In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The Objectives of Fasting (Maqâsid as-Sawm) #1
by Shaykh al-'Izz ibn 'Abdis-Salâm


The obligation of fasting
Allâh, Exalted is He says,
"O you who have faith! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed
for those before you – so that hopefully you will have taqwâ." [al-Baqarah
(THE COW) (2): 183]

Meaning that hopefully you can safeguard yourselves from the Fire through
fasting; fasting is a means to the forgiveness of sins, and sins lead one to
the Fire.
The Two Sahîhs record the hadîth in which the Prophet (sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa
sallam) said,
"Islâm is built upon five: that you worship Allâh and reject the worship of
anything else, to establish the prayer, the giving of zakât, performing
pilgrimage to the House and fasting the month of Ramadân." [This is a
wording of Muslim, Bukhârî has the first sentence as 'that you testify that
none has the right to be worshipped save Allâh']

The virtues of fasting
Fasting carries with it a number of benefits, amongst which are: the
elevation of ones rank, the expiation of sins, the breaking of ones desires
and lusts, the increase of charity, the multiplication of actions of
obedience to Allâh, giving thanks to the One who knows the hidden matters,
and preventing oneself from even contemplating the committing of sin.

The elevation of rank
With regards the elevation of rank, the Messenger of Allâh (sallAllâhu
'alayhi wa sallam) said,
"When Ramadân comes, the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of Hellfire
are locked and the devils are chained." [Bukhârî]

He (sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) also said, relating from His Lord, Mighty
and Magnificent,
"All of the actions of the son of Adam are for him except the fast for that
is for Me and I will reward it. Fasting is protecting shield, so when it is
the day when one of you are fasting, let him not behave or speak indecently;
if someone tries to abuse or fight him, let him say, 'I am fasting'. By the
One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the smell emanating from the
mouth of the one fasting is better with Allâh then the smell of musk. The
one fasting has two time of joy, when he breaks his fast he is happy and
when He meets his Lord he will rejoice at his fasting." [Bukhârî and Muslim]

He (sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) also said,
"Every action that the son of Adam does, [its reward] will be multiplied, a
good deed will be increased tenfold up to seven-hundred fold. Allâh, Mighty
and Magnificent, says, 'except for the fast, for that is for Me and I will
reward it for he left his desires and food for My sake.' " [Muslim]

He (sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said,
"In paradise there is a gate which is called ar-Rayyân through which the
people who fasted will enter on the Day of Judgment, and no one else shall
enter alongside them. It will be asked, 'where are those who fasted?' and
they will walk through it, and upon the entry of the last of them, it will
be locked, and no one else will walk through it."[Bukhârî and Muslim]

In another version the wording is,
"There is in Paradise a gate that is called ar-Rayyân, those who fasted will
be summoned to it and whoever fasted will enter through it, and whoever
enters it will never again experience thirst."[at-Tirmidhî and an-Nasâ'î]

He (sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said,
"When people eat in the presence of a fasting person, the Angels invoke
blessings upon him, until they finish."[Ahmad and at-Tirmidhî]

