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13. Fasting Institution of fasting in Islam The primary signification of the word ṣaum is ‘abstaining’, in an absolute sense. In the technical language of the Islamic law, ṣaum and ṣiyām signify fasting or abstaining from food and drink and sexual intercourse from dawn till sunset. The institution of fasting in Islam came after the institution of prayer. It was in Madinah in the second year of Hijrah that fasting was made obligatory, and the month of Ramadan was set apart for this purpose. Before that the Holy Prophet used to fast, as an optional devotion, on the tenth day of the month of Muharram, and he also ordered his followers to fast on that day, it being a fasting day for the Quraish as well.1 The origin of fasting in Islam may thus be traced to the time when the Holy Prophet was still at Makkah; but it was after his move to Madinah that he saw the Jews fasting on the tenth day of Muharram; and being told that Moses had kept a fast on that day in commemoration of the delivery of the Israelites from Pharaoh, he remarked that they (Muslims) were nearer to Moses than the Jews and ordered that day to be observed as a day of fasting.2 In the Holy Quran the subject of fasting is dealt with only in one place, that is, in verses 183 to 188 of the second chapter; though there is mention on other occasions of fasting by way of expiation in certain cases. The first verse on this subject opens with the remark that the institution of fasting is a universal one: “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against evil.” —183 The truth of the statement made here — that fasting “was prescribed for those before you” — is borne out by a reference to religious history. The practice of fasting has been recognized almost universally in all the higher, revealed religions, though the same stress is not laid on it in all, and the forms and motives vary. “Its modes and motives vary considerably according to climate, race, civilization and other circumstances; but it would be difficult to name any religious system of any description in which it is wholly unrecognized.” 3 Present-day Christianity may not attach much value to religious devotions of this sort, but not only did the Founder of Christianity himself keep a fast for forty days and observe fasting on the Day of Atonement like a true Jew, but also commended fasting to his disciples: “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting… But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting.” 4 The early Christians are also spoken of as fasting, and even St. Paul fasted.5 New meaning introduced by Islam In all nations before Islam, fasting was undertaken in times of mourning and afflictions. Among the Jews, generally, fasting was observed as a sign of grief or mourning. Thus, David is mentioned as fasting for seven days during the illness of his infant son;6 and, as a sign of mourning, fasting is mentioned elsewhere.7 Besides the Day of Atonement, which was prescribed by the Mosaic law as a day of fasting,8 various other fast-days came into vogue after the Exile to commemorate certain sad events which had occurred in the downfall of the kingdom of Judah. Thus it was generally some trouble or tragedy of which the memory was kept up by a fast. The fasting by Moses for forty days — which example was later followed by Jesus Christ — seems to be the only exception, and the fast, in this case, was kept preparatory to receiving a revelation. The idea underlying this voluntary suffering in the form of a fast in times of sorrow and affliction seems to have been to propitiate an angry Deity and excite compassion in Him. The idea that fasting was an act of penitence seems gradually to have developed from this as an affliction or calamity was considered to be due to sin, and fasting thus became an outward expression of the change of heart brought about by repentance. It was in Islam that the practice received a highly developed significance. It rejected in toto the idea of appeasing Divine wrath, or exciting Divine compassion through voluntary suffering, and introduced in its place regular and continuous fasting, irrespective of the condition of the individual or the nation, as a means, like prayer, to the development of the human inner faculties. Though the Holy Quran speaks of expiatory or compensatory fasts in certain cases of violation of the Divine law, yet these are quite distinct from the obligatory fasting in the month of Ramadan, and are mentioned only as an alternative to an act of charity, such as the feeding of the poor or freeing of a slave. Fasting, as an institution, is here made a spiritual, moral and physical discipline of the highest order, and this is made clear by changing both the form and the motive. By making the institution permanent, all ideas of distress, affliction and sin are dissociated from it, while its true object is made plain in the verse quoted earlier, which is “that you may guard against evil (tattaqūn)”.9 The Arabic word used here indicates the guarding of self