06. REWARDS FOR FASTING

Prof. Dr. Mahmud Es'ad COSAN

Aùzu bi’llâhi mine’sh-shaytàni’r-rajîm.

Bi’smi’llâhi’r-rahmâni’r-rahîm.

I seek refuge with Allah from Satan

In the name of Allah the Merciful the Beneficent.

Al-hamdu li’llâhi rabbi’l-àlemîne hamden kethîran tayyiben mubâraken fîh... Kemâ yenbaghî li-jalâli wajhihî wa li-azîmi sultânih... Wa’s-salâtu wa’s-selâmu alâ seyyidinâ muhammedin wa alâ âlihî wa sahbihî wa men tebi'ahû bi-ihsânin ejmaîn...

Praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Universe. We praise Him with the best of the praises endlessly. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammed Mustafa. May Allah convey our greetings and respect to the Prophet. May He grant us his intercession on the Day of Judgment and keep us on his path.

a. Value of Ramadhan

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We have reached such a blessed month. How nice to appreciate it! When the three months—Rajab, Sha'ban, Ramadhan—arrived, the Prophet would do more worship in these months.

The Prophet has been reported to say: "Rajab is the month of planting; Sha'ban, cultivating; Ramadhan, harvesting." That means the process of earning rewards starts with the beginning of Rajab and continues through Ramadhan.

As indicated in a hadith, the beginning of Ramadhan is mercy; the middle, forgiveness; and the end is (itkun minan-nâr) freedom from hell. As a person offers prayers and fasts, his rewards accumulate and he attains forgiveness. That leads to freedom from Hell. The danger of falling into hellfire is kept away from the

person. If a servant is kept away from Hell, he is placed in Paradise:

فَمَنْ زُحْزِحَ عَنْ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ (اۤل عمران٥٨١)

(Femen zuhziha anin nâri wa udkhile’l-jennete feqad fâz) "So he who is drawn away from the fire and admitted to Paradise has attained his desire." (Qur'an 3:185)

This is such a great month, the last of the three-months. It is the time for spiritual harvest. It is truly the queen of the eleven months as it is displayed in lights on minarets.

Ibn-i Abbas RA was a knowledgeable companion of the Prophet.

He was one of the four Abdullahs. He was asked which month was the best. He said: "the best of the months is Ramadhan." We all know this without any doubt. It was reported from Abû Mes’ud al-Ghifârî RA:¹²

اَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَسُولُ الله صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمْ، يَقُولُ: يَوْمَ اُهِلَّ شَهْرُ

رَمَضَانَ: لَوْ يَعَلَمُ الْعِبَادُ مَا فِى شَهْرِ رَمَضَانُ، لَتَمَنَّى الْعِبَادِ اَنْ

يَكُونَ شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ سَنَةً (طب. عن أبي مسعود الغفاري)

(Ennehû semia rasûla’llah SAS yeqùlu: Yewme uhille shehru ramadhàn) The Prophet of Allah said: "When the crescent of the month of Ramadhan is sighted, (lew ya'lemul ibâdi mâ fî shehri ramadhàn) if the servants knew what is in Ramadhan — the blessings, mercy, rewards — (letemennel ibâdi en yekûne shehru ramadhàn, seneten) they would wish that Ramadhan lasted a whole year."

¹² Taberânî, Mu’cemü’l-Kebîr, c.XXII, s.388, no:967; Heysemî, Mecmaü’z- Zevâid, c.III, s.33, no:4782; İbn-i Esir, Üsdü’l-Gàbe, c.I, s.1245; Ebû Nuaym,

Ma’rifetü’s-Sahabe, c.XXI, s.82, no:6393; Ebû Mes’ud el-Gıfârî RA’dan.

We fast during the day and the Isha and Tarawih prayers add up to 33 rakat. Both have great rewards. Those who know the rewards would wish that the whole year were Ramadhan.

That means it would not be sufficient no matter how much we respect, love and appreciate this month. Alhamdulillah, we are in such a month.

