Mustafa Abu Rayyan – 38 Tafseer Surah alBaqarah Verse 183184
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The importance of fasting is discussed, including avoiding breaking fast rules and respecting one's opinion. The speaker emphasizes the benefits of fasting for worship and learning to handle behavior. They stress the importance of fasting for achieving goals, including rewaking one's mentality and learning to handle behavior. The speaker advises against fasting and breaking fast rules for health reasons, and provides advice on managing one's health and travel. They also discuss the importance of the Quran and the importance of learning to distinguish between true and falsehood.
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And,
after these ayat,
we will be entering into some Ayats related
to Al Hajj
and then,
some aham related to transaction.
And you will notice that the Surah will
start focusing a lot on,
issues as it relates to fiqh, the halal
and the haram.
And it is almost as if the chapter,
the surah was preparing you.
First you are told about
why you were created
in the beginning of Sur Baqarah.
You were told about your history, the beginning
of mankind with the story of Adam.
You were told about your purpose in life
and how Allah created us for His worship
and also Allah made us the khulafa,
of this earth.
And that then Allah
told us that there are 2 types of
people, or 2 types of groups or nations.
And then Allah
spoke about the Banu Israel
and how they failed
to realize the potential as people that should
worship Allah and follow the prophets.
Then after you were told what not to
do,
you were told about an example of one
who completely submitted to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
like prophet Ibrahim alayhi salam. So you were
told who to emulate and follow. Now you
are ready to listen to the commandments.
Now you're ready to listen to the commandments.
And it is upon you to say
what Ibrahim said when Allah asks you to
fast or to do anything else and that
is,
I've submitted myself to the lord of the
worlds.
So
tonight I want to focus on speaking about
fasting.
Some of its and ruling
and some of its virtues.
Allah mentions,
in verse 183 like we mentioned last week,
O you who believe,
fasting has been made obligatory upon you or
has been prescribed for you just like the
people that came before you so that you
may attain Taqwa.
So
we mentioned that fasting is to withhold yourself
from the things that break it.
Fasting is to withhold yourself from anything that
would break a fast.
And the Muftirat, the things that will break
a fast are many.
Among the things that can break one's fast
is of course eating,
drinking,
and also having relations.
And also,
so these are the main ones. These are
the main ones, right, that you should stay
away from.
And there are things that some of the
dilemma have, differed over. Are they considered to
be things that break you fast or not?
And,
example of that would be
when
when someone takes,
certain
medications or or injections,
would that be considered
the same as breaking your fast? And some
are very strict and they say anything that
enters into your body
from any man fed, from any place
would result in the fast being broken. And
that's very strict.
That's very
strict. So they wouldn't allow anyone to take
even an injection,
during Ramadan. And this is quite relevant for
us. For example, the people that were taking
vaccinations.
And other ulama, they looked at the purpose
behind the purpose behind,
the prohibition of eating and drinking is to
stop the body from receiving nutrition.
So anything
that
gives you nutrition or nourishment,
adds nutritional value to your body,
it would be considered something that breaks your
fast even if it doesn't if you don't
ingest it.
So for example,
some people they are given
IV fluids
and that would give the person some energy
or and the for the another one would
be I mean, we have I believe, the
doctor is here, would be a blood donation.
It kind of dot it it gives the
person
a form of, so d d f it
it it adds something to your body. So
these things would break it fast. But in
a steroid injection, for example,
or something that just kills your pain and
doesn't really give any
any nutritional value to your body, that wouldn't
be considered something that breaks your fast.
There is some difference of opinion in this
issue. And what is the general rule you
should hold when there is a difference of
opinion? This was something that was really,
popularized by Imam al Shafi'i and his students
in the Shafi'i mad hub. That whenever there
is a difference of opinion on something, and
you have opinion a and opinion b,
even if they would hold opinion A, they
would say they would regard opinion B as
a valid position to hold and they would
if there is a way where they don't,
where they can act upon
opinion B as well, they would try it.
So what would be an example of that?
