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In welcoming Ramadan
Author : His Grace Shiekh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh
Date Added : 26-07-2023

In welcoming Ramadan

 

 

The month of Ramadan has returned, and the wheel of time has completed its usual cycle. The hearts of Muslims rejoiced at its return, illuminated by the lights of worship and obedience. They remembered the Prophet's joy in welcoming this noble guest, as he used to say: "O Allah, let this month come upon us with safety, faith, peace, and Islam. Our Lord and your Lord is Allah." [At-Tabarani].

 

Ramadan arrives as a noble guest, bringing with it its lights and blessings. It is incumbent upon Muslims to recognize its value and honor its arrival. Allah has designated a caller who announces at the beginning of its first night: "O seeker of goodness, come forward. O seeker of evil, retreat." Therefore, a pleasant encounter between the Muslim and Ramadan takes place, becoming an opportunity for repentance, returning to the straight path, resuming righteous deeds, and seeking forgiveness for past sins and the mischievous whispers of the devils. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His slave than one of you who finds his lost camel in the desert." [Agreed upon].

 

Taking advantage of this blessed time and seizing the opportunity of this noble month, a person can rectify their situation, make up for losses, and rid themselves of past sins. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Indeed, Allah extends His Hand during the night so that the one who sinned during the day can repent, and extends His Hand during the day so that the one who sinned during the night can repent, until the sun rises from its place of setting." [Moslim]. The fasting person can elevate their status and attain emancipation from their sins, becoming one of the successful ones.

 

Ramadan is a rare opportunity bestowed upon humanity by Allah, offering a chance for a fresh start in their faith, a new way of life. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "The Gates of Paradise are opened, the Gates of Hellfire are closed, and the devils are chained." During this month, there is the Night of Decree, better than a thousand months, in which angels descend to the Earth by the permission of their Lord...

 

The joy of fasting lies in meeting one's Lord, as the Prophet (PBUH) said: "There are two joys for the fasting person: one joy when they break their fast, and another joy when they meet their Lord due to their fasting." [Agreed upon].

 

Therefore, whoever misses goodness during this month has indeed missed a great benefit and abundant blessings. The Prophet (PBUH) said: Gabriel (PBUH) told me: "Woe to the one who witnessed Ramadan and was not forgiven. Say, 'Amen." [At-Tirmithi].

 

Hence, one should seize this opportunity, filling their heart with love, mercy, faith, and seeking proximity to Allah through repentance, forgiveness, and acts of kindness. Allah The Almighty Says (What means): "Woe to those whose hearts are hardened against celebrating the praises of God! they are manifestly wandering (in error)!" [Az-Zumar/22].

 

Praise be to Allah, the good in our society is great. Many people resume their virtuous lives during Ramadan, renew their repentance to Almighty Allah, abandon sins and resolve not to return to them. They train themselves in this blessed month to do-good deeds and practice acts of obedience. It gives them an opportunity for correction, self-evaluation, and hope to attain the greatest reward, which is Paradise. Allah, The Exalted, Says (What means): "That is the great attainment." [At-Tawbah/72]. It is the ultimate victory, as it leads to eternal happiness in the Hereafter. Allah, The Exalted, also Says (What means): "Its mixture is of musk. And for this, let the competitors compete." [Al-Mutaffifin/26].

 

Al-Tabari said: "Al-Tanafus (competition) is derived from something precious that people eagerly desire, seek, and their souls long for. The meaning is: Let them hasten in seeking this bliss, and let their souls be eager for it.

 

Undoubtedly, whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking reward, and uses this month to practice acts of obedience and offer assistance, while reading the Quran and controlling their tongue, is capable of being productive and restraining their desires and pleasures. The fasting person sets forth towards goodness and virtue. This challenge faces the Islamic nation in every time and place. Allah, The Most Exalted Says (What means): "By the soul and He who proportioned it, and inspired it with discernment of its wickedness and its righteousness." [Ash-Shams/7-8], meaning, purifying the soul through obedience to Allah. That is why Allah, the Exalted, has designated great rewards for sincere fasting. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Whoever fasts during Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, all his past sins will be forgiven." [Al-Bukhari].

