فضل الصيام
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah, Glorified and Exalted, said: 'All the actions of of the son of Adam are for him, except for fasting. Indeed, it is for Me, and I give reward for it.' Fasting is a shield. So when one of you is fasting, then let him not say obscene speech or make too much noise, and if someone insults him or fights him, then let him say: 'I am fasting.' (I swear) by the One in Whose hand the soul of Muhammad is! The foul smell that emanates from the mouth of the fasting person is more pleasant in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. The fasting person has two (moments of) joy: one when he breaks his fast, as he feels happy, and the other when he meets his lord, he is happy with his fast." This is the wording of Al-Bukhāri's narration. In another version by Al-Bukhāri: "He leaves his food, drink, and sexual desire for My sake. Fasting is for me, and I will reward it, and a single good deed is worth ten." According to the narration of Muslim: "Every action of the son of Adam is multiplied, and a single good deed is worth ten till seven hundred times. Allah, the Exalted, says: '(This is so) except for fasting, for indeed it is for Me, and I will reward it. He leaves his desires and food for My sake.' For the fasting person, there are two moments of joy; a moment of joy when he breaks his fast, and a moment of joy when he meets his lord. Verily, the unpleasant smell coming from the mouth of the fasting person is more fragrant with Allah than the smell of musk."
عن أبي هريرة -رضي الله عنه- قال: قال رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم-: «قال الله -عز وجل-: كلُّ عَمَل ابن آدَم له إلا الصيام، فإنه لي وأنا أجْزِي به، والصيام جُنَّة، فإذا كان يوم صوم أحدِكُم فلا يَرْفُثْ ولا يَصْخَبْ فإن سَابَّهُ أحَدٌ أو قَاتَلَهُ فليَقل: إنِّي صائم، والذي نفس محمد بيده لَخُلُوفُ فَمِ الصَّائِم أطيب عند الله من رِيحِ المِسْكِ، للصائم فرحتان يَفْرَحُهُمَا: إذا أفطر فَرِح بفطره، وإذا لَقِي ربَّه فَرِح بِصَوْمه». وهذا لفظ رواية البخاري. وفي رواية له: «يَتْرُك طَعَامه، وشَرَابه، وشَهوته من أجلي، الصيام لي وأنا أَجْزِي به، والحسنة بعشر أمثالها». وفي رواية لمسلم: «كلُّ عَمَل ابن آدم يُضَاعَف، الحَسَنة بِعَشر أمْثَالها إلى سَبْعِمِئَة ضِعْف، قال الله تعالى: إلا الصَّوم فإنه لي وأنا أجْزِي به؛ يَدَع شَهَوته وطَعَامه من أجلي، للصائم فرحتان: فَرْحَة عند فِطْره، وفَرْحَة عند لقِاء ربِّه، ولَخُلُوف فيه أطْيَب عند الله من رِيحِ المِسْكِ».
شرح الحديث :
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs us in this Qudsi Hadīth that all righteous deeds, be they words or actions, apparent or hidden, and whether they are connected to the right of Allah or the right of slaves, are multiplied up to seven hundred times. This shows the great favor of Allah and His kindness to His believing slaves. He counts any guilt or act of disobedience as one, and it is treated as one in terms of recompense, and His forgiveness is above all that. In this Hadīth, the reward of fasting is an exception. The fasting person is given reward without account, meaning that it is multiplied many times, because fasting involves the three types of patience. In it is patience through obedience to Allah, patience against sins, and patience with what Allah has decreed. As for patience through obedience to Allah, it is because the person obliges himself to fast even though he dislikes it at times due to its hardship, but not because Allah has made it obligatory. If a person disliked it for that reason, then all his actions would be void; rather, he dislikes it because of the hardship but still continues to do it while being patient with refraining from food and drink and sexual desires; all for the sake of Allah, the Exalted. This is why the Hadīth says: "He leaves his food and drink and sexual desire for my sake." The second type of patience is patience with staying away from disobedience to Allah, this is achieved by the fasting person who is patient with not committing sins, such as staying away from idle talk, lewd word, and actions; false testimony; and other forbidden actions. The third type of patience is patience with the decree of Allah; because of what befalls the fasting person during the days of fasting, especially the hot and long days, from laziness, boredom, and thirst, which cause him great suffering; but he remains patient, seeking thereby Allah's pleasure. So when these three types of patience come together, then the reward is without limit. Allah says concerning this: {Indeed the patient are rewarded in full without being taken to account.} [Sūrat Az-Zumar: 10] This Hadīth shows that complete fasting is that in which the slave refrains from two things: 1. The physical matters that break the fast, including food, drink, and sexual desires. 2. Action-related violations such as lewd words and acts, shouting, false testimony and all sins, argumentation, disputes that lead to enmity. For this reason, it is stated in the Hadīth that a fasting person should not engage in licentious speech nor raise his voice with words that may cause turmoil and dispute. Whoever actualizes these two matters – leaving the tings that invalidate the fast and leaving the forbidden acts – then he will earn the reward for the fasting people in full. Otherwise, the reward of his fasting will decrease in proportion to the multiplicity of the acts of disobedience that he has committed. Then the Hadīth goes on to instruct the fasting person that whenever they are confronted by anyone who disputes with them or insults them to say: "I am fasting." That is, they should not answer the insult back, one should inform them that he is fasting. By doing this, the insulted person does not feel defeated or overpowered, as if he is saying: "I am not incapable of answering your insult, but I am a fasting person who respects his fasting, keen on its completeness, and observing the command of Allah and His Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). The statement: "fasting is a shield" means it is something that the slave uses to protect himself from sins in this life, train himself to do good things, and a prevention from the punishment. The fasting person has two moments of joy: one at the time of breaking the fast, and one when he meets his Lord. These are two rewards, one is soon and the other is delayed. As for the reward that is soon, it is witnessed when the person breaks his fast and rejoices at the favor of Allah upon him by being able to complete his fast, and so he is able to fulfill his desires from which he was prevented during the day of fast. As for the delayed reward, it is joy when he meets his Lord, Who bestows upon him His pleasure and honor. The joy that the person receives quickly is a sample of what the delayed joy will be like, and Allah will gather both of them for the fasting person. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) swore by his Lord in Whose Hand his soul is, saying that the unpleasant smell coming from the mouth of the fasting person is more fragrant in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. According to the narration of Muslim: "more fragrant in the sight of Allah on the day of Judgment" So Allah, the Exalted, will reward him on the Day of Judgment for the bad smell that he had in this world with one that is more fragrant than the smell of musk.