against that of which the evil consequences may be feared.10 But besides this, the word has been freely used in the Quran in the sense of fulfilment of duties and obligations. In fact, in the language of the Quran, to be a muttaqī, which is another form of the same word and means “one who guards against evil”, is to attain to the highest stage of spiritual development. Allah is called their friend, and it is said that He loves them and is with them; 11 for them is “the good end” and “an excellent destination”.12 These and numerous similar passages show clearly that the muttaqī, according to the Quran, is the one who has attained to the highest stage of spiritual development. And as the object of fasting is to be a muttaqī, the conclusion is evident that the Quran enjoins fasting with the object of making a person ascend the spiritual heights. Fasting, according to Islam, is primarily a spiritual discipline. On two occasions in the Holy Quran those who fast are called sā’iḥ,13 or spiritual travellers; and according to one authority, when a person refrains, not only from food and drink but from all kinds of evil, he is called a sā’iḥ.14 While speaking of Ramadan, the month in which fasting is ordained, the Quran specially refers to nearness to God, as if its attainment were an aim in fasting: “And when My servants ask you [O Prophet] concerning Me, surely I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls on Me, so they should hear My call [by fasting] and believe in Me, that they may walk in the right way [or, find the way to Me].” — 186 In Hadith too, special stress is laid on the fact that the seeking of Divine pleasure should be the ultimate object in fasting: “Whoever fasts during Ramadan, having faith [in Allah] and seeking His pleasure…” 15 “… he refrains from food and drink and other desires to seek My pleasure: fasting is for Me only.” 16 No temptation is greater than the temptation of satisfying one’s thirst and hunger when drink and food are in one’s possession, yet this temptation is overcome not once or twice, as if it were by chance, but day after day regularly for a whole month, with a set purpose of drawing closer and closer to the Divine Being. A person can avail himself of food and drink, yet he prefers to remain hungry and parching with thirst; he touches neither food nor drink, simply because he thinks that it is the commandment of God that he should not do so. There is none to see him if he ate or drank, yet there has developed in him the sense of the nearness to God to such an extent that he would not do so. Whenever a new temptation comes before him, he overcomes it, because there is an inner voice, “God is with me,” “God sees me”. The Divine presence becomes a reality for him, and this is made possible by the spiritual discipline underlying fasting. A new consciousness of a higher life, a life above that which is maintained by eating and drinking, has been awakened in him, and this is the life spiritual. A moral discipline There is also a moral discipline underlying fasting, for it is the training ground where man is taught the greatest moral lesson of his life — the lesson that he should be prepared to suffer the greatest privation and undergo the hardest trial rather than indulge in that which is not permitted to him. That lesson is repeated from day to day for a whole month, and just as physical exercise strengthens man physically, moral exercise through fasting, the exercise of abstaining from everything that is not allowed, strengthens the moral side of his life. Another aspect of human moral development by this means is that he is thus taught to conquer his physical desires. He takes his food at regular intervals and that is no doubt a desirable rule of life, but fasting for one month in the year teaches him the higher lesson that, instead of being the slave of his appetites and desires, he should be their master, being able to change the course of his life if he so wills it. The person who is able to rule his desires is the one who has attained to true moral greatness. Social value of fasting In addition to its spiritual and moral values, fasting as prescribed in the Holy Quran has also a social value, more effective than that which is realized through prayer. The commencement of the month of Ramadan is a signal for a mass movement towards equality which is not limited to one vicinity or even one country but affects the whole Muslim world. The rich and the poor may stand shoulder to shoulder in one row in the mosque, but in their homes they live in different environments. The rich sit down on tables laden with dainties, while the poor cannot find sufficient food with which to satisfy their hunger even twice a day. The latter often feel the pangs of hunger to which the former are utter strangers. A great social barrier thus exists between them in their homes, and this barrier is removed only when the rich are made to feel the pangs of hunger like their poorer brethren and go without food throughout the day, and this experience has to be gone through, not for a