Surah Al-Baqara (2): Read Online and Download - English Translation

Commentary

Literally, Sawm صوم means to abstain'. In the terminology of Islamic law, Sawm صوم means 'to abstain from eating, drinking and sexual inter-course; with the conditions that one abstains continuously from dawn to sunset and that there is an intention to fast'. Therefore, should one eat or drink anything even a minute before sunset, the fast will not be valid. Similarly, if one abstained from all these things throughout the day but made no intention to fast, there will be no fast here too.

Sawm or 'fasting' is an ` ibadah, an act of worship in Islam, regarded as its pillar and sign. The merits of fasting are too numerous to be taken up at this point.

Past communities and the injunction to fast

The verse makes it obligatory for the Muslims to fast in a specified period, but the command in this respect has been accompanied by the statement that the obligation of fasting is not peculiar to them. The fasting had also been enjoined upon the earlier Ummahs (communities of the past prophets). The reference to the earlier Ummahs in the verse shows the importance of fasting on the one hand, and gives an encouragement to the Muslims on the other. It indicates that although there may be some inconvenience in fasting but the same inconvenience was also faced by the earlier communities. This brings a psycho-logical comfort to the Muslims, because if an inconvenience is faced by a large number of people, it becomes easier to bear. (Rub al-Ma` am)

The words of the Qur'an, لَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ (those before you) have been used in a general sense including all religious communities from Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) to the last of the Prophets ﷺ . This tells us that, like Salah, fasting has also been enjoined upon every .Ummah of every prophet without an exception.

Commentators who interpret مِن قَبْلِكُمْ (before you) to mean the Christians' take it just as an example, not aiming to exclude other communities. (Ruh al-Ma` ani)

The verse simply says that fasts have been enjoined on Muslims as were enjoined on past communities. From this it does not necessarily follow that the fasts enjoined upon the earlier communities were fully identical in all respects with the fasts enjoined upon this Ummah. There may have been differences in the number and the timings of the fasts etc. and, actually, there has been such a difference. (Ruh al Ma’ ani)

By saying لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ (so that you be God-fearing), the text has pointed out to the inherent quality of fasting which contributes significantly to one's ability to become abstaining from the sins and God-fearing. Fasting grows into man a power which helps him control his desires, which is really the foundation of Taqwa تقویٰ , the very special term of the Holy Qur'an which has been tentatively translated as fear of God, abstinence, and the warding of evil.

Fasting When Sick

Verse 184 gives concession in the matter of fasting to a 'sick' person and to a person on journey'. The word 'sick' used here refers to a person who cannot fast without an unbearable hardship or has strong apprehension that his illness will be aggravated. The words "and (Allah) does not want hardship for you"occuring in the following verse (185) have a clear indication to this effect. This position is also accepted by the consensus of the Muslim jurists.

Fasting When In Travel

It will be noticed that while giving concession to a traveller, the Qur'anic text elects to use the phrase أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ‌ (or on a journey) rather than the word, musafir مسا افر or 'traveller'. This is to point out that leaving home and going out is not enough to claim the exemption. The duration of the travel should be somewhat longer since the expression, ` ala safarin عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ‌ means that one should have 'embarked' on a journey which does not mean going five or ten miles away from home. But, the precise duration of this journey has not been mentioned in the words of the Holy Qur'an. Guided by the statement of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the subsequent practice of his blessed Companions, the great Imam, Abu Hanifah (رح) and many jurists have fixed this distance to be what can be covered in three days by walking in three daily stages. The later-day jurists have put it as 48 miles.

The other ruling that comes out from the same phrase, ` ala safarin عَلَىٰ سَفَر is that a traveller who leaves his home shall be entitled to having been exempted from fasting only upto the time his travel continues. It is obvious that stopping in between to rest or take care of something does not cut off his onward travel in the absolute sense, unless his stay be for a considerable period of time. This very considerable period of time has been set at fifteen days following a statement of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Anyone who intends to stay at a given place for fifteen days shall not come under the umbrella of ` ala safarin, therefore, he shall not be deserving of the leave granted to one on 'a journey'.

Ruling. Right from here comes the ruling that anyone who intends to stay out for fifteen days, not at one place but at different places and towns, he shall continue to remain in the status of a 'traveller' and thereby shall continue to enjoy the concession of being 'on a journey' because he is in the state of ` ala safarin.

