THE FASTING OF PIOUS PEOPLE

All Praises belong to Allah, the Lord of the entire Universe. The One who is worthy to be feared, and
worthy to forgive (those that fear Him). The One Who said in His Glorious Book: (يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ
عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيامُ كَما كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ) “O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is
prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the
pious)” (al-Baqarah 183). I testify that there no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone. He Has no
partner. And that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, the Truthful and Trustworthy
messenger, the best of those who fasted and feared Allah. O Allah! Let Your Blessings and Peace be
upon Your servant and Messenger Muhammad, and upon his family, companions, followers and
those who followed them in goodness until the Day of Judgment.
Thereafter, I enjoin you and myself – O people – to fear Allah, for honour and glory comes with piety,
and happiness and high status are for the people of piety.
Honorable servants of Allah, the topic of our sermon today is the fasting of the pious people, having
known that the statutory reason for legislating fasting is so as to attain piety.
O you muslims! Piety is a great treasure, and of a huge substance, combining the good of this world
and the Hereafter: (وَتَزَوَّدُواْ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَى)  “And make provision, and the best
provision is piety” (Al-Baqarah: 197). And acceptance of any deed is attached to it: (إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللَّهُ
مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ) “Allah accepts only from the pious” (Al-Maa’idah: 27). And forgiveness and reward
are premised upon it: “and whoever fears Allah – Allah will relieve his sins and bestow upon
him a great reward” (At-Talaaq: 5) .. The pious people are the celebrated in the world and the
Hereafter. “This abode of the Hereafter – We make it for those who do not wish self-
exaltedness in the land nor corruption; and the Hereafter is only for the pious.”.(Al-Qasas: 83).
However, in this our times and this our materialistic age, the hearts of people have been covered with
layers of negligence, and their eyes are clouded by thick clouds of barriers, so they blinded from the
path, and their idea of a good progress is in worldly attainments, and wretchedness in their own
estimation is the someone whose material possession is small and his sustenance is measured (ie
little). This perspective – in truth – is negligence and ignorance of a grand scale: (وَلا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَى مَا مَتَّعْنَا
بِهِ أَزْوَاجاً مِنْهُمْ زَهْرَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنيَا لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى * وَأْمُرْ أَهْلَكَ بِالصَّلاةِ وَاصْطَبِرْ عَلَيْهَا لا نَسْأَلُكَ رِزْقاً نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُكَ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ
لِلتَّقْوَى) “And strain not your eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to
various groups of them (polytheists and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah), the splendour
of the life of this world that We may test them thereby. But the provision (good reward in the
Hereafter) of your Lord is better and more lasting. And enjoin As-Salat (the prayer) on your
family, and be patient in offering them [i.e. the Salat (prayers)]. We ask not of you a provision
(i.e. to give Us something: money, etc.); We provide for you. And the good end (i.e. Paradise)
is for the Muttaqun (pious)” (Ta-Ha:131-132)
Yes – brothers – for pious people, the coolness of their eyes is in good deeds and acts of obedience to
Allah in this world, and with high rank in Paradise, in the Hereafter.

O Muslims – indeed, this holy and blessed month has come upon you, a month that Allah has
mandated it upon you to fast so that you may become pious.
Brothers: The purpose of fasting is consciousness of Allah – the Almighty – consciousness and piety
which is akin to the fear of the Sublime (Allah), acting upon and according to the Revelation (the
Quraan), being contented with little, and preparing for the day of departure (ie death). True and
sincere piety which makes the fasting person abandons what he desires so as to defer to the One he
revers and fears (ie Allah). Though all the obligations, rulings, commands and prohibitions of Islaam
are all in the path of piety, the particularity of the connection between fasting and piety is wonderful.
Brothers, the parts of the body, that is the eye, the ear, the hand, the tongue, the stomach, the private
parts, and the heart are all involved. The heart fasts and is pious if it is devotes its servitude to Allah
alone, submits to His majesty, strives to draw near to Him, and is at ease with His consort (resorting
to and supplicating Allah). It is free from Shriek and innovations, and its purified from sins and
transgression. A pious heart sees self-desire, lust, suspicion, oppression, enmity and hatred, malice,
envy, argument and hypocrisy, as deadly heart diseases capable of killing individuals and destroying
nations, the pious heart rejects it, refuses it, fears it and expels it, and its fasting counteracts and
dries them up.
