Errors committed by fasting people

There are many mistakes committed by some fasting people, violating the instructions came in the book of Allah (Glory be to Him) or the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Here, we shall explain some of these mistakes so that Muslims would return to the true guidance and correct track in their lives. The happy is the one who takes lessons from others before afflictions hit him. Our religion commands us with every good action and prohibits every bad and evil action.

Of these mistakes committed by the fasting people are the following:

1- Receiving Ramadan with musical instruments and songs instead of mentioning Allah and showing gratitude for He made them attend Ramadan. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to receive Ramadan by his saying: "Allahumma ahillahu `Alayna bil-amni wal-iman, was-salamati wal-Islam, Rabbi wa Rabbuk-Allah, Hilalu rushdin wa khairin (O Allah, let this moon appear on us with security and Iman; with safety and Islam. (O moon!) Your Rabb and mine is Allah. May this moon be bringing guidance and good)." [Reported by At-Tirmidhy, who said a good Hadith].

2- Some people believe that the month of Ramadan is a chance for sleep and laziness during the day and sleeplessness at night, and often this sleeplessness is spent in things that bring the wrath of Allah (Glory be to Him).

3- Some people get angry because of the advent of Ramadan because they deem it a deprivation of fulfilling their desires; so they fast it to cope with people, but within they prefer other months to it although Ramadan is a season of goodness, virtue, mercy, forgiveness, and emancipation from Hell-Fire to Muslims.

4- Accelerating the predawn meal and delaying breakfast which is against the Prophet's guidance who used to hasten breaking the fast and delaying Pre-dawn meal because advancing it as some people do leads to not attending the congregational Salah of Fajr as he shall sleep thereafter.

5- Abandoning or delaying Salah from its due time where some fasting people waste their day in sleeping and night in sleeplessness. The Righteous Predecessor used to care for Salah greatly, so they do not miss congregational Salah either in Ramadan or in others. Moreover, they exert efforts in Ramadan more than other months and consider it a season for profit in which they compete to draw nearer to their Lord.

6- Avoiding sensual items that break the fast such as eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse, where you will find some people interest in avoiding them, whereas others do not avoid moral invalidators of the fast such as backbiting, tale bearing, lying, cursing, slandering, and looking at women whom are forbidden to look at, whether in streets, shops, magazines, movies, or others. Everyman has to care for these invalidators of fasting, for a fasting person may gain nothing of his fasting but hunger and thirst, and perhaps a person stays up for Salah but does not gain anything therefrom but fatigue and sleeplessness. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)." [Reported by Al Bukhari].

7- Abandoning the Tarawih Salah, where many Muslims do not perform it or perhaps they perform two or four Rak`ahs under the pretext of it is a Sunnah. We say: Yes it is the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) where the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to preserve them, and they do not exceed 30 times a year. Also, it draws nearer to Allah and generates His Love as was reported in the Hadith: "And My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his 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."

Leaving it is a part of great deprivation of goodness because a person may seize the chance of Laylat al-Qadr which is better than the worship of a thousand months and therefore his past sins shall be forgiven. Sunan were ordained for filling the gap of obligatory matters as only few Muslims perform obligatory duties in full.

8- Extravagance in food and drinks in Ramadan, as fasting was not ordained except for a great wisdom and useful benefits that come back to a Muslim in his world and Hereafter. So, when a Muslim fasts the day and fills his stomach with different types of food and drinks, he does not change something of his conditions. The food which he used to eat during the day, he eats the equal amount or even more in the night. It is well-known that filling one's stomach to the full weakens the body and makes the acts of worship heavy. Those who eat supper after Al Maghrib Salah perform Tarawih with difficulty and fatigue and are unable to finish it, but those who eat something light at Al Maghrib Adhan perform Tarawih easily.

9- Going to journeys in order not to break the fast, and this is a trick to abandon the acts of worship. Moreover, scholars said: Those who travel to break their fast are forbidden to break their fast and their journey is also forbidden.

Not to get in touch with relatives and neighbors in Ramadan. Every Muslim should be in contact with his relatives and neighbors and check their conditions, and if they are in need, he should help, but if he cannot, he should search for someone to help them. By communication hearts become in harmony, the word is unified, intimacy and brotherhood among Muslims spread.

10- Some employees reduce their work in Ramadan, leaving people's transactions jammed at their office under the pretext of fasting. Moreover, some people leave their work to recite Qur'an which is an error because reciting the Qur'an is a Sunnah, whereas one's duty is obligatory, so how can a person advance a Sunnah to an obligation? There are other times where man can recite the Qur'an, but some employees do not remember to recite the Qur'an except in work time. We ask Allah, the Almighty, to guide Muslims to rectify their mistakes, for He is the All-Hearer, the All-Responding.