day or two, but for a whole month. They have perforce to come closer to their poorer brethren. This is why the helping of the poor is specially enjoined in the month of Ramadan. Physical value of fasting Refraining from food during stated intervals does no physical harm to a healthy person. On the contrary, the rest given to the digestive organs for a whole month only gives them additional strength, like fallow ground which, by rest, becomes more productive. But fasting has yet another, and a more important, physical value. The person who cannot face the hardships of life, who is not able to live, at times, without his usual comforts, cannot be said to be even physically fit for life on this earth. Fasting accustoms him to face the hardships of life, being in itself a practical lesson to that end, and increases his powers of resistance. With some exceptions, which will be mentioned later on, Muslims are required to fast for the 29 or 30 days of the month of Ramadan. The exact number depends on the lunar month which is either 29 or 30 days. Fasting commences with the new moon of Ramadan and ends on the new moon of the next month, Shawwal. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: “We are a people who neither write nor do we keep account; the month is thus and thus, showing [by his fingers] once twenty-nine and again thirty.” 17 “Do not fast until you see the new moon and do not break fasting until you see it [again], and if it is cloudy, calculate its appearance.” 18 Another hadith says that if it is cloudy, thirty days should be completed.19 To begin and end by the actual appearance of the new moon was the easier method for a people who did not know writing and did not keep account, as stated in the first hadith quoted above. The second hadith quoted above allows that the appearance of the moon may be judged by computation. Choice of Ramadan The injunction laid down in the Holy Quran, relating to fasting in the month of Ramadan, runs as follows: “The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance to people and clear proofs of guidance and the Criterion. So whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast in it.” — 185 This particular month has been chosen for fasting because it is the month in which the Quran was revealed. It is well-known that the Quran was revealed piecemeal during a period of twenty-three years; therefore by its revelation in the month of Ramadan is meant that its revelation first began in that month. The first revelation came to the Holy Prophet during one of the nights of the month of Ramadan when he was in the cave of Hira, being the 24th of Ramadan according to some.20 The month which witnessed the greatest spiritual experience of the Holy Prophet was thus considered to be the most suitable month for the spiritual discipline of the Muslim community, which was to be effected through fasting. If a particular time had not been specified the discipline would have lost all its value. It is due to the choice of a particular month that with its advent the whole Muslim world is, as it were, moved by one current from one end to the other. All sections of Muslim society, from one end of the earth to the other, suddenly change the course of their lives when Ramadan begins. There is no other example of a mass movement on this scale on the face of the earth, and this is due to the specification of a particular month. People who are exempted from fasting are specially mentioned either in the Holy Quran or in the Hadith. The Quran mentions the sick and those on journey in the following words: “But whoever among you is sick or on a journey, [he shall fast] a like number of other days. And those who find it extremely hard21 may effect redemption by feeding a poor one.” — 184 This is not an absolute exemption for the sick one and the traveller; they are required to fast afterwards, when the sickness has gone or when the journey ends, but there may be cases of protracted illness or constant journeying, and such people are allowed to effect a redemption by feeding a poor person for every fast missed. Hadith makes a further extension and gives relaxation to certain classes of people who, on account of some physical disability, are not able to fast; for example, those who are old, pregnant women, and women suckling a child, who should feed a poor person instead.22 It will be seen that the underlying idea is that a burden should not be placed on anyone, which he or she is unable to bear. The case of old people who have become enfeebled by age is very clear, while in the case of pregnant and nursing women the permission to effect a redemption is due to the fact that fasting may cause harm to the unborn baby, or the baby that is being nursed, as well as to the woman herself; and as she is likely to remain in this condition for a sufficiently long time, she is given the benefit of the relaxation. Sickly people and those who are too weak to bear the burden would be dealt with as sick. Ibn Taimiyah further extends the principle that the fast may be deferred in cases of