Ramadhaan – the Month of Patience

 

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين، نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين أما بعد

 

The month of Ramadhaan is an opportunity for increasing in the various acts of worship and righteousness such as fasting – therefore abstaining from food and drink, as well as standing in prayer at night – and so engaging in worship at a time that one would normally seek rest and sleep, and prayer during the day and recitation of the Qur’aan and supplicating and showing good to others and feeding the fasting person. These acts – as well as other good deeds require patience in order for a person to carry them out.

In the month of Ramadhaan, during the fast, the fasting person is to refrain from food, drink and marital relations, this too requires patience, in particular when the suffering of hunger and thirst come to affect the fasting person, it is therefore necessary to have patience.

The Muslims are commanded to desist from sinful speech and action on any occasion, yet such desistance is more imperative during Ramadhaan, and so it is essential for the fasting person that he desists completely from argumentation, as well as from false and foul speech, together with preventing himself from acts of sin – in all of their varying types. This likewise requires patience – a quality that no one is adorned with except that it embellishes him. Patience therefore is a fundamental aspect that the believer exercises when fasting in order to ensure that this act of worship is carried out in the correct manner, for it is truly as the scholars state that fasting is from the meanings and understandings of patience.

Allaah, The Most High, said:

اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ

((Seek assistance through patience and prayer.)) (Al-Baqarah: 45)

 

In the varying meanings of the word “patience” mentioned in this aayah, some of the scholars of Tafseer state the following:

At-Tabaree (rahimahullaah) said: “It has been said that the meaning of patience in this place is: fasting – and with us; fasting is from some of the meanings of patience.”[1]

Al-Baghawee (rahimahullaah) said regarding His saying:

 بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ

((Through patience and prayer.))

 

“What is meant is: restraining the soul from sin, and it has been said that what is meant is: patience upon carrying out the obligatory acts.

Mujaahid said: ‘Patience is fasting.’

From it the month of Ramadhaan was entitled: the month of patience, and that is because fasting causes one to be abstemious in regard to the dunya (worldly life) whilst prayer causes one to have longing for the Hereafter.’”[2]

Shaikh ul Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullaah) said: “It has been said that it (i.e. fasting) is what is meant with regard to His saying:

اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ

((Seek assistance through patience and prayer.)) (Al-Baqarah: 45)

 

Since the fasting person exhorts his soul to have patience from its desires.”[3]

Al-Haafidh Ibn Katheer (rahimahullaah) mentioned regarding the aayah stated above: “As for patience, then it has been said that it is fasting, Mujaahid made a statement regarding it. Qurtubee and other than him said: ‘It is due to this that Ramadhaan was called the month of patience, as was pronounced by the hadeeth.’”[4]

 

Ramadhaan – the Month of Patience

 

Shaikh ul Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullaah) said:[5] “Fasting has been called: patience, and from that is the statement of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam):

صَوْمُ شَهْرِ الصَّبْرِ وَثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ مِنْ كُلِّ شَهْرٍ صَوْمُ الدَّهْرِ

(([Fasting] the month of patience and [fasting] three days from every month is [equivalent to] fasting a year.))”[6]

 

As-Suyootee (rahimahullaah) explained: “The month of patience is the month of Ramadhaan, and the origin of patience is: restraint, so fasting was given the title of patience due to what is in it from restraining the soul from food and drink and conjugal relations.”[7]

With regard to its reward being equivalent to that of a year, then As-Sindee (rahimahullaah) said: “This is because fasting the three (days) is like fasting for a month – based on the principle: whoever comes with a good deed shall have ten times the like thereof (to his credit).”[8]

There likewise occurs in another hadeeth the saying of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam):

صَوْمُ شَهْرِ الصَّبْرِ وَثَلاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ مِنْ كُلِّ شَهْرٍ يُذْهِبْنَ وَحَرَ الصَّدْرِ

((Fasting the month of patience and three days from every month removes the ill will of the chest.))[9]

 

As-Suyootee (rahimahullaah) said regarding “wahar as-sadar” (the ill will of the chest): “It has been said in (the book) An-Nihaayah that it is: its deceit and its whisperings, and it has been said that it is: rancor and rage, and it has been said that it is: enmity and it has been said that it is: intense anger.”[10]

 

Fasting is From the Best Forms of Patience

 

Ibn Rajab (rahimahullaah) mentioned:[11] “The best forms of patience is: fasting, since it indeed combines patience upon the three forms/types, because it is patience upon the obedience of Allaah, The Mighty and Majestic, and patience from sinfulness to Allaah. Since the servant leaves off his desires for the sake of Allaah, whilst his soul may contend with him towards them, and so it is due to this that there occurs in the authentic hadeeth that Allaah, The Mighty and Majestic says:

كلُّ عملِ ابنِ آدمَ لهُ إلا الصيامَ، فإنه لي، وأنا أَجزي به، إنه ترَك شهوتَه وطعامَه وشرابَه من أجْلي

