What Does Fasting Promise Us?

“Every deed of the son of Adam will be multiplied, a hasanah (good deed) willbe multiplied tenfold up to seven hundredfold. Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, said: ‘Except fasting. It is for me, and I shall reward for it. He gives up his desires and his food for my sake.’ The fasting person will have two moments of joy: Joy when he breaks his fast and joy when he meets his Lord. And indeed, the smell of his mouth is better to Allah than the fragrance of musk.” (Sunan, Ibn Majah, 1638)

Fasting is one of the acts of worship that form the basis of Islam. In the Qur'an, our Almighty Rabb stated that fasting is made fard (obligatory duty) for believers, and the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) also declared that one of the five basic principles of the structure of Islam is fasting in Ramadan.

Firstly, every believer should perform the obligatory acts of worship solely because Allah Almighty commanded them and then only in the manner and form that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) taught. We can find explanations about the benefits and wisdom of acts of worship for Muslims, in this world and the hereafter, in the Holy Qur'an and hadiths.

As we are in the month of Ramadan, we will try to give some information in the light of hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) about fasting, its nature, and the gains it provides to believers in this world and the hereafter.

What is promised to those who fast?

In a hadith narrated by Abu Huraira (radiyallahu anh), which describes the value, virtue, and benefits of fasting for the believer, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Every deed of the son of Adam will be multiplied; a hasanah will be multiplied to ten, its like, up to seven hundred times. Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, said: "Except fasting. It is for Me, and I shall reward for it. He gives up his desires and his food for My sake.” The fasting person will have two moments of joy: Joy when he breaks his fast and joy when he meets his Lord. And indeed, the smell of his mouth is better to Allah than the fragrance of musk. Fasting is a shield, fasting is a shield!” (Sahih Bukhari, Sawm, 9)

Let's try to familiarize ourselves with this hadith, which concisely explains what fasting is, an obligatory ibadah on every Muslim, and what it gives believers, what the rewards promised in this world and the hereafter are.It tells us what is needed to achieve it.

The hadith clearly states that every good deed of the children of Adam will be rewarded from ten to seven hundred times its worth. The verse of the Quran, “Whoever comes with a good deed will be rewarded tenfold,” (Al-An'am 160) gives the good tidings that every good deed will be rewarded ten times. 

We understand from the following verse that this goodness can be multiplied seven hundredfold and that Allah can increase it even more for whomever He wishes: "The situation of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed that grows seven spikes and in each spike, there are a hundred grains. Allah gives many folds to whom He wills.” (Al-Baqarah, 261)

One deed is excluded from these great and incalculable rewards, which are reported to be given to the good deeds of the believers, and it is stated that they will be specially rewarded by Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala). The deed that is deemed worthy of this special reward is fasting. The reward of fasting is at least seven hundred times its merit and could even be exorbitantly more than this amount. (Ibn Malak, Sharhu’l-Masabih, vol. 2/505)

The meaning of fasting for Allah

Here a question may come to mind: As it is known that all the deeds done for the sake of Allah are done to please Him and will be rewarded by Him, what is the meaning of the phrase 'fasting is for me, I will reward it'? This question can be answered as follows:

Nothing can be observed of the fasting person in words or actions to indicate that he is fasting because fasting consists of the intention of the person who performs it, and no one knows what is in our hearts except Allah. Since it is unknown to them, the angels who are in charge of writing the deeds can not record it like dhikr, salah, charity, and other deeds. According to the definitions and criteria of Islam, fasting is not just about giving up eating and drinking; every person who stops eating and drinking is not considered to be fasting unless they intend to do it to please Allah. To fast according to the principles set by Islam, one must have intended to perform a fard or supererogatory (nafilah) act of worship before doing so. A person who does not fulfill these conditions is not considered to be fasting even if he stops eating and drinking. That's why it has been said that even the scribe angels do not know or keep a record of a fasting person's situation. But Allah knows and rewards them by multiplying it as much as he wishes. (Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Tamhid, 19/60)

Although all acts of worship are for Allah, one of the meanings of fasting being an exception can be as follows: No being other than Allah has been worshipped by fasting. None of the pagans and mushriks worshipped their gods by fasting. The mushriks prostrated themselves to their idols and sacrificed but did not fast for them. In this aspect, fasting is an act of worship performed only for Allah. (Al-Ayni, 'Umdat al-Qari, 25/158)

