Why was fasting singled out when Allaah said, “Fasting is for Me and I shall reward for it?” ?

Question

What is special about fasting so that Allaah singled it out when He said, “Fasting is for Me and I shall reward for it?”.

Answer 1

You can fast, and then you can really *fast* There's a distinction. Our Prophet said 'Perhaps a person fasting will receive nothing from his fasting except hunger and thirst." [Ibn Maajah, Ad-Daarimee, Ahmad, al-Baihaqee, Saheeh] You've got to have good intentions. It's not only about hunger.

- The reward for fasting is immense, as mentioned in the following Hadeeth:

"Every action of the son of Adam is given manifold reward, each good deed receiving then times its like, up to seven hundred times. Allah the Most High said, 'Except for fasting, for it is for Me and I will give recompense for it, he leaves off his desires and his food for Me.' for the fasting person there are two times of joy; a time when he breaks his fast and a time of joy when he meets his Lord, and the smell coming from the mouth of the fasting person is better with Allah than the smell of musk." [al-Bukhaaree]

Also, Sahl ibn Sa`d said that the Prophet (s.a.w.) said: "Indeed there is a gate of Paradise called ar-Rayyaan. On the day of Resurrection those who fast will enter through it; no one enters it except for them, and when they have entered, it is closed so that no one enters it, so when the last of them enters it, it is closed, and whoever enters it drinks, and whoever drinks never becomes thirsty." [Ibn Khuzaimah, Saheeh].

- Fasting is a shield against the Fire:

"Fasting is a shield with which a servant protects himself from the Fire." [Ahmad, Saheeh]

- On the Day of Judgement, "Fasting will say: O My Lord I prevented him from food an desires so accept my intercession for him." [Ahmad, al-Haakim and Abu Nu'aim, Hasan]

- Fasting is a means for one's sins to be forgiven. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said: "He who fasts Ramadhan, due to Iman and hoping for reward (from Allah) then his past sins are forgiven." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]

- The supplication of the fasting person is answered: "There are in the month of Ramadhan in every day and night those to whom Allah grants freedom from the Fire, and there is for every Muslim an supplication which he can make and will be granted." [al-Bazzaar, Ahmad, Saheeh]

- Fasting is an expiation for various sins, as mentioned in the Qur'aan, in verses: 2:196, 4:92, 5:89, 5:95 and 58:3-4.

- The fasting person will be among the true followers of the prophets and the martyrs: `Amr ibn Murrah al-Juhaanee r.a.a. said: "A man came to the Prophet (s.a.w.) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what if I testify that none has the right to worshipped but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah, and I observe the five daily prayers, and I pay the zakaah, and I fast and stand in prayer in Ramadhan, then amongst whom shall I be?' He said: 'Amongst the true followers of the prophets and the martyrs.' " [Ibn Hibbaan, Saheeh]

- Fasting is a shield against one's base desires, as the Prophet (s.a.w.) told the youth: "O youths, whoever amongst you is able to marry then let him do so, since it restrains the eyes and protects the private parts, and he who is unable, then let him fast because it is a shield for him." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]

Fasting has been singled out in this Hadith as a special form of worship because :

1. It controls the desires in a manner different from all the other types of worship.

2. Fasting is a secret worship which only Allah knows. Salaah, Haj, recitation of Qura'an, etc all have a physical dimension and pride can easily creep in. Fasting, however, is a state of abstention. Pride cannot easily come in as others do not know whether a person is fasting or not.

Imam Ghazali Rahimahullah, the great scholar and mystic, has mentioned three stages of fasting:

1. Fasting of the general masses - Abstaining from food, drink and sexual intercourse only. This is the weakest form of fasting.

2. Fasting of the pious - In addition to abstention from food and drink a person guards the eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet and all the parts of the body from sin.

3. Fasting of the prophets and the close servants of Allah - In addition to guarding the limbs of the body from sin there is fasting of the heart and mind so that the thoughts are restricted to Allah. Evil intentions and worldly thoughts are prevented from entering the heart.

To attain perfection of the second level of fasting Imam Ghazali has given five advices :

a. Lowering and protecting the gaze from evil and sinful sights.

b. Protecting the tongue from vain talk, obscene language, lying, back-biting, carrying tales, etc. Keep the tongue busy in remembering Allah and reciting the Qura'an.

c. Protecting the ears from listening to evil. Words which are Haraam to speak are also Haraam to listen to.

d. Protecting the remainder of the limbs of the body from evil.

e. Eating less than one's normal meals. How can the fast be beneficial when the Iftaar has such a variety of foods which are not even eaten at other times of the year? Does fasting not teach once to abstain from eatin

Answer 2

because it involves sparing food and thus sparing life.

Answer 3

because its between u and Allah  nobody see or judge u when Ur in fasting   except Allah

  

Answer 4

From the essay Who authered the Quran.

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/kasem...

The Sabeans

W. St. Clair-Tisdall (W.St. Clair Tisdal, The Sources of Islam, The Orgins of the Koran, pp.236-237) writes that the Sabeans inhabited Syria. They were the followers of Seth and Idris. Sabeans fasted for 30 days from night to sunrise, observed Eid and prayed for the dead without prostration. Muhammad simply copied their system of fasting (only change made was fasting from dawn to dusk) and retained the celebration of Eid and the prayer for the dead in exactly the same fashion as the Sabeans. Thus the rules on fasting as prescribed in verses 2:183-187 were actually adapted from the Holy Scriptures of the Sabeans. In fact, the Qur’an confirms itself that the system of fasting was a copy-cat from other faith, but remaining coy about which religious scripture Muhammad copied from. Here is verse 2:183 that says that the Islamic system of fasting is the mimicry of the other faith (Sabeans, of course):



002.183 O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,-



The Sabeans possessed a book called ‘Pages of Seth. They observed 7 prayers a day, 5 of which were at the same hours as chosen by Muhammad. They also venerated Ka’ba. Muhammad, most likely, learned about the Holy Scripture of the Sabeans from Bahira, the monk and from Salman, the Persian, because both of them had spent a considerable amount of time in Syria and were well aware about the sources, rituals and the religious doctrine of the Sabeans. Muhammad simply incorporated those in the Qur’an—passing them as Allah’s dictum.



On the Sabeans, the Dictionary of Islam (Hughes Dictionary of Islam, p.551) writes that they worshipped the stars secretly but openly professed to be Christians. Others say that they were of the religion of Sabi, the son of Seth, the son of Adam. Some say they were of the religion of Noah. Their Qiblah was towards the south, from whence the wind blows.



No doubt, after learning about the Sabeans Muhammad was profoundly impressed by their religion and hastened to incorporate some of their rituals in Islam. He regarded them as the true believers of Allah. In fact, the Dictionary Islam (ibid) writes that the Arabs used to call Muhammad as Sabi—he who has departed from the religion of the Quraysh. The Qur’an mentions them 3 times in the following verses:

002.062 Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.



005.069 Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the Christians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness,- on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.



022.017 Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians, Christians, Magians, and Polytheists,- Allah will judge between them on the Day of Judgment: for Allah is witness of all things.



Note that those verses also contain the Jews, the Christians and the Magians (Zoroastrians).

Answer 5

Because all deeds are for the sake of Allaah and He is the One Who rewards for them