Ramadan fast - all or nothing?

Any act of worship must be done in accordance to what has been taught by Allah and His Messenger . If you keep fast for a day, and then take a sip of water in the middle, then you are giving way to your desire and hunger/thirst and not fulfilling the purpose of the fast by obeying the command of Allah.

A fast does not remain a fast when you eat and drink as you please. It does not require more than common sense to understand that.
A Muslim is one who submits his will completely before the Will of Allah


Allah says:
... Then complete the fast until the sunset. ... [002:187]

format_quote Originally Posted by glo

I have been a member in this forum for a long while and I think I understand the Islamic fast quite well.

But there is a question I have wondered about for a while. And that's why a the fasting day become totally invalid as soon as the fast has been broken.
For example, just one sip of water will invalidate the fast.

As a non-Muslim if I had fasted all day and then took one sip of water or ate a morsel (for example during cooking), then I would feel inclined to continue fasting and hope that God would still see my effort and intention.
But Islam does not see it that way.

Can somebody explain where the Qu'ran or hadith the breaking and invalidating of the fast is mentioned?

(P.S. I don't mean accidental breaking of the fast, but intentional)

Thank you.

Greetings Glo

It really depends on the way you are looking at this. A non Muslim would not view the prayer or fast as obligatory upon them and so therefore will not feel the need to fulfill the fast and prayer the way a Muslim does. Whereas a Muslim views the prayer and fast as obligatory and therefore will fulfill the rules and regulations around fulfilling the obligation of fast and prayer in the way our Lord has ordained upon us.

Also if a person was to be so lenient in the way they fulfill a particular act of worship then it will take the importance away from the act. Fasting to us is a most sacred act of worship decreed by our Lord the exalted one for us to fulfill in the best way possible in accordance with how he wants us to fulfill it. If we were allowee to have a sip of water here and there or a morsel of food then it would not be a fast as we would just sip or eat whenever we felt like we needed to.

Feeling hunger, thirst and tiredness is an important part of fasting as it helps us to be able to control our desires for the pleasure of our Lord in order to gain a fearful awareness of him (Taqwa). So if we give into our desires then we are not fulfilling the purpose of our fasts. It also helps us to feel the way the poor do. They cannot have a sip of water or a morsel of food whenever they feel like it.

So know that fasting is more than just not eating and drinking for a short while. It is controlling of ones desires in order to create a fearful awareness of him so that we may better ourselves in everyway possible. We fulfill it properly like our Lord wants us to and in return we feel closeness to our Lord the compassionate most merciful.

Hope that helped.

Verses about fasting are in Chapter Al-Baqarah, verses 183 - 187. Verse 187 state:
...And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the sunset...

A fast is only a fast if you follow all the rules related to it. If you don't, then the fast is no longer a fast. How can you drink something or eat a bit and still say you're fasting? But the power to fast correctly comes with faith. Once you have the faith of Islam you'll not only be able to fast but also will immensely enjoy doing it. Fasting will no longer become a burden but a thing you enjoy. But you need the faith of Islam to feel that spirituality. Fasting is the third pillar of Islam after the testimony (that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) and 5 obligatory daily prayers.

format_quote Originally Posted by glo

As a non-Muslim if I had fasted all day and then took one sip of water or ate a morsel (for example during cooking), then I would feel inclined to continue fasting and hope that God would still see my effort and intention.

That's because you're thinking from a Christian's point of view, where the rules and regulations have been lost, and each person does what they personally think is right, yet still hoping for God's mercy.

But, praise be to Allah, in Islam, the rules are all preserved, so we all follow the same rules worldwide.

Secondly, as a non-Muslim, you wouldn't have taqwa, which is hard to translate into English, but God consciousness being an approximation.

Thirdly, you're not aware of the importance of fasting, rewards of fasting, and great pleasure of Allah to be incurred by those who go hungry for His sake.

Fourthly, we love Allah, and part of expressing that love is to obey Allah and the Prophet

Fifthly, it is a pillar of Islam, so we would not purposely try to undermine the very foundations of our faith, go against them and yet still demand that despite our wilful disobedience that God should still accept our fast.

But Islam does not see it that way.

Would you purposely weaken/damage the foundations of your house, and then expect that your house should suffer no subsidence and be exactly as stable as it was before? So why do that for something that determines your eternal abode? It might just seem slight, but what would you do when after prolonged periods of this, your house came crashing down on you, destroying what and who was in it?