Shaykh Kalabazi (rahmatullahi alayh) said: “Allah's ascribing fasting to Himself must be because it is away from the pretense of virtuousness (riya). Because fasting is almost completely far from people's eyes, it is almost impossible for it to be infected with artifice or affectation. In addition, the expression 'does not eat', which is used about the fasting person, is a sign that the servant takes on a quality similar to the attribute of 'Samad' belonging to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) because, in the verse, Allah the Most High says, “He feeds and is not fed” (An’am, 14). Certainly, a servant’s share of this divine quality is in proportion to the capacity of a human being. In the end, this attribute only truly belongs to Allah the Exalted in an absolute and perfect sense. This situation is similar to people possessing qualities such as knowledge, generosity and compassion to the extent that a person can, but the only one who has perfect and total dominion over these attributes is Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. As such, it is jaiz (permissible) to attribute fasting as an act of worship to His divine personage alone.

In the hadith, it is stated, “I will give the reward of fasting.” This sentence indicates the greatness of fasting and that the reward to be given for it is unfathomable. The fact that Allah the Almighty attributes the reward to be given for an act of worship to Himself shows the greatness and importance of the act. This also means that the reward for fasting will be a reward that shows the generosity of our Rabb, not a deserved reward for performing that act of worship.

Sharif Abu'l-Hasan al-Hamadani said, “Allah has made fasting an ibadah that is uniquely dedicated to Himself in order to save it from the corruption of the enemy. Because if we cause harm or do injustice to anyone, those we have wronged will lay claim to a fair share of the good deeds we have committed for Allah as compensation on the day of judgment. When the good deeds are all swept away by the wronged parties, and the book of deeds lies wide open and empty, Allah will call up their book of fasting; fasting is not for the servants of Allah, but only for Allah Himself. Therefore, He gives him the reward he deserves for fasting in accordance with the divine glory of His lordship because the reward He will give is on a scale fitting for His grandeur and majesty.” (Al Kalabazi, Bahru’l-Fawaid, 1/180-181)

Two times of joy for the fasting person

“There are two times of joy for the fasting person, one is when he breaks his fast…” The expression “the joy during iftar (breaking fast)” may mean satisfying his hunger after giving up eating and drinking. It may also indicate the joy of completing the fast. The fasting person experiences the joy of completing his fast and not having it interrupted due to reasons such as death or illness. Or he feels the joy of having accomplished something that is only for Allah becauseAllah has given a decree about fasting; in it, He stated, “Fasting is for me.”

It seems that the joy at the time of iftar, which is mentioned here, differs according to sincerity, and closeness to Allah.

It is also possible that the word "iftar" refers to the moment when a believer leaves this world because a believer fasts all his life, denying himself the pleasures and desires that are forbidden to him. If a man's life is considered as one day, he will have his iftar at the end of the day. When the sun finally sets over a believer’s life, his abstinence from all his desires ends and he breaks his fast. This is the same joy a fasting person experiences at the time of iftar. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated, “Death is a gift for the believer.”(Ibn al-Mubarak, al-Zuhd, 1/212)

Death is a means that enables the believer to break free of the mortal world, which is a place of distress, attain eternal blessings, and reach higher degrees and places.

The second joy of the fasting person is expressed with “the joy when he meets his Lord!”, which is believed to be the gift of looking upon the divine beauty of Allah (jamalullah) because the hadith states that Allah says, “I will reward it.” In other words, it means that Ru'yatullah (seeing Allah) will be given to His servant as a reward. This will not be a reward that exactly corresponds to the deed performed by the servant, but it will be given as a bounty and benevolence from the Lord.

The smell of a fasting person’s mouth is better to Allah than the smell of musk. As it is known, people love the smell of musk and might prefer it to the majority of fragrances. It means that the smell of the fasting person's mouth is superior to everything else in the presence of Allah and He is pleased with it. The reason why this is so is that the smell is due to an act of worship performed for Allah. For this reason, some imams considered using miswak in the afternoon as a makruh (disliked) act. (Kalabazi, Bahru’l-Fawaid, 1/181; Ali al-Qari, Mirqat al-mafatih, 4/1363)

How is fasting a shield?