I have been reading these ahadith from the book Ghunyatu’t- Tàlibîn written by our great master Abdulqadir-i Geylânî RhA. I love this book. You love Abdulqadir-i Geylânî RhA, too. May Almighty Allah grant his intercession on the Day of Judgment. He was among the greatest of awliyaullah, the leader of the Qadîrî tariqa. He was a great scholar, a descendent of the Prophet SAS. I love him very much and keep his book with me. It has a section on Ramadhan that contains information that is not found elsewhere The Tomb of Abdulkàdir-i Geylânî, BAGHDAD

together. May Almighty Allah bless his soul and elevate his stage.

May He make us neighbors to him in Paradise.

Naturally, as we read from His book, he earns rewards because a book is sadaqa-i jâriyah — a running charity. When a person writes a book and the book is benefited from, the author earns rewards for that as long as the book is used. If a teacher raises a student, he would earn rewards as long as the student is in the service of Islam.

Your imam, for instance, has been raised by a teacher. He led the prayer in congregation, alhamdulillah we offered the prayers together. The imam earned rewards as you earned your rewards; also his teacher earned rewards. Not only that, your parents earned rewards for raising you as Muslims. They continue earning rewards even after they die.

Dear Brothers and Sisters! There is good news: Our elderly who passed away are informed about our good deeds every Friday. They are told: "Your son or daughter did this and this." They feel happy to receive such good news. May Allah bless them all, illuminate their graves and elevate their stages. May their graves be like gardens of Paradise. May Allah increase their happiness.

Nûr means light. If the lights are turned off, we cannot see anything. There is light and we enjoy it. I could see the pages of this book and read it. Light is something very good. Each person needs light in the grave and on the bridge of Sirat. Our worship will be our light on the bridge of Sirat.

نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَىبَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ (التحريم: ٨)

(Nûruhum yes'â beyne eydîhim wa bi-eymânihim) "Their light will proceed before them and on their right." (Qur'an 66:8) The worship of the believer will become light and illuminate his path.

Those who passed away feel happy in their graves when they are told that their children did something good. On the other hand, if

their children are doing something bad, they feel sorry.

As you are aware the evil has two kinds:

1. Doing bad things

2. Neglecting the good things.

If a person fails doing the obligations (fard), he would be doing something evil. Doing something prohibited (haram) is evil, too.

The best gift a person gives to his parents who passed away is being a good person because an equal amount of rewards for the good deeds carried out by this person is given to the parents.

Nothing is reduced from the rewards of the person—no need to worry. Almighty Allah does not take away any rewards from him; He has endless mercy and blessings. He gives an equal amount of rewards to the parents. Alhamdulillah, this is a great blessing.

You can imagine: Bursa has the chestnut candy/sweet. When we pass through Bursa, we buy chestnut candy and take it to our destination. Afyon has the cream and other types of candy. Each locality has something different and famous. We buy these and take as gifts. You may wonder: "What kinds of gifts can we send to our relatives who passed away?" The best gift for them would be for you to become a good Muslim. Offer your prayers, recite the Qur'an, spend on charitable causes, and do other good deeds. When you are good persons, your elderly who passed away feel good. You dream about them, and they thank you for that. If you do not do good deeds, you would dream about them, too, but you see them sad.

That could mean that they want you to do something good for them.

They would be saying, "Son, do not forget me!"

b. The Sleep and Silence of Fasting Person

We have been reading some ahadith about Ramadhan.

Abdullah ibn-i Abû Awfâ RA reported:¹³

¹³ Beyhakî, Şuabü'l-İman, c.III, s.415, no:3937; Abdullah ibn-i Ebî Evfâ RA'dan.

Deylemî, Müsnedü’l-Firdevs, c.II, s.397, no:3761; Abdullah ibn-i Ömer RA’dan.