hardship, and holds that those engaged in war may not fast, though they may not be journeying, for, he adds, the hardships of war are greater than the hardships of travel.23 From this it may be argued that, in unavoidable cases of very hard labour, as in gathering the harvest, the choice of postponing the fast may be given to those who are engaged in such labour. To define the limits of sickness or travel is rather difficult. There is an opinion that whatever the ailment, great or small, it entitled a person to the benefit of the exception.24 But generally it has been held that only such sickness as is likely to cause harm comes under the exception. As regards travel, there is nothing on record from the Holy Prophet as to its limit. It has been held that the proposed journey must be one that extends over more than a day, i.e., twenty-four hours; according to others, it must extend over two days; and still others think it necessary that it should extend over three days at least. But when the journey is actually started, the fast may be broken, whatever the distance travelled over may be. The exception relating to sickness and travel may be interpreted as meaning a sickness or journey which causes inconvenience to the subject of it, as the exception is followed by the words: “Allah desires ease for you, and He does not desire hardship for you” (185). The sick person and the traveller have the option of keeping the fast if they do not find it hard, since if the fasts are broken the number of days must be completed afterwards when the sickness or the journey is over. The permissive nature of the words of the Quran is reflected in many of the most reliable Hadith reports. There are reports showing that the Holy Prophet himself kept a fast while on a journey.25 In one hadith it is stated that on a certain journey on a very hot day, only the Prophet and one other man kept the fast.26 When questioned by a person whether he should or should not break the fast when on a journey, his own inclination being for fasting, the Holy Prophet replied: “Keep the fast if you like, and break it if you like”.27 When people travelled with the Holy Prophet, those who kept the fast did not find fault with those who broke it, nor did those who broke the fast find fault with those who kept it.28 There is no doubt a saying of the Holy Prophet to the effect that “it is not a virtue to fast when journeying,” but these words were spoken to a person who was in severe distress on account of the fast, and around whom people had gathered to provide shade for him from the heat.29 Who is bound to fast? The commandments of the Holy Quran are meant for those who are full-grown, and so is the injunction relating to fasts. According to Imam Malik, minors should not fast, but the Caliph Umar is quoted as saying: “Even our children are fasting”.30 The object may have been to habituate the children to fasting. From what has been stated above, it would further appear that only such people are bound to fast as are physically fit. Women are bound to fast if they are free from menstruation,31 but they must make good the fasts not kept due to periods and complete the missed number after Ramadan. The bleeding of childbirth is considered as menstruation with this difference, that if the mother is nursing the baby, she can effect a redemption by feeding a poor person. In all cases in which fasts have to be recovered, a person is at liberty to do it when he or she likes, before the coming of the next Ramadan.32 In all the four principal ordinances of Islam — prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage — there is an obligatory part farḍ) and a voluntary part (nafl). But there are some restrictions imposed on voluntary fasting. According to a hadith, what the Holy Prophet recommended to a person, who was intending to undertake voluntary fasting everyday, was voluntary fasting for three days in the month, or at the very most, on that man’s insistence, every other day, but on no account should the voluntary fast be continuous. There are Hadith reports in which it is stated that the Holy Prophet especially recommended for voluntary fasting certain days of certain months, or the 13th, 14th and 15th of the lunar month, etc.,33 but his own practice was that he never specified any particular day or days for voluntary fasting, as the following hadith shows: “Aishah was asked: Did the Messenger of Allah, may peace and the blessings of Allah be on him, specify any days [for fasting]. She said: No.” 34 Voluntary fasting is particularly prohibited on the two ‘Īd days.35 It is also forbidden that Friday should be specially chosen for voluntary fasting.36 Nor should a day or two before Ramadan be specially selected.37 Other restrictions are that it should not be resorted to if it is likely to interfere with other duties. There is no asceticism in Islam, and no one is allowed to go to the length of neglecting his worldly duties for the sake of religious exercises. Religion is meant to enable one to live a better life, and voluntary fasting should be