KHUTAB IV: 14. RAMAḌĀN

14. RAMAḌĀN 

(ANUMA 28 AUGUST 09)

Brothers in Islam,

          Since we are in the blessing month of Ramadan it would be more appropriate to know more about it to increase our knowledge and our faith. One of the important things to be observed by us in doing our fasting is the intention, النِّيَّة

عَنْ حَفْصَةَ أُمِّّ اْلمُؤْمِنِيْنَ رَضِيَ اللّه عَنْهَا أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ص.م قَالَ:

 "مَنْ لَمْ يُبَيِّتِ الصِّيَامَ قَبْلَ اْلفَجْرِ فَلاَ صِيَامَ لَهُ" (رَوَاهُ اْلخَمْسَة)

Narrated by Hafsah r.a., Mother of the Believers: the  

Prophet s.a.w. said, “The fast of one who does not make

 intention to fastbefore dawn is not accepted.”

(Reported by al-Khamsah)

In another hadith the Prophet s.a.w. said:

" لاَ صِيَامَ لِمَنْ  لَمْ يَفْرِضْهُ مِنَ الَّيْلِ" (رَوَاهُ الدَّارَقُطْنِيْ)

“There is not fast for the one who does not  

make the intention to fast during the night.”

 (Reported by al-Dāraqut.nī)

          This is regarding the obligatory fasting, such as fasting in the month of Ramadan. With regard to voluntary fasting, the intention (niyyah) can be done during the day until noon, based on the following h.adīth:

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ر.ع. قَالَتْ: دَخَلالَ عَلَيَّ  النَّبِيُّ ص.م. ذَتَ يَوْمٍ فَقَالَ: " هَلْ عِنْدَكُمْ

شَيْئٌ"؟ قُلْنّا لاَ, قَالَ: "فَإنِّيْ إِذاً صَائِمُ" ثُمَّ أَتَانَا يَوْمًا آخَرَ, فَقُلْنَا: أُهْدِيَ لَنَا حَيْسٌ,

فَقَالَ : "أَرِيْنِيْهِ فَلََقَدْ أَصْبَحْتُ صائِمًا" فَأَكَل (رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمْ)

Narrated by ‘Aishah r.a.: The Prophet s.a.w. came

 to visit  me one day and asked, “Do you have anything

 (to eat)?” I said,“No.” He said, “Then I am fasting.”

 Then he came to me another day, and I said: “I had

been given a present of some h.ays(a mixture of dates

and ghee).” He said, “Show it to me, for I had been

the day fasting.” Then he ate. (Reported by Muslim)

The intention is in our heart, and it is not necessary to say it verbally, although it is recommended to do so, except according to Mālikī school that it is recommended not to utter it.

There are conditions for the validity of our intention, (شُرُوْطُ النِّيَّة).

They are:

1.    تَبْيِيْتُ النِّيَّة  It has to be at night, preferably before dawn, when we start fasting. It is like doing our intention when we start praying.

 

2.    تَعْيِيْنُ النِّيَّة فْي الْفَرْضِ (Specifying the intention in obligatory fasting). This is the opinion of the majority of the ‘ulamā’, except the Ḥanafī  school. Therefore, if you are in the month of Ramadan, according to this school of law, you do not have to specify the month of Ramadan in your intention.

3.    ألجَزْمُ بِالنِّيَّة (absolute certainty in the intention). This is also the opinion of the majority of the ‘ulamā’, except the Ḥanafī  school. Therefore, if someone makes his intention to fast at the end of Sha‘bān as voluntary fasting, but as obligatory fasting if it is the beginning of Ramadan, his intention is not acceptable, due to the lack of certainty in his intention. If someone makes his intention to fast tomorrow adding with إنْ شَاءَ اللّه   (“if Allah wills”), if he is not sure whether he really wants to fast tomorrow, his intention is not acceptable and valid due to lack of resolution. But when his intention with the addition “if Allah will” is only for tabarruk, Allah’s blessing, then his intention is acceptable. If somebody asks me: “Are you Muslim?” and I answered, “I am a Muslim in shā’ Allah” it does not mean that I am not sure whether I am a Muslim or not. However, it would be better to answer “I am a Muslim alhamdu lillāh (praise be to Allah)” as being a Muslim is a blessing from Allah and we should praise and thank Him for it.

4.    تَعَدُّدُ النِّيَّةِ بِتَعَدُّدِ الأيَّامِ (plurality of intention with plurality of days). This, again, the opinion of the majority of the ‘ulamā’, except the Mālikī school. According to this school, it will be enough to make one intention in the beginning of fasting in Ramadan, for example, for the whole days of it, as it is a unit, or “a package” if you like. It is like praying which is sufficient with one intention. Allah says, فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْه (البقرة : ١٨٥) “Whoever among you witnesses the month (of Ramadan)[namely, be present in that month] he must observe fasting in that month…” (Q. 2:185). Similarly, it would be sufficient to make intention to fast in the month of Ramadan with one intention. But the jumhūr of the  ‘ulamā’ say that the intention to fast for each day of the month of Ramadan is required.

There are nine categories of people who are exempted from fasting in the month of Ramadan: In order to facilitate memorizing them an unidentified poet put them in the following poems:

وَ عَوَارِضُ الصَّوْمِ الَّتِيْ قَدْ يُغْتَفَر   *   لِلْمَرْءِ فِيْهَا الْفِطْرُ تِسْعٌ تُسْتَطَرْ

حَبْلٌ وَ إِرْضَاعٌ وَ إِكْرَاهٌ سَفَرْ   *   مَرَضٌ جِهَادٌ جَوْعَةٌ عَطْشٌ كِبَرْ

The obstacles of fasting in which people could be

 forgiven for not fasting are in record nine cases:

Pregnancy, nursing baby, compulsion, traveling,

 sickness, jihad, hunger, thirst, and old age.

