This is because the people have become used to thinking that Fasting
is just to refrain from the first category, to withhold from the
material things. But there is another category of things which
disrupt the Fast, which we are able to call the non-material things
which disrupt the Fast.
So you have just heard his, sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam, saying,
"Whoever does notabandon 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
behaviour good when the blessed month of Ramadaan comes? If that is
the case, then he has fulfilled the Saying of Allah, the Exaltedand
Most High, at the end of the aayah :
So that you may become people of Taqwaa .
But as for he one who restricts himself in his Fasting to just
withholdingfrom food and drink, but who continues and persists upon
the evil manners which he was upon previously, before Ramadaan, then
this is notthe 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 of Taqwaa .
Therefore we advise and remind our brother and sister Muslims that
they should remind this other category of things, those that are
non-material, which disrupt the Fast, andit 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
awareof this category of things which disrupt the fast, i.e., the
non-material things.
This is what I wanted to remind our brothers and sisters who are
present in this fine gathering about, if Allah wills, so that it maybe
cause of their increasing in acts of worship seeking to draw closer to
Allah, the Exalted and Most High, in this blessed month, the month of
Fasting, which is such that we hope that Allah, the Exalted and Most
High, 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 which disrupt the Fast.
Then in addition to this word, I hope that you will pay attention to
some affairs which have been neglected by the majority of the general
Muslims, indeed and also by those having knowledge.
There is a hadeeth which isvery often neglected because of another
hadeeth , because the majority of people are unable to reconcile in
practice and application between them. So this hadeeth is his,
sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam, 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 itcontradicts another hadeeth ,
which is his, sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam, 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 withtwo 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
andthe command to hasten topray the Maghrib Prayer is a very easy
matter. So it issomething which our Prophet, sallAllahu alaihi wa
sallam, made clear to us by his action and practice. So he,
sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam, used to break the Fast with three dates.
He would eat three dates. Then he would praythe Maghrib Prayer, then
he would eat again if he found that he needed to eat the evening meal.
But today we fall into two offences:
Firstly we delay the Adhaan from its legislated time. Then after this
delaycomes another delay, which is that we sit down for a meal -
except for a few people who are eager and pray the Maghrib Prayer in
the mosque. But the majority of the people wait until they hear the
Adhaan , and then they sit down to eat as if they are having a dinner,
or their evening meal, and not justbreaking their fast.
So the Adhaan these days -in most of the lands of Islaam, is,
unfortunately, I have to say, and not just inJordan, and I have known
this from investigation, in most of the lands of Islaam - the Adhaan
for Maghrib is given after the time it becomes due. And the reason
for this is that we have abandoned adhering to and applying the
Islamic rulings, and instead we have come to depend upon
astronomicalcalculations. We depend upon the timetable.
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