قَالَ رَسُولُ الله صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : نَوْمُ الصَّائِمِ عِبَادَةٌ، وَصَمْتُهُ

تَسْبِيحٌ، وَدُعَاؤُهُ مْسْتَجَابٌ، وَعَمَلُهُ مُضَاعَفٌ (هب. عن عبد الله ابن أبي أوفى)

(Qàle rasûlu’llah SAS) The Prophet SAS said. The source of knowledge is the Prophet. Almighty Allah revealed to the heart of the Prophet all the light and knowledge on the spiritual matters and other knowledge. He conveyed that knowledge to people for 23 years. He explained the Qur'an and the details that are not in the Qur'an. He also practiced and showed people Islam. He was a

Kenzü’l-Ummâl, c.VIII, s.718, no²³⁶⁰² ve s.728, no:23631; Câmiü’l-Ehàdîs, c.XIV, s.25, no:13696.

Mehmet Çiçek Mosque, ANTALYA

living example of perfect Muslim and follower of the Qur'an. He was a great example for the companions and for us, too.

As you know, the painters and sculptors take a model and produce their work by looking at that model. Our role model, the one we are going to follow, is our beloved Prophet, Muhammad the chosen one. When we follow his footsteps, we will find salvation.

He is the source of all knowledge. Almighty Allah revealed the Qur'an to him, and he informed us about it. The Qur'an came to us through the Prophet SAS.

With all of these, the Prophet SAS is the crown on our heads.

We uphold his Sunnah. It is not possible to abstain from the Sunnah of the Prophet. We cannot say, "the Qur'an suffices for us" because the Sunnah is the interpretation of the Qur'an and a personified example of the Qur'an. I state these because some people who lack knowledge make incorrect statements that are misleading and confusing to people. We ought to get the facts.

The Prophet SAS said:

(Nawmus-sâ-imi ibâdetun) This is one of the rewards of fasting: "The sleep of the person who is fasting is a form of worship."

Sometimes, the person who is fasting feels sleepy and takes a nap.

The season could be summer or winter, hot or cold. Days could be long.

We were in Stockholm. It is a location close to the north pole.

During the winter, the sun rises around 9 o'clock, and noon at 12 o'clock. Asr time is around 1 o'clock and sun goes down at 3 o'clock.

It has a very long night. It is the opposite in summer time. Days are long while nights are very short. They have a hard time completing the Tarawih in Ramadhan. Some of our people who work there are workers in the ship-building industry. For instance, they do welding in a place where the temperature could rise to 60 to 70 degrees Celsius. They fast while they work, and the days could be long. They get tired and need a nap while they are fasting.

They do not sleep at all at night in Ramadhan. They pray the maghrib at the mosque, eat something there, pray Isha and

Tarawih. Stay there a little while and pray Fajr and go to work.

They are brave people. As they get out the work, they deserve some sleep.

(Nawmus-sâ-imi ibâdetun) "The sleep of the person who is fasting is a form of worship. (Wa samtuhû tasbîhun) His silence is glorification Allah." It is like they keep saying subhanallah. they receive rewards for that. A person who is fasting could talk less than other times. Fasting makes a person more pleasant.

The sleep and the silence of a person who is fasting are forms of worship. (Wa duâuhu mustajâbun) "The prayers of a fasting person are answered." A person who fasts becomes a beloved servant of Allah. He abstains from eating food, drinking water and intimacy with his spouse for the sake of Allah. He abandoned the strong desires of his nafs for Allah. That is why Allah loves him. Allah loves him because he is doing all of that for the sake of Allah. Then his prayers are answered.

Knowing this, we ought to try to get the prayers of a person who is fasting. We ought to keep him happy and serve him. We ought to offer him good things and food for iftar. That is how we can get his prayers for us.

(Wa ameluhû mudàafun) "His deeds are rewarded in multifold."

The fasting person is rewarded 70 times more in Ramadhan than other times for the same deeds. This is not a small difference—very significant increase indeed!

I would not know if you offer nafilah salat after Isha. I would not know if you make fresh wudu'u and offer salat before going to bed or if you get up for the night vigil (tahajjud) prayer. But I know that we offer 20 units of Tarawih prayer after Isha in Ramadhan.

If we multiply it by 70, it would make 1400 units! We are given the rewards of 1400 units of prayer. If we spend for charity, it would count seventy times in Ramadhan. If we do dhikr, it would be rewarded seventy times more, too.