The heart of a fasting person religiously obeys Allah, submits to Him by being subservient and
responsive to Allah, committed to the implementation of the Shari’ah in the commanded and
prohibited matters, in pristine, sincere servitude to Allah, not distracted from it by his wishful, lustful
desires or doubts or confusion, and is not disturbed by insecurity or greed. A strong and pious heart
whose prayers, fasting, sacrifices, life and death are all for Allah alone. The Prophet (may the
Blessings and Peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and in the
hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.” (Bukhari and Muslim).
And if the heart is sound, the limbs become sound, so they fulfill the right of obedience and refrain
from sins. The stomach is preserved and what it contains. Abandoning food, drink and lust for the
sake of Allah, a lofty piety that protects the soul from the restraint of its instincts, and a strong will that
takes the command of its Lord with strength, and refrains from prohibitions by surrendering. Narrated
Abu Hurairah, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Allaah says: “Fasting is for Me and I will bestow its reward. The person observing fast has
abstained from food and drink, and sexual pleasures for My sake; fasting is a shield.” (Bukhari
and Muslim)
He is on guidance, and practices piety, he who prevents his body from overeating of food, to prevent
his limbs from evil and harm. Lack of satiety curbs the impulses, and drives away the impulses of the
demons, and the devil runs the bloodstream of the son of Adam.
Lack of satiety makes the limbs closer to performing act of worship, softens the heart, increases
tears, and demoralizes Shaitan (the devil).
And see – may Allah preserve your religion and increase your piety – in the weak and emaciated; who
is hungry during the day, and fills his stomach at night, he is stricken with overwhelming pleasure,
and a slave to an unbridled lust. Did he achieve the meaning of piety when he is fascinated with
delicious food and the various colors of food tables well prepared?! While a little of it (the food) may
satisfy the hungry and make families happy; a little of it may stop tears and stop lessons, did he give
and show piety – or how did he give?! And what did he guard against?! – H who made Ramadan a
waste, and his breakfast a glut?! A miserable poor person sees nothing in fasting except hunger that
his stomach cannot bear, and thirst that his veins cannot handle.
What piety and what resistance is there with the likeness of these insignificants/laughables?! These
are people whose resolve was defeated by the hunger of their bellies, satiety made them harsh,
made them sleep, and made them lazy.

Unquestionably, do sit, you are eaters. Whoever announces his surrender in a battle that lasts only a
few hours, he is not worthy of living the honour of the pious, and the loftiness of the martyrs and the
mujahideen.
Allah is the greatest; Fasting was enjoined to examine piety, and for the Muslim to be fasting by
leaving his food and drink; his intention is to gain the pleasure of his beloved: “Fasting is for Me, and
I shall reward for it.”
The (explained) is the state of the stomach and what it contains, so what would be the condition of
the head and what it contains?! Narrated Abu Hurairah: The Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings be upon him) as saying: If anyone does not abandon falsehood and action in
accordance with it, and the act of ignorance, Allah has no need that he should abandon his
food and drink. (narrated by Ahmad).
So, his share from his fasting is hunger and thirstiness, and his share from standing awake at night is
sleeplessness, and exhaustion. Where is taqwa (piety) on their hearing and faces? False talk,
amusement, idle- talk, musical sounds, shameless images, lewd stories. The day is spent in sleeping
in sins, and at night , keeping awake at night in disobedience, grumpy in their actions, committing evil
in their dealings, sluggish in performing their responsibilities, but active in amusement and night
entertainment, and display of laziness in action and worship
Dear worshipers of Allah, ensure that your food and drinks are halal i.e permissible, both the pre-
dawn meal and the breakfast, for we are in a period that most people are non-challant about the
source of their money. Narrated Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “A time will come when one will not care how one gains one’s money, legally
or illegally.” (Narrated by Ahmed)
O Beloveds: Your month (Ramadan) is the month of piety. Your month (Ramadan) is a great season
for accountability, and a vast arena for competition, in which souls get purified from within, and the
hearts draw closer to its Creator, the gates of Paradise are opened in it, and the gates of Hell are
shut, the devils are chained, and the causes of goodness and rewards abound.
Mercy, forgiveness, and liberation from the Fire, so turn to obedience, take provisions of piety,
breathe in the scents of Paradise, and be exposed to the scents.
The pious fasting people are always in prayers, fasting, recitation, remembrance of Allah, joining ties
of kinship, kindness, diligence, and activity, so seek goodness all your life, and be exposed to the
blessings of your Lord, for the best of the people is he whose life is long and his deeds are good and
the worst of people is he whose life is long and his deeds are bad.”
