The sincere Muslim seeks to perfect his worship in a way that pleases Allah The Almighty. Here are some of the acts that reduce the reward of the fasting people in the noble month of Ramadan.
Looking at women who expose their beauty
Does going out to run some errands and coming across indecently dressed women during the day in Ramadan invalidate one’s fast?
This does not invalidate the fast, however, one should lower his gaze as much as possible.
Does looking at women and beardless young boys affect your fast?
Yes, every sin affects one’s fast, for Allah The Almighty decreed fasting for us to become righteous. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous} [Quran 2:183].
The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever does not give up false statements (i.e. telling lies), acting upon them and ignorance, Allah will not be in need of his (fasting) leaving his food and drink.” [Al-Bukhari]
We ask Allah The Almighty to cure the man who suffers from this affliction, as he is undoubtedly committing something forbidden, as a gaze is an arrow of Satan we seek refuge with Allah The Almighty.
Looking at forbidden things repeatedly gives rise to confusing thoughts in peoples hearts, causing a person to become captivated by them. Many are the gazes that have affected mens hearts until they became captive.
This is why when someone is afflicted with this habit (indulging in forbidden gazes), he should turn to Allah The Almighty in repentance, while supplicating Him to cure him. He should also abstain from directing his eyesight to any woman or any young man without a beard. If he abides by seeking the help of Allah The Almighty, seeking refuge in Him and asking Him to cure him from this disease, he will be cured, Allah willing.
He kissed a non-Mahram (marriageable) girl in Ramadan
What is the ruling on a man who kissed a non-Mahram girl in Ramadan? Does he have to make up for the day?
A man who kissed a non-Mahram girl has certainly failed to fulfill the obligations of fasting, as he has committed a sinful act while fasting. The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, and ignorance (evil action), Allah has no need of him giving up his food and drink.” [Al-Bukhari]
If he compelled her to do so (to allow him to kiss her), then he has committed both a sinful act and an act of ignorance. His fast has no doubt lost its meaning and his reward is diminished.
However, according to the majority of scholars, this does not invalidate his fast, which means that he is not obliged to make up for the day.
The questioner should counsel the person who committed this act, and urge him to repent to Allah The Almighty. This act is forbidden, since it makes the heart incline towards created beings and forget the remembrance of Allah The Exalted, which can be the cause of a great affliction.
Insult and abuse from the fasting person
If someone gets angry at something and he scolds and insults others, does this invalidate his fast?
This does not invalidate his fast, but it does diminish his reward. The Muslim should control his temper and safeguard his tongue from insulting, abusing, backbiting, tale-bearing and other such acts forbidden by Allah The Almighty, whether while fasting or at any other time. However, during fasting, one should take particular care to avoid these acts, as this is more important and perfects his fast. It is also takes one further away from harming people that may be a cause for afflictions, grudges and disunity. The Messenger of Allah said: “If one of you is fasting, he should avoid sexual relations with his wife and quarreling, and if somebody fights or quarrels with him, he should say, ‘I am fasting.'” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Uttering obscene words because of a traffic jam
Due to the severe traffic jam, some people utter obscene words that may reach the extent of insulting and abusing others while driving their cars and fasting in Ramadan. What is the ruling on their fast?
Concerning their fast, it is valid as forbidden acts and words do not invalidate fasting, but they certainly reduce its reward and waste its benefits and fruits.
The intended purpose of fasting is to become righteous as Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous} [Quran 2:183].
Allah The Almighty clarified the wisdom of imposing fasting upon us, which is to become righteous and fear Him.
The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever does not give up false statements (i.e. telling lies), acting upon them, and intolerance, Allah will not be in need of his (fasting) leaving his food and drink.”
Furthermore, the Prophet said that if somebody fights or quarrels with a fasting person, he should say, “I am fasting”. This would deter the one who insults the fasting person and let him know that he did not abstain from answering him back because he was unable to do so, but because he fears Allah The Almighty, as he is fasting. It is incumbent upon those who are fasting as well as those who are not to be patient and tolerant and not be provoked by things that he does not like.
A man said to the Prophet Advise me, O Messenger of Allah! The Prophet said: Do not get angry. He repeated that more than once: Do not get angry.
People inevitably regret their actions while they are angry and wish they had not said or done something in a fit of rage, but such things can never be undone.
