By Asma bint Shameem
Would you like to know of a deed.....that will take you away from Hellfire a distance of seventy years?
And every single time you do it, it takes you away ANOTHER seventy years!
.....A deed that will act as a SHIELD for you from Hell Fire and be an INTERCESSOR for you on the Day of Resurrection?!
.....A deed that is SOOO BELOVED to Allaah that even He said:
"It is for Me and I will reward him for it (beyond measure)." (Bukhaari - Hadith Qudsi)
Subhaan Allaah! What a wonderful, awesome, amazing deed that would surely be!
That deed, dear brother/sister is....FASTING.
Our beloved Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
"No servant fasts a day for the sake of Allaah except that Allaah removes the hellfire seventy years away from his face." (Muslim)
And he (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) also said:
"The fast and the Qur'aan are two intercessors for the servant of Allaah on the Day of Resurrection. The fast will say: 'O Lord, I prevented him from his food and desires during the day. Let me intercede for him.' The Qur'aan will say: 'I prevented him from sleeping at night. Let me intercede for him.' And their intercession will be accepted." (Ahmad-saheeh)
But, mind you, I am not talking about fasting in the month of Ramadhaan. Obviously that fasting is fardh on us and we really don't have much choice in that matter.
What I am talking about is the *'nafl'* fast....the fast that is purely *voluntary*....... not because you HAVE to fast.
But because you *WANT* to fast......because you *LOVE* to fast....for the sake of Allaah...just to please Him.
And if you do that, sincerely, for His sake, this nafl fasting will bring you closer to Allaah and earn his Great Pleasure and Love.
It will also be a means to purify your soul and strive against your desires, while earning immense reward from Allaah, Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala.
Allaah says:
"My slave does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My slave continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I will love him,
When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, he seeing with which he sees,
his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks.
Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it." (al-Bukhaari-Hadeeth Qudsi).
Subhaan Allaah! Imagine....Allaah loving you.....yes, YOU!
What more could a person ask for?!!!
*That's for the Dunya*.
*And what about the Aakhirah?*
This fasting will take you to Jannah, the Ultimate Goal, the Supreme Success.
Abu Umamah radhi Allaahu anhu said:
"I came to the Messenger of Allaah (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) and said: 'Order me to do a deed that will allow me to enter Paradise.' He said: 'Stick to fasting, as there is no equivalent to it.' Then I came to him again and he said: 'Stick to fasting."' (an-Nasa'ee; saheeh by al-Albaani)
*So what are the Sunnah days of voluntary fasting?*
1. The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) LOVED to fast, especially on *Mondays and Thursdays.*
When asked why he does that, he (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
"Those are two days on which people's deeds are shown to the Lord of the Worlds, and I want my deeds to be shown to Him when I am fasting." (al-Nasaa'i, Ibn Maajah, Ahmad-- saheeh by al-Albaani)
Let me ask you....
Wouldn't you like your deeds to be shown to Allaah while you are fasting?
2. And if you find it difficult to fast every Monday and Thursday, then try and fast *AT LEAST THREE DAYS* out of every month.
It is recommended to fast on the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth (Ayyam al-Beed) of every Lunar month.
But, if it is difficult, then fast any three days in the entire month.
And that means ANY three days out of thirty.
Now that's not too hard....is it?!!
The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
"Fasting three days of each month is fasting for a lifetime, and ayaam al-beed are the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth." (al-Nasaa'i-- saheeh by al-Albaani)
Someone asked Aaisha (Radhi Allaahu anhaa) :
"Did the Messenger of Allaah (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) fast three days of every month?"
She said,
"Yes."
They asked
"Which days of the month did he fast?"
She said,
"He did not mind which days of the month he would fast." (Muslim)
And if you think about it, it's really not that hard at all.
With a little patience and the hope of earning reward, one can easily get used to fasting.
Alhamdulillaah we fast a whole month in Ramadhaan.
And we prove to ourselves during this month, that we can do everything, from going to work, to working in the kitchen, studying, driving, thinking, cooking, cleaning, in fact, doing all our duties and chores extremely effectively even while fasting.
If we can do all that while fasting for an entire month, what's a couple of days in a week or three days in a month?
Amir ibn Abdullah was once asked,
"How can you tolerate being awake all night, and thirsty in the intense heat of the day?"
He replied,
"Is it anything more than postponing the food of the day to nighttime, and the sleep of the night to daytime?
This is not a big matter."
3. It is also Sunnah to fast
▪️the day of 'Aashoora' (tenth of Muharram, along with the ninth),
the day of 'Arafaah (ninth of Dhu'l-Hijjah),
▪️the first nine days of Dhul Hijjah
▪️the six days of Shawwaal,
▪️most of the months of Muharram and Sha'baan,
▪️and other general voluntary fasting throughout the year.
So do as the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) advised us and make the most of your time, young age and good health before it is gone:
"Make the most of five things before five (other things happen): your life before you die, your good health before you become sick; your free time before you become busy; your youth before you grow old; and your wealth before you become poor." (saheeh by al-Albaani)
So what are you waiting for, my Muslim brother/ my sister?
Fasting is especially easy these days in the winter; the days are so short, its Maghrib before you know it.
So why not take advantage of these short days for a perfect opportunity to earn the pleasure of Allaah and save yourself from the fire of Hell?
"And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)" [Aal 'Imraan 3:133]
And Allaah knows best.
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