Dr Zakir Naik: Yes there are a few Sunnahs of the Prophet which many Muslims avoid thinking it will break their fast or it is makrooh and the most important Sunnah of the Prophet which people avoid during Ramadhaan is using the Siwaak, using the toothstick many Muslims feel that if they use this, it is makrooh.
The main reason is there is a Hadith of Muhammad (saws), a Hadith which is mentioned in,
Sahih Bukhari vol. no. 3 book of fasting Hadith no. 1904 that the beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) said:
"I swear by Allah in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad (pbuh) that the breath of the person who fasts is more sweeter to Allah than the scent of musk"
Now based on this Hadith many Muslims think that if they use the siwaak the breath, the bad breath or the foul breath of the person who fasts will not be there and it will not please Allah that's the reason they avoid using siwaak. Now these people fail to realize that when we use the stick, siwaak, it does not remove the breath the foul breath or the breath which people normally don't like of the person who fasts. The siwaak mainly brushes the gums it cleans the teeth it helps in keeping the teeth healthy but in no way does it reduce the breath especially of the person who fasts and furthermore there's a Sunnah of the Prophet where Prophet Muhammad (saws), he said:
It's mentioned in Sahih Bukhari Vol. no. 2 Hadith no. 887
Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) said that
"If it wouldn't have been too hard for my ummah, I would have made it compulsory for them to use the siwaak, the tooth stick before every prayer"
Or to use the toothstick while doing wudhu like how wudhu is a requirement before salaah, the Prophet, if it wouldn't have been too difficult for the ummah, he would have made it compulsory to use the tooth stick and here he did not mentioned any exceptions other wise he would have said I would have made it compulsory for my Ummah except during fasting. This important Sunnah surely if this would have been makrooh while fasting or would have nullified the fast, surely he would have mentioned it. So this proves that this is an important Sunnah, Muslims should continue doing it even when the month of Ramadhaan even while fasting it will not nullify the fast it is not makrooh infact it is mustahab, it's encouraged.
And the other important Sunnah which people neglect or avoid mainly fearing that it will spoil their fast or nullify their fast is putting water in the nostril sniffing the water normally especially during wudhu. So many of the Muslim even when they wudhu they just get the water close to the nose and touch the tip of the nose to the water, that's it. They don't put the water into the nostrils and they clean their nose they don't sniff it which is a requirement for wudhu thinking that is they sniff, it may break their fast. Water entering through your nose into the throat will nullify the fast but the chances are very negligible. What our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) said,
It's mentioned in Sahih Hadith of Abu Dawood vol. no. 2 Hadith no. 2360 our beloved Prophet said that
"When you do wudhu sniff the water excessively except in fasting"
So normally when we do wudhu we sniff the water excessively except in fasting because in fasting if we sniff excessively there are chances though very negligible for it to enter the throat and nullify your fast. But normally when we put water in the nostrils there are no chances of it going in the throat. So the only care that we have to take while fasting is, don't sniff excessively but we have to put the water in the nostril and clean the nostril which is important Sunnah which many of the Muslims neglect and they avoid it especially during wudhu and here since the Prophet clearly mentioned except fasting. During the Siwaak, he said "I would have made it compulsory had it not been difficult for my Ummah". There because he doesn't say fasting, it means siwaak can be used while fasting and sniffing should not be done excessively, but normally water should be put in the nostrils while doing wudhu. So these two important Sunnahs which people out of ignorance, they avoid during fasting.
PLEASE VISIT OUR OFFICIAL WEBSITES
www.irf.net
www.facebook.com/zakirnaik
www.plus.google.com/+Drzakirchannel
www.twitter.com/zakirnaikirf
www.youtube.com/drzakirchannel
