of the moon
plus the possibility of it being seen must be there. Others said we do not need to
have the scientific possibility of the moon being there, if the moon statically exists
than this is good enough. Others argued as to how far in the sky and how many
degrees over the horizon – the Turkish say 7 degrees, the Egyptians say 9 degrees
– must it be? Some scientists say that if its 1 degree over the horizon it is possible
to be seen. So astronomical calculations will not unite the Muslims. Many
prominent ISNA scholars have since left ISNA, abandoning astronomical
calculations and have argued against this notion of astronomical calculations
today. In reality, Muslims have taken on this method and we see this has not
united the Muslims.
The fact is that you cannot unite Muslims on something not based on the Quran
and Sunnah, and if united this is based on a false sense of unity which will fall
apart.
It is very hard to convince people to abandon the madhaahib and the madhaahib
are very clear on this issue that the only proper method is that of sighting the
moon; every single major fiqh and fatwa council in the Muslim world has declared
that astronomical calculations can never be a method for declaring Eid or
Ramadan. The only exception is the European fiqh council but 60% of members of
this council do not even have a bachelors degree in Islamic sciences.
So what is our problem today? The Muslim leaders must take the blame and
responsibility for failing to be able to unite at all levels, from local to international.
If the leaders came together without hidden political agendas to unify with one
voice, the Muslim ummah would be in a better position regarding this issue. The
declaration of Eid and Ramadan is a ruling in the hands of the ruler and
government. Today a lack of strong and quality leadership has caused us to be in
this predicament. This leadership which comes forth to “unite us” has to be earned
with respect and qualification, not one that bullies its opinions forward.
Unfortunately our organizations have failed to lead the Muslims at all levels and
this moonsighting issue is one effect of it. The Muslim community should demand
a solution from the leaders.
From a fiqh perspective, astronomical calculations have no shari’ basis. But can
calculations aid us in moonsighting? Astronomical calculations can tell us that the
moon has not existed at all yet so there is no possible way that it could be seen that
evening. Imam as-suuki (a shafi’ scholar) said that if the science says that it
definitely cannot exist than no one can declare that they saw the moon. But if the
science does say that the moon exists, there are many factors to be considered:
humidity levels, the person’s eyesight, cloud cover etc.
Even with science, there is much to debate. The only fact in this area is when
science says that it may be possible to see the moon versus not, but with this
regard the head of the physics department at a prominent Saudi university said that
even the moon not born can still be seen in its reflection of it in the horizon (so the
image would be a reflection and turned upside down), but even this is debated
because another physician answered that if this were the case why aren’t the stars
seen inverted as well? They are not.
Regarding moon sighting, can global moon sighting suffice for the entire world?
No because for global sighting only one condition must be met: that the two
regions must share part of the night. As an example, North America and Malaysia
do not share the night, but we do with Bangladesh. Ibn Abdul barr said that there
is a consensus among the Muslim scholars in this regard.
Regarding local moon sighting: Who defines the areas for local sighting? Can two
localities be joined together to sight the moon together? So how close can two
areas be for them to sight the moon locally together? Scholars debate on this; some
ulema said that every city by itself must find the moon, others said that anything
that can be communicated at night is one region (in the olden days packages were
sent at night) and so on.
The majority of the fuqaha of all 4 madhaahib went with the opinion of global
moon sighting. That global moon sighting, if seen from one place in the world, is
followed as long as the night is shared.
Sheikh Waleed personally follows the opinion of local moonsighting but at his
masjid they follow global moon sighting – the Sheikh gives up his personal
opinion for the sake of unity.
Ibn Taymiyyah took this further; saying that, “if you live in a country where the
leadership follows the stars and the sun (astronomical calculations) to declare the
Eid and Ramadan and this is the only method that exists amongst them than follow
it for the sake of unity.” It is not acceptable to have multiple Eids and Ramadan
start dates. Today families are divided over this issue, with the father following a
specific leader and the mother a different, and the kids another masjid. But again,
at the end the solution must come from the Muslim leadership.
What is evidence for local sighting?
During the time of Ibn Abbas and during the khilafah of Muawiyah, he sent a
freed man named Quraydh (a freed slaved from umm ul fadl) from Makkah to
Damascus. When Quraysh arrived in Damascus they saw the moon on Friday
night so started Ramadan on Saturday night. Quraydh returned to Makkah after
one month, towards the end of Ramadan. Ibn Abbass (ra) asked him when
Ramadan started in Damascus. – Quraydh replied Friday – and ibn Abbass
verified this from him. Ibn Abbass than said, “we saw it Saturday and thus we
started on Sunday (Makkah started a day later than Damascus)”. If global
moonsighting is the correct opinion, Ibn Abbass (ra) should have said that he was
wrong and that they started on the 2nd of Ramadan (in not following Damascus) so
one day should have been made up. This also meant that they may have fasted 31
days and thus Ibn Abbass should have declared Eid with Muawiyah in Damascus,
who fasted 30 days! Ibn Abbass did not do that though, and he said that tomorrow
if they did not see the moon they would also fast 30 days in Makkah and Quraydh
would fast 31 days. But Ibn Abbass did not say that, rather he said that Makkah
does not follow Damascus. When asked why, he said that this is the Sunnah that
every region finds their own moon.
This is Sheikh Waleed’s opinion and it makes sense because the shari’ah would
never ask the average Muslim to go through the hardship that global moonsighting
would require on the Muslims. In the old days, global moonsighting would be near
impossible to implement because in the old times there was limited
communication and mobility. If one region saw the moon it would be impossible
to inform the global region of it so the Ummah could start their month together.
Global moonsighting would thus be impossible to implement. Rules in the shari’ah
are not based on what is impossible in one time compared to another, the rules
transcend time. So therefore it cannot be correct because again, rules in the
shari’ah must be applicable to all Muslims living in all times from the time of the
Prophet (s) until now and the future. Global moonsighting would be very difficult
if not impossible for the previous generations of Muslims to implement.
What should the average Muslim do? Follow their local community leader unless
this is an opinion that has no basis in the shari’ah such as astronomical
calculations. Within Houston the deobandi Hanafi based scholars do not follow
astronomical calculations and AMJA and other scholars also do not follow
astronomical calculations.
We should also not let one day divide our families or our Ummah. Even if we start
and stop Ramadan on separate days we should not make it such a big deal that it
affects our ‘ibadaat and our relations with people.
Another strong opinion is that only the moonsighting of those who live East must
be followed; so in the West we follow the East.
The good news is that if the Muslims in one country and area agree on one thing
than Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) will accept from them. The word for the month
“Shahr” comes from the word “common” so if all the Muslims agreed to
something than Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) will accept from them.
Is it true that in Saudi Arabia the king has a say when it comes to the declaration
of the beginning of Ramadan or ‘Eid? No, only the scholars have the power to
make this decision, though this is a common misconception. Sheikh Waleed
narrates how he remembered that one day they started Ramadan a day wrong,
Sheikh bin Baz made the government announce the mistake and everyone had to
make up a day later on. The government tried to get out of it to save the integrity
of the country but Sheikh bin Baz (r) still made them announce their mistake.
Egypt and Pakistan have similar policies where the scholars and judges make the
decision without influence from the government.
What are the qualities of the witnesses?
The witnesses must be trustworthy, Muslim and of any gender (the shafis and
hanbalis say the witnesses must be male only – Sheikh Waleed tried to research
why but was not able to find an answer - but the hanafis say any gender is ok and
this is the stronger position).
Imam Abu Hanifa said that one witness is enough if it is cloudy, but if the sky is
clear than more than 2 witnesses are needed. This makes logical sense because if
the sky is clear than more people must say that they saw it.
How many persons must cite the moon to declare the beginning of the month? The
Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) said, “fast when you see the moon and
break your fast when you see the moon. If it is not clear and cloudy than complete
30 days, and if you have two witnesses, declare the beginning of Ramadan if you
have two witnesses declare the beginning of Eid”
Other scholars said that one witness is good enough, and this is the official
position of the shafi’iyyah and a narration from imam Ahmed. What is their
evidence? Abdullah ibn Umar saw the moon and came to the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) saying he saw the moon and so the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) declared the next day the start of Ramadan (abi dawud).
In another narration, a bedouin came to the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam)
saying he saw the moon, the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) confirmed his
Islam and then declared the start of Ramadan based on this one witness.
How do we resolve this contradiction of the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-
lam) saying in one hadith that two witnesses are needed, and here the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) only took one witness in two cases with ibn umar and
with the Bedouin?
As a rule, whenever a statement of the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam)
contradicts an action, we take the statement over the incident because we do not
understand the context of the actions. It is possible that the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) had more witnesses before ibn Umar and so he declared
Eid, or ibn Umar was a special case.
Thus the statement of the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) is strong and safe
and goes with the principle of the shari’ah of citing the moon, called “shahadah”
or testimonial or witness. We usually need 2 witnesses in cases of shari’ah.
The hanbalis said 1 witness to start to start Ramadan and two to start Eid, why?
Because people want ‘Eid but may not want the start of Ramadan.
We must also be careful with scrutinizing those who witness the moon and the
scholars serving as judges who declare the start of the month. People that have
cited the moon in the past have received threatening calls from other Muslims
questioning their integrity and emaan. In Islam, the appointed judge (who is also a
scholar) is entrusted with the power to declare the start of the new month and he is
responsible for this without anyone else having the power to override them, unless
the judge is overruled from a higher authority i.e. the Supreme Court. As an
example, we never go to Imams and ask them how they married two people? What
is their evidence? Did the woman really say she accepted? Etc. and so we should
not do the same with the judges that declare the start of the new month based on
the moon sightings.
Other benefits of moonsighting over astronomical calculations:
Moonsighting makes the month of Ramadan special, where people are excited and
anticipate the new moon. Looking for the new moon is in itself an act of worship
that is cancelled if we go to calculations.
(For further reading, Sheikh Hamza Yusuf wrote an excellent article about the
issue of moon sighting versus calculations)
AMJA allows general moonsighting based on the following conditions:
1. Scientists must agree that there is a chance of the moon existing for that night. If
the astronomers say that this is impossible than we do not consider it
2. The area that declares the sighting of the moon must have a system for verifying
the sighting. We do not take sightings from a random country. For a locality that
does have a systemized method of sighting along with a judge or body of scholars
that would declare the beginning of the month, the shari’ah tells us that it is ok for
us to have them take full responsibility and accountability for their verdict. They
will be held accountable to Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) if wrong. Depending on
them lifts the blame from the rest of the Ummah.
VII: THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF FASTING
The Pillars of Fasting
1. The intention
2. Refraining from anything that breaks the fast
3. The correct time
What is the ruling on someone who accidentally ate or drank?
According to the 3 non-maliki madhaahib, their fasting is valid. It seems that
imam malik and his teacher rabi’A did not come across the hadith of the Prophet
(sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) where he said that “whoever ate unintentionally,
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has provided food for them and they should continue
their fast” (Sahih bokhari, muslim). Later malikis saw this hadith and also agree
with the other madhaahib that their fast is valid.
Sheikh Waleed was once optional fasting and he remembered that he was fasting
ten minutes before Maghrib; he had his breakfast, coffee, lunch, dinner and then
remembered ten minutes before Maghrib. The fast is valid.
What about forgetfully having intercourse while fasting? This is where the
scholars make an exception that it is not possible to forget that one is fasting and
have intercourse. What about the other gender? Shouldn’t they remind the other of
their fast. This is the only scenario where forgetting cannot be accepted and this
would break the fast
What if someone has intercourse while fasting and in Ramadan?
This would break the fast and is a major sin that requires that a person must repent
from Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) for it.
What if one has intercourse multiple times on the same day that he was fasting?
Are there multiple fidyas? No, there is only one fidyah. Imam Hanifa said one is
sufficient for all while other scholars say that there must be one kafara per day. Do
the 60 days of fasting need to be consecutive? This is a debate but Sheikh
Waleed’s opinion is that it does not have to be straight
What is the ruling of expiation for someone who had intercourse while fasting?
In the hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah, a man came to the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) and said he was ruined because he had intercourse with
his wife while he was fasting in Ramadan. The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-
lam) asked him to free a slave and the man replied he could not do this. The
Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) asked him to fast 60 days but the man
replied that he did not have the health to do this either. The Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) than asked the man to feed 60 poor people but the man
replied that he was not capable of affording this.
After some time someone brought dates to the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-
lam), so he gave the dates to the man and asked him to go give it to poor people.
The man said that he couldn’t think of anyone poorer than himself, so the Prophet
(sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) told him to feed it to his family and house and let
him go.
How amazing is this hadith? The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) was so
merciful because His Lord is the most merciful and this Deen is so easy, yet we
make things so complicated. As Sheikh Waleed always says, “There are people
that are more religious than their religion” and they have more jealousy for their
religion than Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) even ordained!
