Some seemingly innocent errors
made by a fasting person can actually affect his fasting.
We will take a look at some of
these mistakes in the hope of improving our fasting and to make it more perfect
for the sake of Allah.
Not sniffing water during ablution
Neglecting the order to sniff
during ablution to the extent of violation by just washing the tip of their
nose. A person is required not to exaggerate during sniffing, if he is fasting,
but not to violate by leaving it altogether either. The Prophet sallallaahu
`alayhi wa sallam ( may
Allah exalt his mention ) said: "Exaggerate while sniffing unless
you are fasting." Imam As-San'ani
may Allah have
mercy upon him said: "The narration is evidence to
exaggerate the sniffing when not fasting. Exaggeration is forbidden when
fasting in case something comes down the throat and ruins the fasting."
Not abstaining from food
Some people keep eating or
drinking even after the mu'athen starts the call for Fajr prayer. If you advise
them, they say it is allowed until the person calling the Athan says: Come to
success, "haya ala fallah." Afterwards they start their fasting.
Something like this should have a firm daleel. Research and investigation
revealed no such evidence. It is something some people prefer. This is rejected
according to the Prophet
sallallaahu `alayhi wa
sallam ( may Allah exalt his
mention ) who said: "Anything added to our religion, which is not in it,
is rejected." Another narration says: "Whoever does a deed, not in
our religion, is rejected." In addition, the Quran and Sunnah stated that
abstinence is when we can detect the white line from the black line at dawn.
When they are detected, everyone has to stop eating and drinking. Allah Says
(what means): "Eat and drink until you can distinguish between the black
line and white line at dawn." [Quran; 2:187] The Prophet sallallaahu
`alayhi wa sallam ( may
Allah exalt his mention ) said: "Bilal calls for salah at night.
Eat and drink until Ibn Um Maktoom calls." Ibn Um Maktoom may Allah be
pleased with him was a blind man who did not call for
prayer until he was told it is time. From the previous verse and narration, it
is clear that abstinence should be at dawn and that the Athan is a sign of it.
Therefore when the Athan starts, it is time for abstinence and not when he says
"haya ala assalah."
Having Suhoor early
Having Suhoor (the pre-dawn
meal) early is another violation. By doing that we are rejecting a lot of
rewards. The Sunnah states that a Muslim should delay the Suhoor in order for
him to be following the Prophet
sallallaahu `alayhi wa
sallam ( may Allah exalt his
mention ). Anas may Allah
be pleased with
him said: "We had Suhoor with the Prophet sallallaahu
`alayhi wa sallam ( may
Allah exalt his mention ) and then prayed."
Delaying the call for Maghrib
prayer
From the violations that some
people do in Ramadan is that they only call for prayer when it becomes
completely dark. They are not satisfied with the complete setting of the sun
and claim that it is better to be cautious. This is against the Sunnah. The
Sunnah is to call for prayer when the sun sets completely without regard to
anything else. Allah Says (what means): "Then complete the fast till the
night [i.e. sunset]." [Quran; 2:187]
Allah made the end of fasting
when the night begins, that is when the sun completely sets. The Prophet sallallaahu
`alayhi wa sallam ( may
Allah exalt his mention ) said: "If night comes from this side, day
goes form that side and the sun has gone, then break your fast."
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Imam Ahmad Ibn Nasr Al-Marozy may
Allah have mercy
upon him said after mentioning
the above verse: "The scholars have agreed that if the sun has set, that
means night has begun and it is time to break the fast."
Delaying breaking the fast
Some people fall into the trap
of delaying the breaking of their fast. Two points are relevant here: first
delaying breaking the fast can delay Maghrib prayer or cause you to miss it
altogether - which is worse. Therefore, a Muslim must eat on time in order to
be able to catch the congregational Salah with other Muslims. Second, delaying
Iftar is a contradiction to the Sunnah and an agreement with the Christians and
the Jews based on the following: Sahl Ibn Sa'd
may Allah be pleased with
him narrated that the Prophet
sallallaahu `alayhi wa
sallam ( may Allah exalt his
mention ) said: "People will continue to be upon virtue as long as they
hasten the Iftar." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. He may
Allah be pleased
with him also narrated that the
Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi
wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) said: "My
nation is still following my Sunnah as long as they don’t wait for the stars to
break their fast." [Ibn Hibban] Abu Hurayrah may
Allah be pleased with
him narrated that he Prophet
sallallaahu `alayhi wa
sallam ( may Allah exalt his
mention ) said: "Our religion will stay visible as long as people hasten
breaking their fast because the Jews and Christians delay."
Not using the Siwak
Another violation related to
fasting is that some people do not use the Siwak (traditional cleaning stick
for teeth) in the afternoon and disapprove of those who do. Their reasoning in
this is that the Siwak eliminates the breath's smell, which Allah prefers over the
smell of musk, as stated in the following narration: The Prophet sallallaahu
`alayhi wa sallam ( may
Allah exalt his mention ) said: "I swear by He who has my soul in
His hands that a fasting person's breath is preferred by Allah over the smell
of musk." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Ash-Shawkani may
Allah have mercy
upon him referred to this when
speaking about the dispute about whether the smell of a fasting person's breath
was meant to be in this life on earth or in the hereafter. He may
Allah have mercy
upon him said: "Due to this
dispute, it was said that siwak is disliked when fasting." He may
Allah have mercy
upon him then said: "In
truth the siwak is desirable for a fasting person to use in the morning and in
the late afternoon and that is the opinion of the majority of scholars."
What also proves the permissibility of the Siwak is the fact that the
Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi
wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) generalized when he
said: "If it wasn’t going to be tough on my nation, I would have ordered
them to use the Siwaak at every prayer." Imam Al-Bukhari may
Allah have mercy
upon him said: "The
Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi
wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) did not specify a
fasting or non-fasting person."
The guilt associated with
waking up in janabah
Another violation is the great
guilt that fasting people feel if they wake up in janabah (defilement due to
sleeping with one's spouse). To those we say there should be no guilt, complete
your fast. The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi
wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) used to be in
janabah when dawn came and he would take a bath and fast.
Shaykh Abdul-'Azeez Ibn
Baaz may
Allah have mercy
upon him was asked if a fasting
person has a wet dream on a Ramadan morning, does it ruin the fast and does
that person have to take a bath? He replied that wet dreams do not ruin the
fast because it is not a voluntary act and that a bath is necessary if semen is
secreted. It's okay to delay the washing until Thuhr prayer if the wet dream
occurred after fajr salah. The same goes for janabah, you can take a bath after
dawn if it occurred at night because it was proven that the Prophet sallallaahu
`alayhi wa sallam ( may
Allah exalt his mention ) used to wake up in janabah then wash and fast.
It is better to wash from janabah before Fajr prayer in order to be able to
make prayer in congregation.
Feeling guilty in tasting food
Some women are reluctant to
taste their food in case they ruin their fasting. There is no need for this
reluctance as long as no food is swallowed. Ibn 'Abbas may
Allah be pleased
with him said: "It is okay
to taste the food." [Al-Bukhari]. Shaykh 'Abdullaah Ibn Jibreen may
Allah have mercy
upon him was asked: "Can a
cook, while fasting, taste the food being cooked to make sure it is good?"
He may
Allah have mercy
upon him replied: "It's okay
to taste the food when necessary by placing it at the tip of the tongue to know
its sweetness, saltiness or the like. Nothing should be swallowed but it should
be spit out. That will not ruin the fast."
Source://www.islamweb.net/
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