✨Strength through Fasting

Islam is the religion of strength, dignity and honor. And the strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah Almighty than the weak believer. Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
A strong believer is better and dearer to Allah than a weak one, and both are good. [Muslim 2664]

And what is meant by strength in this hadith is the strength of iman (faith), knowledge and obedience, and the strength of insight, character and will. And physical strength is included if it helps one in performing righteous deeds. Al Nawawi explained, what is meant by strength here is firm resolve and capability in matters of the hereafter. So someone with this description is the most determined in enjoining good and forbidding evil. And forbears harm through all of that. And bears hardships for the sake of Allah Almighty. And is the most ambitious in prayer, fasting, remembrance and other acts of worship. And is the most vigorous in seeking and establishing them. And he, may Allah have mercy on him, said in explaining the hadith narrated by Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, in which she said in describing the night prayer of the Prophet ﷺ:
He used to sleep during the night to his bed, Then when the caller to prayer called Adhan he would get up, and if required, he would perform the major ritual purification, otherwise he would perform wudu and go out (to the prayer). [Bukhari 1146]

That is the Prophet ﷺ would rise from bed quickly. For in that is diligence for acts of worship and pursuing them with vigor. And that is some of the meaning of the authentic hadith:
A strong believer is better and dearer to Allah than a weak one. [Muslim 2664]

And others said in explaining the Hadith, “the strong believer, that is, upon acts of good and bearing the hardships of acts of obedience, and patience upon what afflicts them of calamity, and watchfulness in matters, and guidance to planning and benefiting by looking at the reasons and thinking about the consequences.

From among the meanings of fasting and its praiseworthy effects is that it brings out strength. So people, by their own will, abstain from food, drink, intimate relations and all other things that break the fast. Even though they used to do these permissible matters all year long, but during the day in Ramadan they leave them for the sake of Allah and His reward. And this a great victory for the Muslim against their whims and lusts. And a great triumph over their inner selves. And through that, they prepare themselves to bear hardships and to carry out significant matters such as striving, exerting and sacrificing. And for that reason when Taloot (Saul), peace be upon him, wanted to fight his adversaries, Allah Almighty tested his people with a river. And Taloot (Saul) said to them:

Al Baqarah (2) 249: So whoever drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste it is indeed of me, excepting one who takes [from it] in the hollow of his hand.

So the people of patience and strength succeeded; the ones who prevailed over their whims and inner selves triumphed. And the worshipers of lusts, those dominated by their natures and besieged to their whims, fell behind.

Indeed the correct creed is a provision that does not run out, and an inexhaustible and continuous source of vigor and enthusiasm, and help for enduring difficulties and facing adversities. And the nature of iman (faith), if it penetrates and becomes established in the soul, is that it bestows upon its possessors a strength that is stamped upon all their behaviors. So if they speak, they are confident in what they say, if they undertake something, they are steadfast in their efforts, and if they advance, they are clear about their goals.

And the true believers do not care about a matter that does not advance Allah’s religion, and do not submit to their whims, and do not exert for other than Allah, and are not enslaved to created beings like themselves, and do not give in to their lusts and pleasures. And this is the month of strength, determination, sacrifice and triumphs. You may remember what happened in the Campaign of Badr, whereby Muslims realized the most wonderful examples of heroics and redemption. Whereby 300 Muslims were victorious over 1000 polytheists. For they engaged with great iman (faith) and Allah, to grant them victory, reinforced them with angels. And it was a struggle between truth and falsehood and named the day of the Criterion as mentioned in the Quran.

The question here is what did the Muslims possess when they engaged the polytheists? And with what did they excel and surpass their adversary?

Indeed, they possessed the strength of faith, the strength of morals, and the inner strength, which the polytheists did not have. So the enemies of Allah were utterly defeated. The Qur’an recorded it as a wonderful example that indicates what moral strength can achieve in terms of victory over material strength.

Fasting gives Muslims various moral strengths that have the greatest impact on the happiness of individuals and societies. For it gives them the power of patience and endurance, the power of order, the power of action, the power of acts of obedience and the power of iman (faith).

The strong believer during Ramadan is keen to acquire virtues and obtain good deeds, and is not distracted by what occupies others from that, such as diversions and entertainment that defile the spiritual atmosphere of Ramadan and that veil the lights of iman (faith). Only those whose inner selves are weak and whom Satan has ensnared in his traps reach this state of foolishness, negligence and loss. He made them violate the sanctity of the month, paralyzed them in front of these poisons, which they do not stop even in the seasons of goodness, so they are unable take advantage of them.

What good is there in a person’s life if the seasons of goodness come upon them, and they witness the greatest profits and most honorable acts of worship, but do not care about that? Rather, they are heedless and negligent ?! Ibn Qayim, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “there is nothing uglier in a person than to be heedless from the religious virtues and beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds. So whoever is like that is from among the crude who waste water and inflate prices. In life, he is blameworthy and he is not missed in death. Losing them is a relief for society and people. And the heavens do not weep for them and the earth does not miss them”.

And many of us, may Allah guide us all, have turned away from Allah’s call and what He wants of us. And they answered the call of those following lusts and they spent their time in these limited number of days on what will not bring them benefit and good; rather, on what bears loss and bad consequences. Ramadan teaches us to be strong, with strong determination and high resolve. So we do not weaken before lusts, nor do we humiliate ourselves before created beings like ourselves, nor do we run behind the calls of the indecent and their corrupt views. Nor do we turn away from our creed, principles and morals and occupy ourselves with the toxic turning away from spending our time in the beneficial that has good returns in this life and the hereafter.

Oh Muslims: you There are signs for a strong believer that indicate their strength and the perfection of their personality.

And from among them is initiative in performing good, striving hard in acts of worship, and collecting good deeds. So their physical efforts and strength are harnessed to please Allah Almighty. And from among the signs is that the believer has a strong will and lofty aspirations and does not become weak or submissive, but is adorned by courage in difficult circumstances. And the believer is steadfast and solid during adversity, neither slipping nor wavering.

One of the great etiquettes that one observes while fasting is to leave quarreling and insulting. One safeguards their tongue from insulting and expressing anger. And they are not provoked or angered for the slightest reason. Nor do they go out of their way to squabble, argue and differ over worldly matters. For the Prophet ﷺ said:
When anyone of you is fasting, let him not utter evil or ignorant speech. If anyone insults him or wants to fight, let him say: I am fasting, I am fasting.[Bukhari 1904, Muslim 1151d]

We must strive against our whims and inner selves that call to evil so that we can attain guidance. Allah Almighty said:
Al Ankabut (29) 69: And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways.

And Fadaalah bin Abeed narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
The Mujahid is one who strives against his inner self in obeying Allah. And the Muhajer is that one who abandons misdeeds and sins. [Ahmad 24013, Grade: Hassan]

So strive, oh you who are fasting. Strive against your inner selves and be obedient to your Lord. And make the most of the rest of the month. And how fast do our days pass. So capitalize and profit before it is too late and then their will only be loss and regret.

We ask Allah Almighty to make us among those who make the most of this blessed month. May Allah Almighty accept our fasting, prayers and good deeds and forgive us our sins. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.

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