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Sunnahs Neglected In Ramadaan
Author: Imaam al-Albaani
Source: Silsilah al-Hudaa wan-Noor, Tape No. 590
Article ID : IBD090005

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Question: "Could the Shaikh give us some words of benefit for the blessed
month of Ramadaan, on this fine occasion"

Shaikh al-Albaanee, may Allaah have mercy upon him said, "Allaah, the
Exalted and Most High, says in the Noble Quraan:

O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for
those before you, so that you may become people having Taqwaa. Soorah
al-Baqarah (2):183

So in this aayah, as will not be hidden to all those who are present,
Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, informs the Ummah of Muhammad, sallallaahu
alaihi wa sallam, through this aayah, that He has made Fasting obligatory
upon them just as He had made its like obligatory upon the nations before
us.  This is a matter that is well-known to all of the Muslims who read this
aayah, and clearly understand its meaning.  But what I wish to speak about
is something else, a matter which very few of the general people notice-‹and
this is the saying of Allaah, the Exalted and Most High, at the end of this
aayah:

So that you may become people having Taqwaa.

So Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, when He commands His believing servants,
or obligates them with some Legislation, (then He) usually just mentions the
command, without explaining the wisdom for it.  This is because the general
wisdom behind Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic¹s, placing duties upon His
servants is that He should test them by it, so that it should become
apparent (as to) those who will obey Him and those who will disobey Him, the
Exalted and Most High.

However in this aayah, He mentioned something that is not found frequently
in the Noble Quraan, which is that He mentioned the reason for the order to
Fast, by His Saying:

So that you may become people of Taqwaa.

So the wisdom behind the Believers to fast is not just that they should
prevent themselves from enjoyable and permissible and good things, even
though this is an obligation upon the fasting person - but this is not the
only thing that is required and intended by this Fasting.  So Allaah, the
Mighty and Majestic, concluded His command to fast by His Saying:

So that you may become people of Taqwaa.

Meaning: that the wisdom behind the prescription of Fasting is that the
Muslim should increase in obedience to Allaah, the Exalted and Most High, in
the month of Fasting, and become more obedient than he was before it.

Then the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, clearly stated and
completely clarified this point of divine wisdom, by his, sallallaahu alaihi
wa sallam, saying, as is reported in the Saheeh of al-Bukhaaree (no. 1903),
that he sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, said, "Whoever does not abandon
falsehood in speech and action, then Allaah has no need that he should leave
his food and drink."  Meaning: that Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, did not
intend and desire, by the obligation of Fasting - which is to withhold for a
stated time, well known to you all - that they should only withhold from
eating and drinking.  Rather they should also withhold from that which
Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, has forbidden with regard to sins and acts
of disobedience to Him; and from that is falsehood in speech and action.

So the Messanger, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, is emphasizing the aayah:

So that you may become people of Taqwaa.

i.e. that you should, as an act of worship to draw you closer to Allaah, the
Mighty and Majestic, in addition to withholding from food and drink, also
withhold from forbidden actions such as backbiting, carrying tales to cause
harm to people, false witness, lying and so on, with regard to those
forbidden manners that we are all aware of.

Therefore it is obligatory that all the Muslims should be aware that actions
which disrupt the Fast are not just the physical acts, which are generally
known, which are eating, drinking and sexual intercourse.  The Fast is not
just that you withhold from this.  Therefore some of the scholars
differentiate, and divide those things which disrupt the Fast into two
categories, and this is what I intend by this talk of mine at this time that
is blessed, if Allaah wills.

This is especially important since those who deliver Khutbahs and admonish
the people during Ramadaan, when they speak about those things which disrupt
the Fast, then they only speak about the material things, those things that
we have just mentioned‹eating, drinking and sexual intercourse.  But what
they should do, as sincere advisers and people who give reminder to the
Muslims in general, is to concentrate a great deal upon the second category
of things which disrupt the Fast.  This is because the people have become
used to thinking that Fasting is just to refrain from the first category, to
withhold from the material things.  But there is another category of things
which disrupt the Fast, which we are able to call the non-material things
which disrupt the Fast.

So you have just heard his, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, saying, "Whoever
does not abandon falsehood in speech and action, then Allaah has no need
that he should leave his food and drink."

Therefore every fasting person should examine himself and see: is he just
withholding from the material things, or is he also withholding from those
non-material things?  Meaning: has he made his manners and behaviour good
when the blessed month of Ramadaan comes?  If that is the case, then he has
fulfilled the Saying of Allaah, the Exalted and Most High, at the end of the
aayah:

So that you may become people of Taqwaa.