undertaken only if the aim is to achieve this objective. This is made clear in the story of a husband and wife and their guest. The husband used to fast and pray excessively and neglect his wife. When the meal was served, the husband refused to eat because he was fasting. The guest said he would not eat unless his host also ate, so the husband broke the fast. Later the guest restrained him from excessive praying at night, and told him: “You owe a duty to your Lord, and you owe a duty to yourself, and you owe a duty to your wife and children.” When this was mentioned to the Holy Prophet, he approved of it.38 Here the husband was forbidden to fast for the sake of his wife and guest. Similarly the wife should not resort to voluntary fasting without the permission of her husband.39 And as the host in the story cited above broke the fast on account of his guest, there is a hadith that the guest should not undertake a voluntary fast without the permission of the host.40 The limits of a fast are clearly laid down in the Holy Quran: “And eat and drink until the whiteness of the day becomes distinct from the blackness of the night at dawn, then complete the fast till nightfall.” — 187 The “night” begins when the sun sets, and hence the fast in the terminology of Islam is kept from the first appearance of dawn, which is generally about an hour and a half before sunrise, till sunset. Continuing the fast throughout the night and then the next day, so that there is no break, is definitely prohibited.41 But one hadith permits continuity of fast till daybreak.42 This would mean that one may not, if one chooses, break the fast at sunset but must take the morning meal for fasting for the next day; in other words, one must take a meal at least once in twenty-four hours. It appears, however, that the Holy Prophet himself sometimes kept a continuous fast;43 but, for how many days, is not definitely known. When he was asked why he forbade it to others, when he himself kept continuous fasts, he replied: “I pass the night while my Lord gives me food and makes me drink.” 44 He referred of course to the spiritual food which sometimes makes a man bear hunger and thirst in an extraordinary way, thus, in a sense, taking the place of food and drink. But everyone had not the same spiritual sustenance, and, moreover, continuity of fast, if allowed generally, would have given rise to ascetic practices which Islam does not encourage. Though the taking of a morning meal is not made obligatory, yet special stress is laid on it, and it is said to be a source of blessing, because it enables a person the better to cope with the hardship of the fast. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: “Take the morning meal, for there is blessing in the morning meal (suḥūr).” 45 This meal was taken very near the break of dawn. One Companion relates that, after taking the morning meal, he hastened to the mosque so that he might be able to join the morning prayer. Another says that the interval between the finishing of the morning meal and the beginning of prayer in congregation was such that hardly fifty verses could be recited in it.46 It is even recommended that the morning meal should be taken as near the break of dawn as possible.47 And even if the call to prayer for Fajr prayers is sounded when the dawn has fully appeared, and you have a cup in your hand ready to drink, you need not put it away and may drink it up.48 As it is recommended in the case of the morning meal that it should be as late as possible, it is recommended that the breaking of the fast should be as early as possible. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that when the sun is set, the fast should be broken, and according to another hadith: “People will have the good so long as they hasten in breaking the fast.” 49 Some wait to break the fast till they see the stars, thinking that the night does not set in till darkness is spread, but there is no authority for this. An important question arises here regarding countries in which the days are sometimes very long, where it would be beyond the power of ordinary people to abstain from food and drink from the breaking of the dawn to sunset. There is a report according to which the Companions of the Holy Prophet are related to have asked him about their prayers in a day which extended to a year or a month, and the Prophet is related to have answered that they should measure according to the measure of their days.50 From this it would follow that in countries where the days in the summer are too long the time of fasting may be measured in accordance with the length of an ordinary day, or where practicable postpone the fasts to shorter days of about normal length.51 A good deal of misunderstanding prevails on the question of niyyah in the observance of fasts. The niyyah really means intention, aim or purpose in the doing of a thing; but it is wrongly supposed that the niyyah consists in the repetition of certain words stating that one intends to do so and so. Bukhari shows the true significance of niyyah when he