Making Qada' قضاء of the missed fast

The words of the text, فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ‌ literally translated as 'then, a number from other days' mean that a sick person or a traveller is obligated to fast during other days making the number match the number of days he could not fast. The purpose is to tell people that fasts abandoned because of the compulsion of sickness or journey must be replaced by making qada قضاء ' of them. Rather than using a simple statement to the effect that 'their replacement is on them', the Qur'anic text has said. فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ‌ which suggests that a sick person or a traveller will have to make qada' only when the sick person becomes healthy and the traveller returns home and gets to live on for the number of days he is required to replace the fasts he missed. So, one who dies before this happens, qada قضاء ' of fasts will not remain obligatory on him, nor will he be required to make a will for the payment of ransom (Fidyah فدیہ).

Ruling. In the Qur'anic provision, 'a number from other days', there is no restriction on qada قضاء 'fasts, they could be seriatim or random; the choice is open. Therefore, a person who has missed his fasts for the first ten days of Ramadan, could first fast in lieu of his tenth or ninth fast of Ramadan and replace the earlier ones missed later on; this brings no harm. Similarly, one can fast with gaps at his convenience which would be quite permissible since the wordings of the Qur'an in فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ‌ (then, a number from other days) leave the possibility open.

The Fidyah or Ransom for a Missed Fast

The verse وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ means that those who have the strength to fast and are not restricted by sickness or travel, but do not wish to do it for some reason, they have the option of paying, in lieu of a fast, ransom in the form of charity. However, along with this leave, it was simply added: 'And that you fast that is better for you'.

This injunction was valid in the early days of Islam when the purpose was to familiarize people to fasting. In the verse that follows, that is, فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ‌ (so, those of you who witness the month must fast therein), this injunction was abrogated for normal people. However, according to the consensus of the Ummah, it remained applicable to the people of very old age and to those who suffer from a permanent illness with no hope of recovery (Jassas and Mazhari).

All Imams of Hadith, such as, al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i, al-Tirmidhi, al-Tabarani and others have reported from the blessed Companion Salma ibn Akwa': When the verse, وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ (and on those who have the strength) was revealed, we were given the choice of either fasting or paying fidyah for each fast. However, when the other verse, فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ‌ فَلْيَصُمْهُ (those of you who witness the month must fast therein), was revealed, this choice was withdrawn and fasting alone became necessary for those who had the strength.

A long hadith from the blessed Companion, Mu` adh ibn Jabal ؓ reported in the Musnad of Ahmad describes three changes that came in Salah نماز during the early period of Islam, as well as, three changes in Sawm صوم . The three changes brought in the injunctions of fasting are as follows:

When the Holy Prophet came to Madinah, he used to fast for three days in a month, and on the tenth of Muharram. Then the command to observe fasts in the month of Ramadan was revealed. Under the verse كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ (the fasts have been enjoined upon you), there was an option either to fast or to pay ransom, with a preference given to fasting. Then, Allah Almighty revealed the other verse, (those of you who witness the month must fast therein), which took away the option given to those who had the strength, and ordained fasting as the only alternative. However, the command remained valid for the very old who could pay ransom for fasts they missed.

After these two changes, there was a third change. In the beginning, the permission to eat, drink and have marital intimacy after اِفطار iftar was valid only if one did not sleep after breaking his fast Sleeping was taken to be an indicator of the beginning of the next fast in which, naturally, eating and drinking and marital intimacy are prohibited. Then, Allah Almighty revealed the verse, أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّ‌فَثُ إِلَىٰ نِسَائِكُمْ (It is made lawful for you, in the nights of fast, to have sex with your women), which made it permissible to eat, drink and have sex during the night until the break of dawn. The eating of suhur سُحُر or sahri سَحری soon after getting up in the early hours of dawn was declared to be the sunnah. This is corroborated by ahadith in al-Bukhari, Muslim and AbU Dawud. (Ibn Kathir)

The amount of Ransom and other rulings

The ransom of one missed fast is half sa` of wheat, or its cost. Half sa` is equivalent to approximately 1.632 kilograms. After finding out the correct market price of wheat, the amount should be given to a poor person which will be the ransom of one missed fast. It should be borne in mind that this amount should not be given as part of wages given to those engaged in the service of a mosque or madrasah مدرسہ .

