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Flame of Hope
06-17-2011, 07:35 PM
:sl:

Why should I fast? What's in it for me?

Convince me that it's worth doing.
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Riana17
06-17-2011, 07:56 PM
Salam Sis
I know I dont have to convince you :)

To make sure inside me that I am believer and not hypocrite, for Fasting is between me and God alone
To earn more discipline, good speech, control emotion, good manners
To increase my Imaan/devotion
To know the feelings of hangry and poor and have mercy on them, increase charity inshallah
Gain health benefits & more

I'm excited for my 2nd year of Ramadan, May Allah be pleased with us all
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Al-Mufarridun
06-17-2011, 08:39 PM
:sl:

format_quote Originally Posted by Riana17
Salam Sis
I know I dont have to convince you :)

To make sure inside me that I am believer and not hypocrite, for Fasting is between me and God alone
To earn more discipline, good speech, control emotion, good manners
To increase my Imaan/devotion
To know the feelings of hangry and poor and have mercy on them, increase charity inshallah
Gain health benefits & more

I'm excited for my 2nd year of Ramadan, May Allah be pleased with us all
beautifully said sis! Jazakallah Khair!
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Who Am I?
06-17-2011, 08:47 PM
Because the Prophet (pbuh) said that a man who cannot marry should fast. I'm not getting married anytime soon, so I will fast.

Plus I want to get ready for Ramadhan.
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Just_A_Girl13
06-17-2011, 09:04 PM
Salaam sister Flame,

I think that sister Riana put it excellently. I used to fast frequently with my church and I think it is a beautiful way to become closer to Allah (s.w.t.) I plan to begin fasting regularly once I get used to this new way of life, i.e. completing all my prayers on time and finding food that is halal to eat. Right now I am taking it one step at a time, but by Ramadan I hope to have accomplished a great deal, inshallah. :)

Peace and blessings be with you all
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Salahudeen
06-17-2011, 09:22 PM
Fasting is purification for your soul, when you fast it is easier to control your faculties from carrying out bad deeds, you are in more control of yourself, and you also feel closer to Allah and very spiritual. The spiritual feeling that comes about from fasting is amazing.
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Flame of Hope
06-17-2011, 09:39 PM
:sl:

format_quote Originally Posted by Riana17
To make sure inside me that I am believer and not hypocrite, for Fasting is between me and God alone
To earn more discipline, good speech, control emotion, good manners
To increase my Imaan/devotion
To know the feelings of hangry and poor and have mercy on them, increase charity inshallah
Gain health benefits & more
That's interesting. But I fail to see the benefits when:

1. I feel so weak.

2. Get angry and irritable easily.

3. Not able to think straight.

4. Not able to focus on salat and dhikr as well as I'm able to do when I'm not fasting.

5. Not able to engage in strenuous tasks and duties.... and if I do, I can't do them as proficiently.

So I need more convincing.
Reply

Just_A_Girl13
06-17-2011, 09:42 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Flame
1. I feel so weak. 2. Get angry and irritable easily. 3. Not able to think straight. 4. Not able to focus on salat and dhikr as well as I'm able to do when I'm not fasting. 5. Not able to engage in strenuous tasks and duties.... and if I do, I can't do them as proficiently.
Every night before you break your fast you make lots of duaa that Allah (s.w.t.) will make it easy for you to continue fasting the next day. Take it one day at a time.

Or at least, that's what I would do. That's what I plan to do.

Peace
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Predator
06-17-2011, 09:47 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Just a Guy
Because the Prophet (pbuh) said that a man who cannot marry should fast. I'm not getting married anytime soon, so I will fast.

.
So are you actually fasting every single day of the year ?
Reply

Riana17
06-17-2011, 09:49 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Flame
:sl:



That's interesting. But I fail to see the benefits when:

1. I feel so weak.

2. Get angry and irritable easily.

3. Not able to think straight.

4. Not able to focus on salat and dhikr as well as I'm able to do when I'm not fasting.

5. Not able to engage in strenuous tasks and duties.... and if I do, I can't do them as proficiently.

So I need more convincing.

Salam,
you are very clever indeed

Well i have a simple answer to that, i will do what it takes just to overcome the fasting

If i dont fast I dont think I can consider myself a Muslim
Just like if i ignore the prayer, and consistently miss the prayer without valid reason, that doesnt makes me a Muslim,,, oooh no i dont like that, if it is safe for me to fast and it wont risk my health, there is no reason not to

being weak, being irritable sometimes is part of fasting, however with the right way to fast, i think those will improve

ON TOP of all, I have to remmber the intention behind fasting.Allah said prayer and doing charity & all is for myself, but FASTING is the ONLY THING WE DO FOR ALLAH


ISNT THAT ENOUGH WHY I DONT HAVE TO BE EXCITED WHENEVER RAMADAN COMES AND FASTTT

YA RAAAAABBBB insha Allah
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Alpha Dude
06-17-2011, 09:52 PM
Fasting during Ramadhan is compulsory. A muslim ought to do it to avoid sin at the very least.