Example of that would be, let's say,
Summer Alemayr said anything that goes into your
body breaks your fast. And that includes any
type of injection even if it's a vaccine
or or a steroid injection, whatever the case
is. It breaks your fast. And then some
Alemaz said, no. If it doesn't add any
nutritional value, it doesn't break a fast. So
the cautious
option to do is what? If you do
not require,
if you can take it at night, if
you can delay it to after Ramadan, that
you do that
out of respect of the that hold the
opinion that is not allowed. Does that make
sense? This is generally a good view for
the Muslim to have. So that you don't
What does this help you with? Every time
there is you're not like there's
2 opinions, 3 opinions. Let me see which
one is you you don't have that mentality
of
benefiting from the difference of opinion of scholars,
and then just picking every time what comes
the most natural to you, what's the easiest
to you.
There is a there is a, other side
to this. Some people, they are always so
cautious,
they will always take the most strict opinion.
The most difficult opinion, the most strict opinion.
And that's not necessarily also, very wise, but
whenever you can, if you can act, if
you can
try and respect the the the other goal
and maybe not infringe on it, this is
always khair in it. So, we said fasting
is to stay away from things that that
that break your fast, and,
some of the things that Leymah mentioned other
than, eating and drinking and anything that is
similar to it, And then relations and anything
that is similar to it. So this is
all anything that is similar to it. So
if someone doesn't engage in relation,
but the the result of relation happens to
them, right, then this would also be considered
someone that broke his fast. Right? So you
can't
do anything of that sort either. Then you
have,
Allahhumstanta'ala.
Certain things such as,
someone purposely making themselves vomit.
Someone purposely making themselves vomit would also,
break their fast.
Of course, more details of this is studied
in, in fiqh, but it is important that
you refresh your understanding
of what breaks a fast and what doesn't.
Does taste in food break a fast?
Tasting food, it doesn't. As long as you
do not ingest it and you spit it
out, it is very disliked for you to
do so if there is no reason for
it. And there are some exempt exemptions given
to people that are cooking food for people,
etcetera.
So fasting is not just an exercise that
we do to,
stop us ourselves from eating and drinking for
no reason. There is a greater purpose behind
it. And that greater purpose is to worship
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this manner. And
to train ourselves to be able to obey
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and to if you
to train yourself almost to stop yourself from
doing the things that you desperately need. And
if you can do that, then you can
clearly stop yourself also from the things that
you do not need, such as being sinful
and doing all those other things.
What is the reward of fasting? This is
something that we often overlook. And wallahi, it's,
one of every time I read about the
virtues of fasting,
it one thing we wonder is why why
do we not fast more?
One such hadith that always really,
is the, me personally, one of the most
powerful hadiths to indicate
how virtuous fasting is. Not just fasting Ramadan,
fasting generally.
Of course fasting Ramadan that would be even
greater.
General rule to always remember, any act of
worship that you do, if it's an obligation,
it has more reward than if is a,
a, recommended act. So what's more reward? Doing
your first hedge or your third hedge, which
is the first Hajj. Why? Because that one
is obligatory.
What's more rewarding? Giving zakat or sadaqa? Zakat.
Because it is obligatory. What's more rewarding? Fasting
Ramadan or fasting Thursdays Mondays? Fasting Ramadan. And
that's always something you have to remember.
Prayer that we pray. The prayer that we
pray in Ramadan.
And the Isha prayer that we pray in
Ramadan. The Isha prayer has more virtue.
And this is something that people often
misunderstand.
Because
there is nothing greater that gets you closer
to Allah than the obligations.
Based on that of course the fasting of
Ramadan
is is is a lot more virtuous. Virtuous.
So, the prophet said
that about fasting,
this is actually
means a statement that was said by Allah.
Every act does, that man does is for
them.
It's it's yours.
Etcetera fasting.
Everything that you do is yours, except
For indeed fasting is mine. Allah said,
and I will reward it. Now there's a
few questions that comes to your mind. 1st,
doesn't Allah own everything?
So what does this mean?