But as for he one who restricts himself in his fasting to just withholding
from food and drink, but who continues and persists upon the evil manners
which he was upon previously, before Ramadaan, then this is not the Fasting
that is desired and required from the wisdom behind the legislation of this
noble month, which our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic indicates in His
Saying:

So that you may become people of Taqwaa.

So therefore we advise and remind our brother Muslims that they should
remind this other category of things, those that are non-material, which
disrupt the Fast, and it is something which the admonishers and those who
seek to direct the people to the correct way rarely speak about, not to
mention the general people, who are not aware of this category of things
which disrupt the fast, i.e., the non-material things.

This is what I wanted to remind our brothers who are present in this fine
gathering about, if Allaah wills, so that it may be cause of their
increasing in acts of worship seeking to draw closer to Allaah, the Exalted
and Most High, in this blessed month, the month of Fasting, which is such
that we hope that Allaah, the Exalted and Most High, will guide and grant us
all the success of fulfilling the due right of this blessed month, which is
that we withhold from both the material and the non-material things which
disrupt the Fast.

Then in addition to this word, I hope that you will pay attention to some
affairs which have been neglected by the majority of the general Muslims,
indeed and also by those having knowledge.

There is a hadeeth which is very often neglected because of another hadeeth,
because the majority of people are unable to reconcile in practice and
application between them.  So this hadeeth is his, sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam, saying, "My Ummah will continue to be upon good for as long as they
hasten to break the fast and delay the pre-dawn meal."

So here two matters were mentioned, and they are neglected by most of the
people, and they are: hastening to break the fast, and delaying the pre-dawn
meal (Suhoor).

As for neglect of the first matter, which is hastening to break the Fast,
then in the view of some people it contradicts another hadeeth, which is
his, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, saying, "My Ummah will continue to be
upon good for as long as they hasten to pray the Maghrib Prayer."

So here we have two commands, to hasten with two matters. So it appears to
some people that we cannot hasten to perform both of them together.

But reconciling between the command to hasten with breaking the Fast and the
command to hasten to pray the Maghrib Prayer is a very easy matter.  So it
is something which our Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, made clear to
us by his action and practice.  So he, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, used to
break the Fast with three dates.  He would eat three dates.  Then he would
pray the Maghrib Prayer, then he would eat again if he found that he needed
to eat the evening meal.

But today we fall into two offences:

(i) Firstly we delay the Adhaan from its legislated time.  Then after this
delay comes another delay, which is that we sit down for a meal - except for
a few people who are eager and pray the Maghrib Prayer in the mosque.  But
the majority of the people wait until they hear the Adhaan, and then they
sit down to eat as if they are having a dinner, or their evening meal, and
not just breaking their fast.

So the Adhaan these days - in most of the lands of Islaam, is,
unfortunately, I have to say, and not just in Jordan, and I have known this
from investigation, in most of the lands of Islaam - the Adhaan for Maghrib
is given after the time it becomes due.  And the reason for this is that we
have abandoned adhering to and applying the Islamic rulings, and instead we
have come to depend upon astronomical calculations. We depend upon the
timetable.

But these time-tables are based upon astronomical calculations which count
the land as being a single flat plane.  So they give a time for this flat
plane, whereas the reality is that the land, particularly in this land of
ours varies, varying between the depression of valleys and the elevation of
mountains.  So it is not correct that a single time be given which covers
the shore, the planes and the mountains.  No, each part of the land has its
own time.  So therefore whoever is able in his place of residence, in his
city or his village, to see the sun set with his own eye, then whatever time
it sets at, then that is the hastening that we have been commanded with in
his, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, saying, which we just mentioned, "My
Ummah will continue to be upon good as long as they hasten to break the
fast."  So the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, was careful to
implement this Sunnah by teaching it, and by putting it into practice.

As for his teaching, then he, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, said, in the
hadeeth reported by al-Bukharee in his Saheeh (no. 1954), "If the night
appears from this side," and he pointed towards the east ,"and the day has
departed from here," and he pointed towards the west , "and the sun has
set‹then the fasting persons fast is broken"

What does, 'the fasting persons fast is broken' mean?  It means he has
entered under the ruling that he should break his fast.  So then comes the
previous ruling where the Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam,
encouraged hastening to break the Fast, and the Messenger, sallallaahu
alaihi wa sallam, used to implement this, even when he was riding on a
journey.

