The Arrival: The Rasul (peace be upon him) wont begin his fast until the sighting of the hilal (crescent) is verified, and he would command others to start: "Fast upon its sighting and break fast upon its sighting. If it is obscure for you then complete the count or complete counting Sha ban until thirty days". (Bukhari) .
The Niyyah: The Rasul (peace be upon him) had his intention the night before dawn, and said to his Ummah: "Whoever didnt intend his fast during the night, then there is no fast for him."(An-Nasai) Don't stop till There are two kinds of dawn; as-Sadiq (correct) and al-Kathib (false), so don't stop eating until the true dawn. "And eat and drink until the white thread of fajr appears distinct from the black thread. II (Q2:187)
Delay: This is until the end of its time, even the companions would hear the adhan for fajr and they would still be having their sahur. The Rasul (peace be upon him) said, "When one of you hears the call and a dish is in his hands, then he should not put it down until he has finished what is necessary for him of it." (Abu Dawud)
Manners please! Rasulullah (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink. (Bukhari) and that "Fasting from food and drink is nothing, but as for fasting from false speech and obscenity if someone speaks badly to one of you or behaves ignorantly with you, then say; surely I am fasting, surely I am fasting" (AI-Hakim)
Tilawa ul Quran: Recite the Quran as much as possible; Ramadan is the month of the Quran. Jibril (AS) used to recite with the Prophet (peace be upon him) in Ramadan, and in his last year, Jibril (AS) went over it twice with him.
Some companions used to complete the recitation of the Quran in Ramadan every seven days, some every five days, some every three days and some in less than that. The Rasul (peace be upon him) however forbade them reciting it in less than three days saying; He who recites the Quran in less than three does not comprehend it." (Tirmidhi)
Hasten Iftar! Rasulullah (peace be upon him) said: "My ummah will not cease in good as long as it hastens to break the fast." (Bukhari). This is as soon as the sun has disappeared, and not blocked by clouds, even with the redness of the sky. Dont delay the fast breaking until the redness of the sky disappears and the stars become visible, as this is the way of the Jews and Rafidah.
Break With: The Rasul (peace be upon him) would break his fast with an odd number of ripe dates, if there were none, he would use dried ones, and if there were none, he would have a few drinks of water. Then he would go and pray. (Ahmad)
Invite One Another For Iftar: Invite someone for iftar. If you are invited, after the meal, pray for your host: "Allahumma barak lahum fima razaqtahum, waghfirlahum warhamhum" (0 Allah! Bless them in what you have provided for them, forgive them, and have mercy on them) ...Same goes for the sahur. On A Journey If you wish to fast on a journey, you mayor may not break your fast; Hamza bin Amr AI-Aslami (RA) a companion said to Rasulullah (peace be upon him): "O Rasulullah! I find myself strong enough to fast while traveling, so would it be wrong for me to do so?" Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "It is a permission given by Allah (not to fast) and whoever acts upon it has done well, but if anyone wished to fast, he would not be guilty of sin." (Muslim)
If You Can Afford It, Umrah during Ramadan is encouraged: Rasulullah (peace be upon him) said: "Umrah during Ramadan is the equivalent of hajj." In another version; " ... equivalent to hajj with me." (Bukhari) If you can afford it, dont miss it.
Go for it! itikaf: Rasulullah (peace be upon him) encouraged Itikaf in the three masjids (Haram, Nabawi, Aqsa) saying; "There is no Itikaf except in the three masjids." (AI-ismail, at-Tahawi, and others). There are two opinions with regards to this. The first is that the three masjids are strictly the places for Itikaf. The second is that it can be done in any other mosque, but it is more rewarding to do it in the three masjids, i.e the kabah, the prophets mosque, and the al-Aqsa mosque. Allah knows best!
Zakat ul-fitr: Rasulullah (peace be upon him) prescribed zakat ul-fitri as a purification of the fasting person from empty and obscene talk and as food forthe poor. If anyone pays it before the eid prayer, it will be accepted as zakat, and if anyone pays It after the prayer, it will be counted as sadaqa like any other sadaqa (alms). (Abu Dawud)
It is a fard (obligatory) duty from Allah upon His servants because the Rasul (peace be upon him) said; "Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) obligated zakat ul-fitr on the people during Ramadan, (to be paid for) the young, the old, the male, the female, the free and the slave." (Abu Dawud).
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited