Why was fasting singled out when Allaah said, “Fasting is for Me and I shall reward for it?”

 

What is special about fasting so that Allaah singled it out when He said, “Fasting is for Me and I shall reward for it?”.

Praise be to Allaah.

Al-Bukhaari (1761) and Muslim (1946) narrated that Abu
Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah said: ‘Every deed
of the son of Adam is for him except fasting; it is for Me and I shall
reward for it…’” 

Because all deeds are for the sake of Allaah and He is the
One Who rewards for them, the scholars differed concerning this phrase,
“Fasting is for Me and I shall reward for it” – why is fasting singled out
in this manner? 

Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) quoted the
views of ten scholars who sought to explain the meaning of this hadeeth and
why fasting was singled out in this manner. The most important of these
views are as follows: 

1 – That there is no showing off in fasting as may happen in
other acts of worship. Al-Qurtubi said: Because showing off may enter into
all good deeds, but no one can see when a person is fasting except Allaah,
so Allaah connected it to Himself. Hence He said in the hadeeth, “He gives
up his desire for My sake.” Ibn al-Jawzi said: All acts of worship can be
seen when done, and they may be contaminated with some element of showing
off, unlike fasting. 

2 – That what is meant by the words, “I shall reward for it”
is: I am the only One Who knows the extent of his reward and how much his
hasanaat (good deeds) will be multiplied. Al-Qurtubi said: What this means
is that the amount of reward for good deeds may become known to people, and
they will be rewarded between ten and seven hundred fold, and as much as
Allaah wants, except fasting, for Allaah will reward it without measure.
This is supported by a report narrated by Muslim (115) from Abu Hurayrah
(may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Every deed of the son of
Adam will be rewarded between ten and seven hundred fold. Allaah said:
‘Except fasting, for it is for Me and I shall reward for it’” – i.e., I
shall reward it greatly, without specifying how much. This is like the verse
in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in
full, without reckoning”

[al-Zumar 39:10] 

3 – That what is meant by “fasting is for Me” is that it is
the dearest of acts of worship to Me. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said: The words
“Fasting is for Me” are sufficient to indicate the superiority of fasting
over all other acts of worship. Al-Nasaa’i (2220) narrated that Abu Umaamah
said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “You should fast, for there is nothing like it.” Classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa’i. 

4 – That fasting is mentioned in conjunction with Allaah by
way of honouring, as we say, “the House of Allaah,” although all houses
belong to Allaah. Al-Zayn ibn al-Muneer said: giving a specific meaning to
something general in a context such as this can only be understood as being
by way of honouring. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

This hadeeth points to the virtue of fasting in numerous
ways: 

1 – Allaah singled out fasting for Himself from all other
good deeds, because of its honoured status before Him, because He loves it
and because it is a demonstration of sincerity towards Him, as it is a
secret between a person and his Lord, which no one can see except Allaah.
The fasting person may be in a place with no other people around, and he
could eat or drink that which Allaah has forbidden to the fasting person,
but he does not do that, because he knows that he has a Lord Who can see him
even though he is alone and Who has forbidden that to him. So he forsakes it
for the sake of Allaah and fearing His punishment, seeking His reward.
Because of that, Allaah appreciates his sincerity and singled out fasting
for Himself from among all other good deeds. Hence He said: “He gives up his
desires and his food for My sake.”  

The benefit of this singling out will be seen on the Day of
Resurrection, as Sufyaan ibn ‘Uyaynah said: When the Day of Resurrection
comes, Allaah will bring His slave to account and will settle any scores
outstanding from the rest of his deeds, until when there is nothing left but
fasting, Allaah will settle the matter and will admit him to Paradise by
virtue of his fasting. 

2 – Allaah said concerning fasting: “I shall reward him for
it.” So he connected the reward for fasting to Himself, because the reward
for righteous deeds is mentioned by number, and a good deed will be rewarded
between ten and seven hundred fold, many times. But with regard to fasting,
Allaah connected the reward to Himself without specifying any number. Allaah
is the most generous of those who are generous, and the gift reflects the
generosity of the giver. So the reward of the one who fasts will be very
great, without reckoning. Fasting is patience in obeying Allaah, patience in
keeping away from the things forbidden by Allaah, and patience in bearing
the decree of Allaah, hunger, thirst, physical and mental weakness. So it
combines all three types of patience, thus the fasting person deserves to be
counted as one of the patient, and Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in
full, without reckoning”

[al-Zumar 39:10]  

Majaalis Shahr Ramadaan, p. 13 

And Allaah knows best.