SUNNAHS IN THE MONTH OF RAMADAN

1. To observe taraweeh.

2. To increase the recitation of the Holy Qur'aan.

3. To observe i'atikaaf during the last ten days of Ramadhaan.

Sawm (Fasting)

Sawm is a shield, as long as he (the fasting person) does not tear it up. (Nasa'ee)

Note: Fasting is a protection from Shaytãn or from Allah's punishment in the Hereafter.

One who indulges in sins whilst fasting such as lying, backbiting etc., they become the cause of the fast becoming wasted. All good deeds are for the one who renders them, but Fasting.

Fasting is exclusively for me (Allah). (Bukhãri)

Fasting is a shield and a powerful fortress. (Ahmad, Bayhaqi)

I swear by that being in whose possession is the life of Muhammad! The odour of the mouth of a fasting person is sweeter to Allah than the fragrance of musk.(Bukhãri)

Fasting is exclusively for Allah, the reward of it (being limitless) no one knows besides Allah. (Tabrãni)

Suhoor

Verily, Allah and His angels send mercy upon those who eat suhoor. (Tabrãni)

Eat suhoor because in suhoor lies barakah. (Mishkãt)

Iftãr

Whosoever gives something to a fasting person in order to break the fast, for him there shall be forgiveness for his sins and emancipation from the fire of Jahannam; and for him (the one who gives) shall be the same reward as for him (whom he fed), without that person's (the one who was fed) reward being diminished in the least. (Ibne Khuzaymah, Bayhaqi)

Whoever gave a person, who fasted, water to drink, Allah shall give him a drink from my fountain where after he shall never again feel thirsty until he enters Jannah. (Ibne Khuzaymah)

The fasting person experiences two (ocassions) of delight: at the time of iftãr and at the time he will meet his Rabb.(Bukhãri)

Not a single prayer made by a fasting person at the time of breaking fast is rejected. (Ibne Mãjah)

THINGS THAT DO NOT BREAK THE FAST

1. To eat or drink in forgetfulness.

2. To vomit without intention.

3. To swallow smoke or dust unintentionally.

4. To have a wet dream.

5. To oil the hair.

6. To use surma (collyrium) in the eyes.

7. To swallow one's saliva or phlegm.

8. To clean teeth with wet or dry Miswak (a stick used for cleaning teeth).

9. To apply or smell attar (perfume).

THINGS THAT BREAK THE FAST

1. To eat, drink or indulge in cohabitation intentionally.

2. To burn agarbatti (incense) and inhale its smoke.

3. If water goes down the throat while gargling.

4. To vomit mouthful intentionally.

5. To swallow vomit intentionally.

6. To swallow something edible, equal to or bigger than a grain of gram, which was stuck between the teeth. However, if it is first taken out of the mouth and then swallowed, it will break the fast whether it is smaller or bigger than the size of the grain.

7. To drop oil or medicine into ear or nose.

8. To swallow the blood from gums with saliva. However, if the blood is less than the saliva and its taste is not felt then the fast will not break.

9. Snuffing.

10. To eat and drink forgetting one is fasting and thereafter, thinking that the fast is broken to eat and drink again

11. Smoking.

12. To masturbate.

13. To swallow intentionally a pebble, piece of paper or any item that is not used as food or medicine.


Consult an aalim regarding the rules of kaffarah

THINGS MAKROOH (DETESTABLE) WHILE FASTING

1. To chew items such as rubber, plastic etc.

2. To taste food or drink and spit it out.

3. To collect one's saliva in the mouth and then swallow it.

4. To clean teeth or mouth with tooth powder or toothpaste.

5. To complain of hunger or thirst.

6. To quarrel, argue with filthy words.

MUSTAHAB (DESIRABLE) ACTS IN FASTING

Sawm (Fasting)

By Shaykh Mawlana Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullah

O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you, as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may (learn) self-restraint (Holy Qur'aan 2 : 183)

Sawm (fasting) means to refrain from eating, drinking and cohabiting from subha sadiq (early dawn) to sunset with a niyyah (intention) of observing fast. Fasting in the month of Ramadhaan is one of the five pillars of Islaam and is fardh (compulsory) upon every muslim who is sane and mature. Fasting has many physical, moral, and social benefits. However, Allah has made fasting compulsory so that we become pious and God-fearing. Fasting will not be valid without niyyah. It is not necessary to express the niyyah in words. However it is preferable to recite Allahumma asoomu laka ghadan (O Allah tomorrow I shall be fasting for you only). In the case of Ramadhaan, it is better to make niyyah in the night. However, should a person fail to do so, then it is permitted to make the niyyah before the majority of the day has passed.

MUSTAHAB (DESIRABLE) ACTS IN FASTING

1. To eat sehri (the meal before subha sadiq).

2. To delay the sehri up to a little before subha sadiq (early dawn).

3. To break the fast immediately after sunset.

4. To break the fast with dates. If dates are not available then with water.

5. To recite this du'a at the time of breaking the fast :
Allahumma laka sumtu wa alaa rizqika aftartu"O Allah! For You have I fasted and upon Your sustenance have I broken my fast."

Ameer Ul Momineen Hadrat Umar bin Khattab's (RA) final moments

From the mosque Umar was carried home. When he regained consciousness he asked who his murderer was. He was told that his murderer was the Persian slave Firoz. Thereupon Umar said, "Praise be to God that I have not been murdered by a Muslim".

The physician administered him date cordial and milk. These could not be digested and gushed out of his wounds. That indicated that the wounds were fatal and that he could not survive for long.

The people around him praised him for his virtues and sterling qualities. He asked them not to praise him. He said:

"All praise is to Allah. If all the treasures of this world were to be at my disposal, I would offer them as a ransom to be saved from the trial at the Day of Judgment."

He then recited the Arabic verse:

"I have been unjust to my soul,

Except that I am a Muslim,

Say my prayers and fast."

Umar asked his son Abdullah to wait on Ayesha and beg her permission for his burial by the side of the Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr. Ayesha wept as she came to know that Umar was about to die. She said, "I had reserved this place for my own burial, but I give Umar precedence over myself. Let him be buried there". When Umar was told that Ayesha had given the permission, he felt happy and said, "God bless Ayesha. She has fulfilled my greatest wish. Now I can die in peace."

Then he asked his son to estimate the debt that he had to pay. He was told that the debt amounted to eighty six thousand dirhams. This included the salary that he had drawn from the Baitul Mal during the period of his caliphate. He instructed that the debt should be paid by the sale of his property. Thereafter Umar gave detailed instructions to his son regarding his funeral. He said:

"Be moderate in the expenses of my shroud, for verily if there is anything of good with God in my favour, He will give me in exchange what is better than it, and if I have been otherwise, He will strip me of all that I have. And be moderate in the grave that you dig for me, for verily if there be anything of good with God in my favour, He will widen it for me, and if I have been otherwise, He will make it narrow for me to squeeze my body. And let no woman go with my funeral. Praise me not for that which is not in me, for the Lord knows best what I am. Therefore when you carry me to the grave, hasten in your going for if there is anything of good with God in my favour you will speed me to that which is good, and if I have been otherwise, you will cast from your necks an evil that you bear."

Thereafter Umar turned his face to the Qibla and breathed his last. There was serene smile on his face as he lay dead.

Original source: Hadrat Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman, Ali (RadiyAllah anhu) 4 Vol. Set by Professor Masud-ul-Hasan