Nations Upon Whom Fasting Was Prescribed Before This Nation

الأمم التي فرض عليها الصيام قبل هذه الأمة

Nations Upon Whom Fasting Was Prescribed Before This Nation

Translation : Reza Ervani bin Asmanu

The article Nations Upon Whom Fasting Was Prescribed Before This Nation is included in the Category Islamic Question and Answer

السؤال:

Question:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم. السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته. السؤال: ذكر الصيام في العديد من الآيات القرآنية وقد فرضت بموجب هذه الآيات على الأمم التي سبقتنا كما ورد ذكر صوم زكريا ومريم وغيرهما عليهما السلام فمتى فرض الصيام على الأمم السابقة لأمة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم وفي زمن أي رسول وما هي الأدلة على ذلك؟ أفيدوني أفادكم الله.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Question: Fasting has been mentioned in many verses of the Quran and has been made obligatory based on these verses for the nations that preceded us, as was also mentioned regarding the fasting of Zechariah and Mary—peace be upon them—. When was fasting made obligatory for the previous nations before the nation of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), during the time of which Messenger, and what is the evidence for that? Please provide me with an explanation, and may Allah reward you.

الإجابــة:

Answer :

الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، وعلى آله وصحبه، أما بعد: فقد ورد في القرآن الكريم قوله تعالى:

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, and his companions. To proceed: Indeed, it has been mentioned in the Noble Quran the saying of Allah the Almighty:

(يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ) [البقرة:١٨٣]

“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become righteous.” [Al-Baqarah: 183]

فدلت الآية على أن الصيام فرض على الأمم السابقة قبلنا أيضاً، ولم يرد في حديث صحيح تحديد أي الأمم فرض عليها الصيام أولاً ولا كيفيته، لكن ذكر بعض المفسرين آثاراً عن بعض السلف منها:

This verse indicates that fasting was also made obligatory for the previous nations before us. No authentic hadith (Sahih) has established which nation was first prescribed fasting, nor its manner. However, some commentators (mufasir) have mentioned reports (atsar) from some of the predecessors (Salaf), including:

١- ورد عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما أنه قال: هم أهل الكتاب .

1- Narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), he said: “They are the People of the Book.”

٢- وعن ابن مسعود وغيره أنه قال: ثلاثة أيام من كل شهر، إلى أن نسخ بالقرآن .

2- From Ibn Mas’ud and others, he said: “[Fasting] three days every month, until it was eventually abrogated by the Quran.”

٣- وعن الحسن البصري رحمه الله قال: نعم، والله لقد كتب الصيام على كل أمة قد خلت، كما كتبه علينا شهراً كاملاً .

3- From Al-Hasan Al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him), he said: “Yes, by Allah, fasting was prescribed for every nation that has passed, just as it was prescribed for us for a whole month.”

أما صيام زكريا ومريم عليهما السلام فهو صيام عن الكلام، لأن المعنى اللغوي للصيام هو: الامتناع، فقد قال تعالى عن زكريا عليه السلام:

As for the fasting of Zechariah and Mary—peace be upon them—it was fasting from speaking, because the linguistic meaning of fasting (Sawm) is: abstaining. Allah the Almighty said regarding Zechariah (peace be upon him):

(آيَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ إِلَّا رَمْزاً وَاذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ كَثِيراً وَسَبِّحْ بِالْعَشِيِّ وَالْإِبْكاَرِ) [آل عمران:٤١]

“Your sign is that you will not speak to people for three days except by gesture. And remember your Lord much and exalt [Him] with praise in the evening and the morning.” [Ali Imran: 41]

وعن مريم عليها السلام أنها قالت:

And regarding Mary (peace be upon her), she said:

(إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ لِلرَّحْمَنِ صَوْماً فَلَنْ أُكَلِّمَ الْيَوْمَ إِنْسِيّاً) [مريم:٢٦]

“Indeed, I have vowed a fast to the Most Merciful, so I will not speak today to [any] human.” [Maryam: 26]

والله أعلم.

And Allah knows best.

Source : IslamWeb