Part 7 of Preparation for the month of The Glorious Quran article series - Voluntary Fasts15/2/2022 Salaam dear brothers and sisters,
I hope you are well. We are still a few months before the blessed month of Ramadan arrives; my heart is pumping out with excitement. It is good to think about how we can reap the rewards from Allah (The Most High). In Part 5 of the series, we looked at ways of practically complete missed fasts before the month of Ramadan. Many have already completed this last year, some recently completed, some are in process and; others are yet to be complete. However, you may want to consider after completing the missed fasts to continue to voluntary fasting to gear up and train for Ramadan mentally, physically and spiritually. In other words, Body, Mind and Soul. It all comes back to Part 1 Intention, Part 2 Clarity and Part 3 Motivation. It may be hard for some to fast, especially when you have not fasted since last Ramadan and suddenly you want to fast. Try to train your mind that you inshaAllah, you will start and finish the fast. The first day is always the hardest where one may think ‘it too early’, ‘maybe later or ‘I am unsure’ but once you know the benefits of fasting, it becomes a genuine habit. “The way to get started is to quit talking and to start doing.” Walt Disney So think about it, what good reason to fast Ramadan other than it’s a pillar of Islam, seeking reward from Allah (The Most High), knowing how to balance, discipline, strengthen the relationship with Allah (The Most High), and understand how people in poorest countries cannot obtain a grain of rice. Fasting Ramadan is a detoxification process that can remove bad chemicals such as toxins from our bowel, liver, kidneys and the skin itself. Fasting heals the body just like how the words of Allah (The Most High) heal and strengthen our hearts and mind. I am not saying it is easy to fast, but it is worth it. Besides, the advice provided in Part 5 was to TRY to fast on Mondays and Thursdays and the White days (13th,14th,15th) of the lunar calendar and other practical advice. There is an upcoming month that is strongly encouraged to fast which is the month of Shaaban. The respected scholars agree and have suggested that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not fast for all of the month and; there are no records of the exact numbers he fasted. However, what is encouraging is that he was in a habit of fasting when the month of Ramadan arrived with strength and vigour. It is good to note that not everyone can fast the three days of the lunar month, for instance, some of the scholars have stated that due to travel and other activities, the Prophet (peace be upon him) could not observe the three days and postponed them to the month of Shabaan where he made them up. He also made up his missed voluntary prayers or night prayers during the month. In addition, some of the scholars noted that the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) made up their fast in response to the menstruation of the previous Ramadan in Shaaban. Some of the scholars have called it the ‘month of the recitors’ whereby they would devote themselves to reading to Quran [Salamah bin Suhail; Amr bin Qais Al-Mula’i] Many hadiths present evidence of the reward to fast in the blessed month of Shaaban. Below are some of them: Hadith 1 Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to fast until we said: He will not break his fast, and he used not to fast until we said: He will not fast. And I never saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) complete a month of fasting except for Ramadan, and I never saw him fast more in any month than in Shaaban." [Hadith, Al-Bukhari (1868) and Muslim (1156)] Hadith 2 Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah have mercy upon him) narrated: I said: O Messenger of Allah, I do not see you fasting in any month as you fast in Shaban? He said: “That is a month that people neglect between Rajab and Ramadaan, but it is a month in which people’s deeds are taken up to the Lord of the Worlds and I would like my deeds to be taken up when I am fasting.” [Hadith, Al-Nasaa’i (2357)] The respected scholars have explained that the above hadith implies that fasting is like Sunnah prayers and prepares the soul for performing the obligatory action. In other words, Shaaban prepares us for Ramadan. Hadith 3: Usamah bin Zaid (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, I do not see you fasting any month as much as Sha’ban.” He said: “That is a month to which people do not pay much attention, between Rajab and Ramadan. It is a month in which the deeds are taken up to the Lord of the worlds and I like that my deeds be taken up when I am fasting.” [Hadith, Al-Nisai] Hadith 4 It was narrated that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “The month which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) most liked to fast was Sha’ban; indeed, he used to join it to Ramadan.” [Hadith, Al-Nisai, Abi Dawood] Ibn Al-Hanbali (may Allah have mercy upon him): “Fasting Shaban is better than fasting the sacred months, and the best volunteering is that which is close to Ramadan before and after it, and its status in fasting is like the voluntary prayers that are associated with the obligatory prayers before and after it. They complement the lapses of obligatory duties, as well as fasting before and after Ramadan. As these associated Sunnah are better than absolute voluntary prayers, so fasting before and after Ramadan is better than fasting other than that.” [Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali] Isn’t this so motivating, Subhanallah?! “The month of Rajab is the month for planting, the month of Sha’baan is the month of irrigating the crops, and the month of Ramadan is the month of harvesting the crops.” [Abu Bakr Al-Balkhi] References: Islam Q and A Imam Shafi N. Abdul Aziz (2016)
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AuthorThe AFT team have organized a series of weekly inspiration, every Wednesday to help motivate and prepare you for this amazing moment we all yearn for. ArchivesCategories |