That is why some Muslims who know this fact, who learned the secrets of the matter from their teachers, pay their Zakah in Ramadhan. As you know, there are some conditions for the Zakah.

One of the conditions is that it has to pass one year after the possession of the goods for them to be subject to Zakah. Suppose you earned some money now. You are not required to pay Zakah on that money until a year passes while that money is in your possession. Some people make calculations and pay their Zakah ahead of time in Ramadhan.

If you go to Saudi Arabia in Ramadhan, you observe the Saudis practicing that. Some are very smart and knowledgeable about this hadith. They pay their Zakah in Ramadhan. He gets his money fold and gives to the poor from the window of his Mercedes in fifty or one-hundred Riyal bills. They know that it earns seventy times more rewards in Ramadhan.

The Tomb of Prophet Muhammed SAS, MADINAH

That is the amel-i mudàaf. Mudàaf means 'in many folds." We know from other ahadith that the good deeds are rewarded in seventy folds in Ramadhan.

c. Forgiveness for Offenses between two Ramadhans

Abû Hayseme reported:¹⁴

رَمَضَانُ اِلٰى رَمَضَانَ، وَالْحَجُّ اِلَى الْحَجِّ، وَالجُمُعَةُ إلى الجُمُعَةِ،

وَالصَّلٰوةُ اِلَى الصَّلٰوةِ، كَفَّارَاةٌ بِمَا بَيْنَهُنَّ مَا اجْتُنِبَتِ الْكَبَائِرُ .

(Kânû yeqùlûne ramadhànu ilâ ramadhàn, wal hajju ile’l-haj, wa’l-jumuatu ila’l-jumuah, wa’s-salâtu ila’s-salâh, keffârâtun bimâ beynehunne mejtunibeti’l-kebâiru) "A Ramadhan is expiation for the sins committed since the previous Ramadhan provided that the major offenses are not committed. So are a Hajj since the previous Hajj, a Friday since the previous Friday, and a prayer since the previous prayer." If one avoids the major offenses, fasting in Ramadhan, performing Hajj, offering the Friday prayer and offering daily prayers causes the sins to be wiped out. This is such a good and comforting news.

Al-hamdu lillah we are in the first week of Ramadhan. Last year we fasted in Ramadhan, and we are in Ramadhan again. If we fast in this Ramadhan properly, Almighty Allah erases all of the offenses that we committed since the last Ramadhan. When we offer the Friday prayer properly, a week of sins will be wiped out.

There are, of course some manners of offering the Friday prayer such as taking a bath (ghusl) before coming to masjid. A prayer wipes out the sins committed after the previous prayer. If we want our sins to be forgiven, we must offer our prayers regularly, not miss the Friday prayers and appreciate the Ramadhan well.

¹⁴ Ahmed ibn-i Hanbel, Müsned, v.II, p.400, no:9186; by Ebû Hüreyre RA.

Hadrat Omar RA was one of the Ashara-i Mubash-sharah. He was one of the ten people who were informed by the Prophet that they would go to Paradise. Hadrat Omar was also the father-in-law of the Prophet: His daughter was married to the Prophet. What else? He is also a companion to the Prophet SAS in the grave. He is buried in the room where the Prophet SAS was buried. It is not a simple matter to be buried close to the Prophet. If Allah does not want it, He would keep the person away. Hadrat Omar rests in the same room as the Prophet SAS.

There is an anecdote about Hadrat Aisha RA, the mother of the believers, in the book Dalâil-i Khayrat. She had a dream that three full moons fell off the sky to her room and disappeared there. It was amazing: three large full moons disappearing in her little room. She went to her father, Hadrat Abubakr as-Siddîq RA, and told him about her dream. He used to enjoy interpreting the dreams. He told his daughter: "O my daughter! Three blessed persons will be buried in your room. These three persons are the most blessed persons on the face of the earth." Hadrat Aisha was the wife of the Prophet, and she had a room next to the masjid of the Prophet. The grave of the Prophet is in that place.

