Seek assistance through patience and prayer...

Seek assistance through patience and prayer; Surely, Allah is with the patient (fasting ones).” [^3] Another Quranic verse recites: “Surely, the men who submit (to Allah) and the women who submit, and the believing men and the believing women, and the obeying men and the obeying women, and the truthful men and the truthful women, and the patient men and the patient women, and the humble men and the humble women, and the almsgiving men and the almsgiving women, and the fasting men and the fasting women, and the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard, and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember, Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward.” [^4] Fasting can be viewed from different angles and each aspect can be elaborated: a.

The essence of fasting which is our present topic and we have to briefly discuss it. b. Kinds of fasting; obligatory, praiseworthy, blameworthy, and unlawful. c. The rules of fasting; abstaining from eating and drinking, breaking the fast, timing of fasting and eating, taking a trip and being at home, being sick and healthy. d. The ruling of the holy month of Ramadan and its importance are separate topics.

That is to say if a person cannot fast, he must have a legal excuse; either to be very old man or very old woman, sick or on trip, under the legal age of maturity, or to break his/her fasting reluctantly. Yet such one is susceptible to benefit from the blessings of the holy month of Ramadan, for the blessings of Ramadan may include non-fasting people too.

Some people have the impression that since they cannot fast, they are deprived of the blessings of this month, whereas if we do not say that all the blessings of this holy month may include them, we can say that they shall enjoy most of its blessings.

For example, they can enjoy the blessing of the Night of Ordainment (the night of al-Qadr), or reciting the holy Quran that each verse of which has the reward of reciting the holy Quran from the beginning to the end, or the act of repentance during this holy month. If one has no excuse for not fasting and he intentionally refrains from fasting, he will be the most wretched one. Hence, those blessings will not be true to him.

But if he cannot fast due to travel and old age, reciting the holy Quran during the month of Ramadan is as rewardable as fasting itself is. Therefore, is the month of Ramadan not a source of blessing and forgiveness for such one? The answer is certainly ‘yes’.