So it is reported in the Saheeh of al-Bukharee (no.1955)  that the Prophet,
sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, ordered one of his Companions to prepare the
Iftaar for him.  So he replied, O Messenger of Allaah it is still daytime
before us.¹  Meaning: the light of the sun, so even though it had set, yet
its light was still clear in the west.  So the Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi
wa sallam, did not respond to what he had said, rather he re-emphasised the
command to him to prepare the Iftaar.  So the narrator of the hadeeth who
said, We could see daylight in front of us,¹ meaning: the light of day, the
light of the sun, When we broke our fast,¹ said, "If one of us had climbed
onto his camel he would have seen the sun."  The sun had set from here, and
the Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, ordered one of the Companions
to prepare the Iftaar .  Why?  To hasten upon good "My Ummah will continue
upon good for as long as they hasten to break the Fast."

So what is important is that we notice that the Iftaar which is legislated
to be hastened must be done with a few dates.  Then we must hasten to
perform the Prayer.  Then after this the people can sit and eat as they
need.

This is the first matter which I wanted to remind of, and it is how to
reconcile the two matters which the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam,
commanded we should hasten to perform. The first being the command to hasten
the breaking of the Fast, and the second being the command to hasten to
perform the Maghrib Prayer.  So the Iftaar should be done with some dates,
as occurs in the Sunnah, and if dates are not available, then with some
gulps of water.  Then the Prayer should pray in congregation in the mosque.

Then the other matter which I want to remind of is what occurs in the
previous hadeeth, "And they delay the pre-dawn meal"  Meaning: what is
required here is the opposite to the case of the Iftaar.  So he, sallallaahu
alaihi wa sallam, commanded us to hasten to perform the Iftaar.  But as for
the Suhoor, then it should be delayed.  But what happens today is totally
contrary to this, since many people eat their Suhoor before the appearance
of Fajr by perhaps an hour.  This is not befitting.  This is contrary to the
Sunnah shown by the saying of the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, and
by his practice.  So the Companions of the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam, used to leave the Suhoor so late, that one of them would almost hear
the Adhaan and he would still be eating.  He delayed the Suhoor.

Indeed there is an authentic hadeeth reported from the Prophet, sallallaahu
alaihi wa sallam, which shows the ease afforded by Islaam, which is to be
counted as one of the principles of Islaam, which the Muslims are proud of,
especially with regard to the matter of Fasting, since Allaah, the Mighty
and Majestic, concluded the aayahs concerning Fasting with His Saying:

Allaah desires ease for you, and He does not desire to make things difficult
for you.

So from this ease is his, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, saying, "If one of
you hears the call to Prayer and the vessel is in the hand of one of you,
then let him not put it down until he fulfils his need from it."

" If one of you hears the call to Prayer and the vessel" the vessel
containing food, whether it be milk, some drink, water, anything which a
person may take as Suhoor, and he hears the Adhaan, then he should not say,
Now the food is forbidden by the Adhaan being heard for the person who has
had enough of it.  It is not allowed for him to then have any more, whether
it be a drink, or some fruit, when he has had his fill of whatever he was
eating.¹

But as for the one who hears the Adhaan and he has not yet taken what he
needs from the food and the drink, then the Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam, made that lawful for him. So he clearly said, in the clear and
eloquent Arabic language, "If one of you hears the call to Prayer, and the
vessel is in his hand, then let him not put it down until he fulfils his
need from it."

And what is meant here by the call is the second call, the second Adhaan.
It is not the first Adhaan, which they wrongly call the Adhaan for
withholding (al-Imsaak).  We must know that there is no basis for calling
the first Adhaan the Adhaan for withholding (imsaak).

The second Adhaan is when we are to withhold, and this is clearly stated in
the Quraan, since Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, says:

And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes clear to you from
the black thread of the night.

So eating becomes forbidden at the start of the time of the Fajr Prayer.
There is no separation between these two things.  There is no withholding
from food and drink for a quarter of an hour, or less than that, or more
than that, before the start of the time for the Fajr Prayer.  Not at all.

Because the Prayer becomes due when the true dawn appears, and food becomes
forbidden for the fasting person when the true dawn appears.  So there is no
separation between these two matters at all.

So therefore there occurs in the hadeeth agreed upon by al-Bukharee and
Muslim, from the hadeeth of ¹Abdullaah ibn ¹Umar ibn al-Khattaab,
radiyallaahu ¹anhumaa, that the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, said,
"Let not the Adhaan of Bilaal deceive you  " meaning, the first Adhaan, "
because he gives the Adhaan in order to awaken the person who is sleeping,
and so that the person who wishes to eat the pre-dawn meal can do so. So eat
and drink until Ibn Umm Maktoon gives the Adhaan."