Ruling 1. The amount of ransom for one fast should not be distributed between two recipients. Similarly, it is not correct to give the ransom amount for several fasts to one person on a single date. Although, some scholars permit this, yet, as a matter of precaution, it is better not to give the ransom amount of several fasts to one person on one single date. However, if someone does not observe this precaution, the ransom may be treated as valid. (See Shmi, Bayan al-Qur'an, Imdad al-Fatawa)

Ruling 2. Should someone be in a position that he cannot even pay the ransom due, he should simply seek forgiveness from Allah through istighfar اِستِغفار and have an intention in his heart that he would pay it when he can. (Bayan al-Qur'an)

The merits of the month of Ramadan

The present verse is an extension of the previous brief verse and also an assertion of the great merit the month of Ramadan holds in its fold. This is an extension because the expression أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ (Days few in number) in Verse 184 is a bit vague and which has been explained out in the present verse by saying that those counted number of days mean the days of the month of Ramadan. As far as the merit of this month is concerned, it has been said that Allah Almighty has chosen this month to reveal Scriptures. Consequently, the Holy Qur'an was revealed in this very month. According to a narration from the blessed Companion Wathilah ibn Asga' appearing in the Musnad of Ahmad, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that Abrahamic scriptures were revealed on the first of Ramadan, the Torah on the sixth, the Evangel on the thirteenth and the Qur'an on the twenty fourth of Ramadan. In another narration from the blessed Companion Sayyidna Jabir ؓ ، it appears that Zabur (the Book of Psalms) was revealed on the twelfth of Ramadan and the Evangel on the eighteenth. (Ibn Kathir)

All previous Books mentioned in the hadith cited above were revealed on dates given in their entirety. It is a peculiarity of the Holy Qur'an that it was sent from the Preserved Tablet down to the Firmament of the Earth in one night of the month of Ramadan, all of it. But, it was revealed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ gradually during a period of twenty three years.

The night of Ramadan when the Qur'an was revealed was the Night of Power as mentioned by the Qur'an itself when it said: إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ‌ (We have revealed it in the Laylatul 'Qadr, the Night of Power). The hadith cited above places it on the twenty fourth of Ramadan and according to Sayyidna Hasan, the Night of Power falls on the night of twenty fourth which aligns this hadith with the statement of the Qur'an. Should this alignment be unacceptable, the fact remains that the statement of the Qur'an is above everything else, in which case, whatever night is the Night of Power that shall be regarded to be what the Qur'an intends.

The next sentence مَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ‌ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ' (those of you who witness the month must fast therein) carries many pointers to injunctions relating to fasting. The word, shahida is derived from shuhud شُهود which means presence. The word, al-shahr الشَّهْرَ‌means the month. It denotes the month of Ramadan here which has been identified above. The sentence, therefore, means that it is obligatory for one who is 'present' in the month of Ramadan that he fasts throughout that month. The general choice of paying ransom for not fasting, mentioned in the previous verse, was cancelled by this sentence and fasting is now the only alternative in force.

As for the 'witnessing' of the month or being 'present' in the month of Ramadan, it simply means that a person finds the blessed month of Ramadan with ability to fast. In other words, he or she should be a Muslim, sane, pubert, resident and well-purified from all impurities including those of menstruation and childbed. Therefore, the persons who lacked the initial ability to fast throughout the month, such as, the disbelievers, the minor, the insane, they are not subject to the obligation of fasting, because the verse obligating the fasts did not intend them. As for those who did have the personal ability but were compelled at some time by a legally acceptable excuse, such as, a woman in menstruation or childbed, or a sick person or one on a journey, these have, in a way, found the month of Ramadan in a state of ability, therefore, the injunction in the verse applies to them. However, because of temporal compulsion, relief from fasting has been granted at that particular time, but qada’ قضاء will be necessary later on.

Rulings

1. The verse tells us that fasts of Ramadan become obligatory only on the condition that one finds the month of Ramadan in a state of ability to fulfill the obligation. Therefore, anyone who 'finds' the whole of Ramadan will come under obligation to fast during the entire month of Ramadan. Anyone who 'finds' somewhat less of it, he will fast for the number of days he finds in Ramadan. So, should a disbeliever embrace Islam in the middle of Ramadan, or a minor becomes pubert, they will have to fast from that point onwards; they will not do gada' قضاء fasts for the previous days of Ramadan. However, the insane person, being a Muslim adult, does have the personal ability to observe fasts;

so, should he regain his sanity during any part of Ramadan, he shall become obligated to do qada' قضاء fasts for the previous days of Ramadan. Similarly, should a woman in menstruation or childbed become purified in the middle of Ramadan, or a sick person becomes healthy, or a traveller becomes a resident, qada قضاء fasts for the previous days of Ramadan will become obligatory on them.

