Fasting during Ramadhan is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. This is because the prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) said Islam is upheld by 5 pillars: First, to bear witness that there is no other God but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger. The second is to pray regularly. Third, to pay zakat (i.e. divine tax) to the poor. Fourth, to fast during the month of Ramadhan. Fifth, to visit the house of God in Mecca in a lifetime, for those who are able to make the journey.
Fasting can be defined as abstaining from eating, drinking, smoking and having sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset. Fasting for the month of Ramadhan was prescribed during the second year of Hijra. Fasting was an ancient form of worship prescribed by God from the beginning of time. The aim of ordering people to fast is that they should learn how to be patient, to have good morals, to purify their hearts, to ennoble their character and to be gentle in dealing with people. One should feel the sufferings of hunger and thirst in order to be quick to help those who are suffering when seeing them. One must always learn to feel the fear of God and his Mercy. Fasting in Islam has been prescribed by Qur’an and the saying of the prophet. The Qur’an says: “O, you who believe, fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may learn self-restraint” (Qur’an 2:183).
The reward of the accepted fasting is paradise. God the almighty gives great reward for fasting is secret between man and his God, therefore, it is the only aspect of worship that has been attributed to God. It has come traditions of the prophet when he said: “Any kind of good action done by the children of Adam will be rewarded ten times to seven hundred times and may be more, according to the will of God.” God said: “Except fasting for it is an attribute of Me and I will reward it, because one who fasts is giving up his desires and his food for my sake.” Fasting is a protection. When one is fasting he should not utter bad words, he should not raise his voice. If someone insults him, or fights him, he should remind himself that he is fasting by saying: “I am fasting, I swear by God, who has Muhammad’s soul in his hand that the smell of mouth of the one who fasts is better than perfume in the sight of Alloh.”
From Mimbar Magazine Agustus 2010
Glossaries:
To uphold : menegakkan
Witness : kesaksian, saksi
To prescribe : menentukan, membuat resep
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