 

The obedient person fasting for the sake of Allah the Almighty senses the constant surveillance of Allah in all aspects of their life and holds themselves accountable for their actions. By doing so, they have embarked on the initial stages of self-reformation and the treatment of their soul and desires.

 

Fasting has an important ethical and educational role in changing a person's behavior, leading to a true and genuine transformation. The physical changes associated with meal and drink timings require us to reflect on their implications and understand the purpose and objectives behind them. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of his giving up his food and drink." [Al-Bukhari].

 

Just as the fasting person should feel and embody this positive change, they should also make others aware of it. He (PBUH) said: "If one of you is fasting, let him neither indulge in obscene language nor raise his voice in anger. If someone curses him or fights with him, he should respond by saying: 'I am fasting, I am fasting." [An-Nasa'i].

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on one who vows to fast a specific or non-specific year? Are the two Eids, the days of Tashreeq, Ramadan, and the days of menstruation and postnatal bleeding included in them? And do these days break the consecutiveness if it was intended?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
If someone makes a vow (Nadr) to fast a specific, designated year, this vow does not include the days of Eid, the days of Tashreeq (the three days following Eid al-Adha), Ramadan, or the days of menstruation (Hayd) and postnatal bleeding (Nifas). Furthermore, there is no requirement to make up (Qada) these specific days.
 
However, if someone vows to fast a year that is not specifically designated (i.e., any twelve-month period) and stipulates that the fasting must be consecutive, they are bound by that condition. They must not fast on the days of Eid, during Ramadan, or during menstruation, but they are required to make up these days afterward—with the exception of the days of menstruation and postnatal bleeding, which do not need to be made up.
 
It is stated in Hashiyat al-Bajuri ‘ala Sharh Ibn Qasim ({Vol.2/P.606): 'If one vows to fast a specific year, the Eid, Tashreeq, Ramadan, and days of menstruation or postnatal bleeding are not included. This is because Ramadan does not accept any fast other than its own, and the others do not accept fasting at all. Therefore, they do not enter into the vow, and no makeup is required for them because they are legally excluded—contrary to Al-Rafi’i regarding menstruation and postnatal bleeding.
 
If one vows to fast a non-designated year: if they stipulated consecutiveness (Tatuabu’) in their vow, they must fulfill it; otherwise, they are not bound to it. Consecutiveness is not broken by the days that do not enter into the specific year vow (Eid, Tashreeq, Ramadan, menstruation, and postnatal bleeding). However, one must make up the days missed—excluding the time of menstruation and postnatal bleeding—immediately following the end of the year. As for the time of menstruation and postnatal bleeding, it is not made up, contrary to Ibn al-Rif’ah, who argued that it must be made up just like Ramadan.' And Allah the Exalted knows best.

Is the Saying "Whatever is Taken by the Sword of Shyness is Forbidden" an Authentic Ḥadīth?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The saying "Whatever is taken by the sword of shyness is forbidden" is not an authentic ḥadīth, though its underlying meaning is sound. The established sharʿī principle is that a Muslim's wealth is not lawful for anyone to take except with his wholehearted consent, as Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly, but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent." [Al-Nisā/ 29] And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Listen to me and you will live well: do not wrong others, do not wrong others, do not wrong others. Indeed, a man's wealth is not lawful except with his full, willing consent." (Reported by Aḥmad in his Musnad.) Whatever is taken through the pressure of shyness or social embarrassment runs directly counter to genuine, wholehearted consent.
The jurists have explicitly stated that whatever is taken by means of the "sword of shyness" carries the same ruling as that which is taken by coercion — it must be returned to its rightful owner.
Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states in al-Fatāwā al-Kubrā (Vol.3/P.30): "Do you not see the reported scholarly consensus that whoever has something taken from him purely out of shyness, without his genuine consent, does not pass ownership of it to the one who took it? They reasoned that this constitutes a form of coercion through the 'sword of shyness,' comparable to coercion at the point of an actual sword. Indeed, many people would rather submit to the literal sword and endure the pain of its wound than submit to this first kind of coercion, out of fear for their dignity and standing — which people of sound judgment hold dear and guard most fiercely." And Allah the Almighty knows best.

