Jamaat Ahmadiyya al Mouslemeen
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| Friday Sermon of
05 SEPTEMBER 2008 |
› The benefits of fasting .
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After reading the Tashahhud , the Ta'uz and the first chapter of the Holy Quran, Hazrat Amirul Mo'menine, Zafrullah Domun recited verses 184 and 185 of chapter AlBaqara (Chapter2) of the Holy Quran and then he said: Today is the first Friday of the month of Ramadan of the Islamic year 1429. As you are all aware we started fasting on Tuesday last. Time is moving, as usual, very fast, and today is the fourth day of fasting. In a twinkle of the eye you will see that we will reach the end of the month. Let us pray that Allah give each one of us the opportunity and capacity to complete the fasts so that we may win His Pleasure incha Allah. Last week I briefly commented about the first verse that I have read. Today I will say a few words on the second verse. Allah says:
The fast is for only a number of days during the year. It is not something that has been imposed upon you for ever. And the month is either twenty nine or thirty days only, never more than that. Therefore you should not feel weighed down and feel discouraged. You will bear this burden of not eating, drinking and having sex from dawn to dusk only for a limited period of time. Even then if someone amongst you is ill or is on a journey, there is no need for him to fast when he is in that condition. Allah has given him the facility to fast for the same number of days when he has regained his health or when he has returned from his journey. Therefore there is no need for those who are ill or on a journey to impose upon themselves the hardship of fasting. Allah has made allowance for them. They should avail themselves of this allowance thereby showing their obedience to following Allah's injunctions. This category of people is allowed to fast on other days. However there is another group of persons for whom this fast is very difficult. For example, old men and women, pregnant women, nursing mothers, children, those who do such physical labour that they cannot do without food or drink for a long period of time. For them it is very difficult to fast. For them Allah says there is expiation: they should feed a poor person for the number of days they are unable to fast. Thus they will get the b less ings of fasting. The next portion of the verse says “fa man tatawwa'a khayran fa howa khayroul lahou” which means “But whoever does good voluntarily it is better for him.” This portion of the verse helps us to understand that Allah has given us an allowance and we should avail ourselves of it. However if some persons feel and know that they can fast despite the fact that they may be slightly ill or taking a very light journey and they want to profit from the blessings of this blessed month without any duress on their persons, what they do will be beneficial to themselves. Commenting on this verse Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) has said that he thinks that this portion of the verse applies to all good deeds. Hence he who wants to do additional prayers, fasts, or pays additional Zakaat; he will receive the blessings of his actions. Hence the Muslim is encouraged to do more than what is prescribed for his own benefit. Mind you I am not saying that he should do more. What I am saying is that if he does more he will reap additional benefits. The last portion of this verse says: “Wa an tasoumou khayroul lakoum in kountoum ta'lamoune”, which means “and that you fast is good for you if you knew”. We understand therefore that we do not know about all the benefits of fasting. But Allah, who has created us and who knows the workings of our body better than anyone else, He is telling us that this fasting has many benefits of which we are unaware. In addition the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw) also said “Fast and you will be in good health”. Although most Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan, not all of them welcome the month with real enthusiasm. There is a category of believers who consider it to be “the spring season for the believers” because they will enjoy all their devotions during this month. They will look forward to the month and they feel a joy in their heart when it comes. They will fast despite all the hardships. In addition they will stand up for prayer at night, they will read portions of the Holy Quran daily. They will engage themselves in remembrance of Allah daily. They will do their best to do additional recommended deeds that will please Allah. For this category of believers Ramadan gives them the opportunity to do many things that they did not do in the other months. In this way the fact that they are fasting brings them plenty of good. For the other believers who do not do as the group I have just mentioned, fasting brings them plenty of benefits like eating less which definitely improves ones health. In fact these days there is a lot of research that has been done about the benefits that fasting brings to people's health. To mention all that have been published on this matter may take volumes. I will mention just some of these findings. There is a book that has been written by Dr Jack Goldstein. Its title is “Triumph over disease by fasting and natural diet”. Among other things he says that fasting has the following effects on the human body: • It gives vital organs a complete rest • It promotes elimination of metabolic wastes • It allows the body to adjust and normalize its biochemistry and its secretions • It restores a youthful condition to the cells and tissues • It increases the power of digestion and assimilation • It permits the conservation and rerouting of energy ;it clears and strengthen the mind. Other studies speak of numerous other physical benefits of fasting. But for the time being we will content ourselves with the few that we have mentioned. Furthermore Allah has told us that fasting has been prescribed for us so that we may increase in God-consciousness. In order to achieve this purpose Allah allows us to see more of