1] He broke the fast deliberately when he was younger; what should he do?

I am now sixteen. When I was fourteen I had some bad friends and I
used to spend most of my time with them. I used to go out with them
during the day in Ramadan, and I used to break the fast andeat food
and smoke cigarettes, etc. I also used to do the secret habit.
I do not remember how many days I broke the first, as it never
occurred to me that I would have to make them up. I also did not know
that the secret habit is haraam. What should I do now? Can you give me
any advice? Can observing naafil fasts take the place of making up
fasts?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Islamic duties are not obligatory for a boy until after he reaches
puberty, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "The Pen has been lifted from three: from the insane one
who has lost his mind until he comes to his senses; from the sleeper
until he wakes up;and from the child until he reaches puberty."
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4399; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood.
The sign of puberty for males is when one of three things happen:
emission of maniy (semen), growth of coarsehair around the private
part, or reaching the age of fifteen.
In the case of females, puberty is reached when one of these three
signs appear; in addition there is a fourth sign, namely menstruation.
It is not essential that all of the signs appear; ratherthe appearance
of one of them is sufficient to rule that the individual has reached
puberty.
It should be noted that the years that count with regard to reaching
puberty are hijri years (Islamic lunar calendar). If your age at the
time you mentioned was fourteen years according to the Gregorian
calendar, then your age according to the Hijri calendar will be
approximately half a year more than that; in this case it is likely
that you had reached the age of accountability.
All of this applies so long as the other signs had notappeared in your case.
Based on that, if you broke the fast in Ramadanwhen you had not yet
reached puberty, then youdo not have to do anything, because fasting
was not obligatory for you (at that time).
But if you broke the fast during the day in Ramadan when you had
reached puberty at that time according to one of the signs of puberty
mentioned above, then what you have to do is repent and regret it, and
resolve not to go back to that grave sin again.
With regard to making upthe fasts, if you broke the fast during the
day after having started to fast it, then you have to make upthe fast,
but if you did notfast at all, then you do nothave to make it up and
it is sufficient to repent sincerely, in sha Allah.
You have to do a lot of voluntary fasts, because that will make up for
the shortcomings that occurred with regard to the obligatory fast.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy onhim) was asked about
theruling on breaking the fast during the day in Ramadan without any
excuse.
He replied:
Breaking the fast during the day in Ramadan without any excuse is
oneof the gravest of major sins, and the individual becomes a faasiq
(rebellious evildoer) thereby. He has to repent to Allah and make up
thatday on which he broke the fast. In other words, if he fasted and
during the day he broke the fast withno excuse, then he has sinned. He
has to make upthat day on which he broke the fast, because when he
started to fast it became binding upon him; because he started it on
the basis that it was obligatory, he has to make it up, like a vow
that must be fulfilled. But if he deliberately did not fast at all
with no excuse, then the more correct view is that he does not have to
make it up, because it will not benefithim at all, as it will never be
accepted from him. The basic principle with regard to the act of
worship that are connected to a specific time is that if it is
delayeduntil that specific time hasended with no excuse, it will not
be accepted, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "Whoever does an action that is not part of this matter of
ours will have itrejected." And because he has transgressed the limits
set by Allah, and transgressing the limits set by Allah is wrongdoing,
and good deeds are not accepted from the wrongdoer. Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of themeaning):
"And whoever transgresses the limits ordained by Allah,:->

The chaining up of the devils in Ramadaan

We know that in Ramadaan the devils (we seek refuge with Allaah from
them) are chained up. And I would like to know whether the
practitioners of sihr (magic, witchcraft) – may the curse of Allaah be
upon them – practise their craft in this month?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Yes, the devils may whisper to man in Ramadaan, and the practitioners
of witchcraft may practise their craft during Ramadaan, but that
undoubtedly happens to a lesser extentthan at times other than
Ramadaan.
It was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "When Ramadaan begins, the gates of Paradise are opened,
and the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are chained up."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3277; Muslim, 1079. According to al-Nasaa'i:
"The most evil jinn are chained up."
This does not mean that the devils have no influence at all, rather it
indicates that they become weaker in Ramadaan and are not able to do
what they are able to do at times other than Ramadaan.
It may be interpreted as meaning that the ones who are chained up are
the most evil devils, not all of them.
Al-Qurtubi said: If it is said, how come we see many evil actions and
sinsbeing committed in Ramadaan, for if the devils were chained up,
that would not happen?
The answer is that (evil actions) are reduced on the part of those who
fastmeeting all the conditionsof fasting and paying attention to the
etiquette of fasting.
Or some of the devils – namely the most evil ones– are chained up, not
all of them, as previously mentioned in some reports.
Or it may mean that evil actions are reduced in Ramadaan, which is
something that we can see. Even though evil actions happen in
Ramadaan, they are less than at other times. Even if all of the devils
were to be chained up, that does not mean that no evil action would
happen, because there are other causes of evil action besides the
devils, such asevil souls, bad habits and the human devils.
From Fath al-Baari.
And Allaah knows best.