Backbiting and tale-bearing
Do backbiting and tale-bearing during the day in Ramadan invalidate one’s fast?
Backbiting and tale-bearing do not invalidate fasting; however, they reduce its reward. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous} [Quran 2:183]
The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever does not give up false statements (i.e. telling lies), acting upon them and intolerance, Allah will not be in need of his (fasting) leaving his food and drink.”
Do backbiting and tale-bearing with which many people are afflicted, invalidate one’s fast?
These actions are forbidden at all times especially in Ramadan. The fasting person is ordered to safeguard his fast from what may reduce his reward such as backbiting, tale-bearing and false speech. The Prophet said: Fasting is not just abstaining from eating and drinking, but fasting is also refraining from vain speech (Laghw) and foul (or obscene) language or sexual relations (Rafath).
Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad that two women were fasting and said that they were dying of thirst. The Prophet turned away from them in silence. They begged him again. The Prophet then called them and ordered them to vomit into a bowl. They spat out a mixture of vomit, blood and pus, which filled the bowl. The Prophet said: “Verily, these two have fasted from what Allah has made lawful for them and did not fast from what Allah has made unlawful. They sat with each other and spent their fast eating the flesh of people.”
In addition, the Prophet said: “Perhaps a fasting person will get nothing for his fast save hunger and thirst and perhaps someone who stands to pray at night will get nothing from his standing except sleeplessness.”
The point is that these acts affect the fast, yet they do not completely invalidate it they just reduce its reward.
The fasting person should also safeguard his physical organs from quarreling if someone abuses or insults him. That is why the Prophet said: “When any one of you is fasting on a day, he should neither indulge in obscene language, nor raise his voice; or if anyone reviles him or tries to quarrel with him he should say, I am fasting.”
The fasting person should differentiate between the days he is fasting and other days. Jaabir, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “If you fast, let your ears, eyes and tongue fast by abstaining from backbiting and tale-bearing, and refrain from harming neighbors. Be quiet and respectful and do not make the day on which you are fasting like your other days”, or something to that effect.
Does backbiting invalidate one’s fast in Ramadan?
Backbiting does not invalidate one’s fasting. Backbiting means saying something about someone that he would dislike. It is a sin, for Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And do not backbite each other} [Quran 49:12].
The same ruling applies to tale-bearing, insulting, abusing and lying. None of these acts invalidate fasting but they are sins that should be avoided by the fasting and non-fasting person alike. They reduce the reward of fasting, for the Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever does not give up false statements (i.e. telling lies), acting upon it and intolerance, Allah will not be in need of his (fasting) leaving his food and drink.” [Al-Bukhari]
The Messenger of Allah also said: “Fasting is a shield. When any one of you is fasting, he should neither indulge in obscene language, nor raise his voice; or if anyone reviles him or tries to quarrel with him he should say, I am fasting.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] There are many other Hadeeths (narrations) to this effect.
Obscene language
Does speaking forbidden words during the day in Ramadan invalidate ones fast?
If we consider the verse in which Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous} [Quran 2:183], we will know the wisdom behind ordaining fasting. It is to attain righteousness and to worship Allah The Almighty. Righteousness, which is abandoning the forbidden, includes performing what is ordained and abandoning what is prohibited. The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever does not give up false statements (i.e. telling lies), acting upon it and intolerance, Allah will not be in need of his (fasting) leaving his food and drink.”
Thus, it is confirmed that the fasting person should avoid forbidden words and acts. He should not engage in backbiting, lying, and tale-bearing. He should not conduct a forbidden transaction. He should avoid anything that is forbidden. If one abides by this for a whole month, his soul will be upright for the rest of the year.
It is extremely sad that there is no difference in the lives of many fasting people on the days when they are fasting and other days. They continue using forbidden language and doing impermissible acts such as lying, cheating and so forth, as usual. One does not feel that they have acquired the respectfulness and gravitas that comes from fasting. These acts do not invalidate fasting, but reduce its reward and may even waste the entire reward of fasting. We ask Allah The Almighty for help.
False testimony in Ramadan
Is the fast of a man who bears false testimony valid?
A: False testimony is one of the gravest major sins. It includes testifying to something that one does not know about or knows the opposite to be true. This does not invalidate fasting but diminishes its reward.
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