Him when we fast. Speaking about this matter Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) has said that fasting purifies our soul and opens the door of vision and revelations. Some cynics will tell you that you see visions or revelations because there is a lack of blood in your brain. But those to whom this door has been opened know for sure that what they are saying is the truth from Allah. Besides their entourage also know whether the person is hallucinating or not. Anyhow it is a well known fact that those prophets and friends of Allah have constantly had recourse to fasting in order to purify and elevate their souls. Another benefit of fasting is that it helps those who eat their fill everyday to know what it means to sleep without food or not to have any at all. Around the world there are billions of people who live a life of misery because they do not have enough to eat, they do not have access to clean water or they do not have any shelter. If you are a person who eats two meals a day, you cannot imagine what it means to go without food. But when you fast you feel the pangs of hunger like the person who does not have any food to eat. But the difference between you and him is that you will have food to eat at the end of your fast but that poor man or woman would go for days without much to eat. Hence fasting helps a man or woman to feel the suffering of those who do not have enough to eat. Consequently the fasting person thanks Allah for the sustenance that He has given him and at the same time he strives with the means at his disposal to alleviate the sufferings of those who are poor. This is not a meaning that I am inventing. In the Holy Quran Allah tells us about the qualities of those who are truly righteous. He says:
This is a very important verse of the Holy Quran. May be it could be the subject of several sermons explaining about God-consciousness (taqwa). But what I am trying to drive at is that if we are truly God-conscious we cannot ignore the poor. You will note that in this verse besides paying the Zakaat Allah says that Muttaqis are those who spend out of love for Allah on a category of less fortunate members of society. We should do our best to alleviate their suffering. May Allah help us to understand this matter and to put it into practice. I will now tell you a Hadith where our beloved prophet Mohammad (saw) speaks about the benefits and dos and don'ts of the months of Ramadan.
This is a very important hadith. In very few words it helps us to understand the whole philosophy of fasting. Last week I explained how it is almost impossible to find someone who is pretending to fast. For the other deeds one may pretend but that cannot be the case for fasting. Fasting is between the person and His Lord. I think this is what is meant by Allah saying “‘all the deeds of Adam's sons (people) are for them, except fasting which is for Me,”. When Allah says that “Ana Ajza Behi” it only means that those persons who observe fasts as it should be observed will have as their reward “Allah in person”. Can someone desire for anything else? In common parlance fasting is the fast tract to Allah Himself. Next the Holy Prophet says that “Fasting is a shield or protection from the fire and from committing sins.” We use a shied in war to protect ourselves from the blows of the enemy. Fasting does the same for us. It protects us from the fire of hell and from committing sins. In fact experience shows us that one would refrain from doing something forbidden just because one is fasting. This amply proves these words of the prophet. In the next sentence the Holy Prophet says: If one of you is fasting, he should avoid sexual relation with his wife and quarreling, and if somebody should fight or quarrel with him, he should say, 'I am fasting.' It is when we try to put this advice into practice that we can realize the wisdom latent in these words. When we are fasting we are more careful whether to pick up a fight or to turn away from a situation where there might be a fight. All this is because we have been advised not to quarrel when we are fasting. The next point that the Holy Prophet (saw) speaks about in this hadith is the regard that Allah has for the stench of the fasting person's mouth. It is dearer to Allah than musk. Musk is a rare perfume. It is taken from a gland in a male musk deer. The cause of the bad odour that comes from the mouth of a fasting person is due to the fact that he is not eating and drinking because he is fasting. By the words of the Holy Prophet Allah wishes us to understand how much regard He has for this stench which has been caused because the man or woman is following His Instructions. Again Allah wants us to understand how much he appreciates when we follow His commands and we fast. In the last part of the hadith the Holy Prophet (saw) says that the fasting person has two pleasures. The first is when he breaks his fast. I think all of us should have experienced this pleasure. It is indescribable and we are all eager to find it every day. The second pleasure is when we will meet Allah on the day of resurrection and we will be happy with what he has reserved for us because of the fasts that we kept when we were in this world. Incha Allah we will continue next week. Before I leave I would like to share with you what Allah said to me in the first night of Ramadan. He said: “Inna Ja'alnaka Mobasheraw wa nazira wa daiyan illalahe be iznehi wa sirajam munira” which we can translate as follows: “Surely We have made you a bringer of good news and a Warner and also a summoner unto Allah with His permission and a light giving lamp” For those who know Jamaat Ahmadiyya literature specially the Tazkira of Hazrat Masih Maood (as), it will not at all be difficult for them to understand what I am saying. But for those who have only the establishment of the Jamaat to teach what Islam is they will be in great difficulty to understand this message. May Allah have mercy on all members of Jamaat Ahmadiyya International so that they may understand that Allah has made a new provision for them for their own benefit. May Allah have mercy on us all. |