Author: Shaykh ibn al-'Uthaymeen, may All�h have mercy upon him
From the wisdom of fasting is that: It is an act of
worship done for All�h, in which the 'abd (servant) draws closer to His
Lord by abandoning the things that he loves and desires, such as food,
drink and sexual intercourse. So because of this, the truthfulness of
his Faith and the completeness of his servitude to All�h become
apparent, as well as his love for All�h and his longing for what All�h
has prepared for him (of good). This is since the one who fasts does not
abandon something that is beloved to him except for that which is
greater to him than it (which is All�h). When the believer knows that
All�h's contentment lies in the fasting - which is abandoning those
desires that he naturally loves - he will give his Lord's contentment
precedence over his desires. So he abandons his desires no matter how
much he longs and yearns for them, because his delight and the
tranquillity of his soul lies in his abandoning all that for the sake of
All�h.
And from the wisdom behind fasting is that it is a means of attaining
taqw� (become God-fearing), as All�h says:
"O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was
prescribed for those who came before you; that you will perhaps
be God-fearing." [Al-Qur'�n
2:183]
This is since a person who is fasting is commanded to do the
obligatory duties and to avoid sinful acts. The Prophet, peace be
upon him, said:
"Whoever does not abandon false speech, acting upon that (false speech)
and (acts of) ignorance (i.e. sins), then All�h has no need of him
abandoning his food and drink." [Reported by al-Im�m
al-Bukh�r�]
So when a
person is fasting, every time he desires to do a sinful act, he will
remember that he is fasting and thus withhold himself from that. This is
why the Prophet, peace be upon him, ordered the person who is fasting, when cursed at
and abused, to say: "I am fasting", cautioning him that a
person fasting is commanded to refrain from cursing and reviling, and
reminding himself that he is fasting and cannot react with cursing.
And from the wisdom behind fasting is that the heart opens to
contemplation and remembrance (of All�h). This is since fulfilling
one's desires leads to heedlessness and perhaps the heart becomes
hardened and blinded from the truth. This is why the Prophet, upon
whom be peace,
advised us to eat and drink little, where he said:
"The Son of �dam
does not fill a vessel worse than his stomach." [Reported by Ahmad,
an-Nas�'�
and Ibn M�jah]
And in Sah�h Muslim, Handhala
al-Usaid�, may All�h be pleased with him, who was one of the
scribes of All�h's Messenger, said to the Prophet, peace be upon him:
"Handhala has
become a hypocrite."
So All�h's Messenger said:
"Why is that?"
He said:
"O Messenger of
All�h, when we are with you, you remind us of
the Hellfire and Paradise, as if we see them with our own eyes. But when
we depart from you, we meet our wives and our children and our homes and
we forget much (of what we heard from you)."
In the last part of the
had�th, the Prophet said to him:
"But O Handhala, there is a
time for this and a time for that. There is a time for this and a time
for that. There is a time for this and a time for that."
Abu Sulaym�n ad-Dar�n�
said:
"Indeed, when the soul hungers and thirsts, the heart softens and
becomes pure. And when it is fed, the heart becomes blinded."
And from the wisdom behind fasting is that the person who has wealth is
caused to realize the blessing of wealth that All�h has bestowed on
him, such that All�h blessed him with food, drink and sexual
intercourse. Many people are deprived of these things, so he should
praise All�h for these blessings and thank Him for granting him them.
And he should remember his brother who is poor and who probably goes
through the day starved and hungry. So he should be generous to him and
give him charity so that he can clothe his barrenness and satisfy his
hunger.
And from the wisdom behind fasting is that it trains one to curb the
soul, and it gives one strength to withhold his soul by its bridle, such
that one can govern it and lead it towards that which is good for it and
what will make it prosper. This is because the soul commands one to do
evil, except for those souls that my Lord has mercy on. So when a person
undoes and lets go of his (soul's) bridle, the soul lands him into many
dangers. But when he controls it and curbs it, he is able to lead it to
the highest of levels and the greatest of goals.
And from the wisdom of fasting is that the soul is broken down and
restricted from having pride, to the point that it humbles itself to the
truth and softens itself before the creation. This is because eating,
drinking and having sexual intercourse with women - all of these things
bring about insolence, arrogance, vanity and pride over people and over
the truth. The soul preoccupies itself with trying to obtain these
things because of its need for them. So when it obtains these things,
the soul feels like it has conquered what it desired and so it falls
into the happiness and pride that is condemned. And this is a cause
for its destruction. Only those whom All�h protects are saved from
this.
And from the wisdom behind fasting is that the passageways of blood (in
the body) become narrow due to hunger and thirst, so therefore the
passageways of the Devil in the human body also become narrower. This is
since the Devil flows through the son of Adam like the flowing of blood,
as is authentically recorded in the two authentic collections. So by
fasting, the whisperings of the Devil are subdued and the strength of
one's desires and anger are subjugated. This is why the Prophet,
peace be upon him,
said:
"O young men! Whoever amongst you can afford it, should get
married, for it is the best means for lowering one's gaze and the best
way of keeping (one's) private parts chaste. But whoever is not able to
marry, then let him fast, for it has protection."
And from the wisdom behind fasting are the health benefits that come as
a result of it, which are attained by in-taking little food, allowing
the digestive system to rest for a specified time, which lets excess
wastes and excrements that are harmful to the body be discharged.