Fasting is Mine…

 On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه و سلم ), who said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says:

Fasting is Mine and it is I who give reward for it. [A man] gives up his sexual passion, his food and his drink for my sake. Fasting is like a shield, and he who fasts has two joys: a joy when he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. The change in the breath of the mouth of him who fasts is better in Allah’s estimation than the smell of musk.

Hadith Qudsi, related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah).

(Hadith Qudsi are the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) as revealed to him by the Almighty Allah. Hadith Qudsi (or Sacred Hadith) are so named because, unlike the majority of Hadith which are Prophetic Hadith, their authority (Sanad) is traced back not to the Prophet but to the Almighty.)*