Tadhkirat al-Sawwam bi-Shay min Fadail al-Siyam wa al-Qiyam wa ma yataallaq bihima min Ahkam
- Author died
- 1445 AH
- Editions
- Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Tadhkirat al-Sawwam bi-Shay min Fadail al-Siyam wa al-Qiyam wa ma yataallaq bihima min Ahkam (A Reminder for Fasting Persons on Some Virtues of Fasting and Night Prayers and Related Rulings) is a treatise on the virtues and jurisprudence of fasting and the Ramadan night prayer by Abd Allah ibn Salih al-Qusayr (d. 1445 AH / 2024 CE).
Background and Purpose
The author notes in his introduction that he initially gathered this concise guide for his personal benefit, drawing from the writings of his teachers and past scholars. He chose to publish it for other Muslims as an act of conveying Islamic knowledge and fulfilling the obligation of providing sincere advice (nasihah).
Content and Structure
The book addresses both the legal parameters and the spiritual dimensions of fasting and night worship:
- Obligation and Prerequisites of Fasting: It highlights that the fast of Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam, legislated in the second year of the Hijrah, and supported by the Quran, prophetic Sunnah, and definitive scholarly consensus (ijma). It outlines the essential conditions for its obligation, which apply to every Muslim who has reached puberty, possesses sanity, is resident, physically capable, and free of legal impediments.
- Spiritual Etiquette and Safeguarding the Fast: The text emphasizes that the act of fasting must be undertaken out of sincere faith and anticipation of divine reward (imanan wa-ihtisaban), rather than for ostentation or conformity to social custom. It stresses the necessity of guarding the fast from unlawful speech and behavior—such as falsehood, slander, backbiting, insults, and foul speech—explaining that fasting is not merely refraining from food and drink, but a discipline of restraining the self and avoiding acts that invalidate or diminish its reward.
- Wisdoms and Virtues: The work details the underlying wisdom of fasting, including training in self-restraint, developing patience, subduing arrogance, and instilling compassion for the poor and destitute by experiencing hunger and thirst. It also gathers scriptural narrations regarding the distinct virtues of fasting, such as the entry of the fasting into Paradise through the designated gate of al-Rayyan.
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