We must notice that the penalty was only on the man and not on both of them.
Scholars have said that the penalty only goes to both of them if the wife is the one
who initiated it.
What if someone had foreplay with his wife without intercourse but still orgasm?
There is no penalty but they must make up the day
What if someone had intercourse without orgasm?
The penalty is wajib on both of them
What about the ruling on kissing, hugging etc with the wife?
Imam Malik and a narration from Imam Ahmed said that this is not allowed.
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (he added that the day must be made up) and Abdullah ibn
Ummar also did not allow it.
Imam Shafi and abu hanifa said that this is haram for ones that have strong desires
and young (but really old people today also have strong desires so it would apply
to them as well)
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Aas, Aisha, Ata, Shabi, imam ahmed in one narration said
that this is allowed for those whose sex drive is low and have good control.
Aisha narrated that the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) would kiss her but
she said that he had more control over his sexual desires than anyone
So whoever like the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) has control is allowed
to kiss.
Sheikh Waleed believes that foreplay must be avoided but kissing (but not on the
lips) and hugging is ok.
What if someone does not ejaculate but has a discharge that comes at a time of
foreplay (pre-ejaculation)?
Imam Malik and Ahmed say that the fast is broken and must be made up. IT
preferred this as well
Imam Abu Hanifa and Shafi’ said this would not break the fast but a sin was
made.
What if something entered the mouth while fasting?
Anything entering the brain or abdominal area would break the fast (regardless of
entry of mouth, nose or anal cavities)
What if someone swallows a stone? Breaks the fast
What about IV? IV goes to the body as nutrition and so will break the fast as well.
How can something enter the brain? This comes through smoke. Smoking thus
breaks the fast. Nicotine though will not only influence the brain but also the
bloodstream the same as nutrients do. Nicotine patches are thus also not allowed.
What about insulin? This will not break the fast and this is a fatwa from the
highest committee of Muslim scholars.
Inhalers for Asthma? Will not break the fast as well
What about gum? Yes because it has nutrients. There is a type of gum without
nutrients and made of pure plastic, this would not break the fast.
What about a stuffy nose? It will not break the fast
What about the saliva? It will not break the fast unless it is collected and then
taken in (gross, but it would break the fast)
What about kohl? It will not break the fast
What about dust that is inhaled without one’s control? What about someone
working with flooring or tiles? Or walking by a place where there is smoke in the
air? This will not break the fast
Can the food be tasted without swallowing or eating? Ibn Abbas (ra) said that this
is permissible. It must be spit out
Can a shower be taken while fasting? Yes
can teeth be brushed while fasting? Yes, but do no swallow water or toothpaste.
Shafi’iyyah said to not brush the teeth after ‘asr because the smell is dear to Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) (the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam said that this
smell of the mouth of the fasting person is more beloved to Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) than that of musk), but it is better to keep the mouth fresh out of good
manners to those around you
Gargling water is not recommended while fasting as the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi
was al-lam) discouraged this.
What if water is accidently swollen while gargling? The majority of scholars say
this is a sin but the fast is valid.
People that continue sinning while fasting? As the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was
al-lam) said that for such people they are not needed to leave their food or drink
for Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)’s sake
Will vomiting break one’s fast? The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) said
that if it is done unintentionally than it does not break the fast and if done
intentionally than it does break the fast. Ibn Abbas said that what breaks the fast is
what comes in and not what comes out.
What about internal “vomiting” where food entered the throat from stomach
reflux? It will not break the fast. If it comes into the mouth than it is better not to
swallow it.
Will hejama break one’s fast?
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) said “the one who does cupping and
receives it will both have their fast broken” (hadith thowbaan, reported by 18
companions).
In hadith Shadad ibn Aws, the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) passed by a
man in Baqi and he was making hejama on the 18th of Ramadan, the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) said both had broken their fast (abi dawud)
But there is a contradicting hadith:
Ibn Abbass narrated that the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) made hejama
while in ihram and fasting, and he did not break his fast.
So how do we reconcile between these two?
Anas ibn malik (ra) was asked if it was haram to have hejama done while fasting?
He said no – it was only stopped because the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-
lam) did not want weakness from losing blood (sahih bokhari). Anas than narrated
that the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) made hejama a reason in the
beginning for the fast to be broken and later he gave the reason of why it shouldn’t
be done while fasting, which is because of the sheer loss of blood causing
weakness to the one fasting. Anas would do hejama while fasting and encouraged
it only for those who have strength, but it is not recommended due to the amount
of blood that is lost.
The claim that it was abrogated is not what the many of scholars agreed upon,
rather they say that you should not make hejama while fasting and it will break the
fast. Ali, hasan, Ibn siren, Imam Ahmed, Imam Shafi, Ibn Khuzayma, Hakim held
this opinion that it will break the fast.
Umm Salamah, Ibn Abbass, Ibn Mas’ud, Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Shafi’,
Urwah ibn Zubayr, Imam Malik, Imam Sufyaan Thawree, Umm Salamah said it
does not break the fast
Sheikh Waleed believes that it should be avoided.
The same ruling applies to blood donations (not drawing blood for tests where the
amount of blood drawn is small) because this is like cupping in the amount of
blood that is lost. After donating blood patients are further instructed to take in
nutrients. Sheikh Waleed thus recommends to stay away from this khilaaf because
as we have discussed, this is a big debate amongst Muslim scholars.
VIII. ETIQUETTES OF FASTING
Recommended acts
1. Hastening to iftar The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) said, “The people are forgiven as long
as they hasten to the iftar.”
Do not make du’a and dhikr when the adhaan is called but rather focus on
breaking your fast as soon as possible! Piety is breaking the fast as soon as
possible because this is the Sunnah.
What should the muedhin do? Wait until he finishes the adhan
What calendar should be followed? Sheikh Salah as Sawy’s opinion is that the
most accurate timing of salah is that which ISNA follows.
To be on the safe side, should the breaking of the fast be delayed until a few
monutes after Maghrib? No, if the adhaan is called then break the fast
2. Breaking the fast with fresh dates, dry dates and/or water
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) broke his fast with dates – 1 or 3 as is
narrated. If he did not have fresh dates than he would use dried dates to break his
fast (dried dates have more sugar). If not than he would sip a drink of water.
Imam ibn-al Qayyim said that for a country that does not have dates, grapes can be
used. He explained that the concept of dates and grapes is about the rush of energy
from the sugar
3. Du’a at Suhoor and Iftar is recommended
“At Iftar” here means during the time of iftar or while waiting for Maghrib
Is the ajr of Iftar only for the one who provides the first food item that fast is
broken with? No, the entire meal is included. People will only donate dates and
water and others will rush to provide people breaking their fast with their own
dates, all because they want the reward of helping the fasting person break his fast.
But the reward is for the entire meal that is provided for the fasting person
breaking their fast.
A du’a that may be said while breaking the fast:
“Dhahaba al-zama’ wa abtalat al-‘urooq wa thabata al-ajr inshaAllah
(subhanahu wata’ala)”
The thirst is gone, the veins are moistened and the reward is certain if Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala)
What about this famous dua?
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)umma laka sumtu wa bika amantu wa `alayka
tawakkaltu wa `ala rizqika aftartu
O Allah (subhanahu wata’ala), I have fasted for You, believed in You, placed my
trust in You, and broken my fast on your provision
This is from a hadith narrated in Abu Dawud, but in this isnad (chain of narrators)
is a man named Abi Mu’adh who is not known. Another man in this isnad is ar-
rabiah who never saw the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) but reported it
directly from him (so this narration is mursal to rabi’ah). Both of these points
make the hadith a weak hadith.
What du’a is recommended? Really any du’a that you want
Tip: When making iftar in a social setting, remember to make du’a and use your
time wisely!
4. Delaying the Suhoor
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) said that the best food in suhoor is
dates. The Sunnah is to delay it as long as possible, very close to fajr time. The
Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) said to eat the suhoor because there are
blessings in it
Disliked Acts (discussed above)
1. Gargling water
2. Anything which leads to arousal
3. Anything which will diminish a person’s rewards
IX. EXTRAS IN RAMADAN
1. TARAWEEH
Taraweeh is synonymous to the words prayer at night, Qiyaam ul layl and
tahajjud. The only difference is that Taraweeh refers specifically to the night
prayer done in Ramadan.
The word “Taraweeh” comes from the root word “raha” which means rest because
the companions would pray 4 raka’ah and than take a break. During this break
they would make tawwaf.
What was the description of the companions’ taraweeh?
Their taraweeh was so long that the companions would have a cane to support
their standing and their salah would start at Maghrib and finish right before Fajr.
We are discussing Arabia where the day and nights are approximately 12 hours
consistently through out the seasons, not a few hours like we have in North
American summers.
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) said regarding taraweeh; “Whoever
stands in the night of Ramadan praying, with emaan and ihtisaab, Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) will forgive all of his sins.”
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) also said, “If one prays with the imam
at night until he finishes, it is as if he prays the entire night.” The condition is to
start and finish with the imam without leaving in the middle
Should we care about how many raka’ah are read and how much? No, the Sunnah
is how manageable the prayer for the people that will still maximize the khushu’ in
salah.
This is why a tabi’ee came to Aisha and asked her about the Prophet’s (sal
Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) prayer – he thought that the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi
was al-lam) would pray 1,000s of raka’ah in Ramadan - and she replied that it is
so beautiful, calm, concentrated and long. She spoke about the quality of the salah
and not the number of salah. She said that he never prayed more than 11 raka’ah in
his life, Ramadan or outside of it.
It is thus not about the numbers but the quality of salah.
Imam Malik and Ahmed were asked about how much should be read? Imam
Malik said not less than 10. According to Sheikh Waleed, Imam Ahmed answered
it perfectly when he said it must be according to the people that pray behind you.
The History of Taraweeh
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) initially prayed 3-4 days of Qiyaam ul
layl (taraweeh) in Ramadan and the sahaba prayed behind him. After more and
more sahaba started to pray behind him he felt bad because had he continued to do
so than everyone would pray behind him. After all, which of the sahaba would
think to not follow what the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) did and stay at
home while the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) prayed, especially in
Ramadan?
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) did not want to make it hard for the
people and his prayer was not like ours; what was his prayer like?
Once ibn masud narrates that he stood to pray with the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi
was al-lam) in Qiyam ul layl and the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) read
Surah Baqarah, Surah ale’imran and Surah An-nisa in one raka’ah and than his
ruku, standing and sujjud each was of an equal length as his standing! Ibn Mas’ud
– the man who received more than half the Quran from the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) himself and who said that there was not a single ayah
except that he knew its tafseer – narrated about this prayer that he had a very bad
thought and that was to leave the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) in his
prayer because of how long it was!
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi was al-lam) prayed at night so much that his feet
could not carry him anymore.
So the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) wanted to make it easy for his
Ummah so he abandoned taraweeh after praying for 3-4 nights in Ramadan. Had
the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) done so every single night, the scholars
would have been arguing today and saying that it is waajib. Rather the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) stopped after a few days, making it clear that taraweeh
is only recommended.
During the time of the khilafah of Ummar bin Khattab, he came in Masjid an-
Nabwi during Ramadan to find a haphazard prayer situation: one group of
Muslims lead by one imam in one area of the masjid, another group with another
imam in the masjid and so on. The entire masjid was very small so this was very
chaotic and disorganized. Ummar bin Khattab decided to organize this and asked
Ubayy ibn Ka’ab and Tameem ad-Daari to lead the people in taraweeh. This is
when Umar said his famous statement, “this was a good bid’ah that I started.” Ali
regarding this said to Ummar, “may Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) fill your grave ya
Ummar with light as you have filled our masjid with lights”
Ummar would pray 11 raka’ah, as narrated by Sahih Bokhari. Bayhaqqi and ibn
hibban reported that the sahaba became so tired so Ummar asked them to break it
down, so than they prayed 23 raka’ah (including the witr) to make it easy on them.
It was still so hard so the 23 was broken to 33 and in another narration 37
raka’ahs. This is why the Malikis pray 37 or 33 raka’ahs as part of their fiqh for
taraweeh. The idea here that we learn is to make it easy for people.
Can you pray more than 8 raka’ah plus 3 witr in one night of taraweeh or
otherwise? Yes, in history no scholar has said that one must only pray 11 raka’ah
(including witr) except for Sheikh Albani in modern times.
What if someone wants to pray more than the imam does? Finish with the Imam
and when he finishes the witr stand up and pray one raka’ah, making the total
number of raka’ah prayed to even numbers of nafl prayers. After this one can pray
as much as they want and add a witr.
