{"id":1133,"date":"2025-01-08T23:19:40","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T23:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.sooqiq.com\/our-fasting-as-it-should-be\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T12:50:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:50:01","slug":"our-fasting-as-it-should-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-sabhany.com\/en\/our-fasting-as-it-should-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Fasting \u2026 Between Aspiration and Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets.\n

\nIt is from the wisdom of Allah Almighty that the preservation of life and the continuation of humankind pass through innate, built-in instincts. Yet, the regulation and discipline of these instincts come through external legislative and moral directives. This is the unique quality of human beings, and perhaps the secret behind their responsibility (takl\u012bf) and their honor.\n

\nHuman existence on earth depends on responding to these instincts that sustain life (such as eating and drinking) \u2014 in other words, on consumption. The revealed texts affirm respect for this natural disposition and call for the consumption of wholesome things:\n\u201cSay, \u2018Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good provisions?\u2019\u201d (al-A\u02bfr\u0101f 32).\nThey also call for moderation: \u201cEat and drink but do not be extravagant\u201d (al-A\u02bfr\u0101f 31).\n

\nThus, the principle is functional moderation: consumption restricted to what is wholesome, sufficient to sustain human physical, intellectual, and spiritual energy. This moderation is required in daily life, in Ramadan and outside of it. So what, then, is new with fasting?\n

\nFasting: Beyond Abstinence\n

\nFasting is abstaining from physical nullifiers and pledging to avoid moral nullifiers as well. It is a voluntary act of self-control, guided by intention and awareness, to attain the purpose: \u201cthat you may attain taqw\u0101 (piety)\u201d.\n

\nIt is an ethical and educational practice to build self-will and refine the skills of discipline, such that the children of this Ummah become like \u201cplants nurtured by discipline and resolve, not by mere rope and restraint.\u201d Whoever can restrain himself in Ramadan from the lawful and permissible will be even more capable of avoiding the unlawful and prohibited.\n

\nThe instinct to preserve humankind through reproduction is also honored by Islam, which venerates marriage as a noble, lawful bond grounded in natural and psychological complementarity, producing a blessed lineage worthy of vicegerency on earth. Ramadan, in turn, serves as a training ground to restrain even the lawful, so that society may fortify itself against distortions of this natural order. Through such training, the Muslim community rises above deviant behaviors that contradict the fitrah and plunge into immorality: no to homosexuality, no to fornication, no to illicit liaisons. A society that disregards or undermines the family is a society that dooms itself to extinction.\n

\nHuman needs \u2014 sustenance to preserve life, and reproduction to preserve existence \u2014 require yet another demand: strength. It is instinctive for a mother to muster her strength to protect her children, and for a father to gather his strength to safeguard his family. This is a natural law observable in the animal kingdom, and humankind is no exception.\n

\nStrength, therefore, is necessary \u2014 but only in the measure and direction required for protection of the individual and the community. Fasting is training in the discipline of strength. We learn this from the Prophet\u2019s words \ufdfa: \u201cDo not become angry\u201d (al-Bukh\u0101r\u012b, 5765), for anger pushes strength beyond its proper role, turning it into destructive violence. Likewise, the Prophet \ufdfa said: \u201cThe strong one is not the one who defeats others in wrestling; the strong one is he who controls himself at the time of anger\u201d (al-Bukh\u0101r\u012b, 5763).\n

\nThe truly strong person is the one who resists provocation: \u201cIf someone abuses him or quarrels with him, let him say: I am fasting.\u201d\nThe strong person is the one who, while fasting, refrains from obscenity and sin.\nThe strong person is he who fasts until he masters himself, not one mastered by his desires.\nThe strong person knows where his strength must be directed \u2014 in obedience to divine commands: March forth, fight, strive.\n

\nFrom here, we understand why forbearance is the master of virtues, and why it is a quality beloved to Allah. From here, we understand why the Qur\u2019an describes believers as \u201chumble toward the believers, firm against the disbelievers\u201d (al-M\u0101\u02beidah 54). From here, too, we see the Prophetic ambition that noble character becomes a widespread social reality in the community, not merely a poetic ideal.\n

\nThus, fasting is not passive abstention; it is intellectual insight into the self, and conscious will to control it. As Shawq\u012b said:\n

\n\u201cThe reform of your state lies in morality \u2026 so discipline the self with morals and it will be upright.\u201d\n

\nExpected Outcomes\n

\nThe greatest hoped-for outcome of this discipline is purification (tazkiyah) and empowerment \u2014 in one word: taqw\u0101. Master yourself in Ramadan, and you will master yourself after Ramadan. Master yourself \u2026 and you may master the world around you.\n

\nOther fruits of this spiritual training include:\n

\nPhysical health: easing the burden on the digestive and circulatory systems, stimulating immunity, and reducing excess fat.\n

\nFinancial prudence: spending less, curbing consumption, and achieving balance.\n

\nTime management: freeing hours for worship, reading, and cultural refinement.\n

\nThe Harsh Reality\n

\nYet reality reveals a shocking contradiction. Ramadan has, in many contexts, turned into a massive consumer carnival. Consumption increases in both volume and cost. As spending grows, demand rises, and markets become ripe for monopolistic practices. Instead of prices falling \u2014 as \u02bfUmar ibn al-Kha\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101b instructed when advising to leave markets to regulate themselves \u2014 they soar because of the rush to shop.\n

\nOn the level of self-discipline, Allah indeed grants success to many, praise be to Him. Yet, it is also evident that some are overcome by anger and irritability during fasting, lashing out for trivial reasons \u2014 as though fasting were a burden upon Allah rather than a blessing upon them.\n

\nHealth-wise, while many benefit from fasting\u2019s restorative effects, others squander these benefits with over-consumption and heavy indulgence. Financially, consumer spending often increases to levels beyond income, leading to debt, especially when Qur\u2019anic guidance \u2014 \u201c\u2026Let the wealthy spend from his wealth, and let him whose provision is restricted spend from what Allah has given him. Allah does not burden a soul except with what He has given it \u2026\u201d (al-\u1e6cal\u0101q 7) \u2014 is ignored.\n

\nTime, too, which could be dedicated to greater spiritual growth, is often absorbed by shopping, food preparation, and social distractions.\n

\nInstitutionalizing Charitable Spending\n
\nRamadan heightens compassion and makes people more aware of the needs of the poor. Muslims are generous, motivated by strong faith and divine rewards. What is lacking is not the spirit of giving, but the institutionalization of charity.\n

\nWe need structured systems for zakat, charitable spending, enjoining good, and righteous initiatives. Concepts such as the charitable meal, coupon, soup kitchen, or delivery service all exist in the Muslim conscience, but without institutional frameworks they remain scattered ideas. Effective cooperation and collective organization are needed so that these resources reach those most deserving.\n

\nIndeed, pioneering experiments in the Muslim world, past and present, are worthy of study, appreciation, and emulation.\n

\nAnd Allah, the Lord of Might, is exalted above what they ascribe to Him. Peace be upon the Messengers, and praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.<\/p>\n

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