Time passed. When the Prophet SAS left this life for the hereafter, the companions consulted among themselves where the Prophet should be buried. One of the companions suggested: "The prophets are buried where they die. They are not taken away elsewhere. We must bury him in the room he died." That is how the Prophet's body was buried. After the funeral, Hadrat Abubakr as-Siddîq RA went to his daughter Hadrat Aisha RA and said: "O my daughter! Do you remember the dream you told me about?

Three full moons had disappeared in your room. I had told you that three of the best people in the world would be buried in your room.

The Prophet was one of the three moons. He was the best of all."

This blessed person, Hadrat Abu Bakr RA, must have known the second and the third persons to be buried there because he was the highest of the awliya. Allah knows, Hadrat Abubakr must have known that the second person to be buried there was himself and

the third person Hadrat Omar RA. They were great personages.

Hadrat Omar RA was a great person, too. He was a father-in- law to the Prophet SAS. He was buried in the same room with the Prophet. He had the honor of being close to the prophet in grave.

Dear Brothers and Sisters! Why am I telling all of these things?

There were fractions among Muslims, and hatred and enmity grew towards some of the companions of the Prophet SAS. There are people who consider Hadrat Abu Bakr and Hadrat Omar as their enemies. I would like tell them something logical: "If they were not good people, Almighty Allah would not allow them to be buried next to His beloved Prophet. They both are among the Ashara-i Mubash- sharah as informed by the Prophet. Aren't these proofs enough?

Stop talking against these blessed people."

Hadrat Omar RA used to say when Ramadhan arrived:

مَرْحَبًا بِشَهْرِ خَيْر ، خَيْرُ كُلُّهُ صِيَامُ نَحَارُهُ وَقِيَامُ لَيْلُهُ

(Marhaban bi-shahri khayrin!) "Welcome o month which is full of goodness."

The Arabic word shahr refers to a month 29 to 30 days of time length. Shahri Ramadhan means the month of Ramadhan. In Farisî, it is mâh. Mâh-i Ramadhan is the month of Ramadhan in Persian. Shehr does not mean a city or town with the walls and houses in it. The word shehir is used for that in Turkish, and it comes from Persian.

Hadrat Omar RA would welcome the month and say: (Khayru kulluhû, sıyâmu nehâruhû qiyâmu layluhû) "All is goodness, fasting during the day and prayers at night." The night starts with the sunset, and the prayers at night refers to the Tarawih prayers.

d. The Night Vigil (Tahajjud) Prayer

Yet some of the true lovers of Allah would go home and pray more. That is light upon light, cream on top of cream! How nice it

is! May Allah accept their prayers.

Or a Muslim went home after the prayer and slept because he worked during the day and got tired. The Tarawih prayer could make him more tired. Since now it is winter time, all the prayers in the mosque ends by eight o'clock. If people go outside, they will find something to do and not go to sleep right away. Suppose one went to sleep. Then he got up for the suhur meal. He shall make wudu and offer two units of night vigil prayer because the night vigil prayer is recommended for the Prophet SAS.

Bi’smi’llâhi’r-rahmâni’r-rahîm:

وَمِنْ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَكَعَسَى أَنْ يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا

(اسراء:٩٧)

(Wa mine’l-leyli fetehejjed bihî nâfileten lek, asâ en yeb'aseke rabbuke maqàmen mahmûdâ) [As for the night, keep vigil a part of it, as a work of supererogation for thee; it may be that your Lord will raise thee up to a laudable station.] (Qur'an 17:79)

Our Lord has ordered the Prophet to offer voluntary prayers at night, and the Prophet never neglected it. In a hadith he said:¹⁵

رَكْعَتَانِ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الدُّنيَا وَمَا فِيهَا.

(Rek'atâni mine’l-leyli) "Two units of prayer at night (khayrun mine’d-dunyâ wa mâ fîhâ) are better than this world and everything in it."

When we hear the word "world," we may have a difficulty imagining it. However, when we hear "everything in it," the

¹⁵ With a different wording: Deylemi, Müsnedü’l-Firdevs, v.III, p.455, no:5404;

by Abdullah ibn-i Omar RA. Kenzu’l-Ummal, v.VII, p.785, no:21405; Jamiü’l-Ehadith, v.XIII, p.145,

no:12782.

meaning sinks in our mind. There are so many things in the world: The shores, mansions, palaces, treasures... There are so many things in the world. Getting up to offer two units of prayer at night is better than the world and everything in it.

