بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْم
📖 Surah Al-Baqarah (Verses 183-187) – The Laws and Mercy of Ramadan
🌙 The Month of Ramadan: A Time of Guidance, Mercy, and Discipline
In these five powerful verses, Allah lays out the purpose, rules, and spiritual significance of fasting in Ramadan. He also shows His mercy by allowing believers certain concessions, emphasizing that Islam is a faith of balance and ease.
📖 Let’s go through each verse, listing them in Arabic and English before analyzing them.
---
🕌 The Verses in Arabic & English
1️⃣ The Command to Fast (Verse 183)
{ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ }
📖 "O you who have believed, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwā."
🔹 Fasting is not new – it was also given to previous nations, but now it has been made an obligation for this Ummah.
🔹 The goal is taqwā (God-consciousness) – fasting is meant to train believers to control desires and develop spiritual discipline.
---
2️⃣ Exemptions for Those Who Cannot Fast (Verse 184)
{ أَيَّامًا مَعْدُودَاتٍ فَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْكُمْ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ فَمَنْ تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ وَأَنْ تَصُومُوا خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ }
📖 "[Fasting is for] a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of days [are to be made up]. And upon those who can only fast with hardship – a ransom [as a substitute] of feeding a poor person. And whoever volunteers excess – it is better for him. But to fast is better for you, if you only knew."
🔹 Fasting is limited to specific days (Ramadan), not the whole year.
🔹 The sick and travelers are excused, but they must make up the missed days later.
🔹 A concession is given to the elderly or those who truly cannot fast—they may pay fidyah (feed the poor) instead.
🔹 Fasting is still better – Allah encourages fasting for those who can do it.
---
3️⃣ The Month of Ramadan & The Qur’an (Verse 185)
{ شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَنْ كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ }
📖 "It was in the month of Ramadan that the Qur’an was revealed as guidance for mankind, clear messages giving guidance and distinguishing between right and wrong. So anyone of you who is present in that month should fast, and anyone who is ill or on a journey should make up the lost days later. Allah wants ease for you, not hardship, and He wants you to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him for guiding you, so that you may be thankful."
🔹 The Qur’an was revealed in Ramadan – making it a special month of divine guidance.
🔹 Fasting is an act of gratitude for the Qur’an – it is not just about hunger but about celebrating Allah’s revelation.
🔹 Ease, not hardship – Islam allows flexibility for those unable to fast.
🔹 Completion and gratitude – The purpose is to finish the month and magnify Allah for His guidance.
---
4️⃣ The Power of Du‘ā (Supplication) (Verse 186)
{ وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ }
📖 "When My servants ask you about Me, [tell them] I am near. I respond to the call of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me, so that they may be guided."
🔹 Allah is near – Ramadan is a time for increased connection to Allah.
🔹 Du‘ā is answered – sincerity in calling upon Allah brings divine response.
🔹 Faith and guidance – True believers should call upon Allah with conviction.
---
5️⃣ The Night & Marriage in Ramadan (Verse 187)
{ أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَىٰ نِسَائِكُمْ... }
📖 "It has been made permissible for you to be intimate with your wives during the nights of fasting. They are a garment for you, and you are a garment for them. Allah knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He turned to you in mercy and forgave you. So now, have relations with them and seek what Allah has decreed for you..."
🔹 Mercy and permission – At first, the companions thought intimacy was forbidden even at night during Ramadan, so Allah allowed it out of mercy.
🔹 Marriage is a sign of love and companionship – spouses are described as garments, meaning they protect, cover, and beautify one another.
🔹 Seek what Allah has written for you – this refers to seeking righteous offspring and spiritual growth in marriage.
---
📌 Key Takeaways from These Verses
🔹 1. Fasting is a Divine Prescription: It was prescribed for previous nations and continues as a means of self-purification.
🔹 2. Ramadan is about the Qur’an: The fast is in honor of the guidance sent down in this month.
🔹 3. Islam is a Religion of Ease: If one is sick or traveling, they can make up the fast later—no hardship is imposed.
🔹 4. Du‘ā is a Lifeline: This month is an opportunity for deep supplication, as Allah is near and responds.
🔹 5. Allah’s Mercy in Fasting: Certain rules, like intimacy at night, were initially misunderstood, and Allah clarified them out of kindness to believers.
