Muhammad Nasiruddeen Al-Albaani
Allah, subhanahu wa t'aala, says in the Noble Qur'an:
"O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become people having Taqwa." [Surah al-Baqarah 2: 183]
So in this ayah, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, informs the Ummah of Muhammad, Peace and Blessings be upon him, through this ayah, that He has made Fasting obligatory upon them just as He had made its like obligatory upon the nations before us. This is a matter that is well-known to all of the Muslims who read this ayah, and clearly understand its meaning. But what I wish to speak about is something else, a matter which very few of the general people notice - and this is the saying of Allah, the Almighty, at the end of this ayah: "...So that you may become people having Taqwa."
So Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, when He commands His believing servants, or obligates them with some Legislation, (then He) usually just mentions the command, without explaining the wisdom behind it. This is because the general wisdom behind Allah, the Mighty and Majestic¹s, placing duties upon His servants is that He should test them by it, so that it should become apparent (as to) those who will obey Him and those who will disobey Him, the Almighty.
However in this ayah, He mentioned something that is not found frequently in the Noble Qur'an, which is that He mentioned the reason for the order to Fast, by His Saying: "...So that you may become people having Taqwa."
So the wisdom behind the Believers' fasting is not just that they should prevent themselves from enjoyable and permissible good things, even though this is an obligation upon the fasting person - but this is not the only thing that is required and intended by this Fasting. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, concluded His command to fast by saying: "...So that you may become people having Taqwa." , meaning that the wisdom behind the prescription of Fasting is that the Muslim should increase in obedience to Allah, the Almighty, in the month of Fasting, and become more obedient than he was before it.
Also the Prophet, Peace and Blessings be upon him, clearly stated and completely clarified this point of divine wisdom, by his saying, as is reported in the Sahih of al-Bukhari that he, Peace and Blessings be upon him, said, "Whoever does not abandon falsehood in speech and action, then Allah has no need that he should leave his food and drink.", meaning that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, did not intend and desire by the obligation of Fasting that they should only withhold from eating and drinking. Rather they should also withhold from that which Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has forbidden with regard to sins and acts of disobedience to Him; and from that is falsehood in speech and action.
So the Messenger, Peace and Blessings be upon him, is emphasizing the ayah: "...So that you may become people having Taqwa.", i.e. that you should, as an act of worship to draw you closer to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, in addition to withholding from food and drink, also withhold from forbidden actions such as backbiting, carrying tales to cause harm to people, false witness, lying and so on, with regard to those forbidden manners that we are all aware of.
So you have just heard his saying, "Whoever does not abandon falsehood in speech and action, then Allah has no need that he should leave his food and drink." Therefore, every fasting person should examine himself and see: is he just withholding from the material things, or is he also withholding from those non-material things? Meaning: has he made his manners and behavior good when the blessed month of Ramadhan comes? If that is the case, then he has fulfilled the Saying of Allah, the Almighty, at the end of the ayah: "...So that you may become people having Taqwa."
But as for the one who restricts himself in his fasting to just withholding from food and drink, but continues and persists upon the evil manners which he was upon previously, before Ramadhan, then this is not the Fasting that is desired and required from the wisdom behind the legislation of this noble month, which our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, indicates in His Saying: "...So that you may become people having Taqwa." '
Therefore, we advise and remind our brother Muslims that they should remember this other category of things, those that are non-material, which disrupt the Fast, and it is something which the admonishers and those who seek to direct the people to the correct way rarely speak about, not to mention the general people, who are not aware of this category of things which disrupt the fast, i.e., the non-material things.
This is what I wanted to remind our brothers, so that it may be a cause for their increasing in acts of worship, seeking to draw closer to Allah, the Almighty, in this blessed month, the month of Fasting, which is such that we hope that Allah, the Almighty, will guide and grant us all the success of fulfilling the due right of this blessed month, which is that we withhold from both the material and the non-material things that disrupt the Fast.
There is a hadith that is very often neglected due to another hadith, because the majority of people are unable to reconcile in practice and application between them. This hadith is his (the Prophet's) saying, "My Ummah will continue to be upon good for as long as they hasten to break the fast and delay the pre-dawn meal." So, here, two matters were mentioned, and they are neglected by most of the people, and they are: hastening to break the fast, and delaying the pre-dawn meal (Suhoor).
As for neglect of the first matter, which is hastening to break the Fast, then in the view of some people it contradicts another hadeeth, which is his, Peace and Blessings be upon him, saying, "My Ummah will continue to be upon good for as long as they hasten to pray the Maghrib Prayer."
So here we have two commands, to hasten with two matters. So it appears to some people that we cannot hasten to perform both of them together. But reconciling between the command to hasten with breaking the Fast and the command to hasten to pray the Maghrib Prayer is a very easy matter. So it is something that our Prophet, Peace and Blessings be upon him, made clear to us by his action and practice. He, Peace and Blessings be upon him, used to break the Fast with three dates. Then he would pray the Maghrib Prayer, then he would eat again if he found that he needed to eat the evening meal.