gives as the heading to one of his chapters: “He who fasts during Ramadan having faith [in Allah] and seeking His pleasure and having an aim or purpose (niyyah)”.52 And he adds a portion of a hadith in which it is stated that “people will be raised up [on the Day of Judgment] according to their aims (‘alā niyyati-him)”. The very first hadith with which Bukhari opens his Hadith collection is an example of what niyyah means: “[Good] actions shall be judged only by their aims”. The example of actions given there is hijrah, the flight of a person for the sake of his principles which is an action of the highest value, but as the report tells us, if the hijrah is undertaken with a bad aim in view, for worldly purposes, it loses all its value. Hence if a good action is done with a bad aim, it shall not benefit the doer. Exactly the same object is in view in the statement that there must be a niyyah in fasting, as Bukhari says; that is, the one who fasts must have an aim or purpose before him. The aim or purpose of fasting has already been stated, being, according to the Quran, to make the fast a spiritual discipline, to attain nearness to God and to seek His pleasure in all one’s actions, and to make it a moral discipline, to shun all evil. It is in this sense alone that the niyyah is of the essence of fasting, as it is in fact of the essence of all good actions. “Formulating the niyyah”, or the expression of one’s intention in set words, is unknown to the Holy Quran and the Hadith. Only in the case of voluntary fasting, instances are reported in Hadith of making up the mind in daytime to fast, when nothing had been eaten up to that time, which is understandable. But there is no question of such intention in the month of Ramadan, when people know that they must fast. The three things which a person should abstain from in fasting being eating, drinking and having sexual intercourse, these three, if resorted to of free will and intentionally, between daybreak and sunset, would break the fast, but if done through forgetfulness or inadvertently, the fast remains and must be completed.53 Rinsing the mouth with water or with a toothbrush, gargling or sniffing the water into the nostrils, even if a little water passes into the throat unintentionally, does not break the fast.54 Nor does taking a bath or keeping a wet cloth on the head or pouring water on the head break the fast, even though done intentionally to relieve the severity of thirst.55 Vomiting also does not break the fast, for a fast is broken by that which goes into the body, not by that which comes out.56 It is also related that the Holy Prophet would kiss his wife when fasting.57 There is a difference of opinion regarding the punishment for breaking a fast intentionally before its time. The Holy Quran is silent on this point, while Hadith only shows that it is sufficient that the violator should be sincerely repentant.58 If fast is broken on a cloudy day, under the impression that the sun has set, and the sun then appears, then the fast should be completed.59 If one is fasting and then undertakes a journey, the fast may be broken.60 The same rule may be followed in the case of sickness. In the case of voluntary fast, a person is at liberty to break the fast on account of a guest or the persistence of a friend.61 Ethical, moral and spiritual side of fasting What has been said hitherto relates only to the external side of the fast but, as stated in the beginning, the essence of the fast is its moral and spiritual value, and the Holy Quran and Hadith have laid special stress on this. One hadith says: “Whoever does not give up lying and acting falsely, Allah does not stand in need of his giving up food and drink.” 62 This is true of all the Islamic injunctions. One who says his prayers and does not keep in view their inner meaning, the object of prayer, is condemned in clear words: “So woe to the praying ones, who are unmindful of [the object o] their prayers”. — 104–5 In another hadith, the ethical side of the fast is shown in the following words: “Fasting is a shield, so let the one who fasts not indulge in any foul speech or do any evil deed, and if anyone fights or quarrels with him or abuses him, he should say, I am fasting. By Him Who holds my soul in His hand, the breath of the faster is more pleasant with Allah than the scent of musk.” 63 It is not refraining from food that makes the breath of the faster so sweet; it is refraining from foul speech and abuse and evil words and deeds of all kinds, so much so that he does not utter an offensive word even by way of retaliation. Thus a fasting person undergoes not only a physical discipline by curbing his carnal desires, the craving for food and drink, and the sex appetite, but he is actually required to undergo a direct moral discipline by avoiding all kinds of evil words and evil deeds. In the sight of God, as plainly stated in these Hadith reports, the fast loses its value not only by taking food or drink but also by telling a lie, using foul language, acting unfaithfully, or doing an evil deed. The moral value of the fasting discipline is further enhanced by laying stress on the doing of good to humanity in the month of Ramadan. The example of the Holy Prophet is quoted in this connection in a hadith: “The Prophet, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, was the most bountiful of all people, and he exceeded his own bounty in the month of Ramadan.” 