((Every action of the son of Aadam is for him, except for fasting, for it is for Me and I shall grant reward for it, indeed – he leaves off his desire and his food and his drink because of Me.))”[12]

 

Shaikh ‘Uthaimeen (rahimahullaah) said: “Know that fasting is from the best of the righteous actions, such that it has been established in the Hadeeth Al-Qudsi that Allaah, The Mighty and Majestic, said:

كلُّ عملِ ابنِ آدمَ لهُ إلا الصيامَ، فإنه لي، وأنا أَجزي به

((Every action of the son of Aadam is for him, except for fasting, for it is for Me and I shall grant reward for it.))[13]

 

So the acts of worship – their reward is a good deed having ten times the like thereof (to ones credit) – to seven hundred times – to many times over, except for fasting. For indeed Allaah, He is The One Who will grant reward for it, and the meaning of that is that its reward is very great. The people of knowledge said that is because in fasting there come together the three types of patience, and they are: patience upon the obedience of Allaah, and (patience) from sinfulness to Allaah, and (patience) upon His pre-decrees. Due to this, fasting is from the highest forms of patience, because it is inclusive of the three types, and Allaah, The Most High, has said:

إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

((Only those who are patient shall receive their reward [in full] without measure.)) (Az-Zumar: 10)”[14]

 

The Types of Patience and the Association of Each Type to Fasting

 

Ibn Rajab (rahimahullaah) said: “It is established in the two authentic books (Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim)[15] from Abee Hurairah (radhiyallaahu ‘anhu) who stated from the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam):

كُلُّ عَمَلِ ابْنِ آدَمَ يُضَاعَفُ الْحَسَنَةُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا إِلَى سَبْعمِائَة ضِعْفٍ، قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ:  إِلَّا الصَّوْمَ فَإِنَّهُ لِي، وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ، يَدَعُ شَهْوَتَهُ وَطَعَامَهُ مِنْ أَجْلِي، لِلصَّائِمِ فَرْحَتَانِ: فَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ فِطْرِهِ، وَفَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ، وَلَخُلُوفُ فِيهِ أَطْيَبُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ رِيحِ الْمِسْكِ

((Every action of the son of Aadam is given manifold reward, each good deed receiving ten times its like, up to seven hundred times. Allaah, The Mighty and Majestic said: except for fasting, for it is for Me and I shall grant reward for it, he leaves off his desire and his food because of Me. For the fasting person there are two joyous occasions, a joy at the time of breaking his fast and a joy at the time of meeting his Lord, and the smell coming from his mouth is better with Allaah than the fragrance of musk.))

 

Based upon this report, there is an exemption for fasting from the actions that are given manifold reward, hence the actions all multiply by ten times their like – to that of seven hundred times – except for fasting, for its multiplication is not confined to this number, rather Allaah, The Mighty and Majestic, gives it manifold increase many times as much – without numerical limitation. For indeed fasting is from patience, and Allaah, The Most High, has said:

إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

((Only those who are patient shall receive their reward [in full] without measure.)) (Az-Zumar: 10)

 

It is due to this that it has been conveyed from the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) that he entitled the month of Ramadhaan as: the month of patience.

The types of patience are three;

Patience upon the obedience of Allaah.

Patience upon the things that have been made forbidden by Allaah.

Patience upon the distressing pre-decrees of Allaah.

The three types come together in fasting, for indeed in it is patience upon the obedience of Allaah and patience from that which Allaah has prohibited upon the fasting person from desires, and patience upon that which occurs for the fasting person during it from suffering hunger and thirst as well as a weakness of the soul and the body. This suffering stems from acts of obedience on account of which its adherent shall be rewarded for, as Allaah, The Most High, said regarding the Mujahideen:

ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ لَا يُصِيبُهُمْ ظَمَأٌ وَلَا نَصَبٌ وَلَا مَخْمَصَةٌ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يَطَئُونَ مَوْطِئًا يَغِيظُ الْكُفَّارَ وَلَا يَنَالُونَ مِنْ عَدُوٍّ نَّيْلًا إِلَّا كُتِبَ لَهُم بِهِ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

((That is because they are not afflicted by thirst or fatigue or hunger in the cause of Allaah, and they do not tread on any ground that enrages the disbelievers, and they do not inflict upon an enemy any infliction except it is written for them thereby as a righteous deed. Indeed, Allaah does not waste the reward of the doers of good.)) (At-Tawbah: 120)”[16]

 

Shaikh Saalih Al-Fawzaan (hafidhahulllaah) said: “Since Fasting – its station is immense, and it is: patience upon the obedience of Allaah, and patience from the things that have been made forbidden by Allaah, as well as patience upon the pre-decrees of Allaah. It is due to that, that its reward has become immense, no one knows it except Allaah, The Glorified, and Most High, and it is due to this that there has come a mention of patience in the Qur’aan in more than seventy places, because no one is granted ability in having patience except the one who Allaah, The Glorified, and Most High, grants the ability for success. He, The Most High, said:

وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا ذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ

((And None is granted it except those who are patient, and none is granted it except one having a great portion.)) (Fussillat: 35)

 

So patience is fulfilled in fasting in all of its three types, since in it is patience upon the obedience of Allaah, the fasting person has patience upon the obedience of Allaah, so he leaves off his desires and his delights, and so he confines himself to the obedience of Allaah, The Mighty and Majestic.