What if one prayed witr with the Imam at the end of Taraweeh and later on they
want to continue praying? Yes, they can pray even raka’at. Can another witr be
made? The sahaba prayed 11, than prayed tahajjud, than prayed 1 raka’ah to make
the 11 a total of 12. Than they pray tahajjud again and wold add 1 raka’ah of an
odd number. This is called breaking the witr with another witr but this is not fully
acceptable because the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said to not pray
more than 1 witr in one night while here 3 witrs were being prayed. Some scholars
don’t like this but since many companions did it, it is permissible.
Can one follow the imam with the mushaf in taraweeh, and use an English
translation? Yes, in English and in Arabic is allowed. (For further reference:
Sheikh Waleed’s article with AMJA of the permissibility of doing this)
The vital condition is that one should not read behind the imam, but just follow
with the eyes.
Sheikh bin Baz in the modern days allowed this. Imam Ahmed was asked about
this and he allowed it. Imam Nawawi was asked, and he said that a person can
even use papers of tafseer while praying. This does not mean that one holds the
thick book tafseer ibn kathir today and follows the imam in taraweeh!
Can du’a qunut be made in any language? Yes, but only if prayed at home. In the
masjid the Arabic must be maintained by the imam because this is the sign of the
Muslims.
It is common that UBK gathered the companions for taraweeh he would pray 22
raka’ah, is this accurate? The majority of sch say that the taraweeh prayed was 22
and UBK gathered the people for this but this is objectionable from an isnad point.
There are other narrations that he went to 26 and 32 and so on.
Is it allowed to pray over 11 raka’ah? Yes
The sahaba prayed more than that. The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam)
said: “The night prayer is 2 raka’ah, 2 raka’ah….” indicating that at night one can
pray as much as one may want.
So what was ‘Aisha’s point when she said the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-
lam) didn’t pray over 11? It was not about number but rather masruk and other
tabi’ came to her because they thought the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam)
prayed in Ramadan 100s of raka’ah and more than any other time. But she
answered that he never prayed more than 11 raka’ah, in Ramadan or outside of it.
Rather the Prophet’s (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) prayer wasn’t about how
many raka’ah but rather the quality of them.
2. ‘ITIKAAF
This is a highly recommended Sunnah as the scholars have agreed upon. This can
be done in the last ten days (highly recommended at this time) or it can be done in
any other days of Ramadan.
Aisha narrated, “the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) would make ‘itikaaf in
the last 10 days of Ramadan (every year from when he came to Madinah) until he
died, and after he died his wives did it”
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) would have a carpet in the masjid as
his designated area where he'd sit, reflect and worship – praying, making du’a,
dhikr and reading Quran etc - and spend most of his ‘itikaaf there. He would avoid
socializing during this time.
In the beginning the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) made ‘itikaaf in the
first ten days, than the middle days and than the last ten days. He did this because
he was seeking laylatul Qadr. When he was told that it is in the last ten days than
he continued his ‘itikaaf into the last ten days of Ramadan.
In another hadith, the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) came to the masjid
and set up his area of ‘itikaaf, so his wives came and set up their tents beside him -
imagine multiple tents in the small masjid - so it filled up very quickly. The
Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) saw this and got upset and so he decided
not to make ‘itikaaf that year, ordering his wives to break their ‘itikaaf as well.
He did this very gently in that he himself did not make 'itikaaf so they wouldnt feel
bad and he broke his ‘itikaaf first before asking his wives to do so for theirs. The
Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) than made up this ‘itikaaf in shawaal for 20
days.
Does this mean that we have make up the days of ‘itikaaf if we break it? No, but
why did the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) do this? Because whenever the
Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) did an act of worship he would never break
it, he would continue it and fulfill it.
What is the proof that we don’t need to make it up? His wives didnt make up their
‘itikaaf and the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) did not order them to do so.
If it was an act of worship that must be made up he would have told them to do
so.
The 4 imams agreed that ‘itikaaf should be done in a masjid because Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) says, “…wala tubashiroohuna... wa antum 'aakifoona fil
masajid” – intercourse is not allowed with the spouses when making ‘itikaaf in the
masajid.
The Ahnaaf are the only group of scholars who allow for a woman to make it in
her musalla at home but this opinion has been rejected by the majority of the
scholars. It goes against what Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) said (above) and the
Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) never told his wives to make ‘itikaaf at
home. There is no daleel for this except the general hadith of the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) saying that the prayer is better at home for the women.
They made Qiyaas that since it is better to pray at home, ‘itikaaf is also better to be
done at home.
‘Itikaaf is a highly recommended Sunnah, but some hanafis elevate the ruling and
say that it is waajib but fardh kifaya; that the community must have one person
making ‘itikaaf otherwise the entire neighborhood would be sinful. Only the
ahnaaf have said this and it is not a popular opinion among the Hanafi madhab
even. There is nothing in the shari’ah to support this concept as well.
Is there anything specified about the masjid where ‘itikaaf must be done? The
‘ulema add that if the ‘itikaaf includes Friday than it must be prayed at a masjid
where jumu’ah must be prayed. There are musallas that do not pray jumu’ah. In
such a case where the requirement of jumu’ah is fulfilled than it can be any
masjid. This is the opinion of the 4 madhaahib and the scholars in history because
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) did not specify a masjid.
Another opinion came up in the early generations that ‘itikaaf can only be done in
the 3 masajid of Makkah, Madinah and Jerusalem. This opinion was of the
companion hudhayfa and the successors ‘Ata and Saeed ibn Musayyib and it was
not opined by any scholar after them until Sheikh Albani did so in the modern
days.
The narration of Hudhayfa is that the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said,
“there is no ‘itikaaf except for in 3 masajid: masjid haram in Makkah, masjid al-
nabwi in Madinah and masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.” This narration is actually a
weak narration that Hudhayfa claimed was the statement of the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) but the correct opinion is that it is his statement and
opinion. Hafidh Haythami (a great hadith scholar) said that the narration that
Hudhayfa said that the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said this was his
own opinion. Further, when Hudhayfa said this than Abdullah ibn Mas’ud was
there – and he is more knowledgeable – so ibn Mas’ud told Hudhayfa that he was
wrong and rather the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said that you cannot
travel to any place seeking the reward of it except for the 3 masajid. As an
example, we cannot travel to a specific masjid in Dallas believing that the reward
of praying here is higher than other masajid. To believe that this land and
particular masjid has more reward is not allowed except for in the 3 masajid;
masjid al-haraam where praying a raka’ah is multiplied by 100,000, masjid al-
nabwi where praying a raka’ah is multipled by 1,000 and masjid al-aqsa where
praying a raka’ah is multipled by 500.
Saeed ibn musayyib’s opinion was that ‘itikaaf can only be done in Masjid al-
nabwi, he didn’t even say the masajid in Makkah and Jerusalem.
Imam Tahawi was a great Hanafi scholar. He said that this concept of making
‘itikaaf in only the 3 masajid was not taken by later scholars.
How long should ‘itikaaf be?
The word ‘itikaaf means dedicating oneself for something for a long period of
time. This is why Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) said about the mushrikeen, “…..
uqoof ‘ala asnaam ilah” that they were making ‘itikaaf to the idols, dedicating
themselves to the idols for a long period of time.
The scholars debated over how long ‘itikaaf should be. We know that the Prophet
(sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) made ‘itikaaf for 10 days but no one ever said it
must be for ten days.
Imam Shafi’, Ahmed, Abu Hanifa said it can be more than 10 days without a
maximum. But the scholars did debate over the minimum time which ‘itikaaf must
be for.
Imam Nawawi’s opinion, and many Shafi’, some Hanafi and some Hanbali
scholars said that ‘itikaaf is valid if the intention is even for 1 minute! This
opinion, though mentioned by great scholars, contradicts the basic meaning of
‘itikaaf. You cannot truly dedicate yourself to the masjid in 1 minute!
Imam Abu Hanifa’s opinion is that it must be 24 hours.
Imam Malik said that it must be 1 full day e.g. from Fajr to Maghrib.
The shari’ah did not specify the time but rather that one must dedicate their time
for the ‘ibaadah of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala).
Note: One must try to seclude themselves as much as they can. It is not about
wasting time online, socializing or playing games for the night. Some masajid
make “youth ‘itikaaf” events where there are activities such as sports, movies,
games etc. This is not ‘itikaaf because this is not secluding oneself in the worship
of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala).
Is socializing absolutely forbidden in ‘itikaaf? No, the wife of the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) Safiyyah came to visit him so he spent time with her
and than walked her back. One can also leave the masjid for a need: to eat,
shower, take medicines etc. Can one go to work and come back? No, because this
is a “daily activity” so it cannot be part of the ‘itikaaf. A new ‘itikaaf must be
started when one returns.
What about general good activities such as visiting the sick, attending a funeral
etc? Some scholars say that if this was made as a condition before making the
‘itikaaf than it is acceptable but many others say that no, this would break the
‘itikaaf because ‘itikaaf is in the masjid. This is Sheikh Waleed’s opinion.
Imam Zuhri (a great scholar due to the time of Umer bin Abdel-aziz) said about
his time: “I am surprised at how the Muslims have abandoned the ‘itikaaf though
the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) never missed it from the time he came
to Madinah and until he died”
Can one build a tent for themselves in the masjid, effectively isolating themselves
and giving them privacy? This is unnecessary and takes away from others using
the masjid for jumu’ah, prayers etc. You do not have to build something that
physically isolates you from people.
What conditions allow women to come to ‘itikaaf?
1. The wali (husband, father etc) must agree to this
2. It is safe for her
3. The place is suitable because she will sleep, eat and live there for days. During
the time of the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) there were no partitions so
women had to make a tent.
4. Being free of menses or post natal bleeding
Masajid should make preperations for people to come and make ‘itikaaf. Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) ordered Ibrahim and Ismail when they made the ka’bah to
make sure that it is prepared for the people who will come for ‘itikaaf:
What is recommended in making ‘itikaaf for professionals who work regular jobs?
It is a good idea to take time off, especially in the last ten days of Ramadan. If this
is not possible than one should dedicate their weekends from Friday to Monday in
the masjid in ‘itikaaf
What about going to the masjid at Maghrib and leaving at Fajr? This is fine but
each day would be a new ‘itikaaf
When should ‘itikaaf be entered? The majority of scholars said that the Prophet
(sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) entered ‘itikaaf at Maghrib on the night of the 21st
(this means at the iftar time of the 20th fast). In Islam we follow the lunar calender
and so days begin at Maghrib which is the beginning of the night. There is another
weak opinion of the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) entering ‘itikaaf on the
fajr of the 20th.
Further questions on fasting:
Do medications like eye drops break the fast? If this medication goes to the throat
it would break the fast
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim and Ibn Taymiyyah held the view that they would not break
the fast because there is no access to the abdomen but medically and anatomically
speaking this is false.
Ear and eye drops that are used for moisturizing purposes e.g. artificial tears will
not break the fast
How can a fast be made up if one missed them in Ramadan?
One can only miss days of Ramadan for two reasons; 1. Valid (Travelling,
sickness, menses) – in this case the day can be made up,
2. Invalid (E.g. Low emaan) – in this case a major sin has been committed. How
can such a person make up their fast?
Some of the sahaba including Abdullah ibn Mas’ud and hudhayfa said to make it
up one must fast for 3,000 days; 100 days for each day that is missed. They did not
mean this literally but rather meant that no matter how many days you fasted you
will never make up such days where a fardh as missed for no valid reason.
This is the view of ibn Taymiyyah, Sheikh Uthaymeem and a narration from imam
ahmed; that Qadha or making up an act of worship is ordained only for those who
miss an act of worship for a valid reason. They held the view that shari’ah has now
allowed qadha for someone who intentionally abandoned an ibadah. The only
thing left for this person now is repentance and to increase in your voluntary
fasting (similar to Salah where voluntary salah will make up obligatory salah that
is missed).
The majority of the jurists; Hanafi, shafi, maliki and some hanabila insist that one
should still make up these days.
If someone missed a day of fasting in Ramadan for a valid reason, when should it
be made up?
Majority: it must be done before the next Ramadan. ‘Aisha would make up her
days in Sha’baan before the next Ramadan starts.
What if the next Ramadan starts and one did not make up the days from the
previous Ramadan? E.g. a brother has 10 days to make up and there are only 5
days til Ramadan. The person does what they can and makes up the days after
Ramadan.
Ibn Abbass added that the person must feed a meal for each day that was not made
up before the last Ramadan along with making up the days. So in this example 5
days would be made up and 5 people must be fed.
This is the position of the 3 madhaahib - the hanbalis, malikis, shafi’s - as well as
ibn Ummar, Mujahid and Saeed ibn Jubayr as well
Those who said that feeding must be done take a look at the verse:
“…fidyatin to’ami miskeen”
They say that these people should feed and are able to do so, so they should have
to feed
There is another opinion that one does not need to feed but only make up the days
even after the new Ramadan comes and the last Ramadan has not been made up.