64 Another hadith describes the month of Ramadan as “a month in which the sufferings of the poor and the hungry must be attended to”.65 These injunctions make clear the significance of the hadith which says that, when the month of Ramadan commences, “the doors of Heaven are opened and the doors of Hell are closed and the devils are put into chains”.66 The devils are chained for the one who keeps the fast because he curbs and conquers the lower passions, by exciting which the devil makes a person fall into evil. The doors of Hell are closed on him because he shuns all evil which is man’s hell. The doors of Heaven are opened for him because he rises above physical desires and devotes himself to the service of humanity. In one hadith, fasting is described as bringing about a forgiveness of sins “for one who fasts in Ramadan having faith [in Allah] and seeking His pleasure” and having an aim or purpose.67 There is not the least doubt that fasting, as qualified here, that is, when it is kept having true faith in God and when the person fasting resorts to it as a discipline for seeking the pleasure of God, is practical repentance of the highest value; and when a person sincerely repents of sins, his previous sins are forgiven, because the course of his life has been changed. There is, however, yet another sense in which the doors of Heaven are opened to a fasting person in the month of Ramadan. It is specially suited for spiritual advancement, for attaining nearness to God. Speaking of Ramadan, the Holy Quran says: “And when My servants ask you concerning Me, surely I am near; I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls on Me…” — 186 The ways of attaining nearness to God are here spoken of as being specially opened in Ramadan, and this nearness is to be sought through prayer. It is for this reason that the Holy Prophet used to have special regard for Tahajjud prayers in the month of Ramadan. And he also recommended that his followers should, during this month, rise at night for prayers.68 I‘tikāf means literally ‘to stay in a place’; technically it is staying in a mosque for a certain number of days, especially the last ten days of the month of Ramadan. An i‘tikāf may be performed in other days,69 but the last ten days of Ramadan are specially mentioned in Hadith and i‘tikāf is spoken of in the Holy Quran in connection with Ramadan.70 Bukhari has devoted a whole book to i‘tikāf, showing the practice of the Holy Prophet in this connection. During these days, the person who enters the state of i‘tikāf dissociates himself from all worldly affairs, and he does not leave the mosque unless there is necessity, such as evacuation, or having a bath, etc.71 Women are also allowed to enter a state of i‘tikāf.72 The person in i‘tikāf may be visited by other people.73 One of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan is called Lailat al-Qadr, the night of grandeur or majesty. In the Holy Quran, it is spoken of in two places: “Surely We revealed it on Lailat al-Qadr. And what will make you comprehend what Lailat al-Qadr is? Lailat al-Qadr is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend in it by the permission of their Lord — for every affair — Peace! it is till the rising of the morning.” — chapter 97. Here this night is spoken of as the night in which the Quran was revealed, and it is further stated that it is the night on which angels and the Spirit descend. It is also mentioned in ch. 44 where it is called “a blessed night” (lailat-in mubārakat-in): “By the Book that makes manifest [the truth]! We revealed it on a blessed night — truly We are ever-warning. Therein is made clear every affair full of wisdom”. — 45 It will be seen that, in both places, the Holy Quran is spoken of as having been revealed on this night, and in 185 it is stated that the Quran was revealed in the month of Ramadan, which shows that this night occurs in the month of Ramadan. The revelation of the Quran on this night means that its revelation began on that night; in other words, the first revelation came to the Holy Prophet on this night. It is called a blessed night or the grand night because in it was laid the basis of a new revelation to the world which contains every matter full of wisdom and knowledge. Lailat al-Qadr is, therefore, as it were, the anniversary of the revelation of the Quran. As shown above, the last ten days of Ramadan are specially observed as days of devotion, so much so that, though Islam discourages asceticism, yet in these ten days, a Muslim is allowed to lead an ascetic life, by keeping himself to the mosque and giving up all worldly affairs. There are various Hadith reports showing that Muslims should look for