Merits of Ramadan and Fasting in Ramadan

1. Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Approaching you is the month of Ramadan, a blessed month in which Allah the Exalted has made it an obligation upon you to fast. In it the gates of the heavens are opened, and in it the gates of Hellfire are closed, and in it the devils are chained, and in it is a night that is better than a thousand months, so whoever is deprived of it is truly deprived.”

~ Musnad Ahmad 7108; Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Ahmad Shakir

2. Wathila ibn Al-Asqa reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The scriptures of Abraham, upon him be peace, were revealed on the first night of Ramadan. The Torah was revealed after six nights of Ramadan had passed. The Gospel was revealed after thirteen nights of Ramadan had passed. The Criterion was revealed after twenty four nights of Ramadan had passed.”

~ Musnad Ahmad, 16536; Grade: Hasan (fair) according to As-Suyuti

3. Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ascended the pulpit and he said, “Ameen, Ameen, Ameen.” It was said, “O Messenger of Allah, you ascended the pulpit and said,‘Ameen, Ameen, Ameen.” The Prophet said, “Verily, Gabriel came to me and he said: ‘Whoever reaches the month of Ramadan and he is not forgiven, then he will enter Hellfire and Allah will cast him far away, so say,‘Ameen.’ I said,‘Ameen.’ Whoever sees his parents in their old age, one or both of them, and he does not honor them and he dies, then he will enter Hellfire and Allah will cast him far away, so say ‘Ameen.’ I said ‘Ameen’. Whoever has your name mentioned in his presence and he does not send blessings upon you and he dies, then he will enter Hellfire and Allah will cast him far away, so say,Ameen.’ I said,Ameen.”

~ Sahih Ibn Hibban 915; Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to al-Albani

4. Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, then Allah will forgive all of his previous sins. Whoever stands in prayer during the Night of Decree out of faith and seeking reward, then Allah will forgive all of his previous sins.”

~ Sahih Muslim 760; Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Muslim

5. Abu Huraira reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say, “Fasting Ramadan, the month of patience, and three days from every month is like fasting a lifetime.”

~Sunan An-Nasa’i 2408; Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani

6. Abu Huraira reported: There were two men from the tribe of Quda’ah who embraced Islam with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. One of them was martyred and the other lived for another year. Talha said: I had a dream of Paradise and I saw the one who lived longer enter Paradise before the martyr. I was amazed by that and when I woke up, I mentioned it to the Prophet. The Prophet said, “Did he not fast the month of Ramadan after him and he performed six thousand or more prayers in the year?”

~Musnad Ahmad 8195; Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Ahmad Shakir

7. Irbad ibn Sariyah reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, inviting people to the morning meal (Sahri) during Ramadan and he would say, “Come to the blessed breakfast.”

~ Sunan Abu Dawud 2344; Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani

8. Aisha reported: I have never known the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, to read the entire Quran in a single night, or to spend the whole night in prayer up until the morning, or to spend a whole month in fasting, except that he did so during the month of Ramadan.

~Sunan An-Nasa’i 1641; Grade: Sahih(authentic) according to Al-Albani

9. Aisha reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would exert himself in worship during the last ten nights of Ramadan more so than any other time.

~Sahih Muslim 1175; Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Muslim

10. Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Allah Almighty said, “All of the deeds of the children of Adam are for them, except fasting which is for me and I will reward it.” The Prophet said further, “Fasting is a shield. If one of you is fasting, he should avoid intimate relations with his wife and arguments. If somebody should fight or argue with him, he should say: I am fasting. By him in whose hand is my soul, the unpleasant smell coming from the mouth of a fasting person is better to Allah than the smell of musk. There are two pleasures for the fasting person, one at the time of breaking his fast and the other when he meets his Lord, for then he will be pleased by his fasting.”

In another narration, the Prophet said, “Every deed of the son of Adam is multiplied from ten to seven hundred times. Allah the Exalted says: Except for fasting, as it is done for my sake and I will reward it.”

And in another narration, the Prophet said, “Allah says: He has left his food, drink, and desires for my sake. The fast is for me, so I will reward him for it and the reward of good deeds is multiplied by ten like it.”

~ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1805, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1151; Grade: MuttafaqunAlayhi (authenticity agreed upon) by Bukhari and Muslim

11. Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever does not abandon lies and evil deeds while fasting, then Allah does not need him to leave food and drink.”

~ Sahih Bukhari 1804; Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to al-Bukhari

12. Sahl ibn Sa’d reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, there is a gate in Paradise called satisfaction (al-Rayyān) through which only those who fasted will enter on the Day of Resurrection. No one else will enter it along with them. It will be said: Where are those who fasted that they may enter? When the last of them enter, it will be closed and no one else will go through it.”

~ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1797, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1152; Grade: MuttafaqunAlayhi (authenticity agreed upon) by Bukhari and Muslim

13. Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would encourage standing for night prayer in the month of Ramadan without making it an obligation, and he would say, “Whoever stands in the night prayer during Ramadan out of faith and seeking his reward, then all of his previous sins will be forgiven.” When the Messenger of Allah died, this became a regular practice and continued throughout the caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar.

~ Sahih Muslim 759, Sahih Bukhari 1904; Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi (authenticity agreed upon) by Bukhari and Muslim