This is the opinion of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, Ibrahim an-Nakhe’, Ibn Hazm, Imam
Hasan al-Basri, Hammad ibn abi Suleiman, Abu Hanifa and Imam Bokhari (it is
interested that imam bokhari and imam abu hanifa rarely agree, but this is one case
where they do. Another case of them agreeing is in how they both opine that
zakat’l fitr can be given in the amount of other than food)
What is the ruling of an old person who is not able to fast?
They must feed a meal for each day missed
Can blood samples break the fast?
No
Can a person swim while fasting?
Yes, Imam Sha’bi would go to the hammam (public water pools) while fasting and
he would say, “the Deen is easy”
Can a fasting person use an inhaler for asthma?
Yes. The inhaler medicine goes to the lungs not the stomach
Can a person go to a dentist while fasting while filling?
As long as no water is swallowed in
Can teeth be brushed while fasting?
Yes but one must make sure that they do not swallow the water or toothpaste
What about living in a land where these is constant daylight, or in a land where the
day is very long e.g. 22 hour day?
As long as there is day and night which is clearly distinguishable than one must
fast. One must start fasting and if it becomes difficult than they can break their fast
as a “sick” person and make it up later. The days can be made up even in winter
when the days are a few hours long. For such people in these areas, Ramadan will
be easy in the winter time. This is the beauty of the lunar calendar.
If there is no distinguishable night or day – the area has a constant day or a
constant night – than these people look to the closest country where day and nights
are average (not extreme, like the days being 23 hours). E.g. North Pole will look
at Toronto and the days and nights will be made like Toronto time. The people of
the North pole will thus follow the Fajr and Maghrib time of Toronto. If in the
South Pole, one can look at the timings of Australia or South Africa as these lands
are not far and they have proper days and nights.
This is based on the Prophet’s (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) statement describing
the fitnah of the coming of the Dajjal, where a day on Earth would be like a year,
so when asked by the sahaba on how they would pray the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) replied: Estimate. So we take the ruling that when days
and nights become irregular and the salah cannot be based on them, than we
estimate.
Can vaccination be received while fasting?
Yes
Would IV break the fast?
Yes because it provides nutrition. Any other shot not through the mouth which
does not provide nutrition will not break the fast.
What if a person died and missed days in Ramadan?
If such a person’s sickness that was terminal caused him to break his fast, his
family must feed on his behalf a poor person for each day that was missed. But if
his sickness was not terminal or temporary and he happened to die than nothing
can be done. We do not fast on behalf of others.
Is it allowed for a woman to do itikaaf at home?
The Hanafis say it is preferred for a woman to do it at home, but it is allowed for
her to do it in a masjid as well.
Imam shafi’, hanabila women are allowed to go to the masjid, but in so countries
that follow these masajid there won’t be any women coming to these masajid. This
is due to the culture and not religion.
In countries like Malaysia women frequent the masajid often
Is it allowed to make itikaaf in a large field? Such as in Pakistan where there is a
designated area called ‘itikaaf city?
It could be that there is not enough room in the masjid to accommodate all these
people and there is a fatwa for the specific area only
The current taraweeh practice in Makkah and Madinah?
They pray 23 raka’ah including the witr, this is the hanabila madhab
Would making tents in the masajid not take away from space from regular
prayers?
There must be enough space remaining for the regular prayers. The imam may ask
the people to move over for salah and if not than he may ask them to not make
‘itikaaf
When is absolutely the last time to eat suhoor?
When the adhaan of fajr is called, unless there is something in your hand. In this
case one can finish it quickly.
How do Muslim countries document hilal sighting for other months?
There is a standardized method applied for all months in Muslim countries.
Chicago hilal does the same in North American for every month but don’t
publicize it.
Can one hold the mushaf in their hand to follow the taraweeh?
It is not liked for someone to do so but if they must it won’t invalidate the prayer.
Aisha (ra) would have someone leading the prayer in her house holding the
mushaf. The imam may lead the mushaf and read from it if he isn’t or even if he is
a hafidh. This is narrated from other companions and successors as well who
would read while they were leading the prayer. The majority of jurists have said
that this is ok but sadly in North America we make a big deal of this.
Which country does global moonsighting follow? Saudi?
There is no opinion that says that we follow Makkah and Madinah for global
moonsighting but rather it is any country that has seen the moon. As an example,
last year the moon was seen in Yemen and AMJA followed it.
The Sheikh advises to go with the unity of the community and follow the local
mosque
How did the Prophet (s) pray the 11 raka’ah each night?
There are various narrations, from 2 to 4 raka’ah of nawafil and then 1 to 3 of witr
If making ‘itikaaf when do you end it?
The night before ‘Eid at maghrib is the beginning of ‘Eid and the end of Ramadan
When must the intention be made for the fast of the day?
The intention must exist before fajr
What if a woman’s period ends before fajr but she takes the purity shower after
fajr?
This is a valid day of fasting. But if the period ends even 1 minute after fajr than a
sister may not fast the day.
Can icy-hot patches be applied on the skin while fasting?
Yes
If there is no place for a woman in a masjid, can she do it at home?
No, Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has made it clear that it must be done in a masjid
Can the phone be used as a mushaf to read tahajjud from?
Yes
If one has to pay the fidya of giving food to a poor person for a missed fast, when
must it be done?
It must be done before the next Ramadan begins
What about children in Ramadan?
They are not liable or accountable until they hit puberty but it is a good idea to
train their mindset
What if one cannot remember how many days they missed or broke their fast?
One must be very careful about this. If they do not remember than they estimate
and take the safer side, because fasting extra days is better than not making up the
full days of Ramadan missed
Can mouthwash be used while fasting?
Yes, as long as it is not swallowed
Can a modern day exception be made for surgeons or other professions that are
physically tasked such as construction workers to not fast in Ramadan?
No, but they should start their day fasting and if they begin to feel sick while
working due to their fast they can break the fast by taking the rukhsa of a sick
person. The North American scholars are aware of many surgeons that do fast and
are fine during Ramadan. The same ruling would apply for a professional athlete
because this is their job and livelihood, and they are not necessarily “working” for
fun and games. Again, they are not initially allowed to wake up with the intention
of not fasting. They must begin the fast regularly and if their health deteriorates
than they make up the fast.
Can the mouth and nose be washed when making wudhu while fasting?
It can be taken in but do not let water go into the throat. After the wudhu is
completed and all precautions have been taken, do not worry about the
whisperings of shaytaan who will come to you and give you second thoughts.
Ignore the doubts and do not let them escalate
If a woman has her menses can she enter a prayer area?
No, because she won’t pray but she can enter for a reason such as a lecture and can
sit on a chair
What is considered a meal in feeding a person a meal for a fast that was missed?
It must be a full meal by cultural standards. The more that can be done, the better
it is. Money may be given according to the opinion of ibn taymiyyah, who said
that one must always look for the best interest of the poor persons.
Regarding the hadith of the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) to pray from
isha until the imam finishes to get the reward of the full night, how did it work
with during the time of the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam)? This was
solidified during the time of Ummar since the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-
lam) didn’t establish taraweeh
What is the ruling on people making loud dhikr between the raka’ah of Taraweeh?
This should not be done, it is not from the Sunnah
What if the imam does not stop at taraweeh but then later on leads the tahajjud
prayer and one prays with him?
It is hoped that the person would get the reward of praying two nights inshaAllah
(subhanahu wata’ala)
Does one have to wait for a muedhhin to call the adhaan of Maghrib, what if one is
sure that Maghrib has arrived but the adhaan in the local masjid has not been
called?
One can still break their fast if they are sure, they don’t have to rely on the
muedhhin
CHAPTER TWO: FIQH OF ZAKAH
I. WEALTH IN ISLAM
Think about the following:
1. Is wealth a good or bad thing?
2. What is the relationship between wealth and Islam?
3. How much of my time can I dedicate to becoming rich?
It must be clarified that wealth in Islam is never seen as something negative or
shame-worthy. Wealth in Islam has always been seen as a great need and blessing
that can serve a person well. Simply put, wealth in Islam is viewed as a good
servant and a corrupt master. This is why the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-
lam) said in many ahadith that the real losers are the ones that are enslaved to
money. This is because enslaved to money makes one enslaved to the one who
controls the money. It is important as Muslims that we understand that money
should belong in our hands but never in our hearts, and this is when it would serve
as well. As it is said, “money makes a good slave but a horrible master”
It is very interesting that many of the sahaba were rich. The 10 sahaba that were
promised Jannah were all businessmen and all of them were rich. ‘Aisha narrated
about her father Abu Bakr who was the first khalifah in Islam, “My father was rich
until he became the khalifa.” Today it is unfortunate that the situation is reversed,
Muslim rulers are living lavish lives from the wealth of the masses.
II. THE MLLIONAIRE OR THE MONK?
Imam Sufyaan At-Thawree (a scholar who was known to be an ascetic and who
would constantly remind people of the Hereafter) had a real estate business in that
he owned many properties in Makkah and Madinah which he would rent them out.
He would collect the rent when he would go to Hajj. Because he was a great
ascetic and worshipper, the people asked him how and why he had money. He
gave a very interesting answer: “If it wasn’t for the money, kings and rulers would
treat us like napkins.” Everyone wants to speak on behalf of God, and
governments would use scholars as trash if the scholars became dependent. Sadly
this is happening today and history teaches us that in civilizations this has always
been the case when religious clergy became financially dependent on rulers. But
when the scholars are independent no one can control them.
Islam thus has the beautiful idea of awqaaf or endowment to support the Muslim
scholars, students of knowledge, judges etc. The judges in Muslim countries get
salaries from these endowments and so they are not controlled by governments or
individuals.
Duniya is thus an opportunity and Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) says it very clearly
in the Quran in Surah Qasas:
And seek by means of what Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has given you the
hereafter, but also do not neglect your portion of this world
Thus having the wealth to help you live this world is good.
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said, “the best of the categories of
people on this earth is the one given knowledge and money.” With these two
powerful tools one can do much. The scholars explain that the man has the
knowledge and thus the wisdom and he has the money to make the positive
changes around him.
Similarly, the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) also said, “the best of wealth
is pure wealth in the hands of the righteous person”
Thus wealth in the hands is good thing but it is a problem when it seeps into one’s
heart. Sadly this is becoming more and more of a problem with Muslim shuyookh
and speakers. Once sheikh Waleed invited a speaker to come to his Masjid to
speak. In an email the speaker replied that he would charge a fee for khutbat’l
jumu’ah and then laid out the fee structure for giving a lecture on the Friday and
Saturday night of the weekend. The speaker concluded the email by offering a
“combo” package where for one set high price he would have an unlimited amount
of speaking engagements. This attitude was very troubling because the speaker did
not have a family to support and neither did he have a company that does da’wah
or has expenses. Sheikh Waleed responded with the famous quote of Imam
Ahmed who would say, “It is very hard for me to see men who have the Quran in
their hearts but the duniya has melted their hearts.” Today young students of the
university of Madinah who are still studying and have not graduated are charging
exorbitant fees for lectures, this even though they don’t even have a family to
support. It has become common for a speaker now to charge $10,000 for one
night, often demanding a first class flight with multiple entourage travelers coming
in with them. When it has become so common that the righteous and scholars have
the duniya controlling them, what can we expect from the rest of the community?
We must ensure that we don’t allow the duniya or the love for money and wealth
take over our hearts
There is a simple principle to keep in mind with regards to money: That when it
comes one’s wealth, only two questions will be asked of a Muslim:
1. Where one got it from
2. How they spent it
Taking care of these two aspects with regards to one’s wealth will keep them on
the safe side on the day of Judgement.
As an example a person is hired to fix a car for someone. The person who owns
the car is a drug dealer and all his wealth is from haram sources. For the one hired
to fix the car, his income is halal even though the owner of the car does not
possess halal money. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) will only ask the man who fixed
the car how he got the money and this is through the halal service of fixing the car.
Any wealth that may lead to arrogance and pride in one’s heart is a curse that will
lead to one’s destruction in this life and the Hereafter. Sadly many people have
become rich and have left piety and righteousness. In such cases it is much better
to be poor and righteous than rich and corrupt. There are many people of
knowledge that lost their Akhira in their search of making much money.
III. INTRO TO ZAKAH
Zakah is an important pillar of the shari’ah that became an obligation after the
Hijrah. The ‘ulema debated though on when it was obligated; some said the 2nd
year AH while others said it became obligated in the 4th year AH.
The concept however was made an obligation even at the beginning of Islam in
Makkah. At the time it was not conditioned by time or amount, but rather the
requirement was that a Muslim must give a portion of their wealth for the sake of
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala). It was not restricted to the 8 categories either like it is
today.
