The Holy Qur’an, Chapter Two, verse 184 relates:-
The Holy Qur’an relates that the main purpose of fasting is to attain righteousness. This is very important to understand. We should not just go through the motions of going without food and drink and believe that this is ALL that is expected from us. We have to understand the real spirit behind fasting is to purify ourselves.
Allah has given us 12 months in a year, but this one month is for Allah. The idea is to develop a high standard of righteousness during this month and then keep to it throughout the year. Therefore this month is a means to help us spiritual charge our batteries, as the whole month is spent purely for Allah’s sake, not your own.
The Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said:
“Allah says: ‘Every act of man is for himself, except fasting. Fasting is for me and I Myself will reward them for it. When any of you is fasting, he should neither use vulgar language nor abuse anyone. And if someone abuses him or quarrels with him, he should only say. ‘I am fasting.’”
The Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has also said:
“He who abstains from food and drink during the period of the fast but does not restrain himself from offering a falsehood, starves himself to no purpose.”
If we do not purify ourselves as well as fast, then we are not achieving anything, likewise, if a Muslim fasts for the whole month and then reverts back to not worshiping Allah, then what has he achieved?
Fasting has been a spiritual way of development in every religion, but only Islam attaches so much importance that a whole month has been set aside for it. So when we fast, we make an intention to fast for Allah’s sake and the whole reason should be to win Allah’s pleasure and get closer to Him and become a better person.
In fact when we fast for Allah’s sake, then your direction changes as you know you are fasting to win Allah’s pleasure and with that desire, it gives you the inner strength to complete the fast, for Allah’s sake. Normally, if we go for a few hours with food or drink, then we get hunger and thirsty, but when we are fasting for Allah’s sake, then it becomes easier to go the whole day without food and drink, Alhamdulillah (all praise is due to Allah).
In Islam everything is not what we do, but why we are doing it – Allah judges us by our motives not our actions. So what is your real intention? Are you fasting for Allah’s closeness or to be seen of man? There is no point in fasting just to be seen of man!
In these materialistic days, there are many distractions for Muslims as they run after money to buy nice things and have an enjoyable life, they find it difficult to find time for prayers, to go to the Mosque or strive to win Allah’s pleasure, suddenly in this blessed month, it will hopefully give their focus back to what really is important – to win Allah’s pleasure. This is why Allah has made this month – His month. To give us all a chance to focus on Allah, to strive to win His pleasure and Nearness. So we should realise this blessing from Allah and fast to get closer to Allah and become a better person.
Ramadhan is a month that is full of blessings and purification. It helps us to become righteous, guard against evil and strive to win pleasure of Allah and do good. This is the beauty of this month that it draws people closer to Allah and helps to develop a community spirit as during this whole month all the family come together, sharing the same experience and helping one another to God.
Children see their family fasting and naturally, they too want to be part of it. From an early age they want to fast, but of course they are not meant to fast. Therefore, as part of their training, they can do it in stages i.e. fast between meals etc. The young children want to come for the prayers and the special prayer during Ramadhan, the Taraveeh prayer. And so all the family share this wonderful experience together.
When the family come to the Mosque, it gives them a chance to meet their friends and forget about problems. They have a chance to learn from the Dars (commentary of the Holy Qur’an) and find it a joy to discuss our religion and hear different views. Likewise they have a chance to come together for the Iftaris (breaking the fast) and sharing this sense of achievement with others. This in turn helps to develops a bond, close family and community.
This is why it is a blessed month as it is a month to learn and develop good habits. Through the attendance of prayers, they get into the blessed habit of being regular in going to the Mosque and it is then hoped that they will continue to make efforts to continue afterwards. Furthermore, by putting stricter control over ourselves – avoiding vain talk, backbiting, lying etc. and constantly remembering Allah and reflecting over His Greatness will help us improve ourselves.
Through spending time to read the Holy Qur’an and pondering over its message and meaning and spending time to do more religious things thereby less time on worldly distractions, as it is God’s time and spending more time to be with family, should help us to become a better person.
We are very lucky to have this wonderful blessing from Allah and must ensure that we make full use of it. Sometimes we do not appreciate blessings and take them for granted. So we should begin with the intention to not only fast – but fast for the right reasons to get closer to Allah and become a better person.