Ibn Umm Maktoon, and his name was ¹Amr, he was a blind man, and he was the
one about whom the Saying of Allaah, the Exalted and Most High, came down:

He frowned and turned away, that the blind man came to him

to the end of the Aayahs.

So he used to give the second Adhaan, the Adhaan which means that eating
becomes prohibited, and that it is now time for the Fajr Prayer.

How had he used to give the adhaan when he was blind? This is a question
which naturally occurs to some people.  So ¹mr ibn Umm Maktoom used to climb
upon the roof of the mosque, and he could not see the dawn, but he would
wait until someone passing by saw the dawn. So when someone saw that the
dawn had appeared and spread across the horizon, then they would say to him,
It is morning. It is morning. Then he would give the Adhaan.

So you will notice here that the Adhaan of 'Amr ibn Umm Maktoom was after
the Fajr had appeared, and had been seen by the people whilst they were
walking in the streets.  So the when it was said to him, "It is morning. It
is morning," he would give the Adhaan.

So therefore there is latitude in the affair, since the muadhdhin would be
delayed in giving the Adhaan until he heard the people telling him, "It is
morning, it is morning."  And then Allaah¹s Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam, said, "If one of you hears the call to Prayer and the vessel is in
his hand, then let him not put it down until he has fulfilled his need from
it."

So Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, spoke truly when He said at the end of
those Aayahs relating to Fasting:

Allaah desires to make things easy for you, and He does not desire to make
things difficult for you.

and

And that you should complete the number of days, and that you should glorify
Allaah by mentioningtakbeer for His having guided you, and that you should
be thankful.


So therefore from the Fiqh that is to be criticised, and which runs contrary
to this Sunnah, is that a person says, "If someone hears the Adhaan and has
some food in his mouth, then he must spit it out."  So this is over
strictness, and (ghuluww) exceeding the limits in the Religion, and the Lord
of all of the creation admonished us, and reminded us, in His Book and in
the Sunnah of His Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, that we should not
exceed the due limits in our Religion. So He said, in the Noble Quraan:

O people of the Book! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not
say anything about Allaah except the truth.

And our Messenger sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, said to us, or he,
sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, said, "Beware of (ghuluww) exceeding the
limits in the Religion. Because those who came before you were destroyed by
their exceeding the limits in their Religion."

So when Allaah¹s Messenger, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, has made it clear
to us that there is in the matter of a persons taking suhoor, latitude and a
margin of ease, to the extent that he said, "If one of you hears the call to
Prayer whilst the vessel is in his hand, then let him not put it down until
he has completed his need from it."

So it is opposition to Allaah and to the Messenger that a person says that
one who hears the adhaan whilst he has food in his mouth must spit it out
upon the ground. This is not from the Sunnah. Rather this is contrary to the
Sunnah, and is contrary to the clear command of the Messenger, sallallaahu
alaihi wa sallam,.

And I have been asked many times, so I will not leave the need for such a
question, but rather I will precede you in it, by stating that this hadeeth
is to be found in some of the most famous books of the Sunnah. From them
being the Sunan of Aboo Daawood, and it is the third book from the
well-known six books. The first of which is Saheehul-Bukhaaree, the second
being Saheeh Muslim, and the third being the Sunan of Aboo Daawood.

This hadeeth is to be found in it, and it is likewise reported by Aboo
Abdullaah al-Haakim in his Mustadrak, and it is likewise reported by the
Imaam, the Imaam of the Sunnah Ahmad ibn Hanbal, rahimahullaah, in his
tremendous book known as the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad.

So the hadeth is not a strange hadeeth, rather it is a well-known hadeeth,
and was reported by the Imaams of the sunnah in the early times, and with an
authentic chain of narration.

So here I say, to conclude this talk, since perhaps some of you have
questions, which we will answer if Allaah wills, so I conclude it with his,
sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, saying "Allaah loves that His allowances be
acted upon just as He loves that His prescribed duties be carried out," and
in one narration, "Just as He hates that disobedience to Him be committed."

So there are two narrations, "Allaah loves that His allowances be acted upon
just as He loves that His prescribed duties be carried out", and the second
narration is, " as He hates that disobedience to Him be committed."

So therefore the Muslim should not practice false piety, and (as a result)
refrain from obeying the Prophet, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, in that
which he encouraged us upon and clarified to us.

And what has been said is sufficient, and all praise is for Allaah, the Lord
of all of the creation."

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