This is why Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) said in Surah Mudathir:
When asked what put them into the Hellfire they answered that they were not of
those who fed the poor as a reason.This means that giving zakah and feeding the
people was a must
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) also says in Surah Rum:
This means that to support the needy and traveler is a must. This financial support
was never defined in early Islam. The ayaat in Makkah continue and all mention
how the zakah must be given without specifying what or how much.
Here Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) calls the Muslims to collect the fruits, dates and
yields and give from it. This verse was also revealed in Makkah. Thus the scholars
have said that zakah was always an obligation but no amount or what was
specified.
The next stage i.e. the specific details of Zakah were revealed in either the year 2nd
AH or the year 4th AH.
There is no doubt that zakah was ordained for the best interest of the community
or society. Islam wants the money to be circulated in society; by using the money
that one has in society the Muslim will not have to pay the zakah but hoarding it
for himself will cause the zakah to be due on it. In a business, zakah is not paid on
the materials used such as the machines used to produce goods that are sold, the
building that is rented but rather only on the profit that is made. So money is put
into the market and into the cycle in society. This is a common economic concept
today as well that is critical for the well-being of society.
The shari’ah also wants the rich not to neglect the poor and to help those in need.
But while the poor and needy are taken care of, there are 6 other different
categories that aren’t all necessarily poor. Thus the shari’ah doesn’t just encourage
people to stay home and do nothing to benefit from the zakah but rather to
encourage them to be helpful contributing members in society.
While the Islamic ideal of Zakah is indeed an excellent ideal with many benefits,
in today’s society in North America we need to re-evaluate how we give to the
poor in the community, Ummar ibn Khattab would give the poor so much that he
would make them rich so they didn’t have to come back again to be humiliated.
Ummar ibn Abdel-Aziz would buy houses for widows, single women and women
without income and he would buy a horse or camel for them as well to help them
transport themselves. We have left this ideal today in how we hand out Zakah in
our communities. Sadly today a poor person must return every month and be
humiliated in asking for what is their right. Many though Islamic organizations
have the wealth yet make the poor and needy go through such humiliation. The
goal is to make the poor person sufficient enough so they can sustain themselves
(not necessarily rich but from poor to not poor anymore or so that they are above
the line of poverty) and not have to return. Zakah workers are not trained today
and they only use their own common sense, which is not necessarily correct.
Zakah thus is meant for the poor to help them stand in their feet, not to chain them
to the masajid and Islamic organizations. It is to help them be productive members
of society.
Zakah is also only given on the growing money, starting with the people close to
you. It is so important to start with the people close to you such as your own
family, your neighbors and your community that some scholars do not allow the
zakah to be taken outside of the country. There are local organizations that are
struggling and so we must help them locally first. In Houston, organizations such
as amanah refugee services are doing great work but they need the help from local
Muslims.
Zakah is also unique in that consideration is made for the type of wealth source; in
irrigation for a farm if the resource is natural (i.e. rain) the zakah is 10% but if the
irrigation is man-made it is 5%.
Furthermore, some zakah payments are given every 6 months, some every year
and so on. Because zakah payments are due for different people for different items
at different times of the year, this ensures that the money flows throughout the
year uninterrupted.
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has warned us in the Quran against not giving Zakah,
as he says:
On the Day of Judgement the punishment for those who do not give Zakah is
branding by fire. As harsh as this punishment sounds, this is easy compared to
what the punishment will be in the Hellfire. May Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)
protect us.
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) also says:
What is withheld (in zakah) on the day of judgement will be put on their necks.
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said regarding this that on the Day of
Judgement, anyone who had wealth without zakah being given on it, this wealth
will come as a large snake that will chase him on the plains of the land of
resurrection until it would catch him and squeeze him. When asked what the snake
was and why it was squeezing the man the snake will respond, “I am your wealth
that you kept for yourself without giving Zakah”
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said, “Anyone who has gold and silver
and zakah is not given on it, it will be fire on the day of Judgement that will be
placed on his back and his head, and every time it has cooled it will be reheated.
He will suffer for 50,000 years until Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) finishes the entire
judgement, than Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) will look at him and decide if he goes
to Jannah or the Fire ” (Sahih Muslim)
What does the last part of this hadith mean?
The sahaba and tabi’een debated if the one giving Zakah is a Muslim or not, but
this shows us that the one who does not give Zakah is still a Muslim. The hadith
ends that Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) may give the man Jannah and only a Muslim
can enter Paradise. It is still a major sin regardless to not give Zakah.
But didn’t Abu Bakr fight the murtads (the ones who left Islam) for not paying
their Zakah? The scholars say that they denied the obligation of Zakah, not the
Zakah itself. They did not hold it back out of miserliness, but rather they thought
wrongly and out of ignorance that Zakah was only waajib during the time of the
Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) but not anymore If someone is ignorant or
has a mis-understanding, this is not kufr but something that must be clarified with
knowledge.
In a very interesting hadith that may bring context to the problems of our times,
Abdullah ibn Ummar narrated, “the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) came
to us and said, 5 things muhajireen if they happen – and I ask Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala) to protect you from them -
1. There is no nation or community that does indecent acts in public without being
ashamed unless Allah will test them and punish them with diseases that are not
known and did not exist in the nations before
2. There is no group or nation that cheats in their business unless Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) will make it hard on them and they will have drought (less
money and provisions) and unjust rulers
3. There is no group or nation that will prevent their zakah and hold it back unless
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) will hold back the rain and the only reason He’ll send
it sometimes is because of the animals
4. There is no group or nation that will break Allah’s promises and covenant
unless Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) will bring them an enemy that will take over
their land and community without mercy on them
5. There is no group or nation that will abandon the rulings of the Quran and chose
other methods to rule them or pick and choose from the Quran unless Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) will make them fight one another and divided among
themselves”
Source: Ibn Majah
III. INTRO TO ZAKAH continued
What do the words “Zakah” and “Sadaqah” linguistically mean?
Zakah means purification and blessing. Sadaqah comes from sidq which means
truth because it shows the true character of the Muslim.
The technically definition of Zakah is that it is an obligatory amount one must give
to its rightful recipients (i.e. the 8 categories) of the wealth that has met a specific
condition (of being over the nisaab and having ownership of it for 1 year in cases
of wealth).
The word Zakah has been mentioned in the Quran 30 times, and connected 27
times with Salah. Why are the two mentioned together so frequently in the Quran?
Islam is about two relationships: you and the creator and you and the creation. The
wisdom behind this is that Salah is the connection with the Creator, and Zakah is
the connection with the creation. This is why the two always come together in the
Quran.
People sometimes get confused in differentiating between Sadaqah and Zakah.
Zakah always refers to the obligation while Sadaqah is the voluntary money given.
Often in the Quran and Sunnah the word Sadaqah is equal to the word Zakah, as
an example:
Here the word Sadaqah means Zakah.
But if they come in separate texts with Sadaqah by itself and Zakah by itself,
Sadaqah refers to either the obligation or the voluntary act and Zakah always
means the obligation.
Does Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) have rights over one’s individual money other
than Zakah? Yes according to the strong opinion, an example being to support the
parents and children. As another example, the hanabila said that if the father is
wealthy he is obligated to support his son to get married. The neighbor also has
rights over the Muslim; it is waajib to help them if they are hungry, as the Prophet
(sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said that a Muslim cannot sleep at night while his
neighbor is hungry. Muslims are also obligated to support areas that have suffered
calamities as well. The scholars give the example of a tsunami, such as that which
happened in south-east Asia a few years ago, or the Muslims from Burma that are
currently stuck in the sea. Thus the relatives, neighbors and areas suffering from
calamities are examples where Muslims are obliged to support them, and this
financial duty is in addition to the Zakah that the Muslims already give.
The scholars also debated if Zakah is the right of the poor or not. Many of them
have said it is the right of the poor. This is said because the poor must not feel that
a favor is done for them and so they can feel comfortable receiving the Zakah. In
Islam, utmost care is taking to preserve the dignity of all Muslims regardless of
socio-economic status. Other scholars disagreed and said that this is not the right
of the poor but rather that this is the right of the money that it must be purified.
This led the scholars to debate if an insane person or a child must give Zakah. The
child is not yet held accountable or mukallaf. The scholars have said that because
this is the right of the poor it must be given, and even if not than the wealth must
still be purified so it must be given. The majority of the scholars have thus said
that the Zakah must be given out of the wealth of the children and those insane.
The Zakah is an obligation on the following people:
1. A Muslim
What about non-Muslims living under a Muslim state? They pay the jizyah. The
Zakah upon a Muslim is higher than the jizyah.
Zakah is also not taken from slaves, it is preferred for them to take their money to
free themselves
2. A free person
3. Meeting the Nisaab or the minimum amount that if one has than Zakah is an
obligation upon them
This concept of the Nisaab will be discussed in detail
4. Possession for an entire hijri year i.e. the lunar calendar (not according to the
Gregorian calendar)
Exception: produce (e.g. if you have a farm and it produces twice a year than
Zakah is due twice a year)
Note: “A year” is considered the lunar calendar, and after this 2.5% is due
But if one chooses to follow the Gregorian calendar, the zakah amount must be
adjusted (since the Gregorian calendar is longer) and it will be 2.57%
IV. TYPES OF WEALTH ZAKAH IS OBLIGATORY ON
1. Gold, Silver and Money
In modern days a concept came out that money and currency does not represent
gold and is only considered paper. This is incorrect because it still has value
because it is representing gold and silver. Gold and silver were the previous
currency and indeed today the money has replaced them.
In the previous decades when currency first became popular and was introduced
into society, people would actually weight their paper currency and give the zakah
on the weight and not the financial value. This is completely incorrect.
The process on how cash must be evaluated is that we look at how much the gold
nisaab is worth today in cash.
2. Livestock including camels, cows, buffalos, sheep and goats only
So what other animals such as chickens, rabbits, ostridges? This is treated like
business and the zakah is not based on the number of animals that are possessed.
3. Agriculture; including barley, grains, raisins, dates and similar items
There is no zakah on fruits, vegetables and the scholars have debated if there is
Zakah on honey
It could be 5% if money is spent on the irrigation system and 10% if no money is
spent on the irrigation system
4. Businesses and shares (such as stocks)
There is almost a consensus on zakah being due on this category
Did you know? Almost every computer and mobile phone contains some amount
of silver
Anything that has value but is intangible will not qualify for Zakah. Examples
include a man whose voice is worth a million dollars, a footballer with exceptional
skills, models whose nails are worth much, copyrights. The man is not obligated to
pay Zakah on his voice, the footballer is not obligated to pay Zakah for his skills
and the model is not obligated to pay Zakah for her nails. Only tangible items with
value will have Zakah due for them.
5. The metals of value that are in one’s land that they possess
This refers to metals are naturally found in the Earth. Imam Malik and Shafi’ and
in the modern times Sheikh bin Baz said this includes only gold and silver but not
platinum, copper, diamonds and other metals.
Imam Abu Hanifa argued that no, any metal that can be shaped with fire and has
value will have zakah due on it. Iron will thus have zakah due on it.
Imam Ahmed argued that any metal, liquid or non-liquid with value but is
naturally found in Earth must have zakah due on it. This includes oil.
The Zakah on these items is 20% according to Imam Abu Hanifa and the scholars
have said that this Zakah must specifically must be given for the affairs that
benefit the general public.
Imam Malik and Ahmed disagreed and said that this amount must be 2.5% and
this seems to be the stronger opinion.
Is the Zakah due on money that is acquired via haram methods but meets the
criteria of being above the nisaab and having it possessed for over 1 year? As an
example, should drug dealers, people that sell sheeshah, robbers or people that
make money from interest give Zakah?
Zakah is meant to purify wealth but because this is sourced from a haram manner
it will really never be pure. The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said that
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) is pure and accepts only what is pure. The majority of
scholars said there is no zakah thus.
Imam Abu Hanifa and some hanbalis though countered with a very intelligent
argument that if the scholars said there is no zakah on haram money, than no one
would give it.
Rather they said it must be classified as follows:
1. If the item is haram for itself, such as pigs, wine, alcohol, stolen goods
They said that there is no Zakah on such items
2. If the item is not haram for itself, such as a haram business transaction, selling
drugs, or a gas station selling alcohol and cigarettes
In this case the hanafis and some hanabila said that the minimum to ask them is to
give the Zakah, along with encouraging such people to make repentance.
The scholars said that here we must look at the poor people that will benefit from
the zakah, even if it does not purify the owners’ wealth.
What about the Zakah on debt?
There are two sides; the one who gives and the one who receives the loans
For the one who gives the loan, should he give Zakah?