O pious fasting people: search for the needy among your relatives, the needy among your neighbors,
and the strangers among your brothers. Do not forget kindness to them and making them happy.
Consider them with you in the provision of your Lord, remember the hunger of the hungry, the plight
of the afflicted, the lessons of the miserable, the alienation of the homeless and the loneliness of the
displaced.
Ask in the month of piety and accountability: Has the right of piety being fulfilled by the one who
sleeps full and is surrounded by a hungry person he can feed, but he did not do so?! And has he
fulfilled the right of the month, one who saw miserable believing person who he could make happy,
but he did not do so?!
O Muslims: Fast with the right of fasting so that you may become righteous, and whoever fears Allah,
Allah will be with him, and whoever Allah is with, then with him is the insurmountable group, and the
guard who does not sleep, and the guide who does not go astray, and if Allah is with you – O servant
of Allah – who are you afraid of?! And if you had to, who would you hope for?!
I say this, I ask God’s forgiveness for me and you

THE SECOND SERMON:
All praises are due to Allah, who made fasting a shield and a means that leads to Paradise. I praise
Him, Glory be to Him, and thank Him. He guides to the best path and upright tradition. I bear witness
that there is no god but Allah alone without partner, and I bear witness that our Master and Prophet
Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, whom He sent to us by His grace and favor. O Allah
bestow peace and blessings upon Your servant and messenger, Muhammad, his household,
companions and those who follow them in righteousness till the day of recompense.
Thereafter:
Fear Allah – O people – for the months, years, nights and days are period to perform good deeds and
decree of appointed times, they pass quickly, and all expire. They are days created by Allah and He
favoured some of them with more virtues. There is no day except that Allah Has task of obedience
specified for the period upon His servants and countless blessings that descends upon whomever He
wills among His servants, He is the most Forgiving, the most Merciful.
Indeed, before you is a great month, virtuous days, and honorable nights, so show hospitable
reception therein, and be diligent in them with good deeds, for your predecessor did not prepare for it
with more food and drink, but with obedience, worship, and generosity, for they abide with their Lord
as obedient servants, and with their brothers as righteous doers of good. And their example and
leader in that is Your Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him, he was most generous in Ramadan,
he strove in it in a manner that he did not strive in other months, he would stay up at night (for prayer)
and wake his family up and tighten his waist-wrap. That is the path of piety, and this is the ceremony
of reception, so work, do good, and be glad.
Finally, do not forget the great merit of supplication, surely supplication in Ramadan has a great
characteristic, wherein two virtues are combined, the virtue of the period, and the state of fasting. The
Holy Qur’an drew attention to the feature of supplication in fasting. Allah- the Exalted mentioned His
answers to the prayers of the supplicating ones within the verses of fasting. He started the verses
with the obligatoriness of fasting and some things related to fasting. Then Allah, the Exalted said: (وَإِذَا
سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ ) “And when My Servants
ask you, (O Muhammad), concerning Me- indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the
supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me (by obedience) and believe in
Me that they may be (rightly) guided.” (Suratul Baqarah: 186)
Then, He returns to mention some of the issues related to fasting. The scholars – may Allah have
mercy on them – said: By His mentioning in this verse that motivates towards supplication,
interspersed within the ruling of fasting, is a guide to exerting effort in supplication when completing
the number the number of days of fasting, and even at every time of breaking the fast, and in all state
of fasting.
On the authority of Abu Hurairah – may Allah be pleased with him – that the Prophet – may the peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him – said: “There are three whose supplications are not rejected: the
just Imam (leader), the fasting person until he breaks his fast, and the supplication of the oppressed.”
(Reported by Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi and others). Thus, the fasting person should be keen to pray during
his fast, and increase it, for It is answered – by Allah’s leave.
O Allah, accept our fasting and our standing up in prayers, O Allah, endear the faith to us, O Allah,
make us among the righteous, O Allah, make despicable to us disbelief, immorality and disobedience,
and make us among Thy righteous, and rightly-guided servants. O Allah, grant our souls its piety and
purify them, You are the better to purify it, You are its guardian and their master. O Allah make the
best of our deeds its end, and the best of our days, the day we meet, O the most merciful. O Allah,
have mercy on the weak believers in every place and take charge of the disbelievers and atheists
who turn away from your religion and fight your faithful servants. And give us good in this world and in
the Hereafter, and save us from the torment of the Fire. May the peace and blessings of Allah be
upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and all his companions.