Chapter on Reward of Fasting

And from him, from Ahmad ibn Idris, from Muhammad ibn Hassan, from Muhammad ibn Ali, from Ali ibn al-Numan, from Abdullah ibn Talhah, from Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, peace be upon him, who said: Imam عليه السلام said: “The Messenger of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, may Allah سبحانه وتعالى bless him and his family, said: ‘The fasting person is in worship, even if he is upon his bed, so long as he does not backbite a Muslim.’”

And from him, from Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from al-Nawfali, from al-Sakuni, from Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, peace be upon him, who said: Imam عليه السلام said: “Whoever fasts much, Allah سبحانه وتعالى, Mighty and Majestic, says to His سبحانه وتعالى angels, ‘My servant has sought refuge from My سبحانه وتعالى punishment, so grant him refuge.’ And Allah سبحانه وتعالى appoints His سبحانه وتعالى angels to supplicate for those who fast, and Allah سبحانه وتعالى has not commanded supplication for anyone except that Allah سبحانه وتعالى responds to them concerning him.”

And from him, from Ali, from Harun ibn Muslim, from Masadah, from Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, peace be upon him, who said: Imam عليه السلام said: “The sleep of the fasting person is worship, and his breath is glorification.”

Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Faddal, from al-Abbas ibn Amir, from Ali ibn Abi Hamzah, from Ishaq ibn Ghalib, from Abdullah ibn Jabir, from Uthman ibn Madhun, who said: I (narrator) said to the Messenger of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, may Allah سبحانه وتعالى bless him and his family: “O Messenger of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, I wanted to ask you about some things.” So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said: “And what are they, O Uthman?” He (narrator) said: “I asked, ‘I wanted to become a monk (atarahhab).’” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said: “Do not do so, O Uthman, for the monasticism (tarahhub) of my community is sitting in the mosques and waiting for the prayer after the prayer.” He (narrator) said: “So I wanted, O Messenger of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, to castrate myself.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said: “Do not do so, O Uthman, for the castration (ikhtisa) of my community is fasting,” along with a lengthy statement.

And from him, from Amr ibn Uthman, from Abdullah ibn al-Mughirah, from Ismail ibn Abi Ziyad al-Shairi, from Abu Abdillah Imam Ja’far عليه السلام from his father, Imam al-Baqir عليه السلام, peace be upon them both: Imam عليه السلام said: “The Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم, may Allah سبحانه وتعالى bless him and his family, said to his companions: ‘Shall I not inform you of something which, if you do it, Satan will become distant from you just as the east is distant from the west?’” They (companions) said: “Yes.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said: “Fasting blackens his (Satan) face, charity breaks his (Satan) back, love for the sake of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and mutual support in righteous action cut off his (Satan) root, and seeking forgiveness cuts off his life-vein.” And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم, may Allah سبحانه وتعالى bless him and his family, said: “For everything there is a zakat, and the zakat of the body is fasting.”

And from him, from Ali ibn Asbat, from Hakam ibn Miskin, from Ismail ibn Yasar, who said: I (narrator) heard Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, peace be upon him, saying: “Indeed, a man may pray two rakahs, and Allah سبحانه وتعالى makes Paradise obligatory for him through them, Or he may fast one day voluntarily, and Allah سبحانه وتعالى makes Paradise obligatory for him through it.”

And from him, from al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Yusuf, from Muadh ibn Thabit Abu al-Hasan, from Amr ibn Jumay, from Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, peace be upon him, who said: Imam عليه السلام said: “The Messenger of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, may Allah سبحانه وتعالى bless him and his family, said in a lengthy hadith: ‘Fasting is a shield from the Fire.’”

And from him, from Muhammad ibn Ali, from Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Ghiyath ibn Ibrahim, from Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, peace be upon him, from his father: The Commander of the Faithful عليه السلام, peace be upon him, said: “Three things remove phlegm and increase memory; the tooth-stick (siwak), fasting, and recitation of the Quran.”