Ramadan Article - Sunnahs Neglected in Ramadhan

Question: "Could the Shaikh give us some words of benefit for the
blessed month of Ramadaan, on this fine occasion?"
Shaikh al-Albaanee, may Allah have mercy upon him replied:
"Allah, the Exalted and Most High, says in the Noble Quraan:
O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed
for those before you, so that you may become people having
Taqwaa.Soorah al-Baqarah (2):183
So in thisaayah, as will not be hidden to all thosewho are present,
Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, informs theUmmahof Muhammad,sallAllahu
alaihi wa sallam,through thisaayah, that He has made Fasting
obligatory upon them just as He hadmade its like obligatory upon the
nations before us. This is a matter that iswell-known to all of the
Muslims who read thisaayah, 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
Exalted and Most High, at the end of thisaayah:
So that you may become people havingTaqwaa.
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 for 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 Exalted and MostHigh.
However in thisaayah,Hementioned something that is not found
frequently in the Noble Quraan, which is that He mentioned the reason
forthe order to Fast, by His Saying:
So that you may become people ofTaqwaa.
So the wisdom behind the Believers to fast is notjust that they should
prevent themselves from enjoyable and permissible and good things,
even though this is an obligation upon theFasting person - but this is
not the only thing that is required and intended by this Fasting. So
Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, concluded His command to fast by His
Saying:
So that you may become people ofTaqwaa.
Meaning: that the wisdom behind the prescription of Fasting is that
the Muslim should increase in obedience to Allah, the Exalted and Most
High, in the month of Fasting, and become more obedient than he was
before it.
Then the Prophet,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,clearly stated and
completely clarified this point of divine wisdom, by his,sallAllahu
alaihi wa sallam,saying, as is reported in theSaheehofal-Bukhaaree
(no. 1903), that hesallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,said,"Whoeverdoes 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 -
which is to withhold for a stated time, well known to you all - 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 tosins and acts of disobedience to Him;
andfrom that is falsehood in speech and action.
So the Messanger,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,is emphasizing theaayah:
So that you may become people ofTaqwaa.
i.e. that you should, as anact of worship to draw you closer to Allah,
the Mighty and Majestic, in addition to withholding from food and
drink, alsowithhold from forbidden actions such as backbiting,
carrying talesto cause harm to people, false witness, lying and so on,
with regard to those forbidden mannersthat we are all aware of.
Therefore it is obligatory that all the Muslims should be aware that
actions which disrupt theFast are not just the physical acts, which
are generally known, which are eating, drinking and sexual
intercourse. The Fast is not just that you withhold from this.
Therefore some of the scholars differentiate, and divide those things
which disrupt the Fast into two categories, and this is what I intend
by this talk of mine at this time that is blessed, if Allah wills.
This is especially important since those who deliverKhutbahsand
admonish the peopleduringRamadaan, when they speak about those things
which disrupt the Fast, then they only speakabout the material things,
those things that we have just mentioned (eating, drinking and sexual
intercourse). But what they should do, as sincere advisers and people
who give reminder to the Muslims in general, is to concentrate a great
deal upon the second category of things which disrupt the Fast. 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 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
justwithholding 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 ofRamadaancomes? If thatis the
case, then he has fulfilled the Saying of Allah, the Exalted and Most
High, at the end of theaayah:
So that you may become people ofTaqwaa.
But as for he one who restricts himself in his Fasting to just
withholding from food and drink, but who continues and persists upon
the evil manners which he was upon previously, before Ramadaan, 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 ofTaqwaa.
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, 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 and sisters who are
present inthis fine gathering about,if Allah wills, so that it may be
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 andgrant us all the success offulfilling 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 ahadeethwhich is very often neglected because of
anotherhadeeth, because the majority of people are unable to reconcile
in practice and application between them. So thishadeethis
his,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,saying,"My Ummah will continueto 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 anotherhadeeth,
which is his,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,saying,"My Ummah will
continue to be upon good for as longas 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 theMaghribPrayer is a very easy
matter. So it is something which our Prophet,sallAllahu alaihi wa
sallam,made clear to us by his action and practice. So
he,sallAllahualaihi wa sallam,used to break the Fast with three dates.
He would eat three dates. Then he would pray theMaghribPrayer, then
he would eat again if he found thathe needed to eat the evening meal.
But today we fall into two offences:
Firstly we delay theAdhaanfrom its legislated time. Then after this
delay comes another delay, which is that we sit down for a meal -
except for a few people who are eager and pray theMaghribPrayer in the
mosque. But the majority of the people wait until they hear
theAdhaan, and then they sit down to eat as if they are having a
dinner, or their evening meal, and not just breaking their fast.