We have a hard time getting up for the night vigil prayer outside the Ramadhan because we go to sleep late. We have a hard time getting up for the Fajr prayer. We are not used to. It is difficult to get up for the Fajr prayer. This is the general state of Muslims. It is the beauty of Islam to have the ordinary people as well as the elite get up for suhur in Ramadhan for the sake of eating some food—pastry, pilaf, fruit, sweet stuff or juice. Everybody gets up in the middle of the sleep, happy and content, without any complaints.

The children, the grown-ups, the brave, and the strong, everybody gets up for suhur meal in Ramadhan.

Other times people would not get up from the sleep even if you drag them from their feet. If the person is strong, he would get angry at you and ask you to go away. But in Ramadhan, he gets up. Once he gets up, he should make wudu' and offer two units of night vigil prayer and earn rewards that are better than this world and everything in it. He should not miss this great opportunity. I am reminding you about this as I talk.

What did Hadrat Omar RA said? "Welcome o Ramadhan that is full of goodness! All is goodness, fasting during the day and prayers at night."

Why is fasting during the day is good? Almighty Allah says in the hadith qudsî:¹⁶

¹⁶ Buhàrî, Sahîh, c.XXIII, s.11, no:6938; Müslim, Sahîh, c.VI, s.19, no:1946;

Tirmizî, Sünen, c.III, s.234, no:695; Ahmed ibn-i Hanbel, Müsned, c.II, s.234,

no:7194; Taberânî, Mu’cemü’l-Kebîr, c.II, s.45, no:1235; Taberânî, Mu’cemü’l- Evsat, c.VIII, s.232, no:8492; İbn-i Amr eş-Şeybânî, el-Âhàd ve’l-Mesânî, c.III,

s.269, no:1649; Beyhakî, Sünenü’l-Kübrâ, c.IV, s.235, no:7898; Taberânî,

Müsnedü’ş-Şâmiyyîn, c.IV, s.279, no:3285; Ebû Avâne, Müsned, c.II, s.164,

no:2675; Bezzâr, Müsned, c.II, s.379, no:7723; Abd ibn-i Humeyd, Müsned, c.I, s.288, no:921; Tahàvî, Müşkilü’l-Âsâr, c.VI, s.476, no:2507; İbn-i Ebî Şeybe,

Musannef, c.III, s.5, no:8986; İbn-i Asâkir, Mu’cem, c.I, s.269, no:541; İbnü’l-Ca’d,

اَلصَّوْمُ لِي، وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ (خ. م. عن أبي هريرة

(As-sawmu li wa ene ejzî bihî) "Fasting is mine; I accept it for Myself. I will reward it Myself." Almighty Allah will reward it in an unaccountable way because the fasting is a hidden form of worship. It is not like formal prayer (salat, namaz). People can see you offering prayers as you stand, bow down and prostrate. You could not know if a person is fasting unless you ask the person. In Ramadhan, we assume that everybody fasts, but other times we cannot tell if a person is fasting.

You offer a person some food: "Come and eat with us!"

"No thank you. I will not eat." "Come have some with us at our table."

"Thank you very much. I will pass."

Müsned, c.I, s.174, no:1120; Ebû Nuaym, Hilyetü’l-Evliyâ, c.VI, s.273; İbn-i Hibbân, Tabakàtü’l-Muhaddisîn, c.III, s.66, no:254; Mizzî, Tehzîbü’l-Kemâl, c.XXIII, s.219; Ukaylî, Duafâ, c.III, s.99; İbn-i Adiy, Kâmil fi’d-Duafâ, c.III, s.345;

Dâra Kutnî, İlel. c.X, s.162, no: 1955; İbn-i Asâkir, Târih-i Dimaşk, c.XI, s.371; Ebû Hüreyre RA’dan.

