APRIL 3

Fasting—A Means of
Spiritual Purification

The month of fasting is a period of spiritual purification. A time of proximity to the Lord, it is a special month of training meant to engender all those qualities desirable in Islam. The Encyclopaedia Britannica has this to say in the chapter on fasting:

The month of Ramadan in Islam is observed as a period of penitence and total fasting from dawn to dusk. (IV/62)

Penitence, undoubtedly an important part of Islam, so permeates the entire Islamic system, that no Islamic act, including fasting, is devoid of this spirit.

However, while enjoining fasting, the Quran tells us that its special significance in the month of Ramadan is thanksgiving as well as penitence.

It was in the month of Ramadan that the first revelations of the Quranic verses came down to the Prophet. It was a great blessing of God that He revealed this guidance in the form of the Quran so that it might be a true guide for man. That is why this month came to be held as one of thanksgiving for the believers.

‘Taqwa’ (God-fearing life) means a cautious life. Success for man in both worlds lies in his invariably adopting the path of caution in all matters of life. It is taqwa, a guarded, disciplined life, that is the goal of fasting.

Fasting, an experience of powerlessness despite the possession of power is an annual exercise in self-discipline. And only that person has fasted, in the true sense of the word, who emerges from the experience not only a thankful and pious devotee of Allah but also a human being in complete control of his thoughts, words and deeds.