Fasting at other times is optional. A muslim may wish to do it in order to gain reward.

The balance of deeds is what will be looked at on the day of judgement.
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Riana17
06-17-2011, 09:53 PM
i have to say Ms Flame is really clever, if she is beside my house, i would bother her everyday until she agrees to be my bestfriend... Nyahaha
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Flame of Hope
06-17-2011, 09:55 PM
:sl:

format_quote Originally Posted by Riana17
If i dont fast I dont think I can consider myself a Muslim
I'm Muslim, uh.... I think. :p Just a Muslim not entirely convinced about fasting.

Now, I'm not talking about Ramadan fasting. I'm talking about voluntary fasting... the one you do on Mondays and Thursdays..... why should I engage in those sort of fasts? That isn't obligatory on us.... so why do them?
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Flame of Hope
06-17-2011, 10:02 PM
:sl:

format_quote Originally Posted by Just_A_Girl13
Every night before you break your fast you make lots of duaa that Allah (s.w.t.) will make it easy for you to continue fasting the next day. Take it one day at a time.

Or at least, that's what I would do. That's what I plan to do.
Jazakallah khair sister for your suggestion. Making lots and lots of duaa is good. But in the end, if I don't get WHY I should be doing something, I ain't gonna want to do it.

So perhaps I could make duaa to Allah to grant me understanding about the WHY. Or..... I could do the smarter thing:

Ask the most intelligent and wise folk of IB forum to convince me beyond shadow of doubt that fasting is definitely worth doing. :p
Reply

Riana17
06-17-2011, 10:11 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Flame
:sl:



I'm Muslim, uh.... I think. :p Just a Muslim not entirely convinced about fasting.

Now, I'm not talking about Ramadan fasting. I'm talking about voluntary fasting... the one you do on Mondays and Thursdays..... why should I engage in those sort of fasts? That isn't obligatory on us.... so why do them?
Salam sis, ff will answer your Q

Prophet Mohd (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) also said, “It is the month (i.e Sha’baan) in which people’s deeds are taken up to the Lord of the Worlds, and I would like my deeds to be taken up whilst I am fasting"
Also He said:
Deeds of people are presented (to Allah) on Mondays and Thursdays. So I like that my actions be presented while I am fasting

Some of the Scholars (may Allah have mercy upon them) have concluded after mentioning the above ahadith and many others that daily deeds are raised and presented to Allah daily (as per the Hadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim), the weekly deeds are raised and presented to Allah on Mondays and Thursdays (as per the above mentioned Hadith) and the yearly deeds are raised and presented to Allah during the month of Sha’baan (as per the main Hadith in discussion)
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Al-Mufarridun
06-17-2011, 10:11 PM
:sl:

are you serious sis? i thought you were making a point!
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Riana17
06-17-2011, 10:13 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Flame
:sl:



I'm Muslim, uh.... I think. :p Just a Muslim not entirely convinced about fasting.

Now, I'm not talking about Ramadan fasting. I'm talking about voluntary fasting... the one you do on Mondays and Thursdays..... why should I engage in those sort of fasts? That isn't obligatory on us.... so why do them?
Salam sis, ff will answer your Q

Prophet Mohd (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) also said, “It is the month (i.e Sha’baan) in which people’s deeds are taken up to the Lord of the Worlds, and I would like my deeds to be taken up whilst I am fasting"
Also He said:
Deeds of people are presented (to Allah) on Mondays and Thursdays. So I like that my actions be presented while I am fasting

Some of the Scholars (may Allah have mercy upon them) have concluded after mentioning the above ahadith and many others that daily deeds are raised and presented to Allah daily (as per the Hadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim), the weekly deeds are raised and presented to Allah on Mondays and Thursdays (as per the above mentioned Hadith) and the yearly deeds are raised and presented to Allah during the month of Sha’baan (as per the main Hadith in discussion)

Allah knows best
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Riana17
06-17-2011, 10:19 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Flame
:sl:



Jazakallah khair sister for your suggestion. Making lots and lots of duaa is good. But in the end, if I don't get WHY I should be doing something, I ain't gonna want to do it.

So perhaps I could make duaa to Allah to grant me understanding about the WHY. Or..... I could do the smarter thing:

Ask the most intelligent and wise folk of IB forum to convince me beyond shadow of doubt that fasting is definitely worth doing. :p
Salam sis

I dont consider myself wise

But isnt it enough reason that there is only one thing we can do for Allah and that is fasting?
If that's not enough reason, then i dont know what else can convince you

LOOL
i KNOW u are good Muslim for like 15years now (guessing) .. so u know very well what fasting is all about but its good to refresh our minds
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Alpha Dude
06-17-2011, 10:24 PM
:sl:

Sister, the matter is really simple:

1. Each optional/additional act of worship that we do, draws us nearer to Allah and earns us reward.
2. Fasting outside of ramdhan is optional.

Hence:
3. Fasting outside of ramdhan draws us closer to Allah and earns us reward.

Nothing more needs to be said. If a person wishes to draw closer to Allah and gain extra reward, then he'd do it. If not, he's loss.

Fasting making a person tired etc is part of the test of the fast. If you can show patience during it, you'd be rewarded for it.

See bold bit below:

“My slave does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My slave continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I will love him, When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, he seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.” (al-Bukhaari, 6502).
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Flame of Hope
06-17-2011, 10:42 PM
:sl:

format_quote Originally Posted by Alpha Dude
My slave continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I will love him
Yes..... but I can draw nearer to Allah by praying or other voluntary act of worship.

Instead of fasting, I can do the salat, engage in dhikr Allah and be on jihad is search of knowledge.
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Flame of Hope
06-17-2011, 10:43 PM
:wa:

format_quote Originally Posted by Riana17
I dont consider myself wise
That shows you are wise. :p
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Alpha Dude
06-17-2011, 10:47 PM
You should do what you are comfortable with then. Fasting outside of ramadhan is not obligatory. If you feel it is not suited to you, there's no problem (as long as you don't believe that the fast has no value in the eyes of Allah).
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gladTidings
06-17-2011, 11:02 PM
Fasting is quite beautiful really, really very humbling and shows us without Him and His provisions we are useless.
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Flame of Hope
06-17-2011, 11:21 PM
:sl:

format_quote Originally Posted by peãrl
Fasting is quite beautiful really, really very humbling and shows us without Him and His provisions we are useless.
I like this. Anything that's humbling is good...... and definitely worth doing.

Jazakallah khair sis. :)
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Who Am I?
06-18-2011, 05:21 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Airforce
So are you actually fasting every single day of the year ?
No. Mondays and Thursdays, as the Prophet (pbuh) did.
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Ramadhan
06-18-2011, 08:22 AM
I can attest from personal experience that monday-thursday fastings bring a lot of benefits. I do the fastings because:
1. I neglected my deen for many years, including neglecting to fast in ramadan, so I am still trying to pay for those days where I didn't fast, and still have a looong way to go
2. I am a single man, and Rasulullah SAW said "fast, for those men who are unable to get married yet" or to that effect.

I actually have observed HUGE differences between the weeks when I am fasting mon-thurs continuously and during other weeks when I am just too lazy to do it:
1. When I am fasting mon-thurs, I feel that my mind is more clear, I do more voluntary ibada such as shalah dhuha, tahajjud, and recite qur'an with joy and feel able to get more intense with supplications and have more khusu' in my shalah, go to masjid for jamaah. Meanwhile, during the weeks when I am not doing the fastings, let's not speaking about shalah tahajjud, at times even obligatory shalah can feel like a burden.
2. For a man, syahwat (libido) can be difficult to control, and for an unmarried man like myself, this can lead to temptations and much bigger sins. And for me, on the weeks I am fasting, it feels much easier to control syahwat. So I think this is also a reason why prophet SAW prescribed fastings for single man.

Also, voluntary fasting can only be done for the sake of Allah. It is not on ramadan when every muslim is fasting anyway, and no one knows whether you are really fasting, as only yourself and Allah know. In a hadith Qudsi:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may ALLAH be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of ALLAH be upon him), who said:
"ALLAH (mighty and sublime be He) says:
'Fasting is Mine and it is I Who give reward for it. [A man] gives up his sexual passion, his food and his drink for My sake.' Fasting is like a shield, and he who fasts has two joys: a joy when he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. The change in the breath of the mouth of him who fasts is better in ALLAH's estimation than the smell of musk."
[Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah)
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Flame of Hope
06-18-2011, 08:27 AM
:sl:

format_quote Originally Posted by Ramadhan
"ALLAH (mighty and sublime be He) says:
'Fasting is Mine and it is I Who give reward for it. [A man] gives up his sexual passion, his food and his drink for My sake.' Fasting is like a shield, and he who fasts has two joys: a joy when he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. The change in the breath of the mouth of him who fasts is better in ALLAH's estimation than the smell of musk."
[Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah)
Have to say I really appreciate this post. Subhanallah! It's worth fasting just for those two joys mentioned in that hadith. The joy experienced when I break my fast.... and the joy I'll experience..... insha'allah.... when I meet my Lord.