2. How does one 'find' or 'witness' the month of Ramadan? According to Islamic law, it is proved in either of the three ways:

a) One gets to have a sighting of the Ramadan moon with his own eyes.

b) The sighting of the moon is proved through some trustworthy witness.

c) In the absence of the two conditions cited above, thirty days of the month of Sha'ban will be completed following which the month of Ramadan will set in.

3. If, on the eve of the twenty ninth of Sha` ban, the new moon is not visible on the horizon because of clouds or bad weather conditions, and at the same time, there comes no witness of moon-sighting as admissible under Islamic law, the next day will be known as the 'day of doubt' یوم الشک (yawm al-shakk) because the possibility exists that the moon may have really been there on the horizon but could not become visible due to unclear horizon as it is also possible that the moon was just not there on the horizon. On such a day, since 'the presence of the month' or the 'finding of Ramadan' or being a 'witness' to it does not apply, therefore, fasting for that day is not obligatory, instead, it is makruh مکروہ (reprehensible) to fast on that day. It has been forbidden in the hadith so that fard فرض and nafl نفل ، (the obligatory and the supererogatory) do not get mixed up with each other (Jasss).

4. In countries where days and nights extend over months, the 'finding of Ramadan' does not, obviously, seem to apply. The situation would require that people living there should not fast. As far as Salah is concerned, al-Huluwani and al-Qabali from among the Hanafi jurists have ruled that such people will be bound to observe Salah in accordance with the timings of their own day and night. For instance, in a country where dawn follows immediately after maghrib, there the Salah of ` Isha' will just not be obligatory. (shami) This makes it necessary that in an area where the day lasts for six months, people would have only five Salahs in six months and, for that matter, they will witness no Ramadan coming there, therefore, fasting will not become obligatory for them. Maulana Ashraf ` Ali-Thanavi (رح) has, in Imdad al-Fatawa, taken this very position.

Note:

In the sentence وَمَن كَانَ مَرِ‌يضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ‌ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَر (should anyone be sick, or on a journey, then, a number from other days), the sick and the travelling have been granted leave that they may not fast at that time. When the sick person regains his health and the traveller returns home, they can make up for the days they missed by doing qada' قضاء fasts. It will be recalled that this injunction had appeared in the previous verse, but now that the choice of paying fidyah (ransom) for not fasting has been cancelled, a doubt could creep up in relation to the concession granted to the sick and the travelling, that it may have been abrogated as well, therefore, the provision was positively repeated.

Allah is near His servants

Injunctions and merits concerning fasting and Ramadan were mentioned in three previous verses. This strain continues even after the present verse when details of fasting and I` tikaf اعتکاف appear in a long verse. In between, this brief verse has been introduced to persuade servants of Allah to obey the commands of Allah by recognizing how He, in His special grace, hears and answers their prayers. There is no doubt about fasting being a difficult obligation despite many concessions and permissions. It is to make the trial bearable that special grace has been mentioned إِنِّي قَرِ‌يبٌ '1 am near My servants. When they pray, I answer their prayers and take care of what they need.'

Under these conditions, it is befitting that servants of Allah should bear by hardships that come during the performance of given injunctions. Ibn Kathir has pointed out to another wisdom behind this sentence appearing in the middle of injunctions of fasting. According to him, this verse gives a hint that a prayer (دعاء : du'a) made at the completion of a fast is accepted, therefore, one should be very particular about making prayers at that time. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said:

للصایٔم عند فطرہ دعوۃ مستجابۃ

The prayer made by one who is fasting at the time of his iftar is accepted.

This is why the blessed Companion, ` Abdullah ibn ` Urnar ؓ would assemble his family members around him at the time of iftar and would pray.

Ruling

By saying إِنِّي قَرِ‌يبٌ (I am near) in this verse, it has been hinted that prayer should be made slowly and quietly; to raise voice while praying is not desirable. This is confirmed by the background in which this verse was revealed. According to Ibn Kathir, a visitor from a village asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ : "Tell me if our Lord is near us, then we shall pray in a lowered voice; and if He is far, we shall call Him with raised voices." Thereupon, this verse was revealed.