And also doesn't Allah reward us for the
other stuff as well? The prayer and the
sadaqa? So why specifically say I will reward
fasting? Doesn't Allah reward you for your prayer
and for your salat upon the prophet and
for your sadaqa? Allah does. And we hope
Allah rewards us and accept all good
deeds. So the explained
it. It's a great scholar
who he mentioned about 12.
12 ways to explain this hadith.
One of them he said is that
this hadith when Allah said I will reward
it.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is
teaching us that fasting
fasting
is looked at by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
as
separate
from all the other Ibadat.
So fasting is seen as separate from all
the other acts of worship. Your salah, your
all of it. Your all of it.
In in what in what manner?
On the day of judgement,
if we have wronged each other
or oppressed each other,
we will be taking each other's good deeds.
Will we not?
So if someone wronged you
then Allah will take will will compensate you
by taking their acts of worship from them.
Their prayers and their sadaqah, etcetera, etcetera. Correct?
And if you wronged someone, they will be
taking yours.
What happens when all of your good deeds
are depleted? Who can tell me?
What happens,
Ali?
Yes. When all your good deeds are depleted,
if you wronged more people and they come,
then they will be putting their sins on
you. This is why be very careful of
oppressing others. May Allah forgive us.
So
while this is happening,
your fast will not be touched.
Fasting is so special when Allah is saying
fasting is mine. This is what it means.
It means it is not
gonna be put on the table for you
to give it to others to begin with.
This every fast that you do it will
be held in a special place for you.
This is what it means when Allah said
every act you do is yours. Meaning,
if you wrong others and you will compensate
them with that.
Except for fasting for it is mine. In
other words, that will always be kept and
preserved for you.
Just this understanding,
you'll realize how precious fasting is. How precious
fasting is.
There's another
explanation he makes, and he says
that
the that we do, the righteous actions that
we do,
they are
multiplied many fold. And And this is from
the rahmah of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They
are multiplied many fold.
Right.
The Every good deed is times 10. And
this is the bare minimum actually, it's times
10.
This is why the prophet, when he said
about the Hadith of Abdullah, hadith of regarding
the restation of
the
Quran. I do not say is one letter,
rather each one you get 10 fourths. When
you say you get 30 rewards. Right? By
the way, this is the bare minimum.
This is the bare minimum.
Every time you do a good deed,
there is a multiplier
by 10. This is why even the prayers,
when Allah
decreased
the prayers
from 50 to 5, the Hadith mentions.
5 in number but 50 in reward. Meaning
what again? That multiply by 10 is what?
Present.
Then up to 700.
Up to 700.
Up to even much more.
Right? So, especially if for example in Surah
Al Baqarah you'll find that charity, Allah multiplies
it by 700.
700.
Right?
And then
some to many many other folds. So Allah
knows how much. But
what's interesting is
the
This is the of fasting,
that the reward
of, the reward
of all the good deeds
are
able to be enumerated.
Right? We mentioned numbers, times 10, times 700.
There is some sort of a quantity
attached to it
that the angels are aware of.
Except for fasting.
It's such so great they don't know.
The reward of fasting is so great that
even that there is no number,
no
multiply attached to it.
And
Indeed those who have patience will be given
the reward without an without a hisab, without
any account. Meaning, it is immeasurable.
The reward is immeasurable.
Just those two reasons
should be enough for us to be fasting
all the time.
The first reason which was what?
That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
holds fasting for you and it is special.
2,
that
the reward of it is so great.
So, this is the virtue of fasting. Now
imagine fasting
in the month of Ramadan.
Fasting in the month of Ramadan.
This should explain to you.
I believe there's a hadith of prophet
said that
he either said Amin
to the cursed may be the one who
reaches Ramadan
and does not get forgiveness.
When you understand how much virtue, how much
khal there is in Ramadan, how much virtue
khal is in fasting,
And then it is Ramadan. And then you
do not benefit from that great, great, great
opportunity.
Waib,
we mentioned some of the ihkam of fasting.
The ayah that we've done last week mentioned,
a yam al ma'adudat
that we fast
a number of days.
This is 29 or 30. How come we're
not 31? Because the Islamic ones never go
to 31.
