Foundations · The Five Pillars of Islam

Ramadan Fasting Practices and Benefits

Explore acts of worship, rewards, and social support during Ramadan fasting.

5 questions · Easy · about 3 minutes

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5 questions, about 3 minutes.

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1. What should a fasting person avoid during Ramadan?

  • Giving charity.
  • Studying the Quran.
  • Praying tarawih.
  • Wasting time with too much sleep or joking. (correct answer)

Why

A fasting person should avoid wasting time on things that bring no benefit and may harm the quality of the fast, such as sleeping too much, joking too much, or making food and drink the main concern.

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2. What is Sunnah to break the fast with?

  • Fresh dates, or dried dates if fresh dates are not available, or water if there are no dates. (correct answer)
  • A full meal before Maghrib prayer.
  • Any sweet food before saying any du’a.
  • Only water, even if dates are available.

Why

It is Sunnah to break the fast with fresh dates. If fresh dates are not available, then dried dates may be used, and if no dates are available, then water may be used.

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3. What is a beneficial thing to do before Maghrib while waiting to break the fast?

  • Watch entertainment to pass the time.
  • Sleep without concern for Maghrib.
  • Read Quran, make du’a, or have a useful family conversation. (correct answer)
  • Focus only on preparing many kinds of food.

Why

Before Maghrib, the fasting person should use that time in something beneficial, such as reading Quran, making du’a, or having a useful conversation with family.

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4. Why is the reward of fasting especially great?

  • Because the fasting person gives up desires and food for Allah’s sake. (correct answer)
  • Because its reward is limited to seven hundred times only.
  • Because fasting does not require patience.
  • Because it is only rewarded when people see it.

Why

Fasting has a special reward from Allah. The fasting person gives up desires and food for Allah’s sake, and the reward of fasting is not limited like other deeds.

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5. How can fasting help a person feel empathy for the poor?

  • By making them forget those who are in need.
  • By letting them feel hunger and thirst, which reminds them of those without food or drink. (correct answer)
  • By teaching that helping the poor is unnecessary.
  • By making wealth the main goal of Ramadan.

Why

Feeling hunger and thirst while fasting can remind a person of those who do not have food or drink. This can motivate them to show compassion and help the poor, which is part of piety.

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A note on these answers

These questions are for learning and self-testing. Explanations are drawn from the sources linked on each question and are not a fatwa. For a ruling on your own circumstances, please consult a qualified scholar.

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