Müslim, Sahîh, c.II, s.806, no:1151; Neseî, Sünen, c.VII, s.397, no:2183; Ahmed

ibn-i Hanbel, Müsned, c.II, s.232, no:7174; Taberânî, Mu’cemü’l-Evsat, c.VIII,

s.232, no:8492; Ebû Ya’lâ, Müsned, c.II, s.286, no:1005; Beyhakî, Sünenü’l-Kübrâ, c.IV, s.273, no:8117; Neseî, Sünenü’l-Kübrâ, c.II, s.90, no:2523; Ebû Avâne,

Müsned, c.II, s.164, no:2677; Abd ibn-i Humeyd, Müsned, c.I, s.288, no:921; İbn-i Ebî Şeybe, Musannef, c.III, s.5, no:8986; Ebû Saîd el-Hudrî RA’dan.

Neseî, Sünen, c.VII, s.394, no:2181; Neseî, Sünenü’l-Kübrâ, c.II, s.90, no:2521;

Bezzâr, Müsned, c.I, s.167, no:915; Deylemî, Müsnedü’l-Firdevs, c.III, s.177,

no:4478; Ebû Nuaym, Hilyetü’l-Evliyâ, c.IV, s.349; Hz. Ali RA’dan.

Neseî, Sünen, c.VII, s.395, no:2182; Ahmed ibn-i Hanbel, Müsned, c.I, s.446,

no:4256; Taberânî, Mu’cemü’l-Kebîr, c.X, s.98, no:10078; Neseî, Sünenü’l-Kübrâ, c.II, s.90, no:2522; Hatîb-i Bağdâdî, Târih-i Bağdad, c.VII, s.213, no:3691; Dâra

Kutnî, İlel. c.V, s.316, no:907; Abdullah ibn-i Mes’ud RA’dan.

Taberânî, Mu’cemü’l-Kebîr, c.XXII, s.59, 141; Taberânî, Müsnedü’ş-Şâmiyyîn, c.IV, s.309, no:3391; Vâsile ibn-i Eska’ RA’dan.

İbn-i Esîr, Üsdü’l-Gàbe, c.I, s.1254; Ebû Meysere RA’dan.

İbn-i Adiy, Kâmil fi’d-Duafâ, c.I, s.404; Abdullah ibn-i Abbas RA’dan.

Kenzü’l-Ummâl, c.VIII, s.445, no:23576-23629 ve 24271-24290; Mecmaü’z-Zevâid, c.III, s.416, no:5071-5080; Câmiü’l-Ehàdîs, c.VIII, s.275, no:7293; 34004, 40317.

"Are you fasting today?"

You ask the person because you cannot tell if a person is fasting.

The worship carried out in secrecy is preferred. Also, the fasting represents self-control. A person who is fasting overpowers his nafs, frees himself from his desires, and controls his will power.

This is very desirable. That is why Almighty Allah says, "Fasting is for Myself, and I will reward it Myself."

Fasting has advantages despite the hunger and thirst we experience. You can ask doctors about its medical benefits. There is a sugar production plant in Burdur. There may be one in Antalya, too. During the summer months, the whole plant undergoes an overhaul. The machines in the plant are disassembled and cleaned. It is prepared for the next season. If it is not overhauled, the plant cannot produce sugar. The whole system would be clogged, congested and sticky.

The human body is like that, too. Al-hamdu lillâh, the stomach takes a rest. The pancreas and other digestive system organs take a break. The liver gets relaxed for a while. The fat that has accumulated on our bellies, back and other parts of our body melts away. Sometimes, a person could gain weight in Ramadhan. That is the fault of the ladies because they make delicious meals.

May Almighty Allah awaken all of us from the sleep of unawareness. May he place us among the knowledgeable and aware servants. May He make us His awliya. May He have us lead a life in compliance with His consent. May He grant His guidance with us. May He make us His special servants... May He grant us a pleasant end as we depart from this life. May He honor us with his Beauty in His Paradise.

With the secrets of Surah Fâtihah!

February 4, 1995 / Ramadhan 4, 1415

Mehmed Çiçek Mosque - ANTALYA