And then Allah said,
Whoever is sick among you or traveling, then
he then let him make up other days
If they broke their fast,
what's important to mention is which one is
more virtuous. If you are sick, should you
fast or break your fast? If you are
traveling, should you fast or break your fast?
First and foremost, the there is khalaf in
this. They say, okay. So you're traveling. Let's
say you're going on a plane or you're
going somewhere and it's Ramadan. Should you keep
your fast or should you break it?
The
a lot of people
prefer to fast. Especially when they say there's
no difficulty attached to this. So So why
would I be breaking my fast?
Now what's really important to understand is, and
this is this is something very important to
say. Allah
gave
this leniency
as it relates to fasting for the traveler
and the sick. Right? The traveler
and the sick.
Now,
if
someone
is working at a warehouse,
a very difficult shift,
very difficult shift,
They might become more tired or they most
definitely will feel more tired,
and fasting will be more difficult for them
than someone who's sitting at the back of
the car traveling in the highway.
Right?
So
if we say
the reason why the the the the traveler
is
allowed to break his fast
is because it is difficult for him to
fast. Full stop. And that's to say the
that's the only reason.
Now we are in a situation where
the one who's not traveling
is going through more difficulty than the one
who is traveling.
Should we then say with that logic,
well based on the based on the reason
being
the difficulty,
you should say that even if you're if
you're in a warehouse or working in a
farm or doing a labor job, then you
should also not fast.
Not one scholar
in the history of our ulema has ever
said this. And during the time of the
prophet
they were farmers and laborers
that would struggle,
yet they would not break their fast. So
the breaking of the fast for the traveler
is not only
you shouldn't only look at the level of
difficulty.
You're allowed to break your fast when traveling
even if you're not going through difficulty,
like they used to be in the past.
Right?
Now, we know you can,
but should you? This is the question. We
know we can. It's clear in the eye.
Yeah. If you're traveling, you can break it
fast. But should we?
There is a narration that mentions the prophet
said that Allah loves
for
us to benefit from his
When Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala makes things easy
for us,
Allah wants us to benefit from that. There's
a reason
for that. When Allah makes things easy for
us, we shouldn't ignore it.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
said that if you're ill, you can break
your fast. If you're traveling, you can break
your fast. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and the
prophet said that when you're, traveling or or
when you make wudu, you can wipe your
socks.
You can do Things that have made life
easier for the Muslim.
You're not supposed to ignore those. You're supposed
to benefit from them. They're the of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
We still haven't answered the question, should we?
Yes. We should benefit from them, but but
who should benefit from them? Some said,
if you're traveling and it is difficult, then
break your fast. If it's traveling and it's
not difficult, don't break your fast. Others have
said,
if you're traveling, whether it's difficult or not,
you you should,
break your fast.
And they mentioned some hadith like there's a
narration
It's
not from righteousness to fast when traveling.
That should make it very clear cut. It's
not from righteousness to travel when you're to
fast when you're traveling, so why would we?
But this is where you learn that the,
this hadith was not mentioned in isolation. It
was mentioned within
larger
incident and that was that,
some Sahaba struggled.
And they were fasting and they couldn't
help out the way that the non travel
non fasting travelers were. And they managed to
do a lot more khair, a lot more
work in that regard.
And if you think about it,
if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
gave you an out, you can break a
fast, you chose not to, and that affected
your day
as a as a affected your obligations,
that you needed to do, then you understand
that perhaps you have not made the best
decision. Right? And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala knows
best, and Allah knows what's best for us.
So
there's nothing wrong if you choose to fast.
There's also nothing wrong if you choose to
break a fast. What I would advise is,
if you are continuing your fast, do so
in worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Some
people they have a very good reason. Right?
And their reason is they say, we struggle
making up.
We forget, we delay, and all of a
sudden it's the next year, Shaaban, and I've
missed. And for me, it's better to keep
my fast. This is a very good reason
to have. This is a very good reason
for to have. Right?
And some,
it's not that hard for them, and they
can make it up. And they wanna benefit
from this. This is why,
the Salaf is they used to say
The one who is
breaking his fast would not blame the one
who is fasting and vice versa.
Taib.
