Alhamdulilah w salat wa salam ala rasulillah w a’ala ‘alibi w sahbihi w manwala, ama baed. In the beginning of Ramadan it is very important for us to identify the objective of fasting, like we do at the beginning of any other task in our lives. We want to know why exactly am I doing this.

The quick answer to that question is that Allah (swt) has commanded us to do so and as believers we say, “Samena w ‘atana.” We hear and we obey, we do as Allah (swt) commands us but Allah (azzawajal) has also clarified for us the wisdom behind fasting.

What is it that we are supposed to get out of fasting? Is it starvation? Is it thirst? No, Allah (swt) says, “La’alkoum tatakoun.” So that you attain “taqwa” (piety). So ultimately the objective of our fast is to attain taqwa. However this remains a very abstract concept for most people.

We’re not clear did I get taqwa? How do I measure that? So there are certain things that we should be doing and other things that we should be avoiding. So that we attain taqwa and that is by definition because “at-taqwa” is linguistically from “al wikaya”.

And so what it means which, which is a shield or prevention and what it means is that we’re putting a barrier between ourselves and the displeasure of allah (swt). We don’t want to do anything that would subject ourselves to his anger or to his punishment.

At the same time we get there through sincere devotion to a Allah (swt) by obeying his commands and by intentionally avoiding any of those things which would displease Allah (swt). Those things that he has prohibited. and from the most succinct ahadith of the prophet sallahu a’alayhi wasalam on this particular topic is his statement.

“Manlam yada kowla zur, wal 3amala behi wjahal.”

“Falaysa lillahi haaja ayatrok ta’amaho w sharaba.”

Whoever does not leave off false speech and an evil actions. And “al jahel” which is from “al jahaala” which means to act foolishly. So one may act evil and then there are things that people do that is just foolish and without discretion all of that needs to be left during the fast. The prophet salalahu a’alayhi wsalam said whoever does not leave off those things then Allah (swt) has no need for him to devolve his food in his drink.

So it is clear here from this hadith of the prophet salalahu a’alayhi wsalam that the objective and fasting is not simply to leave all food and drink. That’s the definition of fasting right? You’re going to leave all food and drink, you’re going to leave off sexual, intercourse during the from fajr to maghreb. That’s the definition of fasting.

However that is not the objective of fasting. So notice here that the prophet salalahu a’alayhi wsalam says whoever does not leave off false speech, lying. This the scholars have deduced from this particular hadith that whoever lies during the daytime of Ramadan then he is not rewarded for the fast.

Ibn Baqal mentions this in his explanation of sahih bukhari which is an interesting fact because the prophet a’alayhi asalatu wasalaam in another hadith he mentions that Allah (swt) says that all of the deeds of the son of Adam are multiplied ten to seven hundred times except for fasting.

“Fa ‘inaho lee.”

“W ‘ana ‘ajzee beh.”

Except for fasting it is for me and I will reward for it.

So Allah (swt) is mentioning that the reward for fast may be far greater than 700 times. What a person has done all of that can be wiped away with a little white lie, which we don’t have in Islam anyway. It’s a lie, there’s no little white lies. And so it’s very important that we watch what we say during the daytime of Ramadan and this is should be easy for us because we all recognize very self conscious in Ramadan.

We recognize that the odor in our mouths have changed it’s not what it was it’s not pleasant to Allah (swt) it is more pleasant than the smell of musk but to the rest of the creation that’s not. And so we’re very self-conscious, we should be a fewer words, we should be thinking more about what we’re saying, being conscious of what we’re saying and this is in fact, subhanallah, indicative of taqwa because one of the ways that taqwa was often translated is God consciousness.

And so the fact that now we are being more conscious about what we say, being more conscious about what we do. Making sure that it is pleasing to Allah (swt), then inshallah this will help us on our path of attaining taqwa.

We ask Allah (swt) to make us from “al mutakeen” and to forgive us our sins and to make us from the “ma’foreen” the forgiving and this great month of Ramadan.

Akooli qawli hatha, wastaghfurAllah wsalamua’laikoum w rahmatolahi w barakatu.