1. No Zakah must be given
The hanafis are clear on this, that zakah is given only on what there is control over
and they are consistent
2. Zakah must be given if…
The hanabila say the Zakah should be given if one is absolutely sure that the
money will return back to them. But this is not a sound opinion because life is not
guaranteed. The hanafis have the stronger opinion on this.
What if a man marries a woman and gives her the zakah of $100,000. After getting
married though he says that the money that is hers is shared by him so is it is really
“their” money. So the man does not give the money to the women, should it be
due on her? No. So if she does not receive the money than there is no Zakah that
would be due on it
Is Zakah due on 401k?
This is an asset that is not in one’s hand and one does not have access to it without
conditions. There are two opinions regarding 401ks:
1. One must pay the zakah on 401k every year after deducting tax as if one is
claiming it out
2. Give zakah on 401k only when receive it and for one year only
This is the preferred AMJA opinion. Similar to giving a debt to someone else,
there is nothing to guarantee that this money will be received. Furthermore, during
the American recession the entire financial system crashed and 401k lost a lot of
value!
Sheikh Uthaymeem had the same position for Muslims that had retirement plans in
Saudi Arabic, even though Saudi Arabia is a very financially stable country. Even
than he said that there is no zakah given until it is received and at this time only 1
year worth is given in Zakah.
Should those in debt have to pay Zakah?
Some scholars say that those in debt are eligible to receive Zakah but not to have
to pay the Zakah. However the 4 madhaahib have agreed that if this were the case
than most Muslims would not give Zakah. Today even rich people are in debt as
many will take loans to invest.
Rather those in debt are further divided into two types:
1. A person who has to pay his debt and is actively paying it off with the money
that he has
For such a person, he will not have any remaining money in his account because
all his money is going into his debt. For him there is no zakah
2. A person who has to pay his debt and only pays it off with small quantities such
as the minimum payments while withholding the remaining money.
In this case where the man will have extra money in his account, Zakah will be
required for him to pay.
E.g. a man is in debt for $100k and is only paying off $1k per month at a time
though he has more funds, in this case the zakah must be given on the remaining
funds. But if the man chooses to pay the maximum capable debt that can there is
no zakah due on him.
V. ZAKAH ON GOLD, SILVER AND MONEY
The nisaab of Gold is based on 24 karats and the minimum amount is 85g of Gold
(the scholars formulated this based on a long calculation and almost all Muslim
fiqh councils agree on this)
The nisaab of Silver is 595g
What is the value of this today?
As of July 13th 2015: 1g of Gold is equal to $37.90, so the nisaab today is
$3228.03 ($37.90 x 85). So if this amount is possessed for an entire year than
zakah becomes due on it. The zakah on this would be approximately $80
How do we account for the value of Gold fluctuating and not remaining the same?
It does not matter because one must choose a day of the lunar calendar and only
calculate based on that day’s rate.
As an example, on the 10th of Ramadan every year one would look at their
account. If 85g of Gold converted to $3228.03 and if they had this minimum
amount with them for an entire year than they must pay the Zakah of 2.5% on it.
How does one give Zakah on incoming salaries, cash and money?
There are two methods to do this:
1. To see the amount in the bank on a selected lunar day, e.g. 10th of Ramadan
If the amount is over the nisaab on this day than 2.5% is given
If an extra amount is given than what is theoretically due than this extra amount
will be considered as sadaqah
This is the majority and preferred opinion today of most fiqh councils
2. To be on the conservative side, go to the selected day e.g. 10th of Ramadan,
2015/1435
Return to Ramadan 2014/1434 and for each of the 12 months look at each and
every statement from the bank for each month. With this method, look at the
lowest statement balance and this is the amount that the Zakah is due on if it is
over the nisaab. This way we can be sure that this amount was definitely in the
account for 12 months. If in one month the amount is below the nisaab than one
does not pay the Zakah for the entire year.
This is an approximate method and the scholars have said that mistakes would be
forgiven because there is no way to be perfectly precise.
Note: for this method the Gregorian calendar must be used and so the Zakah given
must be 2.57%
What if someone gives the money completely away or transfers it (buys a car or
land) before the date of Zakah to avoid paying the Zakah?
This is between them and Allah (subhanahu wata’ala), though it is not haram.
What if the gold that one has is less than 24 karats?
The following formula was produced by a fiqh council in Kuwait:
The weight of the gold x how many karats it is x how much price is the gold in
grams worth x price of gold for that day x 2.5%
divide this amount by 24
The result is the amount that is given in Zakah for Gold that is not of 24 karat
quality
Important Zakah reminders:
1. See the nisaab of the gold for the specific day of Zakah
2. If using the Gregorian calendar, than the percentage is 2.57%
The nisaab of silver today is approximately $309.04 for 595g. Should the nisaab
than be for the silver amount or for the gold amount?
Every Muslim council of Fiqh today prefers the Gold amount and not the silver
amount.
In traditional books of fiqh there was always a debate: those scholars who said that
silver should be taken take the best interest of the poor people and this is better for
the community. This is because if the nisaab is so low, most people will have to
pay Zakah.
The opposing side of scholars successfully argued that silver is not a stable item
and its value fluctuates up and down rapidly. Secondly the backbone of the
economy is gold and not silver. Thirdly silver is always mixed and it is very hard
to standardize.
VI. ZAKAH ON JEWELLERY
The scholars have said that if it is not gold or silver there is no zakah on it.
Diamonds, platinum, stones will not be due Zakah on thus.
What about on Jewelry that is used for wear?
There are three opinions for jewelry that is used
1. There is Zakah due on jewelry that is commonly used.
This was the opinion of the Ahlul Kufa scholars including Abdullah ibn Mas’ud,
Sufyaan at-Thawree, Imam Abu Hanifa as well as Saeed ibn Jubayr, Saeed ibn
Musayyib and Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn Aas.
Their proofs:
- The general verses in the Quran say that those who possess Gold and Silver and
don’t give it will be burned on the day of Judgement. The Quran and Sunnah
didn’t differentiate between possessing and using it regularly.
- There is proof that for regular wear jewelry zakah must be given:
A woman came to the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) and her daughter had
two thick bracelets of gold, so the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) asked
her, “did you give Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)’s rights over this gold?” and when
she answered that she had not than he asked her if she would like Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) to replace her bracelets with bracelets made of fire, so the
girl took it off her hands immediately. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)’s rights here
clearly means Zakah. This hadith was narrated by Nasai
Once Aisha was able to obtain large rings of gold that she wore for the Prophet
(sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam), so when he saw this he noticed the rings because
they were unique for ‘Aisha, who previously possessed no such jewelry. Aisha
said that she got it only to beautify herself for him. He asked if she had paid Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala)’s rights over this and when she said no he asked her to take
it off.
2. There is no Zakah due on jewelry that is commonly used
This is the view of the majority of scholars including the Shafi’s, Malikis and the
Hanbalis. They stated that there is no zakah on jewelry that is regularly used or is
possessed for use purposes, even if one has jewelry from marriage and is seldom
worn.
Their proofs:
- There is a consistent shari’ah trend that the Zakah is not given for something that
is used. Examples include horses that are rode on or cars that are regularly used,
houses that are lived in, cattle that are used and so on are not given zakah on. The
gold and silver here is used for personal use to beautify and so there must be no
zakah on it.
- It was the opinion of many companions that the zakah of women’s jewelry was
to let her friends borrow it, and among them who said this was Aisha who the
hadith above is narrated on! Aisha did not understand that the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) here was talking about Zakah.
- The ahadith above in fact hinder the Hanafi argument that Zakah would be due
on regularly worn Jewelry; the Zakah of gold and silver is conditional upon the
nisaab and being possessed for 1 year. Aisha narrated in the hadith that she had
just obtained it. The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) didn’t ask how long
she had it for. Further is it really possible that a ring of gold or bracelet of gold can
weigh 85g or over? This is absolutely impossible. If the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) was talking about zakah he would have weighed it and
asked how long they had the jewelry for. This means that the Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) was in fact speaking about something other than Zakah
3. Some Hanabila and Ibn Taymiyyah hold the opinion that the zakah of jewelry
that is used is any amount that is given once in the lifetime
They took this from the two ahadith from the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-
lam) to Aisha and the woman from Yemen. The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-
lam) did not specify any amount at all but just generally spoke to pay Zakah on it.
This opinion combines between the evidences. Sheikh Waleed holds this opinion
Can Zakah be given in the same format or can the value be given? For example is
the zakah for gold going to be 2.5% gold? Must sheep be given for the zakah of
sheep?
The classical opinion is that the scholars have said that it must be the same unit but
later on the scholars said that this may be given in the form of money. This is the
opinion of Imam Ahmed and Abu Hanifa. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) in the
Quran said, “…take from their wealth a sadaqah” and an amount or type was not
specified.
Is there Zakah on white gold?
White gold could mean
1. Platinum, in which case there is no zakah
2. Gold mixed with other metals. In this case the amount of gold must be figured
out by asking the specialists in the jewelry store. To be safe, one can weigh the
entire thing and consider the full amount as being gold and on which the Zakah
will be due
VII. ZAKAH ON BUSINESSES AND SHARES
The correct opinion of the scholars is that businesses do have zakah due on them
and all 4 madhaahib agree on this. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) says in a general
ayah in Surah Dhariyaat
That from their wealth is an amount dedicated to the poor people. Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala) did not specific so this includes all types of wealth including
the businesses that are owned.
The business may choose a specific day of the year every year as their Zakah day.
On this day two things are looked at, 1. The total cash of the business. This is done
after deducting absolutely all expenses, including rent, lease, taxes, debt payments
etc 2. Count the amount of items that are in the store that are there for sale, not
items that are used.
E.g. in a car lot only the cars that are for sale will be counted, not the computer or
office furniture that is used for the business. If in this car lot the cash is $150,000
and the cars are worth $450,000 than the zakah is on these two and will be on
$600,000.
E.g. gas station: here the cash amount in the register plus the amount of gas in
storage to sell is calculated for zakah purposes
E.g. restaurant; cash plus items in the store that will sell and this is on which
Zakah will be due on
For a service based business, only the total cash must be given zakah on since
likely they will not have any tangible items for sale.
E.g. in a clinic no zakah is paid on the technology or equipment but rather only the
items that are sold and money that is made.
Remember that for all of these business the zakah percent due is 2.5%
What about land?
If land is bought and sold for business, than this is like any other business.
What if the land is saved for the kids to grow up for them for their future? The vast
majority of modern day scholars have said that there is no zakah on this, but the
scholars are debating this today, especially in Saudi where many people have
transferred wealth into land which is worth billions of dollars but they do not give
zakah on it. There is no fiqh base to support the concept of zakah on these lands,
though again the scholars are still debating on this.
What about rental properties?
The zakah is given on the money made, not the value of the apartment or house
itself
How is zakah paid on stocks?
Stocks are of two types;
1. Short Term
These are stocks that are bought and sold in the short term. On the specified lunar
calendar date the net amount is looked at, including the value of the stock for that
day specifically, and zakah is paid upon it
2. Long Term
In such cases the stocks are used to make money or profit out of. The majority and
modern day scholars say the zakah is only on the money that is gained from these
stocks
What is the zakah on factories?
The majority of scholars believe that this is like a business; on the specified day
the cash and product (the sale price of it) must be combined and the zakah of 2.5%
is given on this.
Sheikh Qaradawi mentioned that if there is a factory that produces items, 10% in
zakah must be given. This was his Qiyaas based on agricultural products
In 1965, the council of Muslim jurists in the world came together and discussed
this issue. Their fatwa was that of 2.5% only and not 10%
Is it allowed to move the Zakah from one country to another?
In a hadith narrated by Mu’adh bin Jabbal, the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-
lam) instructed to take sadaqah from the rich people’s wealth that will be given to
the poor among them. The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) here is
specifying that the poor of that community are those most deserving.
This is why scholars have debated this issue
Dimaam came to the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) and said, “Your
messenger (i.e. the man who was sent by the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-
lam)) claimed that you should collect zakah from the rich in our community and
return it to the poor in our community” and the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-
lam) affirmed this.
This is why the Hanafi scholars said that it is disliked to move the funds from
Zakah from one area to another unless it is given to relatives or if there is a crisis
in another place where there are people in great need
The Malikis said it is not allowed to move the funds from one’s country unless
there is extreme need or there are relatives that are poor and without support
The Shafi’s made it waajib to give the zakah in one’s locality. If the money is
given to another country while there are people within the local area that are needy
than some shafi’ scholars said that the Zakah that is given outside the country is
invalid (though the majority of shafi’s disagreed with this)
The hanbalis agreed with the shafi’s on their opinion.
