Is it True that the Reward for Fasting Cannot Be Taken Away by Others on the Day of Judgement?

Answered by Shaykh Abdullah Anik Misra

Question

Is it true that fasting is the one good deed that other people can’t take from you on the Day of Judgement?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

I have not found anything to prove that fasting is the only deed that other people cannot be taken from one’s account on the Day of Judgement.

On the contrary, there is a rigorously authenticated hadith in Sahih Muslim, narrated by Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“Do you all know who the bankrupt person is?” The people around him said, “The bankrupt person, according to us, is the one who has no coin or possession.” So he replied, “The bankrupt of my Ummah is the one who will come on the Day of Judgement with prayer, and fasting, the zakat; he comes, but he also berated this person, and falsely accused that person, and embezzled the money of this other person, and spilt the blood of yet another person, and struck that one. So he will give this person from his good deeds, and that person from his good deeds, and if his good deeds run out before he pays back what is upon him, the sins of those people will be taken and thrown onto him, then he will be flung into the Hellfire.” [Muslim]

Therefore, this indicates that fasting and its reward can be given to another person on the Day of Judgement in light of wrongs that were done to that person in this world.

Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdullah Anik Misra
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Abdullah Misra was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1983. His family hails from India, and he was raised in the Hindu tradition. He embraced Islam in 2001 while at the University of Toronto, from where he completed a Bachelor of Business Administration. He then traveled overseas in 2005 to study the Arabic language and Islamic sciences in Tarim, Yemen, for some time, as well as Darul Uloom in Trinidad, West Indies. He spent 12 years in Amman, Jordan, where he focused on Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith Sciences, Prophetic Biography, and Islamic Spirituality while also working at the Qasid Arabic Institute as Director of Programs. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies (Alimiyya, Darul Uloom) and authorization in the six authentic books of Hadith and is currently pursuing specialized training in issuing Islamic legal verdicts (ifta’). He holds a certificate in Counselling and often works with new Muslims and those struggling with religious OCD. He is an instructor and researcher in Sacred Law and Theology with the SeekersGuidance The Global Islamic Seminary. Currently, He resides in the Greater Toronto Area with his wife and children. His personal interests include Indian history, comparative religion, English singing, and poetry.