Will the person who dies in Ramadan enter Paradise without being brought to account?

The Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "When
Ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell
are closed and the devils are chained up." Does this mean that the one
who dies in Ramadanwill enter Paradise without being brought to
account?.
Praise be to Allaah.
That is not the case. Rather what this means isthat the gates of
Paradise are opened to encourage people to strive hard, so that they
can enter it, andthat the gates of Hell are closed, so as to
encouragethe believers to refrain from sin, so that they will not go
through these gates. That does not mean that the one who dies in
Ramadan will enter Paradise without being brought to account;rather
those who will enter Paradise without being brought to account are
those whom the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
described when he said: "They are the ones who do not ask others to
perform ruqyah for them, or believe in omens, or use cautery, and they
put their trust in their Lord", in addition to their doing the
righteous deeds that are enjoined upon them. End quote.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy onhim).

Is it permissible to say, “By Allah, I shall certainly disciplineyou, O nafs”?

I have come up with a campaigncalled "By Allah, I shall certainly
discipline you, O nafs". This is a campaign that promotes
self-development and jihad an-nafs. I am going to set up programs for
purifying the soul,softening the heart and reminding one of death, and
I want to post lectures by trustworthy shaykhs.
Is there anything wrong with saying I shall certainly discipline the
nafs that was created by Allah?
Does the fact that this title contains an oath mean that other members
are compelled tojoin the campaign? Please note that I said that
whoever posts a comment on this topic will be regarded as having
joined us in this campaign.
Praise be to Allah.
There is nothing wrong with a person saying to himself, "I
shallcertainly discipline you, O nafs" if he is disciplining himself
in accordance with the teachings of Islam. Even though Allah created
the nafs, the main purpose for which Allah has prescribed religion is
to discipline the nafs, purify it, and instruct it to do acts of
worship and obedience. To Allah belong the creation and the
commandment.
Imam al-Aajurri (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If someone were to say: what evidence is there for discipliningthe
nafs? The answer is: The Qur'aan, the Sunnah and the words of the
Muslim scholars. End quote from Adab an-Nufoos, p. 9
He also said (p. 17):
How bad is the situation of the one who neglects to discipline his
nafs and train it on the basis of knowledge; and how good is the
situation of the one who pays attention to disciplining hisnafs and
knows what Allah has enjoined upon him and what He has forbidden to
him, and is patient in going against the whims and desires of his
nafs, and seeks the help of Allah the Almighty in doing so. End quote.
And he narrated in his book (p. 13) that ar-Rabee' ibn Anas said,
concerning the verse "Ward off from yourselves and your families a
Fire (Hell)" [at-Tahreem 66:6]: Discipline and train yourselves and
your families to adhere to the commands of Allah, may He be glorified
and exalted.
And he narrated (p. 14) that Sa'eed ibn Jubayr said: that is: proper
etiquette and manners.
Then he (may Allah have mercy on him) said (p. 15): Do you not see,
may Allah have mercy on you, that your Lord Most Generous is urging
you to discipline yourself and your families. Pay heed to Allah and
make yourselves adhere to that. End quote.
Based on that: there is nothing wrong with the phrase mentioned and
there is nothing wrong with giving the group the title mentioned, even
if this phrase was not narrated in this way from some of the Salaf, so
long as it is Islamically acceptable in and of itself and does not
include anything that is not appropriate according to Islam.
If you choose a title that is similar in meaning, such as
"Self-discipline" or "Training the nafs" and so on, that is also good.
Such words were used as book titles by some of the Salaf.
The oath mentioned is not regarded as compelling anyone to join the
group; rather he is a member if he accepts the conditions stipulated
in the group.
And Allah knows best.
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