A proof that general Zakah can be moved is that the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa
sal-lam) would send people to collect the zakah and they would return it to
Madinah. But the scholars commented that this is for the general Zakah that the
government is responsible for to collect from businesses, farms etc, and not
personal Zakah which is an individual responsibility and the government does no
collect. Based on this the scholars have said that the zakah that can be given to
other countries if it is not the personal zakah
Can Zakah be given to one of the 8 categories or must all 8 be covered?
The majority said that diversifying must be done but the stronger opinion is that it
is ok to do so for one category
VIII. RECIPIENTS OF ZAKAH
Surah Taubah, ayah 60 defines the 8 recipients of Zakah
1. Al Fuqara (poor) and 2. Al Masakeen (needy)
The Faqeer (poor) is the one who does not have enough to pay his basic expenses
and lives below the poverty line. In the previous days, the pay structure was daily
and the poor persons were defined as those who would not have enough to cover
their daily expenses. Today we make the analogy based on the monthly pay rate
that a poor person is someone who cannot make their expenses for the month.
How do we determine the poverty line? We look at social services organizations
and they have defined this to be around $26k per year. Anyone below this is
considered poor.
Those people that can barely cover their expenses are considered Miskeen (needy)
The definition of a needy person can vary from one culture to another but we must
include food, shelter, health and education. Some scholars even considered
owning a house as shelter in the previous days but today most wealthy people do
not even own their houses so today no one considers not owning a property as
poverty.
What if someone is in debt from paying their house, can they be helped? Yes
because this is a legitimate debt
What about someone needing a car for transport and being in debt because of this?
Yes, they may be helped
3. Zakah workers
Zakah workers are also eligible for zakah. The scholars have said that this is
defined and decided by the state.
Can this be applied to today to Islamic organizations (Amanah refugee services,
Islamic relief etc) in our communities? If they work in the zakah and they collect
than they are allowed to do so. The only problem is that there may be abuse of this
if the avenue is opened, so we do recommend the organizations to take their salary
money from the sadaqah and not from zakah. But according to the rules, they are
completely allowed to be given from Zakah
4. Those whose hearts are to be reconciled to faith
This broad category may include a few different types of people:
A. Someone who is not Muslim, and by helping them financially they will come to
Islam
Scholars have said that this must also be in the hands of the one collecting the
zakah, not the individual with their own money.
B. A Muslim struggling with their religion
Such a person may have pressure on them to leave their religion due to financial
reasons.
As an example, in Indonesia missionaries go to Muslim villages and offer them
Christianity in return for much wealth. This is a big fitnah for the Muslims there.
In such cases we can provide zakah to preserve their faith
C. A Non-Muslim who is given money to protect the Muslims from their evil
Such a person is someone given money to keep them happy and away from the
Muslims. Historically this was done in the past. Some Muslims push this concept
to paying lobbying companies from Zakah in politics. Legally this is not allowed
because zakah is collected from non-profit organizations but this is an issue that
needs ijtihaad from the scholars.
5. Slaves who wish to buy their freedom
Slavery does exist today in some countries such as Mauritania
An analogy can be made to this to modern day Muslim prisoners and giving Zakah
money would free them from jail. As an example, someone may have to pay
$1000 for a ticket or serve jail for 1 month but they may have no money. Some
modern day scholars have said yes to such a person receiving Zakah but Sheikh
Waleed’s opinion is that it cannot be accepted until a council of fiqh supports this
idea
6. Those in Debt
People who are in debt are eligible for Zakah as long as the debt is halal such as a
student loan, buying a basic house or a car for a need
7. In the Cause of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)
This category of Zakah eligible people has been historically known to be for those
who fight for the sake of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala). In the previous days the
governments would use Zakah to build armies and pay their salaries, buy weapons
and build defense ministries.
Another traditional opinion is that this includes Hajj as well. Money may be given
to someone who may not necessarily be poor but unable to go for Hajj. The
scholars have debated over this; Imam Abu Hanifa, Shafi and Maliki did not
include hajj in this category but amongst some Hanafi scholars such as Imam
Mohammed ibn Hasan as Shaybani said that this includes hajj because there are
narrations that show that hajj includes this category of the cause of Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala),
Umm Ma’bad narrated that she had a camel that Abu Ma’bad left for the sake of
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala), only to be used for His Sake. Knowing this, after he
passed away she did not use it for Hajj because she thought this was for jihad.
When the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) returned and she told him about
what happened and that she could not come because the camel was not available
for her to perform Hajj due to it being left solely to be used “in the cause of Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala),” The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) informed her
to use it because Hajj is indeed in the path of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala). She did
not know this and was sad about this, so the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-
lam) advised her that when Ramadan comes to make ‘Umrah and this would be
equal to making hajj with him (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam). She narrated that
she was not sure that this hadith was only for her or everyone but this is why many
people make Umrah during Ramadan. This hadith shows that Hajj falls within this
category.
Other sahaba like Anas ibn Malik said that this category includes any causes that
will have general benefit for the Muslims such as building bridges, railroads, water
towers etc.
Can this apply for masajid? Traditional books of fiqh say this cannot be applied to
masajid in Muslim countries.
Jihad can mean many things and cannot be translated just as fighting, as an
example, Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) in the Quran says
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) calls the Quran a Jihad
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) also instructs the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-
lam)
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) did not fight the hypocrites so here the
jihaad against them was to expose their plots, resist their fitnah, debate with them
etc. The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) also did not fight all the
mushrikeen, only the Quraysh to the most part
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) also says:
So Jihad starts with the concept of struggling against oneself. Sadly the extreme
groups have hijacked the definition of Jihad to mean solely fighting, even though
it has always been much more than that.
Thus Jihad for the sake of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) should not be restricted to
the army and defense ministry but it is open to those who give da’wah. This is
why Fiqh councils in the Muslim world have given the fatawa that Zakah money
can be used to support masajid, centers and organizations that will give da’wah
and that will defend the Muslim image in the media and otherwise. WhyIslam,
ICNA, CAIR are thus all eligible for Zakah under this category.
8. The Traveler who runs out of money
Here the traveler may be someone who is extremely rich in their own land but
during their travels they run out of money completely and thus become dependent
on Zakah.
Other issues in Zakah:
Can relatives be given from Zakah?
If the relatives are poor or fit in one of the 8 categories, the relative must be
specified.
Scholars said that anyone other than the one that a person is obligated to
financially support (such as the parents and the wife) can be given money from the
zakah. Imam Abu Hanifa included the husband in this category to prevent the wife
being tricky in that she would give her Zakah money to the husband only to take it
back from him.
Scholars have said that giving Zakah to one’s family is twice the reward because
this is giving the zakah properly and it is also up-keeping the ties of kinship.
Imam Malik allowed giving the Zakah to the parents, but he also said that the
husband cannot give it to the wife.
The shafi’iyyah said that anyone obligated to support cannot receive Zakah
The hanabila did not allow the zakah to be given to the parents, kids or the wife,
but they said that the wife can give it to the husband because she is not obligated
to support him
Imam Ahmed and ibn Taymiyyah add in that you can give your zakah to anyone,
including the parents and the kids, but not the wife.
The evidences:
The scholars of the madhaahib did not allow the Zakah to be given to those who
one is already obligated to support because it may be used as a trick.
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud’s wife came to the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam)
that her husband claimed that the one who deserves the zakah most are her
husband (Abdullah himself) and the kids and asked if this was true. The Prophet
(sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) affirmed and said that the ones deserving the zakah
most are the kids and the husband. This hadith allows the wife to give to the
husband and kids, both of which she is not obligated to support.
Ibn Taymiyyah further argued that the Quran has said, “al-fuqara” without making
a specific exception. The word is very general.
Sheikh Waleed’s opinion is that a person should avoid giving the zakah to their
parents or kids
An important note:
These opinions apply only if the parents and kids are poor or needy, but if they fall
into the other 6 categories then all madhaahib say that the zakah is allowed for
them.
IX. ZAKAT’L FITR
Technical definition: What a person gives at the end of Ramadan as a means of
purification for the mistakes committed during that month. The Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said that this is a purification for the fasting person.
This is an obligation on every Muslim, male or female, young or old, free or slave,
if they can sustain themselves for one day. This amount is approximately 6 pounds
in common staple food defined by what is normal for the culture. A North
American staple would be rice.
Do unborn babies give Zakat’l fitr?
The majority of scholars have said no but if this is given on behalf of the fetus this
is more sadaqah.
When should the Zakat’l fitr be given?
The Hanafis say it can be given starting on the first day of Ramadan. The Shafi’
yyah said it can be even given starting before Ramadan, but it must be given
before Eid. The intention is to purify the Ramadan ibadaat.
The Malikis and Hanabila said that this must be 1-2 days before Eid because the
Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) specifically allowed this and the sahaba
practiced this. The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) ordered it to be given
before the salat’l Eid to make sure that the poor person that day feel rich.
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) gave a khutbah 1-2 days before Eid
and encouraged the giving of Zakat’l fitr.
The Hanabila said that if given >2-3 days earlier it would not be valid, but the
opinion of the other madhaahib and Sheikh Waleed’s opinion is that it would be
and Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) knows best. The hanabila reasoned that it should
not be given earlier because the poor person may consume it and they may not
enjoy their Eid
Who receives Zakat’l Fitr, is it the same 8 categories from the Zakat’l Maal?
The 4 madhaahib say that it can be given to any of the 8 categories but other
scholars specify that it must only be given to the poor and needy. The Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said in the hadith of ibn abbass that this is a food that is
provided to the needy (abi Dawud)
But this evidence is not strong because the Quran is very general and the Prophet
(sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) did not specify that only the needy would benefit
from it but really the other categories could also benefit. The hadith of ibn Abbass
above could mean that the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) was specifying
one category but it does not mean that he excluded the others.
Zakat’l fitr should be given before Eid, but can it be given after Eid?
The 4 madhaahib agree that it can be given until the Maghrib of that day because it
is for that day specifically. As a community we often scrutinize those people who
accidentally delay their Zakat’l fitr until after the ‘Eid prayer. It is not haram so be
easy with the people.
How much can the poor person be given?
One can even give them sufficient to survive years if they please! But really can
give as much as one wants. There is no maximum that is specified.
What is not recommended is how some organizations will keep Zakatl Fitr in their
account without being distributed for years at a time. Other organizations will
keep funds but only give out a minute amount to the needy that is insufficient for
their needs; example having $100,000s++ in their accounts but only giving only a
few hundred.
Is it possible to dictate what a poor person receives? As an example, can it be said
“my Zakat will be paying your tuition for college” or “I’ll pay your rent only…”
Islamically this is not allowed or possible (even though it has become the norm
today in how we treat the poor and needy) and not a single Muslim scholar has
agreed with this in the past. Remember Zakah is the right of the poor and needy.
But what about in giving Sadaqah? In this case yes we can dictate how it’ll be
used.
What if the person wastes it and comes back? Than we must give them money
again because it is their right
But it is also wise to help the poor people in a smart way; suggest to them on how
to improve.
As an example, Let’s assume that brother Ahmed deserves Zakah and approaches
the Imam of the masjid for it. Is the imam obligated to give the zakah to Ahmed?
No. The imam can tell Ahmed that there is a suggested condition to pay off his
debt. As an individual the Imam is not obligated. At the end Ahmed has the right
to accept or not to.
What if Ahmed takes the zakah and decides not to use it for the agreed reason?
Yes, he can change his mind. As an example, he takes the money to pay off his
debt but he chooses it for something else. It is his money so he can do whatever he
wants. Didn’t he lie? Something may have come up later on. The imam cannot
come back and take the money back, remember this is Ahmed’s money! What is
not allowed is to deceive and lie in the beginning. But we must keep in mind that
the sins are separate from other actions in that if Ahmed did lie to receive the
Zakah, that does not nullify his right to receive it. We do not investigate how the
Zakah was used.
Can Zakat’l fitr be given as money and not food?
Scholars who believed that Zakat’l fitr can be given as money include Imam Abu
Hanifa, Imam Bokhari, Imam Sufyaan At Thawree, Umar bin Abdel Aziz, Imam
Ahmed in one narration and Imam Zuhri. Ibn Taymiyyah stated that it is allowed
to give it as money if that is the need and there is more benefit in doing so.
The Imams of the other three madhaahib did not allow money to be given as
Zakat’l Fitr, they opined that the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) specified
that it must be food. They further argued that the ‘udhiyah or qurbani (sacrifice)
for Eid ul ‘Adha is a requirement and it is not allowed to substitute money for the
sacrifice. Similarly, they stated that we must be consistent when it comes to
Zakat’l fitr that money cannot substitute from the actual food items.
This argument is not sound for two reasons:
1. Zakat’l fitr is a form of kaffarah or penalty. Kaffarah is something that makes
up another deficiency or something that was missed, so Zakat’l fitr makes up for
anything missed in Ramadan. Kaffaraat are allowed to be replaced with money.