There are many hadiths stating that fasting is a shield. Let's mention some of them here:

“Fasting is a shield against hellfire.” (Tirmidhi, Safar, 433)

“Fasting is a shield and a strong fortress against Hell.” (Ahmad, Musnad, 15/123)

“Fasting is a shield against the fire like the shield of any one of you in battle.” (Nasai, Siyam, 43, Ibn Majah, Siyam 1)

“Fasting is a shield as long as the fasting person does not destroy it.” (An-Nasai, Siyam, 43; Ahmad Al-Musnad, 3/220, 228, 196; Darimi, Sawm, 27)

“Fasting is a shield; when one of you is fasting, he should neither behave in an obscene manner nor foolishly. If a man fights or abuses him, he should say: I am fasting, I am fasting.” (Bukhari, Sawm 2; Muslim, Siyam, 163)

“‘Fasting is a shield as long as it isn’t destroyed.’ Upon which he was asked, ‘What destroys it?’ He replied, ‘Lies and backbiting.’” (Haythami, Al-Zawaid, 5012)

The expression “as long as it isn’t destroyed” in the hadith signifies foul language, verbal offenses and similar behaviors. One of the salaf said: “Backbiting this or that removes the reward of fasting. Istighfar (seeking Allah's forgiveness) also restores fasting. The person who does not want to end up with a fast whose rewards are exhausted should pay attention to this!” Ibn al-Munkadir also says, “A fasting person destroys his fast when he backbites, and repairs it when he seeks forgiveness (istighfar).”

A shield is a device that protects a person from their enemy's weapon. Just as a shield protects one from the blows of an enemy in war, fasting guards its owner against sins in the world.

When fasting is a shield against sins in this world, it also serves a shield against Hell in the hereafter.

Another meaning of fasting being a shield may be leaving the nafs powerless to commit sins by sapping it of its strength. When the nafs is hungry, it overwhelms other urges and causes other parts of the body to be tranquil, and when its hunger is sated, it causes other parts of the body to be hungry and feel the need to act on that hunger.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) stated, “If any ignorant one fights or abuses him, he should say, ‘I am fasting.’” (Bukhari, Sawm, 2; Muslim, Siyam 160)

This means that any evil or harmful act done by an ignorant person should not be reciprocated. When a Muslim is faced with such a situation and wants to respond, he should say to himself, “I am fasting, ignorance and vulgar deeds do not suit a fasting person,” and thus prevent himself from evil. The fasting person can remind himself and the ignorant person of this reality by reiterating the words “I am fasting” instead of responding to him. (Ibn Battal, Sharhu’l-Sahih al-Bukhari, 4/8)

The following hadith tells us that fasting is not just about giving up eating and drinking; it clearly reveals that fasting in the real sense means abandoning all kinds of speech and actions that Allah has forbidden.

“Whoever does not give up lies and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)”(Sahih al-Bukhari, 1903)

 It is also possible that the phrase “fasting is a shield” means the following:

Just as Hell cannot burn the body parts washed during wudu, it cannot burn the fasting person's body either. This is because fasting covers the whole body and is performed with the entirety of it.

Another meaning of assigning the attribute of being a shield against Hell to fasting is this: Fasting inherently incorporates renunciation of the desires of the nafs in order to gain Allah's approval. The curtains are opened between the person who abandons the desires of his nafs in order to gain Allah's approval and his Lord because the curtain between the servant and his Lord is but his own nafs.

The principles that form the basis of Islam are five: witnessing that there is no god but Allah, performing prayers, paying zakat, fasting in Ramadan, and making the pilgrimage to Baytullah. Among these acts of worship that form the basis of Islam, prolonged abstinence from the desires of the nafs is only found in fasting. The proof of this is of Allah (jalla jalaluhu) saying, “because he abandons his food and his desire for my sake.” With these statements, it has been established unequivocally that the servant's abandonment of his eating and desires is a deed done for Allah, not for anyone else. (Kalabazi, Bahru’l-Fawaid, 1/184)

May Allah Almighty bless us to fast for His own sake, away from hypocrisy and showing off, as stated in the hadith qudsi about fasting, grant us the rewards promised to those who fast, make it so that our fasts serve as a shield in this world and in the hereafter, and make it easy for all of us to succeed in this. Amin.

Ali Kaya