As for his teaching, then he, Peace and Blessings be upon him, said, in the hadith reported by al-Bukhari in his Sahih, "If the night appears from this side," and he pointed towards the east, "and the day has departed from here," and he pointed towards the west, "and the sun has set, then the fasting person's fast is broken"
What does 'the fasting person's fast is broken' mean? It means he has entered under the ruling that he should break his fast. So then comes the previous ruling where the Messenger, Peace and Blessings be upon him, encouraged hastening to break the Fast, and the Messenger, Peace and Blessings be upon him, used to implement this, even when he was riding on a journey.
So it is reported in the Sahih of al-Bukhari that the Prophet, Peace and Blessings be upon him, ordered one of his Companions to prepare the Iftar for him. So he replied, 'O Messenger of Allah it is still daytime before us,' meaning: the light of the sun, so even though it had set, yet its light was still clear in the west. So the Messenger, Peace and Blessings be upon him, did not respond to what he had said, rather he re-emphasized the command to him to prepare the Iftar. So the narrator of the hadith who said, We could see daylight in front of us, meaning: the light of day, the light of the sun, When we broke our fast, said, "If one of us had climbed onto his camel he would have seen the sun." The sun had set from here, and the Messenger, Peace and Blessings be upon him, ordered one of the Companions to prepare the Iftar - Why? To hasten upon good "My Ummah will continue upon good for as long as they hasten to break the Fast."
So the Iftar should be done with some dates, as occurs in the Sunnah, and if dates are not available, then with some gulps of water. Then the Prayer should be prayed in congregation in the mosque.
The other matter which I want to remind you of is what occurs in the previous hadith, "And they delay the pre-dawn meal (the Suhoor)", meaning: what is required here is the opposite to the case of the Iftar. So he, Peace and Blessings be upon him, commanded us to hasten to perform the Iftar. But as for the Suhoor, then it should be delayed. So the Companions of the Prophet, Peace and Blessings be upon him, used to leave the Suhoor so late, that one of them would almost hear the Adhan and he would still be eating because he had delayed the Suhoor.
Indeed there is an authentic hadith reported from the Prophet, Peace and Blessings be upon him, which shows the ease afforded by Islam, to be counted as one of the principles of Islam, which the Muslims are proud of, especially with regard to the matter of Fasting, since Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, concluded the ayahs concerning Fasting with His Saying:
"Allah desires to make things easy for you, and He does not desire to make things difficult for you.' [Surah al-Baqarah 2: 185]
We must know that there is no basis for calling the first Adhan the Adhan for withholding (imsak). The second Adhan is when we are to withhold, and this is clearly stated in the Qur'an, since Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says:
"And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes clear to you from the black thread of the night."[Surah al-Baqarah 2: 187]
So eating becomes forbidden at the start of the time of the Fajr Prayer. There is no separation between these two things. There is no withholding from food and drink for a quarter of an hour, or less than that, or more than that, before the start of the time for the Fajr Prayer. Not at all. This is because the Prayer becomes due when the true dawn appears, and food becomes forbidden for the fasting person when the true dawn appears. So there is no separation between these two matters at all.
So therefore there occurs in the hadith agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim, from the hadith of ¹Abdullah Ibn ¹Umar Ibn al-Khattab, May Allah have mercy upon him, that the Prophet, Peace and Blessings be upon him, said, "Let not the Adhan of Bilal deceive you...", meaning the first Adhan, "...because he gives the Adhan in order to awaken the person who is sleeping, and so that the person who wishes to eat the pre-dawn meal can do so. So eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum gives the Adhan."
Ibn Umm Maktum, whose name was 'Amr, was a blind man, and he was the one about whom the Saying of Allah, the Almighty, came down: "He frowned and turned away, that a blind man had come to him" (Surah Abasa 60:1-2) to the end of the Aayat. So he used to give the second Adhan, the Adhan which means that eating becomes prohibited and that it is now time for the Fajr Prayer.
How did he used to give the Adhan when he was blind? This is a question, which naturally occurs to some people. 'Amr Ibn Umm Maktum used to climb on the roof of the mosque, but he could not see the dawn, so he would wait until someone passing by saw the dawn. So when someone saw that the dawn had appeared and spread across the horizon, they would say to him, It is morning. It is morning. Then he would give the Adhan.
So you will notice here that the Adhan of 'Amr ibn Umm Maktum was after the Fajr had appeared, and had been seen by the people whilst they were walking in the streets. So when it was said to him, "It is morning. It is morning," he would give the Adhan.
So Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, spoke truly when He said at the end of those Aayat related to Fasting:
"Allah desires to make things easy for you, and He does not desire to make things difficult for you, and that you should complete the number of days, and that you should glorify Allah by mentioning takbeer for His having guided you, and that you should be thankful." [Surah al-Baqarah 2: 185]
So Allah¹s Messenger, Peace and Blessings be upon him, has made it clear to us that there is latitude and a margin of ease in the matter of a person's taking suhoor, to the extent that he said: "If one of you hears the call to Prayer whilst the vessel is in his hand, then let him not put it down until he has completed his need from it."
Therefore the Muslim should not practice false piety, and (as a result) refrain from obeying the Prophet, Peace and Blessings be upon him, in that which he encouraged us upon and clarified to us.
[Summarized from a recorded speech By Shaikh Al-Albani]