The Jurisprudential Significance of the Ḥadīth: "Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr Prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking..."
"Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking: 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-ḥamdu yuḥyī wa yumītu wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr' ten times — ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten bad deeds will be erased from him, he will be raised ten levels, he will spend that day in protection from everything disliked and guarded from the devil, and no sin will be able to befall him on that day except associating partners with Allah" — does this noble ḥadīth apply to the imam, and what is meant by "extraneous speech"?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite, immediately after the final salām, the specific remembrance reported in the sunnah to be said before turning away from one's place of prayer. The imam then leaves his praying spot, and the act of "turning" is fulfilled when the imam faces the congregation — even without physically leaving his spot — by positioning his right side toward them and his left side toward the qiblah, and this applies even while he is engaged in supplication.
Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn Qāsim al-ʿAbbādī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Tuḥfah (Vol.2/P.105): "It is most virtuous for the imam, once he has given the salām, to rise from his place of prayer immediately afterward." He adds that an exception must be made for the remembrances that are specifically required to be recited before he turns away. He then notes, citing Sharḥ al-ʿUbāb: "Yes, an exception to this rising immediately after the salām applies to the Fajr prayer, due to the authentic report that the Prophet ﷺ, when he prayed Fajr, would remain seated until the sun rose." He further cites, from al-Khādim, the ḥadīth concerning one who recites, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer while still in the position of crossing his leg to rise: "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah..." and the rest of the well-known ḥadīth. He comments that this makes explicit that this particular remembrance is to be recited before the worshipper turns his legs to leave, and the same applies to Maghrib and ʿAṣr, as reported in those contexts as well.
What is meant by "speech" in the relevant ḥadīth is extraneous worldly speech that is not called for after the prayer and for which there is no legitimate excuse. The remembrances reported to be recited upon concluding the prayer, however, do not fall under this category of extraneous speech, since they are themselves required by the sharīʿah.
Al-ʿAllāmah ʿAlī al-Shabrāmalsī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Nihāyah (Vol.1/P.551): "If someone greets a person with salām while he is occupied with reciting this remembrance [i.e., 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh...'], should he return the greeting — without this causing him to forfeit the promised reward, since he is engaged in an obligatory matter — or should he delay returning the greeting until he finishes, this being a legitimate excuse for the delay?" He continues: "I say: the more likely view is the former, and the prohibition on speech is to be understood as applying to extraneous speech for which there is no legitimate excuse. Based on this, should the worshipper give precedence to this remembrance ('Lā ilāha illā Allāh...') or to reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ ('Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad')? This requires consideration, though it is not unlikely that the remembrance takes precedence, given that the Lawgiver urged hastening to it through his words 'while crossing his leg.' This is not considered ordinary speech, since it is not extraneous to what is required after the prayer."
Accordingly, it is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite this remembrance and to give it precedence over the other remembrances of the prayer, ensuring it is said before they move from their place. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the Islamic ruling on the Udhiyah (sacrificial offfering)?

 
 
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The Udhiyah (sacrificial offering) is a Confirmed Sunnah (Sunnah Mu’akkadah) for every adult Muslim of sound mind who possesses the financial means, whether they are a resident, a traveler, or a pilgrim (Haj). This is based on the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: 'When the ten days [of Dhu al-Hijjah] begin and one of you desires to offer a sacrifice, let him not touch [cut] anything of his hair or skin' [Narrated by Muslim].
 
The point of evidence (Wajh al-Dalalah) here is that the Prophet ﷺ linked the sacrifice to the individual's will and desire by saying, 'and one of you desires.' This indicates that it is not obligatory (Wajib); had it been mandatory, he would have simply said, 'let him not touch his hair until he sacrifices' [without making it conditional upon desire].
 
Furthermore, it is narrated that Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) would sometimes refrain from offering the sacrifice out of fear that people might mistakenly view it as an obligatory duty [Narrated by al-Bayhaqi and others with a good (Hasan) chain of transmission]. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

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