The Prophet's ﷺ Guidance in Fasting

Ibn al-Qayyim's treatment of the Prophet's ﷺ guidance in fasting (sawm) in Zad al-Ma'ad is a comprehensive account that covers not only the legal dimensions of Ramadan fasting but the numerous supererogatory fasts (sawm al-tatawwu') that the Prophet ﷺ observed throughout the year, and the spiritual and physical wisdom embedded in the Islamic fasting practice.

The Ramadan fast was prescribed in the second year of Hijra: 'O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwa' (Quran 2:183). The conditions and exceptions are established by the Quran and Sunnah together: the fast runs from true dawn (al-fajr al-sadiq) to sunset, encompasses abstention from food, drink, and sexual relations, and is obligatory for every adult Muslim who is resident, not ill, and not traveling. The ill person and the traveler are explicitly exempted, required only to make up the missed days.

Ibn al-Qayyim describes the Prophet's ﷺ practice in Ramadan with characteristic attention to detail. He was the most generous of people during Ramadan — described as 'more generous than the free-blowing wind' when Jibril would come to review the Quran with him each night of the month. He would delay the suhur (pre-dawn meal) to as close to Fajr as possible — a Sunnah he himself encouraged: 'Take suhur, for in the suhur there is blessing.' He would hasten to break the fast (iftar) as soon as the sun set, breaking it with dates or water before praying Maghrib — 'The people will remain in good condition as long as they hasten to break the fast.' (Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

Beyond Ramadan, the Prophet ﷺ observed numerous voluntary fasts. He fasted the six days of Shawwal after Ramadan — 'Whoever fasts Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal — it is as if he has fasted for the entire year.' (Muslim.) He fasted the 9th and 10th of Muharram (Ashura and the day before it) — 'Fasting on Ashura, I hope, expiates the sins of the preceding year.' (Muslim.) He fasted Mondays and Thursdays — 'Deeds are presented (to Allah) on Mondays and Thursdays, and I like my deeds to be presented while I am fasting.' (Al-Tirmidhi.) He fasted the 'ayyam al-bid' (13th, 14th, and 15th of each lunar month) — 'Ibn Abbas never left the white days in Ramadan or outside it.' He fasted the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah, particularly emphasizing the 9th (Arafah day): 'Fasting on Arafah expiates the sins of two years — the preceding year and the coming year.' (Muslim.)

Ibn al-Qayyim concludes his treatment of fasting with reflections on its spiritual wisdom: fasting weakens the grip of the lower appetites (shahawat) on the soul, creates a direct experience of the suffering of the poor and hungry, disciplines the body to be subject to the will rather than the other way around, and opens the heart to a sensitivity to the divine presence that the satisfaction of constant appetites tends to dull. The Prophet ﷺ described fasting as a 'shield' (junnah) — protection from sin and from the Hellfire. This protective function is inseparable from the physical practice: the hunger of the body, submitted willingly to Allah, becomes a form of worship that purifies the soul.