So theAdhaanthese days - in most of the lands of Islaam, is,
unfortunately, Ihave to say, and not just in Jordan, and I have known
this from investigation, in most of the lands of Islaam -
theAdhaanforMaghribis given after the time it becomes due. And the
reason for this is that we have abandoned adhering to and applyingthe
Islamic rulings, and instead we have come to depend upon astronomical
calculations. We depend upon the timetable.
But these time-tables are based upon astronomicalcalculations which
count the land as being a singleflat plane. So they give a time for
this flat plain, whereas the reality is that the land, particularlyin
this land of ours varies,varying between the depression of valleys and
the elevation of mountains. So it is not correct that a single time
be given which covers the shore, the plains and the mountains. No,
each part of the land has its own time. So therefore whoever is able
in his place of residence, in his city or his village, to see the sun
set with his own eye, then whatever time it sets at, then that is the
hastening that we have been commanded with inhis,sallAllahu alaihi wa
sallam,saying, which we just mentioned,"My Ummah will continue to be
upon good as long as they hasten to break the fast."So the
ProphetsallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,was careful to implement
thisSunnahbyteaching it, and by putting it into practice.
As for his teaching, then he,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,said, in
thehadeethreported by al-Bukharee in hisSaheeh(no. 1954),"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 persons fast is broken."
What does,'the Fasting persons 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,sallAllahu alaihi wa
sallam,encouraged hastening tobreak the Fast, and the
Messenger,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,used to implement this, even
when he was riding on a journey.
So it is reported in theSaheehof al-Bukharee (no.1955) that the
Prophet,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,ordered one of his Companions to
prepare theIftaarfor him. So he replied, O Messenger of Allah it is
still daytime before us.¹ Meaning: the light of the sun, so even
though it had set, yet its light was still clear in the west. So the
Messenger,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,did not respond to what he had
said, rather he re-emphasised the command to him to prepare theIftaar.
So the narrator of thehadeethwho 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 their location, and the
Messenger,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,ordered one of the Companions
toprepare theIftaar. Why? To hasten upon good"MyUmmah will continue
upon good for as long as they hasten to break the Fast."
So what is important is that we notice that theIftaarwhich is
legislated to be hastened must be done with a few dates. Then we must
hasten to perform the Prayer. Then after this the people can sit and
eat as they need.
This is the first matter which I wanted to remind of, and it is how to
reconcile the two matters which the Prophet,sallAllahu alaihi wa
sallam,commanded we should hasten to perform. The first being the
command to hasten the breaking of the Fast, and the second being
thecommand to hasten to perform theMaghribPrayer. So theIftaarshould
be done with some dates, as occurs in theSunnah, and if dates are not
available, then with some gulps of water. Then the Prayer should pray
in congregation in the mosque. Then the other matter which I want to
remind of is what occurs in the previoushadeeth,"And they delay the
pre-dawn meal" Meaning: what is required here is the opposite to the
case of theIftaar. So he,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,commanded us to
hasten to perform theIftaar. But as for theSuhoor, then it should
bedelayed. But what happens today is totally contrary to this, since
many people eat theirSuhoorbefore the appearance ofFajrby perhaps an
hour. This is not befitting. This is contrary to theSunnahshown by
the saying of the Prophet,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,and by his
practice. So the Companions of the Prophet,sallAllahu alaihi wa
sallam,used to leave theSuhoorso late, that one of them would almost
hear theAdhaanand he would still be eating. He delayed theSuhoor.
Indeed there is an authentichadeethreported from the
Prophet,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,which shows the ease afforded by
Islaam, which is to be counted as one of the principles of Islaam,
which the Muslims are proud of, especially with regard to the matter
of Fasting, since Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, concluded
theaayahsconcerning Fasting with His Saying:
Allah desires ease for you, and He does not desire to make things
difficult for you.
So from this ease is his,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,saying,"If one of
you hears the call to Prayer and the vessel is inthe hand of one of
you, then let him not put it down until he fulfils his need from it."
"If one of you hears the call to Prayer,"and he hashad his fill of
whatever he was eating, then it is not allowed for him to then have
any more, whether it be a drink, or some fruit."
But as for the one who hears theAdhaanand he has not yet taken what he
needs from the food and the drink, then the Messenger,sallAllahu
alaihi wa sallam,made that lawful for him. So heclearly said, in the
clear and eloquent Arabic language,"If one of you hears the call to
Prayer, and the vessel is in his hand, then let him not put it down
until he fulfils his need from it."
And what is meant here by the call is the second call, the
secondAdhaan. It is not the firstAdhaan, which they wrongly call
theAdhaanfor withholding (al-Imsaak).We must know that thereis no
basis for calling the firstAdhaantheAdhaanfor withholding (imsaak).
The secondAdhaanis when we are to withhold, and this is clearly stated
in the Quraan, 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.
So eating becomes forbidden at the start of the time of theFajrPrayer.