If this attitude was exhibited to fasting, it would permeate all matters of faith, such as prayer, (doesn't matter if I miss a few), almsgiving (doesn't matter if I don't give this year), which begs the question, are you really a Muslim? Which in your case, the answer is clearly no.

Sixthly, during fasting hours in Ramadan, our pleasure is in fasting, not in eating. We wouldn't want to eat or drink, no matter how hungry or thirsty.

Seventhly as a poor analogy, even games have rules, eg in tennis, the ball cannot go outside the lines, otherwise the point is invalid - you lose the point. If an umpire decided that the ball is out but the hitter will get the point anyway, is that correct? Everyone would wonder what he was doing, because the rules are there for a reason, to be followed. So why do we make excuses when it comes to our faith?

When a person desires to obey and please God, and loves God and the Prophet and Islam, and knows that fasting was the way of the previous prophets, such a thought could never enter one's head.

To wilfully break your fast and then expect that God should see your effort and intention (the intention being to break the rules) and accept the fast, is a mockery of fasting.

It is common for non-Muslims to look at certain Islamic beliefs with the view that God is very hard and unforgiving, and to say, "Well if you did xyz, I'm sure God would forgive that." In Christianity, this is coming from a God who did not forgive Adam (peace be upon him) and instead made Adam and all subsequent generations undergo a punishment and severance from Him, and to be born into a state of sin, with nothing you can do about it save to accept a saviour.

With fasting there are rules that we follow. However, for arguments sake it is not even as complicated as that. As brother ibṉĀdam pointed out

A fast does not remain a fast when you eat and drink as you please. It does not require more than common sense to understand that.

format_quote Originally Posted by ibṉĀdam

A fast does not remain a fast when you eat and drink as you please. It does not require more than common sense to understand that.
A Muslim is one who submits his will completely before the Will of Allah

Greetings,

^ These lines reminded me of the following wise words:

Break your fast a few minutes early?
by Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saheb (rahmatullah alayh)

For many years, without fail, I have been giving an example in the month of Ramadaan, that at the end of a very, very hot and long day of Summer, a person is sitting at the dastarkhaan (table cloth), close to the time of Iftaar, waiting patiently to open his fast. There is just 3 minutes left for the setting of the sun when he is told:

"Eat! .. , What difference will it make if you break your fast now? What is another 2 or 3 minutes? ... You have already stayed away from food and drink for almost 15 -~ 16 hours."

Even if this happens to be the weakest Muslim, in respect to obeying Allah Ta'ala, he will respond:

"It is the ruling of the Qur'aan and the Ahadith that I break my fast after the setting of the sun and not before that time. It is the command of Allah Ta'ala and I cannot disobey Him."

The weakest person's Imaan becomes so strong at this stage of his fast, that he will not break his fast. He will refuse to break his fast, even if the world's great personalities have to say so.

http://www.islamicboard.com/fasting-...hmatullah.html

SubhanAllah, it is indeed something interesting to ponder over....

Why is it that even those who have very weak imaans, who may not observe many other faraa'id (compulsory) acts of worship, who openly transgress so many other commands of Allah, and without any remorse thereof - are able to remain so steadfast when it comes to fasting.

Why is it that we behave in this manner?

Perhaps it stems from the following:
1. We are acutely aware of the great significance and many blessings that Allah has bestowed us with in this month.
So, alhamdulillah, this month motivates us ALL to draw closer to Allah.

SubhanAllah, you will find that even those who never wore hijab for the rest of the year, who seldom prayed, who cared little for reading the Quraan, who did not try to help the poor.......almost everyone tries that much harder to repent and to try to change some their bad behaviors (generally).

And so too with the act of fasting - there is a heightened sense of taqwa (consciousness of Allah) for even the weakest amongst us.

2. When we do not fulfill other obligations in Islam, e.g missing salaah, zakaat, showing kindness to parents, etc...in most cases, the recompense is relatively easy upon us: sincere repentance from Allah and those who we have wronged and then making up those obligations that were neglected.

However, when it comes to the fast of Ramadaan, the penalty for intentionally missing a fast is much more heavier (e.g to fast 60 consecutive days/ feed 60 persons depending on the situation).

^ as with many things in life, when the deterrent is more weighty, then rate of obedience is also greater.

Perhaps for these reasons (as well as others that have already been mentioned), we find that the fast of Ramadaan is one of those commands from Allah, that muslims in general, seem to fair quite well in (alhamdulillah, for we are not doing too well in most of the other fields).