Now
there is another group of people that needs
to be mentioned.
We said that if you are sick you
can break your fast.
And
what if you
are so sick,
it's the type of illness that will never
go away. Well, it can go away with
the qanda of Allah, but it is diagnosed
that this will be something that you're going
to live with. And there are certain type
of diseases or sicknesses where you cannot where
you cannot,
continue fasting.
What does the person who cannot fast at
all do?
They feed
a poor person
every single day that they miss.
They feed a poor person every single day
that they can miss.
There are several ways this can be done.
In the beginning of Ramadan, they could get
30 people. Those 30 people must all be
considered poor and in need.
And then they feed them one time,
and that is done for the Ramadan.
So feeding
30 people.
They can either cook the food and give
it to them, or they can give it
to them and they they can cook it
themselves. Both options are fine. They can do
it one person every single day for Ramadan.
Again, there's flexibility in this.
As long as
the every day they miss out
on fasting they should feed 1 person.
This is for the one who is too
sick to fast
and cannot make it up.
Or the one who is too old to
fast and cannot make it up. Those two
people, that's what they do.
Then you have the woman who is
pregnant.
And the one who the who is breastfeeding.
This one, the ulama, they have many aqwal.
There's about 4 opinions
in this.
And sisters what happens to a lot of
sisters is for example and this is something
that is quite,
difficult for many of them.
They are pregnant
and due to the pregnancy they cannot
fast. So they missed a number of days
if not a lot of days. Then they
give birth and the following Ramadan they're still
breastfeeding.
And then because they are breastfeeding
they need to eat to ensure that they
are breastfeeding their child and then they miss
a number of days. And then they might
get pregnant again and then the next Ramadan
and then they're either breastfeeding. And then add
a number of years where all of a
sudden they have I remember someone messaging me
one time and said about they have 200
days of fast that they need to do
to make up. Now this is a lot.
This is a lot.
What are their options?
According to Abdullah ibn Abasradil Abu Anhu and
Abdullah ibn Umar, they said that the ayah
184
is actually about them as well.
Ayah is about them as well where Allah
said,
So what they do is every day they
miss, they feed a poor person and that
would be the end of it.
After feeding a poor person,
do they need to do anything else according
to that opinion? No. That is enough. Just
like the other,
just just like the,
the,
the people that had
a perpetual illness
or
old age. Some are Alemah,
of the salaf, and they said, no.
We have to look at their situation.
The situation of the pregnant woman and the
situation
of the woman that is breastfeeding
is a temporary issue.
And what else is temporary?
Being sick and traveling. So they have more
in common
with the sick person, the traveler,
whose the whose issue is temporary than they
have with the person with a perpetual illness
and old age whose issue is permanent.
So they are a lot more,
similar
to the other 2. Therefore, what would the
what what what what did Allah say about
if you're sick or traveling, you make it
up another time. In other words, they have
to make it up. Right? Some are all
they
they looked at,
the reasoning. If it wasn't a reason circumstances,
was it be out of fear for themselves
or fear for the child, and that's the
distinction that they make.
And they say that,
they depending on the reason, they would either
have to make it up or they would
have to feed.
There is one opinion that's very out there,
in
Hazar who said they don't have to do
anything.
Right? And, he he went with the opinion
because he said that no there is no
clear cut,
very clear evidence that they should do
anything. Therefore, they assert that you should do
nothing.
Which is,
and, this is,
and Allah knows best. But,
again my advice is and this is the
advice I give to many sisters as well,
based on what I said in the beginning
of the class,
when you have several opinions,
if you can
navigate your way through these opinions
by,
ensuring that
you have covered all of your bases, this
is the best way.
So,
if you can make up your fast, the
advice is to make up your fasts.
And, yes, 200 fasts might be a daunting
task.
But
in a year,
if you fast every Thursday
Monday,
that would give you maybe about a 100.
If you do that, and that's what? Twice
a week?
90 yeah. 96?
That that's what? 2 years where you're fasting
only 2 days a week? And then you
have, of course, Ramadan in between. But this
is something that you can do and your
intention could be making up. And you could
do that slowly. If that is too much
for you, maybe do one day a week.