          With regard to traveling, the minimum distance is the one where prayers can be shortened (qas.r) which is about 89 km, and should start before dawn. If someone is traveling while he is fasting, he can break his fast whenever he feel he cannot keep it, but he has to make it up (qad.ā).  According to Shafi‘ī school, people whose profession is traveling, such as bus and train drivers, are not exempted from fasting, except they face hardship in fasting.

          With regard to hard labours, such as blacksmiths, mining labuorers, bakers, and the like, according to the jumhūr ‘ulamā’ (Muslim scholars in the mass), they have to make their effort to keep fasting, take pre-dawn meal, make intention to fast, until they cannot bear the thirst and hunger any longer for fear of their health. By then, they have to break their fast, for Allah says, وَلاَ تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ ,إِنَّ اللّه كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيْمًا (النساء : ٢٩)   “…And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you.” (Q.4:29)

          There are four interpretations of this verse:

1.    killing oneself (committing suicide)

2.    killing one another (Muslim brothers and sisters in faith)

3.    becoming too emotional, too happy, too sad, too angry, too frustrated, etc. Uncontrollable emotion could kill, directly or indirectly, through the deterioration of health. The heart beat becomes faster, breathing becomes irregular, and so on

4.    working too hard beyond one’s ability; it is a kind of slow suicide. In general, a person to whom fasting poses a threat to his life is not allowed to fast. Allah says, وَلاَ تُلْقُوْا بِأَيْدِيْكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ (البقرة : ١٩٥)   “…and do not throw yourselves into destruction…(Q. 2:195).

Brothers in Islam,

A common issue used be faced by the Muslims in the beginning of Ramadan is called ikhtilāf al-maṭāli‘ (the discrepancy in the rising of the moon). There is no doubt of its existence, like that of the sunrise. The sun rises here today at 6.28 a.m. whereas in Jakarta about three ours later. If the crescent is seen somewhere in the Muslim land, should other Muslims in other countries also fast in spite of the discrepancy in the rising of the moon? There are two views:

a.      Shāfi‘ī school: Only for nearby countries. People of distant countries should follow their own mat.la‘ (see the crescent by themselves), and the distant should not be less than 24 farsahkh, namely, 24 x 5544m = 123,056 km. Luckily, the Muslims in Indonesia the majority of whom are followers of Shāfi‘ī school do not follow this view, but follow the announcement of the Department of  Religious Affairs.

b.     H.anafī, Mālikī and H.anbalī schools: They all agree that once the crescent has been seen, all Muslims should fast wherever they are if the news reaches them. Now it is easy, we have radio, telephone, and television.

This view has been accepted but very slowly by the Muslims. It is hoped that this would strengthen the unity among Muslim rulers. Moreover, the distance of this Muslim land from one edge to the other is only about 9 hours. The Prophet s.a.w. besides conveying the message of Islam, in this case, the injunction of fasting in Ramadan, also explains what is apparently not clear to people, or to emphasize it. So, he explains the above verse, saying,

إِذَا رَأَيْتُمُوهُ فَصُوْمُوْا وَإذَا رَأَيْتُمُوْهُ فَأفْطِرُوْا فَإنْ غُمَّ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْدُرُوْا لَهُ

(رواه البخاري عن ابن عمر ر.ع.)

 When you see the crescent (of the month of Ramadan),

start fasting, and when you see the crescent (of the

  month of Shawwāl), stop fasting; and if the  sky is

overcast (and you cannot see it) then regard the

crescent (month) of Ramadan (as of 30 days)

(Reported by Bukhārī on the

authority of Ibn ‘Umar)

This is one of explanation of the Qur’ānic verse:

. فَمَنْ شَهِدَ ِمْنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ  (البقرة : ١٨٥)  “So everyone of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting” The word شَهِدَ means, “to see, to witness” either with eyesight or with insight. The word الشَّهْر usually means “the month” not “the crescent” which is   اْلِهلاَل  in Arabic. Therefore, the verse means, if we just stop here, lit. “Whoever witness the month (of Ramadan) (with his insight)” and in a better expression “whosoever is present in the month (of Ramadan).”  However, in pre-Islamic poetry, the wordشَهْر  (month) could also mean هِلاَل (crescent). An unidentified poet says:

أَخَـَوانِ مِنْ نَجْـدٍ عَـلَى ثِقَـةٍ   *    وَ الشَّهْـُر مِثْلُ قُلَامَـةِ الظّفُـُِر

حَـتَّى تَكَامَـلَ فِي اسْتِدَارَتِـِه   *    في أَرْبَـٍع زَادَتْ عَلَـى عَشَـِر

"The coming of two brothers from Najd is certain when the

 crescent [lit. ‘the month’] is like the cutting of the nail until

 it becomes completely round  at the 14^th (of the month)".

Therefore, this verse has two meanings: (1) apparent meaning, what we used to understand from the word shahr meaning “month”, is that we start fasting when we are at home, not travelling, and (2) the deeper meaning, that shahr (month) in this verse also means hilāl (the crescent), so that the verse also means “So, whoever of you sights the crescent [of Ramadan] should fast in it [i.e., Ramadan]. It is like what English people call “hitting two birds with one stone”. This indicates the importance of knowing, not only the Arabic language, but also the expression in classical Arabic poetry, in order to understand the deeper meanings of the Qur’ān. (MAS)