Likewise in it is patience upon the things that have been made forbidden by Allaah, for indeed the fasting person prevents his soul from the things that are forbidden – all of them, he prevents it and restrains it from all of the forbidden things as long as he is fasting. Since it is inappropriate for him that he should carry out something forbidden or speak with what is forbidden or look at something forbidden or listen to something forbidden.

Rather he prevents himself from the forbidden things in all of their varying types, whether they are spoken orally or be it that they are physical, because he knows that these forbidden things render his fast as defective and hurt his fast. So he prevents himself from them outright, and seldom is anyone granted ability to this.

In it likewise is patience upon the distressing pre-decrees of Allaah, and it is that which afflicts the person during the fast by way of hunger and thirst. So there is no doubt that he suffers from hunger and suffers from thirst whilst he is fasting. So he remains patient upon this suffering, because he knows that it is by the decree of Allaah and His pre-ordainment. So he remains patient upon it until the time of breaking the fast comes in. The time for breaking the fast may be especially delayed if the day is long during the summer, so he feels thirst at the initial part of the day or he feels hunger at the initial part of the day, then he remains patient until the end of the day, for this has in it a great reward, because he abandoned this and was patient upon his suffering for the sake of Allaah, The Mighty and Majestic. It is on account of that, that Allaah, The Majestic and Most High, will give him his reward without measure on the Day of Resurrection.

So the fasting people on the Day of Resurrection will receive their reward without measure, as for the rest of the actions, then they have appraisal for them, by ten times, by seven hundred times, more, less. As for fasting, then there is no limit for its manifold increase, and this is for the one who protects his fast from the (negatively) influencing factors and the troublesome elements and hopes for the reward from Allaah, The Glorified and Most High.”[17]

 

 

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[1] Jaami’ al-Bayaan (Tafseer at-Tabaree) vol 1 p.617

[2] Ma’aalim at-Tanzeel (Tafseer Al-Baghawee) vol 1 p.89. The narration of Mujaahid can likewise be found in Tafseer Al-Qur’aan Al-Adheem (Tafseer Ibn Abee Haatim) vol 1 p.102 and Al-Jaami le-Ahkaam Al-Qur’aan (Tafseer al-Qurtubee) vol 1 p.372.

[3] Sharh al-‘Umdah vol 3 p.5

[4] Tafseer Al-Qur’aan Al-Adheem (Tafseer Ibn Katheer) vol 1 p.251

[5] Sharh al-‘Umdah vol 3 p.4

[6] Reported by An-Nasaa-i (no.2408) and Ahmad in his Musnad (no.7577) and Abu Ya’laa in his Musnad (no.6650). It was declared Saheeh (authentic) by Shaikh Al-Albaanee in Saheeh Sunan An-Nasaa-i (no.2407) as well as by Shaikh Muqbil in his As-Saheeh al-Musnad (vol 2 p.343 no.1350).

[7] Sharh Sunan an-Nasaa-i vol 4 p.535

[8] Haashiyah Musnad Al-Imaam Ahmad bin Hanbal vol 5 p.235

[9] Reported by Ahmad (no. 23070) and Al-Bazzaar (no.1054) and with similar wording by Al-Haafidh Ibn Hajr in Al-Mutaalib Al-‘Aaliyah (no.1107). It was declared Saheeh (authentic) by Shaikh Al-Albaanee in Saheeh At-Targheeb wa at-Tarheeb (no.1032) as well as in Saheeh Al-Jaami’ as-Sagheer (no.3804).

[10] Sharh Sunan an-Nasaa-i vol 4 p.524

[11] As occurs in Jaami’ al-‘Uloom wal-Hikam vol 2 p.649

[12] The first half of this hadeeth is reported by Reported by Al-Bukhaaree (no.1904) and Muslim (no.2700) – the second half of the hadeeth: ((indeed – he leaves off his desire and his food and his drink because of Me.)) does not appear in this particular hadeeth in Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim, rather in a wording in Muslim (no.2701) there occurs: ((…and I shall grant reward for it, he leaves off his desire and his food because of Me.))

[13] Reported by Al-Bukhaaree (no.1904) and Muslim (no.2700)

[14] Abridged from Sharh Al-Mumti’ vol 6 p.458

[15] In Al-Bukhaaree as hadeeth number 1904 and Muslim as hadeeth number 2701, and the wording above is that of Muslim.

[16] Abridged from Lataa-if al-Ma’aarif p.207-208

[17] Majaalis Shahr Ramadhaan al-Mubaarak p.76-77