But the point is that you work your
way towards that and you also pay.
You also pay, but then you also work
your way up and you do fast that
one day or the right? And this is
some advice that Dorelle Ma gave. And it
is not it is
not impossible.
It is not impossible.
And,
yeah. But again, Allah
knows best. If some sisters, take the opinion,
like and it is a very strong opinion
actually, the one about Hamda Sahaba and
Abdullah and Abbas who is one one of
the most knowledgeable of the companions. They can
just feed someone and leave it at that.
For Behar and everyone, that is okay. If
they also wanna add making it up just
to be extra sure, this is also perfectly
fine for them as well. And Allah
knows best.
Verse 185,
it starts with Allah talking about shahr Ramadan.
Oh, yeah. Before I mention, the ayah ends
with
for you to fast is better for you.
This is a general for you to fast
is better for you. This
was speaking about those that are feeding. To
fast is better for them.
Of course if they can.
Allah then said, shahru Ramadan, the month of
Ramadan. The month of Ramadan is the 9th
month in the Islamic calendar.
It is next month. We are in Shaba
now.
It is the month
Quran that the Quran was revealed. What makes
the month of Ramadan special?
The Quran was revealed. There are many things
that make it special, but number 1 on
that list is that the Quran was revealed.
The Quran is the literal speech of Allah
Allah The Quran is the speech of Allah,
making it more virtuous than anything that has
ever been on this earth.
The Quran is greater and more virtuous than
even the prophets. Because the prophets are the
creation of Allah, whereas the Quran is the
speech of Allah.
Right? So the there's nothing greater,
that has come to this earth from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala
than his words.
It his words are a guidance.
They are a light.
They are a source of goodness.
They are a source of of
all that is good for us.
And Ramadan was the month this Quran was
revealed.
And as we all know, the Quran was
taken from the brought down from the preserved
tablets, the lohunafood,
to the first
sky.
And we have 7 skies.
The first sky which is Samadunya.
And there is a place called Baytul Izzah.
And from there, over a period of 23
years, the Quran was being revealed to the
prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
So
this is what makes this month special.
And this is why shahar Ramadan is also
known as shaharluquran, the month of Quran.
If anything, this should be the month you
spend the most with the Quran.
Read it.
Ponder over it. Recite it as much as
you can. Listen to it.
Spend more time at the Quran than any
other time in the month.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said,
Quran. The Quran was revealed in it.
What was the purpose of the Quran?
A guidance to mankind. The The Quran is
there to guide you.
A guidance to mankind.
Allah
said, it is clear message just giving guidance
and distinguishing between right and wrong.
The
word is that which distinguish between right and
wrong. And this is very important. The prophet
used to make a dua.
Oh Allah, show us the truth as the
truth
and give us the guidance to follow it.
And show us the falsehood as falsehood
And show give us the guidance to stay
away from it. Because often people will look
at the guidance and run away from it.
And they will look at falsehood and run
towards it. So you need to ask
Allah to give you the ability to distinguish
between those two things. And how do we
distinguish between those two things?
By having piety and taqwa. Allah says in
the Quran,
If you have taqwa, Allah will give you
Allah will give you the ability
to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and this
is something that you need. And, of course,
you learn that you you you get the
ability
through hidayah and guidance from Allah and through
knowledge as well.
So Allah
revealed the Quran to distinguish between right and
wrong, and the Quran teaches you the right
path from the wrong path. The Quran teaches
you the difference between disbelief and belief. The
Quran teaches you the difference between people of
hellfire and people of Jannah. It's as a
the righteous and the wicked. The Quran always
tells you about the 2 groups and even
a sort of Fatiha,
Always telling you right from wrong,
and it's important to always remember our morality
and our right and wrong, we always take
it from Allah
We'll continue explaining the ayat later to to,
Ramadan as we continue our class
next week. Actually, next week, Wednesday I'm not
here.
I am traveling.
So, the week after that, inshallah,
we will continue
and we will be speaking about the ayats
of of Ramadan
as well as,
some of the ihkam of fasting.