Fasting Out Of Custom
A common problem rampant amongst many Muslims today is the practice of performing the obligatory fasting of Ramadaan while neglecting the obligatory five daily prayers. So you will see a person eagerly fasting and yet another who will even offer the voluntary Taraaweh prayers, yet all of them have neglected and abandoned the establishment of the five daily prayers. This is a serious problem which is fast becoming a norm within many Islamic countries and Muslim societies worldwide.
The reasons for this peculiar behavior include the fact that the people have taken their fasts as a cultural ritual and custom, and their religion as a means of amusement. They have observed their elders doing likewise and this is how they have been brought up and raised. There are Muslim families and communities who look down upon those neglecting the fasts of Ramadaan yet they do not care about the fact that people have abandoned the prayer. Others may choose to fast out of convenience because the shops are closed and obtaining food and drink is difficult. And yet others will fast as an act of worship for Allah but they make excuses that they have neglected the prayers due to laziness. Whatever the stated reasons may be, the actual reason for this paradoxical behavior is lack of understanding of the meaning and requirements of the Shahaadah. Let it be known that the truthfulness of our Shahaadah rests not only on sincerity in the heart but also on the establishment of the prayer. In order to understand this link more clearly we return to the Blessed Speech of Allah in His glorious Book and limit the discussion to a noble verse in the Quran.
Verily I am Allah, there is no Ilaah but Me, So worship Me, and establish the Salaat for My remembrance. (Quran 20:14)
In order to properly understand the meaning of the above verse we need to comprehend its various parts and pay attention of how Allah links one part of the verse with another.
Innanee Ana Allah Laa Ilaaha Illa Ana- Verily I am Allah, there is no Ilaah but Me
Allah states that He is Allah and there is no Ilaah but Him where an Ilaah is one who is worshipped. So He calls mankind to His sole worship and away from the worship of others. Indeed this is the call to Allah, a call brought by all messengers, a call to the blessed religion of Islam.
Fa’budnee- So worship Me
However what follows from this is extremely important. After saying the above Allah continues by saying Fa’budnee, meaning so worship Me. The natural progression of Allah saying 'There is no god but Me,' is His saying, 'So worship Me.' Hence the sincere slave who utters the declaration that there is no god but Allah will naturally proceed by having a desire to worship Allah. This desire is a state of the soul where the person has believed and is now preparing to submit in action.
Wa Aqeemis Salaata li Dhikri- And establish the prayer for My remembrance
After commanding His slaves to worship Him, Allah continues be describing how He wants to be worshipped, namely through remembering Him in Salaat. So the state of desiring to worship Allah is followed by the act of worshipping Allah through Salaat and this is the state of submission where the slave prostates to The Most High while he himself is in the lowest position.
Hence we should know that the natural progression of the declaration of faith is clear in that first the slave bears witness to the fact that there is no god but Allah; then the slave follows up this declaration with a desire to worship Allah; and then the slave follows up this desire with the act of submission which begins with the prayer. All other acts of worship come later for there is no valid act of worship without first establishing the prayer. So let those who desire the fasts yet neglect the prayers reflect on this, for there is no basis for fasting during Ramadaan while neglecting the establishment of the prayer.
Written by Kamillah Khan