There is no separation between these two things. There isno
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
theFajrPrayer. Not at all. 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 occursin thehadeethagreed upon by al-Bukharee
andMuslim, from thehadeethof ¹Abdullaah ibn ¹Umar ibn
al-Khattaab,radiyAllahu ¹anhumaa, that the Prophet,sallAllahu alaihi
wa sallam,said,"Let not the Adhaan of Bilaal deceive you,"meaning, the
firstAdhaan,"because he gives the Adhaan 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 Maktoon gives the
Adhaan."
Ibn Umm Maktoon, and his name was 'Amr, he was a blind man, and he was
the one about whomthe Saying of Allah, the Exalted and Most High, came
down:He frowned and turned away, that the blind man came to him."to
the end of theAayahs.
So he used to give the secondAdhaan, theAdhaanwhich means thateating
becomes prohibited, and that it is now time for theFajrPrayer.
How had he used to give theadhaanwhen he was blind? This is a question
which naturally occurs to some people. So 'Amr ibnUmm Maktoom used to
climb upon the roof of the mosque, and he could not see the dawn, but
he would wait until someone passing by saw the dawn. So when someone
saw that the dawn had appeared and spread across the horizon, then
they wouldsay to him, It is morning. It is morning. Then he would give
theAdhaan.
So you will notice here that theAdhaanof 'Amr ibn Umm Maktoom was
after theFajrhad appeared, and had been seen by the people whilstthey
were walking in the streets. So the when it was said to him, "It is
morning. It is morning," he would give theAdhaan.
So therefore there is latitude in the affair, since themuadhdhinwould
be delayed in giving theAdhaanuntil he heard the people telling him,
"It is morning, it is morning." And then Allah¹s Messenger,sallAllahu
alaihi wa sallam,said,"If one of you hears the call to Prayer and the
vessel is in his hand, then let him not put it down untilhe has
fulfilled his need from it."
So Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, spoke truly when He said at the end
of thoseAayahsrelating to Fasting:Allah desires tomake things easy for
you,and He does not desire tomake things difficult for you.
and,
And that you should complete the number of days, and that you
shouldglorify Allah by mentioningtakbeerfor His having guided you, and
that you should be thankful.
So therefore from theFiqhthat is to be criticised, and which
runscontrary to thisSunnah, is that a person says, "If someone hears
theAdhaanand has some food in his mouth, then he must spit it out."
So this is over-strictness, and(ghuluww) exceeding the limits in the
Religion, and the Lord of all of the creation admonished us, and
reminded us, in His Book and in theSunnahof His Prophet,sallAllahu
alaihi wa sallam,that we should not exceed the due limits in our
Religion.So He said, in the Noble Quraan:
O people of the Book! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and
do not say anything about Allah except the truth.
And our MessengersallAllahu alaihi wa sallamsaid,"Beware of (ghuluww)
exceeding the limits in the Religion. Because those who came before
you were destroyed by their exceeding the limits in their Religion."
So when Allah¹s Messenger,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,has made it
clear to us that there is in the matter of apersons takingsuhoor,
latitude and a margin of ease, 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."
So it is opposition to Allah and to the Messenger that a person says
that one who hears theadhaanwhilst he has food in his mouth must spit
it out upon the ground. This is not from theSunnah. Rather this
iscontrary to theSunnah, and is contrary to the clear command of the
Messenger,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam. And I have been asked many
times, so I will not leave the need for such a question, but rather I
willprecede you in it, by stating that thishadeethis to be found in
some of the most famous books of theSunnah. From them being theSunanof
Aboo Daawood, and it is the third book from the well-known six books.
The first of which isSaheehul-Bukhaaree, thesecond beingSaheeh Muslim,
and the third being theSunanof Aboo Daawood.
Thishadeethis to be found in it, and it is likewise reported by Aboo
Abdullaah al-Haakim in hisMustadrak, and it is likewise reported by
the Imaam, the Imaam of theSunnahAhmad ibn Hanbal,rahimahullaah, in
his tremendous book known as theMusnadof Imaam Ahmad. So thehadethis
not a strangehadeeth, rather it is a well-knownhadeeth, and was
reported by the Imaams of thesunnahin the early times, and with an
authentic chain of narration.
So here I say, to concludethis talk, since perhaps some of you have
questions, which we will answer if Allah wills, so I conclude it with
his,sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam,saying"Allah lovesthat His allowances
be acted upon just as He loves that His prescribed duties be carried
out,"and in one narration,"Just as He hates that disobedience to Him
be committed."
So there are two narrations,"Allah loves that His allowances be acted
upon just as He loves that His prescribed duties be carried out", and
the second narrationis,"as He hates that disobedience to Him be
committed."
So therefore the Muslim should not practice false piety, and (as a
result) refrain from obeying the Prophet,sallAllahu alaihi wa
sallam,in that which he encouraged us upon and clarified to us.
And what has been said is sufficient, and all praise is for Allah, the
Lord of all of the creation."