this night as one of the odd nights in the last ten nights of Ramadan or in the last seven nights.74 According to some reports it is the twenty-fifth or twenty-seventh or twenty-ninth night of Ramadan. One hadith says that some of the Companions of the Holy Prophet were shown Lailat al-Qadr in their dreams in the last seven nights.75 It should be borne in mind that Lailat al-Qadr is a spiritual experience, as it was the spiritual, not the physical, experience of the Holy Prophet, and as the hadith mentioned just above shows, it was the spiritual experience of the Companions, and therefore it is an error to think that it can be observed as a physical experience, or that any physical change is witnessed on that night. It is the spiritual experience of the one who exerts himself in Ramadan to seek nearness to the Divine Being. Go to: List of Contents • Previous / Next (14. Pilgrimage)
Notes to Chapter 13
1. Bukhari, book 30: ‘Fasting’, ch. 1, h. 1892–1893. 2. Ibid., ch. 69, h. 2004. 3. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, art. Fasting. 4. Matthew, 118. See also Luke, 335 on this subject. 5. Acts, 13, 123. 2 Cor., 5, 127. 6. 2 Samuel, 1118. 7. For example, 1 Samuel, 313. 8. Leviticus, 129. 9. The Quran, 183. 10. Raghib’s Mufradāt. 11. The Quran, 419, 76, 4, 7, 194, 36, 123. 12. The Quran, 7:128, 11:49, 28:83, 38:49. 13. The Quran, 112, 65. 14. Raghib’s Mufradāt. 15. Bukhari, book 2: ‘Faith’, ch. 28, h. 38. 16. Bukhari, book 30: ‘Fasting’, ch. 2, h. 1894. 17. Ibid., ch. 13, h. 1913. 18. Ibid., ch. 11, h. 1906. Muslim, book 13: ‘Fasting’, ch. 2, h. 1080a (DS: h. 2498). 19. Bukhari, book 30, ch. 11, h. 1907. 20. Ibn Jarir Tabari’s Commentary of the Quran, under 185. Editor’s Note: By 24th may be meant the night following the 24th, i.e., the 25th night. 21. The Arabic word is yuṭīqūna-hū, which is generally interpreted as meaning those who are able to do it. If this interpretation is adopted, the significance would be that invalids and travellers may either fast afterwards when they are not under such disability, or they may effect a redemption by feeding a poor man for every day of fasting. But the other interpretation which some commentators have accepted is preferable, i.e., that it means those who find it hard to keep the fast even afterwards; only such persons are allowed to effect a redemption by feeding a poor person. 22. Bukhari, book 65: ‘Commentary on the Quran’, ch. 25 on Surah 2, v. 184, ch. heading. Abu Dawud, book 14: ‘Fasting’, ch. 3, h. 2318. 23. Zād al-Ma‘ād, vol. 1, pp. 165, 166. 24. Bukhari, book 65: ‘Commentary on the Quran’, ch. 25 on Surah 2, v. 184, ch. heading. 25. Bukhari, book 30: ‘Fasting’, ch. 33, h. 1941. 26. Ibid., ch. 35, h. 1945. 27. Ibid., ch. 33, h. 1943. 28. Ibid., ch. 37, h. 1947. 29. Ibid., ch. 36, h. 1946. 30. Ibid., ch. 47, ch. heading. 31. Ibid., ch. 41, h. 1951. 32. Ibid., ch. 40, h. 1950; see also ch. heading. 33. Ibid., ch. 62, h. 1983; see also ch. 60, ch. heading and h. 1981. 34. Ibid., ch. 64, h. 1987. 35. Ibid., ch. 66, h. 1990–1992. 36. Ibid., ch. 63, h. 1984–1986. 37. Ibid., ch. 14, h. 1914. 38. Ibid., ch. 51, h. 1968. 39. Bukhari, book 67: ‘Marriage’, ch. 85, h. 5192. 40. Tirmidhi, book 8: ‘Fasting’, ch. 70, h. 789 (DS: book 6). 41. Bukhari, book 30: ‘Fasting’, chs. 48–49, h. 1961–1966. 42. Ibid., ch. 50, h. 1967. 43. Ibid., chs. 48–49, h. 1961–1966. 44. Ibid., chs. 48–49, h. 1961, 1963, 1965 1966. 45. Ibid., ch. 20, h. 1923. 46. Bukhari, book 9: ‘Times of the prayers’, ch. 27, h. 576. 47. Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, v. 5, p. 147. 48. Abu Dawud, book 14: ‘Fasting’, ch. 18, h. 2350. 49. Bukhari, book 30: ‘Fasting’, ch. 45, h. 1957. 50. Muslim, book 54: ‘Tribulations and Portents of the Hour’, ch. 20, h. 2937a (DS: book 52, ch. 20, h. 7373). Abu Dawud, book 39: ‘Battles (Al-Malāḥim)’, ch. 14, h. 4321 (DS: b. 36). 51. Editor’s Note: This paragraph is taken from a footnote to 187 by Maulana Muhammad Ali in his English Translation of the Holy Quran. 52. Bukhari, book 30: ‘Fasting’, ch. 6, ch. heading. 53. Ibid., ch. 26, h. 1933. 54. Ibid., see ch. headings of chs. 25, 26, 27, 28 55. Ibid., ch. 25, ch. heading. Mishkat, book 7: ‘Fasting’, ch. 3, sec. 2, h. 1913 (v. 1, p. 436). 56. Ibid., book 30, ch. 32, ch. heading. 57. Ibid., ch. 23, h. 1927. 58. Ibid., ch. 30, h. 1936. 59. Ibid., ch. 46, h. 1959. 60. Ibid., ch. 34, h. 1944. 61. Ibid., ch. 51, h. 1968. 62. Ibid., ch. 8, h. 1903. 63. Ibid., ch. 2, h. 1894. 64. Ibid., ch. 7, h. 1902. 65. Mishkat, book 7: ‘Fasting’, ch. 1, sec. 3, h. 1868 (v. 1, p. 427). 66. Bukhari, book 30: ‘Fasting’, ch. 5, h. 1899. 67. Bukhari, ch. 6, h. 1901 and ch. heading. See also book 2: ‘Faith’, ch. 28, h. 38. 68. Bukhari, book 2: ‘Faith’, ch. 27, h. 37. 69.Bukhari, book 33: ‘I‘tikāf’, ch. 6, h. 2033–2034. Abu Dawud, book 14: ‘Fasting’, ch. 78, h. 2464 (DS: ch. 77). 70. The Quran, 187. 71. Bukhari, book 33: ‘I‘tikāf ’, ch. 3, h. 2029; and ch. 4, ch. heading. 72. Ibid., 73. Ibid., 74. Bukhari, book 32: ‘Virtues of Lailat-ul-Qadr’, ch. 3, h. 2017; and ch. 2, h. 2015. 75. Ibid., ch. 2, h. 2015. |