✨ Final Thought
Whether a person should or should not fast while on a journey is left to individual discretion. We find that among the Companions who accompanied the Prophet on journeys some fasted whereas others did not; none objected to the conduct of another. The Prophet himself did not always fast when travelling. On one journey a person was so overwhelmed by hunger that he collapsed; the Prophet disapproved when he learned that the man had been fasting. During wars the Prophet used to prevent people from fasting so that they would not lack energy for the fight. It has been reported by 'Umar that two military expeditions took place in the month of Ramadan. The first was the Battle of Badr and the second the conquest of Makka. On both occasions the Companions abstained from fasting, and, according to Ibn 'Umar, on the occasion of the conquest of Makka the Prophet proclaimed that people should not fast since it was a day of fighting. In other Traditions the Prophet is reported to have said that people should not fast when they had drawn close to the enemy, since abstention from fasting would lead to greater strength. (See Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 3, p. 329, and vol. 5, pp. 205 and 209: Darimi, ' Sawm', 41; Muslim, 'Siyarn', 92; Nasai, 'Siyam', 47; Bukhari, 'Maghazi', 71; Muslim, 'Siyam', 102; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 3, pp. 21, 35, 46; Tirmidhi, 'Sawm', 18, Nasa'i. 'Siyam', 52; Bukhari , 'Jihad', 29; Muslim, 'Siyam', 98; Abu Da'ud, 'Sawm' 42; Muslim, 'Siyam', 102, 103, 105; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad vol. 2, 99; Tirmidhi, : 'Sawm', 19 - Ed.)
Ramadan is not just about hunger—it is about self-discipline, gratitude, mercy, and divine connection. These verses show that fasting is a mercy, not a burden, and that Islam encourages balance in life.
abstention from fasting and supports his view with vcry forceful arguments.
187. This indicates that fasting need not be confined, exclusively, to Ramadan. For those who fail to fast during that month owing to some legitimate reason God has kept the door of compensation open during other months of the year so that they need not be deprived of the opportunity to express their gratitude to Him for His great bounty, in revealing the Qur'an.
It should he noted here that fasting in Ramadan has not only been declared an act of worship and devotion and a means to nourish piety but has also been characterized as an act of gratefulness to God for His great bounty of true guidance in the form of the Qur'an. In fact, the best way of expressing gratitude for someone's bounty or benevolence is to prepare oneself, to the best of one's ability, to achieve the purpose for which that bounty has been bestowed. The Qur'an has been revealed so that we may know the way that leads to God's good pleasure, follow that way ourselves and direct the world along it. Fasting is an excellent means by which to prepare ourselves for shouldering this task. Hence fasting during the month of the revelation of the Qur'an is more than an act of worship and more than an excellent course of moral training; it is also an appropriate form for the expression of our thankfulness to God for the bounty of the Qur'an.
The duration of a journey for which it becomes permissible for a person to abstain from fasting is not absolutely clear from any statement of the Prophet, (cf. relevant Traditions Abu Da'ud, 'Sawm', 46, 47; Nasai , 'Siyam', 54, 55; Malik, Muaatta', 'Siyam', 21, 27 - Ed.) In addition the practice of the Companions was not uniform. It would seem that any journey which is commonly regarded as such, and which is attended by the circumstances generally associated with travelling, should be deemed sufficient justification for not fasting.
Jurists agree that one does not have to fast on the day of commencing a journey; one may eat either at the point of departure or after the actual journey has commenced. Either course is sanctioned by the practice of the Companions. Jurists, however, are not agreed as to whether or not the residents of a city under attack may abstain from fasting even though they are not actually travelling. Ibn taymiyah favours the permissibility of abstention from fasting and supports his view with vcry forceful arguments.
187. This indicates that fasting need not be confined, exclusively, to Ramadan. For those who fail to fast during that month owing to some legitimate reason God has kept the door of compensation open during other months of the year so that they need not be deprived of the opportunity to express their gratitude to Him for His great bounty, in revealing the Qur'an.
It should he noted here that fasting in Ramadan has not only been declared an act of worship and devotion and a means to nourish piety but has also been characterized as an act of gratefulness to God for His great bounty of true guidance in the form of the Qur'an. In fact, the best way of expressing gratitude for someone's bounty or benevolence is to prepare oneself, to the best of one's ability, to achieve the purpose for which that bounty has been bestowed. The Qur'an has been revealed so that we may know the way that leads to God's good pleasure, follow that way ourselves and direct the world along it. Fasting is an excellent means by which to prepare ourselves for shouldering this task. Hence fasting during the month of the revelation of the Qur'an is more than an act of worship and more than an excellent course of moral training; it is also an appropriate form for the expression of our thankfulness to God for the bounty of the Qur'an.