Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear brother

I wanted to ask you that in religion i am a sikh & i kept 10 fast last year during ramzan roza( with all my heart & soul with purity)but without offering official namaz, this year also i want to keep fast as much as i can do ....i want to ask you does allah accept fast without ofeering prayer because i dont know hot to read namaz & i dont want to do any sin if i dont know something.

bcos i believe in allah pls help.

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Answer:

Sikh brother keeping fast in ramadan

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Respected brother, allow us to relate an example in our efforts to answer your question:

Say one loves one’s nation immensely, and is willing to do or sacrifice everything one has if ever the need arose to defend their beloved nation.

The logical and right thing for such a person to do to fulfill their objective would be to join the army, whose stipulated duty is to defend the nation. Before joining the army it would only be prudent for the person to understand what exactly are the conditions for joining the army, how much time and energy would be required from him to serve in the army, and what kinds of training, duties and responsibilities one would have to fulfill to remain in the army.

If one wills to accept the conditions one is required to fulfill to enlist in the army, and one is willing to make the sacrifices to honor their love for their nation….then and only then one should enlist themselves in the army and serve their beloved nation. That would be the right and logical thing to do.

But if one loves their nation, and without enlisting themselves in the army buys a gun and starts doing target practice on the streets…..believing that if and when the time comes to defend their beloved nation, they would be ready for it….such an act would neither be acceptable to the army whose duty it is to defend the nation, nor would such an act do any good to the individual themselves or the society they live in!

Similarly my respected brother, just because you love your Creator, your staying away from food and drink for a mere 10 days of the year would neither do any good to you, nor be acceptable to your Creator.

The right and logical thing to do after you have declared your belief and love for your Creator, is to read with understanding the Message (The Glorious Quran) sent down by your Creator to determine for yourself if indeed this Message is from the Creator Himself or not.

If you can bring yourself to believe that the Message is indeed from none other than your Creator, then the next logical step would be to accept the conditions which would allow you to enlist yourself amongst the people who have professed belief (The Muslims). Then and only then would your worship like fasting, prayers, pilgrimage, charity, etc. be acceptable to your Creator.

Self-imposed ‘fasting’ for 10 days of your choosing of the year by itself will do you as much good as the person who refuses to the join the army and do target practice at his leisure!

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan