Rasa News Agency reports - Hujjat al-Islam Habibollah Farahzad, a professor in the Islamic Seminary of Qom, spoke about the rewards of fasting from Prophetic ahadith (narrations), in a sermon delivered at the Holy Shrine of Lady Fatimah al-Ma’soumah celebrating the third day of the holy month of Ramadhan.
His Eminence explained that the many rewards of fasting increase during the hot summer months. It has been narrated from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq that: “If a person fasts in the summer for the sake of God and thirst overcomes him, God appoints one thousand angels to caress his face and when he breaks his fast, God addresses him and him by saying ‘your smell and body are pleasant and clean.’ The angels are witnesses that I [God] forgive the thirst of the fasting person.”
Another hadith states: “God gives the fasting person two times the amount of happiness, one of them is given at the time of iftar (breaking the fast) and the other is given at the time of meeting with God.”
Hujjat al-Islam Farahzad explained that if a person deliberately breaks their fast early, then at the time of iftar they will be caught in a state of enmity and misery. We also have narrations which state that God will answer the supplication of the fasting person at the time of iftar. Thus, a fasting person should not just think about eating and drinking at the time of iftar, but about the health and reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi and the plight of Muslims in various Islam countries, such as Iraq and Syria.
Hujjat al-Islam Farahzad referred to a story of the Prophet Muhammad where he said: “During Ramadhan, God opens the gates of paradise and closes the gates of hell. If some asks from God that He open the gates of paradise to him, they will be opened and the gates of hell will be closed for him.”
For the gates of paradise to be opened for a person, they must do good works, give charity, have faith, pray, fast, and enjoin the good and forbid the wrong. Also, this person must have good morals, be kind, cooperative and helpful to their spouse, parents, and children for the gates of heaven to be opened for them. Those who act contrary to this, will go to hell. His Eminence explained that most of those in the hellfire will be there because of sins of the tongue, such as taunting someone or backbiting.
Hujjat al-Islam Farahzad reminds us that someone who recites the Holy Quran but knowingly acts in contradiction to its teachings will be sent to hell and their punishment will be greater than others. Thus, this person should not curse, backbite, lie or perform other vile acts. His Eminence said that we must pay attention to the consequences of sin and said that the manifestation of sin is the hellfire, and someone can be sent to the hellfire even if he accepts all of the beliefs of Islam, but acts in violation to them.
At the end of his sermon, Hujjat al-Islam Farahzad said that the month of Ramadhan is a month full of God-given blessings for His servants. A person’s soul and body is spiritually elevated by the performance of fasting and fasting is a shield between man and the hellfire.
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