The point given by sister pearl has also convinced me. Anything that will crush that ego and bring it to its knees...... I'm all for it!!!

Jazakallah khair all brothers and sisters for your valuable contribution to this thread.
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GuestFellow
06-18-2011, 08:42 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Riham
:sl:

Why should I fast? What's in it for me?

Convince me that it's worth doing.
:wa:

You learn how to control your desires. If you can stop eating food for a certain length of time, you can apply this technique to other bad habits. You learn what it is like to be poor, appreciate the food that you have and not to wasteful.
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Salahudeen
06-18-2011, 01:15 PM
People can also do the fast of prophet Dawood if they want, which is to fast 1 day on and 1 day off. For example, Monday you fast, Tuesday you don't, wednesday you fast, Thursday you don't. Then you fast on Saturday because if my memory serves me correctly you can't fast on Fridays. Then you miss Sunday and start again on Monday.
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Who Am I?
06-18-2011, 02:40 PM
I may try that fast of Dawood. One day on, one day off sounds like a pretty good way to do it.
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Ramadhan
06-18-2011, 03:04 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Just a Guy
I may try that fast of Dawood. One day on, one day off sounds like a pretty good way to do it.
alhamdulillah if you are able to do prophet Daud fasting, but it is very hard brother and it require commitment. Remember that fasting is not only not eating and drinking and ingesting (such as smokes), but also refraining and restraining ourselves from all vices: from gossiping/backbiting/gossiping, from anger, etc.

I suggest you try with monday-thursday fasting, or the mid-months fastings, on 13-14-15 (remember, mid of islamic month, not gregorian/international month), because those fastings are prescribed by our prophet SAW and easier than prophet Daud fasting.
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Who Am I?
06-18-2011, 06:09 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Ramadhan

alhamdulillah if you are able to do prophet Daud fasting, but it is very hard brother and it require commitment. Remember that fasting is not only not eating and drinking and ingesting (such as smokes), but also refraining and restraining ourselves from all vices: from gossiping/backbiting/gossiping, from anger, etc.

I suggest you try with monday-thursday fasting, or the mid-months fastings, on 13-14-15 (remember, mid of islamic month, not gregorian/international month), because those fastings are prescribed by our prophet SAW and easier than prophet Daud fasting.
Well I tried my first fast Thursday and I made it about 6-7 hours with no food or drink. By lunchtime at work I was starving so I had to break my fast. I will try to go longer next time and gradually work my way up to going all day fasting.
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Ramadhan
06-19-2011, 04:34 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Just a Guy
Well I tried my first fast Thursday and I made it about 6-7 hours with no food or drink. By lunchtime at work I was starving so I had to break my fast. I will try to go longer next time and gradually work my way up to going all day fasting.
This is great that you are already practicing fasting. Ramadan is just around the corner and I hope you will be able to fast during the month. There are many many rewards for fasting in the month of Ramadan and I hope you get most of it.
Born in muslim family, I had my practice during childhood. I cannot remember exactly what age I started to practice fasting half days during ramadan, maybe around 6 or 7 and by puberty I was already fasting full month ramadan.
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Who Am I?
06-19-2011, 05:40 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Ramadhan

This is great that you are already practicing fasting. Ramadan is just around the corner and I hope you will be able to fast during the month. There are many many rewards for fasting in the month of Ramadan and I hope you get most of it.
Born in muslim family, I had my practice during childhood. I cannot remember exactly what age I started to practice fasting half days during ramadan, maybe around 6 or 7 and by puberty I was already fasting full month ramadan.
Fasting is a new concept for me, I admit. I have read about it, but never practiced it. The closest I came to fasting was when I went on a diet years ago to lose weight. I was on a limited amount of calories per day and some days I didn't eat very much. That still was not a true fast, though.

I want to be able to do it. I am a bit nervous about Ramadan, I have to admit, but I am also looking forward to it.
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sister herb
06-19-2011, 06:00 AM
Salam young brother

don´t be nervous by ramadan fast. As this is your first one, take it by day by day, step to step. Slowly. I know it is important - I too was once very new muslim. I am living so north that this year my day is 18 hours. As Ramadan fast I use times of Mecca, not Finland.
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Who Am I?
06-19-2011, 04:51 PM
Thanks, sister.

I think the days here will be 12-14 hours long or so.

I'll just take it one day at a time. Tomorrow is Monday, so I plan on fasting a little in preparation.
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