Ahlan Wasahlan ya Ramadhan!

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said: “The blessed month has come to you. Allah has made fasting during it obligatory upon you. During it, the gates to Paradise are opened and the gates to hellfire are locked, and the devils are chained. There is a night [during this month] which is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of its good is really deprived [of something great].” This is related by Ahmad, an-Nasa’i, and al-Baihaqi.

Alhamdulillah..done with my first day of Ramadhan yesterday. Not bad…as I took my sahur at a very late time ..quite near to Subuh prayer..515am.In parallel with hadith by Rasullullah pbuh where the Sunnah of sahur is to take it shortly before dawn. Narrated Anas, that Zaid bin Thabit, said , "We took the Suhur with the Prophet, pbuh. Then he stood for the prayer." I asked, "What was the interval between the Suhur and the Adhan [call for prayer]?" He replied, "The interval was sufficient to recite fifty verses of the Qur'an."

As I am now 23 weeks pregnant, fasting does not mean that I have to fast even with hunger, or I don’t have to fast. I am trying my best level to fast, since I have experienced giving birth to my two babies before in the month of Ramadhan, where I am prohibited to fast, since it was confinement period. Nevertheless, to qada’ the 30 days of Ramdhan…phewww….

There is a hadith saying “Allah has relieved the travelers of fasting and half of the prayer, and the pregnant and the breast-feeding women of the fast.” According to the Hanafiyyah, Abu Ubaid, and Abu Thaur, such women are only to make up the missed days of fasting, and they are not supposed to feed one poor person a day. According to Ahmad and ash-Shaf’i, if such women fear only for the baby, they must pay the “ransom” and make up the days later. If they fear only for themselves or for themselves and the baby, then they are only to make up the missed days at a later date.

What do you get when fasting?

1) Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet saying: “The time between the five prayers, two consecutive Friday prayers, and two consecutive Ramadans are expiations for all that has happened during that period, provided that one has avoided the grave sins.”

2) Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said: “Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan, obeying all of its limitations and guarding himself against what is forbidden, has in fact atoned for any sins he committed before it.” Ahmad and alBaihaqi related this hadith with a good chain.