With regards the'opening of the gates of Paradise', this is a phrase that
points to the increase of actions of obedience that in turn lead to the
opening of the gates of Paradise. 'Locking the gates of the Fire' is a
phrase that points to the decrease, and lack of therewith, of sins which in
turn leads to the locking of the gates of the Fire. 'The chaining of the
devils' is a phrase that points to the termination of their whisperings, and
temptations, to those who are fasting because they give up hope of receiving
a favorable response.
His saying, " All of the actions of the son of Adam are for him except the
fast for that is for Me and I will reward it," fasting has been specifically
adjoined to Him in order to honour it because the hidden nature of fasting
prevents ostentation entering it, and moreover, hunger and thirst are not
used as means to draw closer to any king of this world nor any idol.
His saying, " And I will reward it," even though He rewards all actions of
obedience, this phrase points to the greatness of the reward of fasting.
His saying, " Fasting is a protecting shield " means that fasting serves as
barrier erected between the person and the punishment of Allâh.
His saying, " let him say, 'I am fasting,' " means let him remind himself
that he is fasting so that this would serve to prevent him from repaying
like with like.
His saying, " The smell emanating from the mouth of the one fasting is
better with Allâh then the smell of musk," meaning that the reward for the
smell emanating from the mouth of the fasting person is better with Allâh
than the smell of musk. [This explanation is a point of some difference and
was the cause of a famous debate between ibn as-Salâh and the author, may
Allâh have mercy on both.]
As for the two times of joy, the first is because the one fasting has been
granted the divine accord to complete this act of worship and the second is
because of the reward he will attain when Allâh rewards him.
His saying, " He left his desires and food for My sake " meaning that he
chose the obedience of his Lord over the obedience of the call of his soul,
whoever chooses Allâh, Allâh chooses him. This is why when someone desires
to commit a sin, then leaves committing it for fear of Allâh, He says to the
recording Angels, 'Record it as a good deed, for he only left giving in to
his lusts for My sake.'
With regards their being specified to enter Paradise through the gate of
ar-Rayyân, this specification is because of the greatness of this act of
fasting and its unique character.
With regards the Angels invoking blessings upon the one fasting, in whose
presence food is eaten, this is because on such an occasion he has to exert
himself more in fighting his desire to eat. Their invoking blessings upon
him is a phrase denoting their asking for his forgiveness and mercy to be
bestowed him.

The expiation of sins
With regards the expiation of sins, the Messenger of Allâh (sallAllâhu
'alayhi wa sallam) said,
"One Ramadân to the next serves as an expiation for what is done between
them, so long as the major sins are avoided."[Muslim]

He (sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) also said,
"Whoever fasts the month of Ramadân, out of faith and expectant of reward,
his previous sins will be forgiven him."[Bukhârî and Muslim]

The breaking of ones desires and lusts
Hunger and thirst break the desire to commit sin, it is authentically
reported from him (sallAllâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) that he said,
"O gathering of youth! Whoever can afford it, let him marry for this is
better in aiding one to lower his gaze and preserving the private parts.
Whoever is not able, let him fast for this will diminish his desire."
[Bukhârî and Muslim]

It is mentioned in a hadîth,
“Satan flows through the son of ?dam as does his blood”

so constrain the passages of Satan through hunger.[Bukhârî and Muslim. The
last sentence is the statement of one of the narrators of the hadîth
mistakenly added into the main text.]

Increase of charity
When the one fasting feels the pangs of hunger, he takes this as a reminder
to feed others who are hungry, 'for the only one who feels compassion
towards the lovers is one who has loved.'It has reached us that Sulaymân, or
Yûsuf ('alayhis-salâm) would not eat until all his dependants had first
eaten and when asked why this was so, he said, 'I fear that I would become
full and so forget the hungry.'

Increase of actions of obedience
The one fasting will be reminded of the hunger and thirst that the denizens
of Hell will experience and this will encourage him to obey Allâh so as to
be saved from that fate.

Giving thanks to the One who knows the hidden matters
The one fasting comes to truly appreciate the favours of Allâh, it is only
through knowing hunger and thirst that one truly appreciates satiation and
the quenching of that thirst; it is only when blessings are absent that one
appreciates them more.

Preventing oneself from contemplating sin
When one is full, the soul craves sin and looks longingly at all sorts of
transgression, but when one is hungry, the soul craves food and drink, and
this is the better of the two without doubt. If is for this reason that one
of the Salaf thought fasting to be the best of all actions of worship and
when asked why he replied,
'That Allâh look to me in a state where my soul is fighting me for food and
drink is more beloved to me than Allâh looking at me in a state where my
soul is full and fighting me for sin.'

Fasting has many more benefits, such as refining the mind and strengthening
the body, it is mentioned in a hadîth, " Fast for you will become healthy."
[at-Tabarânî and its isnâd is da'îf]
From the greatness of fasting is that the whoever cause a fasting person to
open fast, he has the same reward as the one who fasted. He (sallAllâhu
'alayhi wa sallam) said,
"Whoever provides food for a person to open the fast, he will have the likes
of his reward, without the reward of the fasting person decreasing in the
slightest." [Ahmad and at-Tirmidhî]

So whoever provides food for thirty six fasting people in one year, it will
be as if he fasted for the whole year. And whoever provides food for many
fasting people with this intention, Allâh will record for him the fasting of
many years. [Because a good deed is multiplied ten-fold]