'' Our Lord ! grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire '' [Ameen]
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{in Arab} :->
Rabbanaa aatinaa fid-dunyaa hasanatan wafil aakhirati hasanatan waqinaa 'athaaban-naar/-
(Surah Al-Baqarah ,verse 201)
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poor." Is there any evidence in the Qur'an or Sunnah for that?
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Praise be to Allah
Allah does not prescribe anything but for a wise reason, whether
people are aware of it or it is hidden from them, or they know part of
it and part of it is hidden from them. Allah has great wisdom that
human minds cannot comprehend.
Allah, may He be exalted, has mentioned the wisdom behind the
prescription and obligation of fasting in the verse in which He says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for
you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become
Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)"
[al-Baqarah 2:183].
Some of the scholars have stated that one of the issues of piety that
fasting encourages is so that the rich person will come to understand
the situation of the poor person, and how he suffers from hunger and
need, so that this will motivate him to treat him kindly and meet his
brother's needs. This is part of piety.
Taqwa (translated here as piety) is a general term which includes
doing all that is good and refraining from all that is evil. Ibn
Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Taqwa (piety) is a general term which includes doing all acts of
obedience and refraining from all evils.
End quote fromTafseer Ibn Katheer(1/492)
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Taqwa (piety) is a general term which includes doing all that Allah
has enjoined and refraining from all that He has forbidden, because
the word is derived from wiqaayah (protection); what it means is
taking measures to protect oneself from the punishment of Allah, and
there is no way to protect oneself from the punishment of Allah except
by doing that which He has enjoined and refraining from that which He
has prohibited.
End quote fromMajmoo' Fataawa wa Rasaa'il al-'Uthaymeen(24/40).
There is no text in the Holy Quran or in the Prophetic Sunnah that
specifically indicates that Allah, may He be exalted, has enjoined
fasting on us so that we may feel empathy with the poor. But those
scholars who mentioned that based it on the idea that this is included
in the general meaning of piety, which the Holy Qur'an states is the
wisdom behind fasting, and suggested that this is appropriate in the
case of one who is fasting, because it is known that Islamic teaching
encourages helping others and creating mutual love and compassion
among the believers.
As-Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah, may He be exalted, tells us of the wisdom behind the
prescription of fasting, as He says"that you may become Al-Muttaqoon
(the pious)". Fasting is one of the greatest means of developing
piety, because it involves obeying the command of Allah and avoiding
that which He has forbidden.
Part of the piety that fasting involves is that the fasting person
refrains from that which Allah has forbidden to him of food, drink,
intercourse and so on, to which he is naturally inclined, seeking
thereby to draw closer to Allah, hoping for His reward by giving up
these things. This is part of piety. Piety also includes the
following:
The fasting person trains himself to remember that Allah, may He be
exalted, is always watching, so he gives up things that he desires
even though they may be available to him, because he knows that Allah
is watching him.
Fasting narrows the pathways of theShayt@ân, who flows through the son
of Adam like blood. Fasting weakens theShayt@ân's influence and
reduces sins.
The fasting person usually does many acts of worship and obedience,
which are characteristics of piety.
By fasting, the rich man feels the pain of hunger, which makes him
inclined to help the poor and destitute. This is also a characteristic
of piety.
End quote fromTafseer as-Sa'di(p. 86)
Shaykh Muhammad al-Mukhtaar ash-Shinqeeti (may Allah preserve him) said:
In fasting there is much good, because it reminds the rich of the poor
and needy. If a person feels hunger and thirst, even though he knows
that at the end of the day he will be able to find food and drink, he
will remember the poor who do not find any food or drink, hence they
said that in this fast there is a great deal of good for the
individual, as it reminds him of the weak, especially if he is one of
the rich and wealthy.
The rich man may forget his brethren among the weak and poor because
of the wealth that he has, as Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Nay! Verily, man does transgress all bounds (in disbelief and evil deed, etc.).
Because he considers himself self-sufficient"
[al-'Alaq 96:6-7].
If a person feels himself to be self-sufficient, he will become
arrogant, but if he feels hunger as the poor feel hunger, and he feels
thirst as the poor feel thirst, that will motivate him to remember
these weak ones and show compassion towards them. End quote.
Sharh Zaad al-Mustaqni'(7/100)
Therefore we fast as an act of worship to Allah, may He be exalted,
and in obedience to Allah and His Messenger (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him), so that we may attain piety and fear of Allah in
our hearts, which leads to happiness in both realms (this world and
the hereafter). And part of piety is feeling empathy for the poor,
which will motivate us to help them.
And Allah knows best.