This month is a mercy upon all Muslims.
Allah dearly wants us to draw closer to Him, and to forgive us and has provided us soo many opportunities to earn great rewards for the aakhirah. Which is why the Night of Power is found in this month as well....

However, the question we should be asking, is what prevents us from truly 'submitting' to the will of Allah at ALL other times (and not just during fasting)?

As Moulana Patel (ra) has asked in his article:

Is it not the Hukm, the Command of that same Allah, to perform Salaah five times a day and for the men, in the Musijd, in Jamaat as far as possible?

Is it not the Command of that same Allah to correctly discharge our Zakaah, perform Haj, treat our parents with love and respect, be faithful to our wives and treat them with compassion and vice versa for the wives, be honest in our business dealings and be kind and just to those under our authority?

May Allah (subhanawata'ala) grant us the strength and guidance to be those servants who submit to Him at ALL times.
Ameen.

Thank you for all your comments and replies. I didn't expect so many.

As a side note to greenhill, fasting is certainly quite common and well practiced in Christianity, although perhaps differently in different denominations. But it is quite different to the Islamic Ramadan fast. Hence I was particularly interested in this concept which I have referred to as all-or-nothing.

Thanks again for all you replies ... and keep on fasting

format_quote Originally Posted by Hamza Asadullah

A non Muslim would not view the prayer or fast as obligatory upon them and so therefore will not feel the need to fulfill the fast and prayer the way a Muslim does. Whereas a Muslim views the prayer and fast as obligatory and therefore will fulfill the rules and regulations around fulfilling the obligation of fast and prayer in the way our Lord has ordained upon us.

Yes, that makes sense. For me fasting would be an offering or a gift I make to God. Therefore however well I manage or whatever I can give is going to be good.

But for Muslims fasting is an obligation, hence it must be done according to God's instructions or it is invalid.

format_quote Originally Posted by ardianto

It's like a man running in marathon, but he stop and decide to out from running only few meters before finish line.

I like that analogy. So this man has not completed the race and hence does not receive a reward.

And yet, is he not to be commended for all the effort he has made?


Thanks, all. I am enjoying mulling this over.

format_quote Originally Posted by glo

But for Muslims fasting is an obligation, hence it must be done according to God's instructions or it is invalid.

Not all fasting is obligatory. We have many optional fasts as mentioned here, when we had a discussion about fasting before:

http://www.islamicboard.com/comparat...ml#post1352072

However, there are rules on fasting so we don't make it up as we go along, doing what we think is best, because we have the original guidance from God and his prophet on how best to live every aspect of our lives.

If I give you a cup of clean water, then I put in a drop of impure liquid (wherever it may be from), would you still consider it a cup of clean water?

"O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,-"
Quran Sura Baqara Verse 183

One of the reasons we fast is to learn self-restraint, no matter how much you want to have that little bit of food you will say no to yourself because you know you are fasting. If you go by the rule that it's ok to have a small bite and then continue your fast, well then that sort of defeats the purpose of learning self-restraint isn't it.

A new muslim who is fasting might for example fail at fasting no matter how hard he tries but he end up eating a small piece of candy. Yes, it invalidates his fast but do you think that in his mind he's thinking "since it's already invalidated I might as well have a feast."?

He would most likely try to continue his day not eating/drinking since he is still trying to learn self-restraint. He can pay back the fast at a future date.

Just because we go by the rule that fasting actually means fasting doesn't mean that God doesn't look at our effort and intention. He knows our weaknesses better than we do.

If I understand correctly, your view seems to be "Unless I can do it my way without being told when and how to do it, it is not sincere.".

You also seem to think that just because one might fail in his fast then his intentions and efforts are not seen by God, why does it have to mean that? It just means that he has to pay back the fast at a future date.

If you view fasting as a gift to God then shouldn't you be giving the best top quality gift? If we want to give a gift, shouldn't we at least make sure that it is proper?

format_quote Originally Posted by glo

And yet, is he not to be commended for all the effort he has made?

Intentionally breaking the fast is, as described by brother Mustafa earlier, rebellion. And rebels are punished, not rewarded.


If someone breaks his fast unintentionally, or forgetfully, or because of a valid reason, then he is duly rewarded for his efforts. There is no doubt in that.

[2:120] Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion. Say: "The Guidance of Allah,-that is the (only) Guidance." Wert thou to follow their desires after the knowledge which hath reached thee, then wouldst thou find neither Protector nor helper against Allah.



SadaqAllahu wa Rasooluh Indeed, Allah and His Messenger has spoken the truth.