The nature of the sacrifice in ‘Eid ul ‘Adha is that it is not a kaffarah
2. The food given after Ramadan for Zakat’l fitr is not intended as an act of
‘ibaadah for its essence while the sacrifice that is done for ‘Eid ul ‘Adha is is in
itself an act of worship. The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) regarding this,
“the blood of the sacrifice reaches Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) before it reaches
the ground.” The rice, dates and other staple items that are given for Zakat’l fitr
are not in their essence an ‘ibaadah but the action of giving the item is.
Can a woman give Zakah to her husband?
Yes as long as it is not done out of deception i.e. to give to the husband only to be
able to take it back for personal use.
Can Zakah money be used to build a mosque?
In a Non-Muslim country to support a center giving da’wah yes, otherwise this is
not allowed in a Muslim country
Does Zakat’l fitr need to be paid for a person who died in Ramadan?
Yes
What about the practice of some people to give their Zakah during the month of
Ramadan?
People do it because the month of Ramadan in general is blessed though there is
nothing specific narrated in benefit for giving Zakah in Ramadan
Can an organization that collects Zakah money invest it?
The Muslim council of Fiqh in 1992 issued a fatwa that allows this, but with the
following conditions:
1. In a country, as long as there are no rightful recipients of Zakah that would
suffer from investing the money
2. The investment must be halal
3. The investment must be something that is easy to be liquidated; easy to cash out
if needed
4. The investment must be a safe or low risk investment
5. This has to be done with the permission of the leaders; in our case the head of
the organization or zakah committee
Did you know?
About two-thirds of the world’s population considers rice to be their staple food
X. SADAQAH IN ISLAM
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) is generous and loves generosity, we are encouraged
in the Quran in so many verses to give and spend for his sake. In Surah Baqarah,
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) says:
And again in Surah Baqarah, Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) says:
Indeed, Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) is the Truth and speaks the Truth while
Shaytaan lies. Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) has promised us reward and
forgiveness; do we trust Him? Shaytaan promises poverty and puts fear in the
heart for spending for Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)’s sake.
So what does it mean than when we follow the Shaytaan and don’t follow Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala)? When someone asks you to donate what do we ask
ourselves? Do we believe the Shaytaan more than Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)?
The stingy are those who have given up to the whispers of Shaytaan who has lied
to them by convincing them that donating will make them poor. This is why Imam
Hasan alBasri said, “Those who hold back from sadaqah think evil of Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala)”
But what about those who spend for the sake of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)?
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) says in Surah Baqarah,
It is important to note regarding the concept of sadaqah in Islam that it is is not an
occasional thing! It is consistent and constant.
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said, “Every day two angels come
down from Heaven and one of them says, ‘O Allah! Compensate every person
who spends in Your case’, and the other (angel) says, ‘O Allah! Destroy every
miser’” (Sahih Bokhari) Abu Ayyub as Sakhtiani narrated this hadith and said, “I
would not let a day go without giving sadaqah after hearing this hadith; some days
when I had nothing I would take some crumbs of bread and give it to the ants in
the back of my house and I would tell Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) this is all I have
for this day today!”
Sadaqah in Islam is never about how much you have but rather an attitude
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) encouraged Belal (who was a freed
slave and poor) to give in sadaqah and to not fear poverty. He (sal Allahu‘alayhi
wa sal-lam) also encouraged the women in his society to donate, though women
were not known to be rich. Sadaqah and Zakah thus is not for the most earning
people in the community as well. It starts from every single person in the
community and no one should feel that they are excluded from this excellent act of
‘ibadah.
Sadly the young people today do not feel that they are part of the sadaqah,
thinking that their fathers give but not them. If you don’t learn to give when you
are young and poor you will not give when you are older and rich. Young
professionals that just graduated have much responsibility and worries, but this is
the exact type of people that should give the most. The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi
wa sal-lam) said, “the best sadaqah is when you give fearing poverty and seeing a
long life ahead of you.” He did not say that the best sadaqah is when you don’t
fear poverty and when death is near because you are old.
This is where the sadaqah shows the true character of a Muslim. The person here
is proving their trust in Allah (subhanahu wata’ala). Sheikh Waleed narrates a
story of how he was fundraising at a masjid a few years ago when an Iranian
brother came up to him and told him how he had been saving his entire high
school to buy a car for college. He had just been accepted into University of
Houston and had just bought his car. He said that when he heard the sheikh talking
about fundraising last week, he decided to sell the car and donated the $8,000 that
he received from it the sake of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) for the masjid, Allahu
Akbar. This high school youth spent his high school saving up for the car but did
not possess his car for more than 2 months because he wanted to donate it for the
sake of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)!
Sadaqah is thus is an attitude that you give and give constantly for the sake of
Allah (subhanahu wata’ala) with full trust in His promise of reward and
forgiveness.
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) taught us virtues of Sadaqah in many
different ahadith: that Sadaqah will prevent bad death, Sadaqah heals the sick,
Sadaqah will takes away Allah (subhanahu wata’ala)’s anger the way the water
extinguishes fire, Sadaqah will shade one on the day of Judgement, Sadaqah is a
definite proof (for one’s trust in Allah (subhanahu wata’ala))
Abu Umamah reported that the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said, “O
son of Adam, is it better for you if you spend your surplus (wealth), but if you
withhold it, it is evil for you. There is (however) no reproach for you (if you
withhold means necessary) for a living. And begin (charity) with your dependents;
and the upper hand is better than the lower hand.” (Sahih Muslim)
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) also said: “the believer’s shade on the
Day of Judgement will be his Sadaqah: (Ahmed)
When we look at the best examples of those who were generous, we are inspired
by the stories of the sahaba, tabi’een and the scholars. If we thought that we were
rich in how we give, this is nothing in comparison to how they were in their times.
The successor (tabi’) scholar al-‘Amash said that he was attending a gathering of
Ummar bin Abdel-Aziz who received $20,000 dirhams; Ummar didn’t leave the
gathering until he divided it all to the poor people, and ‘Amash said that whenever
Umar loved a money he would give it all for the sake of Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala), reciting the ayah from Surah ale-‘Imran:
The scholar ibn Qudamah once received a few apricots and this was his favorite
food. He tasted one and it tasted very sweet. As soon as he did this he gave it to
the neighbors, and when asked he said it was for that reason that he loved it so
much so he wanted to give it for the sake of Allah (subhanahu wata’ala).
Al-Layth ibn Sa’ad was a great Egyptian scholar who lived at the time of Imam
Malik and was the teacher of Imam Shafi’ and had his own madhab. Imam Malik
said that he had never seen anyone as generous as Layth ibn Saad. Imam Malik
said he saw Layth once under a shade of tree resting and tired. So Imam Malik
sent him a plate of dates. Layth returned the plate full of gold.
Imam Malik was poor until Layth made him rich towards the end of Imam Malik’s
life. When Imam Malik’s son was getting married in Madinah, he sent a request to
Imam Layth for saffron, a prized commodity that was rare in Madinah. Imam
Layth sent Imam Malik 30 camels loaded with saffron! Imam Malik used some for
himself and sold the rest for around 500 dinar. How much is this amount worth in
American dollars today? Sheikh Waleed calculated this and it is worth around
$140,000 today! This is how Malik became rich towards the end of his life.
What is amazing is that Layth ibn Sa’ad made around 80,000 dinar a year which
converts to around $6 million a year but he never once paid zakah on his income!
He would spend it all towards the end of the year for the sake of Allah (subhanahu
wata’ala). Another one of Layth’s students narrated about him that Imam Layth
would never eat alone, he would always invite the poor to share with him. Another
time Imam Layth heard of a prominent Imam’s house burning down, so he
immediately sent him 1,000 dinars to help the Imam.
The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) himself was described as the pleasant
wind which brings goodness to everything that it touches. It is said about him that
he would never say no in refusing anyone that needed help except when he would
said no one is worthy of worship but Allah (subhanahu wata’ala). The most
generous people in history were his family members.
Ubaydillah ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas was the first man in the history of Islam who
started the concept of having an iftar at the masjid. He would organize long tables
with food for iftar for free at Maghrib in the masjid. Muawiyah the khalifa once
gave Ubaydillah a gift that he had never seen before. The gift included exotic
items from Europe, Africa and Asia. While Ubaydillah’s servant was putting
together these gifts he was extremely impressed by them. Ubaydillah asked if the
servant liked it and when the servant affirmed than he gave the entire gift to the
servant, just asking the servant to wait until they left Damascus so that Muawiyah
would not feel bad. A woman came to Ubaydillah once for help, so he gave her
and kept giving to her until she asked for no more, but he kept giving her until she
told him that he was a waster of money and that israaf is haraam! The servant
asked, “Why didn’t you give her according to her needs?” He replied, “No, I gave
her according to my ability.” Another servant also asked, “if she doesn’t know you
why did you give her so much?” He answered, “Even if she doesn’t know me, I
know myself and what I am capable of giving”
Zaynul Abideen was another man who was rich, ascetic and very generous. He
had a daily routine of secretly feeding 100s of poor families and only when he
died did the people realize this.
Imam Shafi’ was also known for his generosity. A student once told him he that
the student was about to get married at which Imam Shafi’ asked what the mahar
was set as. The student answered that it was 30 dinaar, and Imam Shafi’ asked
how much was left to give? The student said that he already gave 6 dinaar and that
24 dinaar were left. Imam shafi’ took care of the rest of the 24 dinaar. How much
is this converted into American dollars? Around $6,700. It is narrated about Imam
Shafi’ that he never counted how much he gave to the poor; he’d dip his hand into
his sack of money and give a handful without looking at how much. A man
narrated that after Maghrib many poor people coming to imam shafi’ and imam
shafi’ giving and giving handfuls of money without counting. The Prophet (sal
Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) narrated that 7 people are in the shade of Allah
(subhanahu wata’ala), and one of those seven is someone whose right hand
doesn’t know what his left hand does
The concept of Sadaqah is a concept that we must revive in our communities,
especially with the coming of Ramadan. Never get bored with the amount of
people coming to fundraise to you and if you cannot give than at least do not scorn
or complain that they are holding you back.
Sheikh Waleed narrates that an organization once came to his masjid Clear Lake
Islamic center to fundraise. So he sent them a letter thanking them for coming. The
brother from the organization called the sheikh was in tears because that no one
has ever treated them like this before, usually the masajid gave him a hard time
when fundraising. He was thankful that the sheikh respected his feelings. Another
brother called Sheikh Waleed from New Jersey after he moved away from
Houston and said that the thing he missed the most about Houston was Sheikh
Waleed’s masjid where they would often fundraise and for various causes. The
brother missed the opportunity of giving sadaqah constantly.
The early Muslim generation would consider that the poor person would be doing
a favor to them by taking their Sadaqah. This is why they would make the hand of
the poor person higher and they would give from below. Fudayl ibn Iyyadh said a
profound statement, “by giving the poor person charity I am fixing his worldly life
but he is fixing my hereafter. I elevate his status in duniya but he elevates mine in
the hereafter”
This is why Imam Bokhari narrated the hadith in Kitaab al-fitan that the Prophet
(sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said that a day will come when there will be no one
to accept sadaqah. It is actually a fitnah for the Muslims that they cannot practice
their Deen and give sadaqah!
Sadaqah and wisdom are always mentioned together in the religion because one
must be wise in where they donate. The prospect of sadaqah Jaariyah (a
continuous, ongoing charity) must always be considered. As an example, a good
Sadaqah is to invest in the Almaghrib waqf. People will learn, teach and benefit
communities and generations. This is an example of a smart investment. Sadaqah
given to people is also a wise and effective investment. There is an organization
that does free cataract surgeries. They began paying for the education of future
doctors so that the doctors upon graduation will work for the organization in doing
cataract surgeries. Another good example is that of a school or a masjid because so
much good comes out of it.
Is Sadaqah always just about donating wealth? No, there are intangibles in
Sadaqah such as donating one’s time and efforts. The Prophet (s) said that smiling
in the face of one’s brother is also a charity!
What about giving Sadaqah to one’s family? The Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa
sal-lam) said that, “a dirham spent on the family is the best way to spend a
dirham.” Often we give Sadaqah on people far away but neglect about our own
kids and family members. If you have the intention of Sadaqah with your family,
than the Prophet (sal Allahu‘alayhi wa sal-lam) said that this is one of the best
forms of Sadaqah. Buying your family members a computer, treating them to a
family vacation, buying a car to make it easy are all examples of a sadaqah for the
family.
When giving Sadaqah one must retain their adab, never remind others of the favor.
It should be given in secret unless given in public to encourage others. Chose the
purest of your money to give and start with the people close to you always.
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