Author: Islamweb

All praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his Companions, and those who follow his guidance.

Allah, the Almighty, enjoined fasting on His servants not to torture them, nor to benefit from their fasting, as He is not in need of His servants and the acts of worship they offer. Rather, Allah enjoined fasting in order to benefit His servants in the worldly life and the Afterlife, physically and spiritually, and in relation to their morals and religion. The one who reflects on the objectives of fasting will find that these benefits are limitless and beyond description.

According to Ibn Al-Qayyim, fasting acts like a rein for pious people, a protection for fighters, and a sport for righteous people and those drawing close to Allah. It is also offered for the sake of Allah more than any other act of worship and is considered a secret that no one else sees between Allah and His servant only. Fasting has an amazing impact on guarding the outward body parts and inward powers and protecting them from anything that may spoil them or make them unsound. Fasting protects the heart and the organs and restores to them that which illegal desires have stolen from them, as fasting is the greatest helper with piety.

We can gather the benefits of fasting in five main categories that include more than what the titles indicate. These benefits include the following:

First: Protecting the Muslim from Diseases:

Fasting maintains the power of Allah’s servant and protects him from the diseases which are caused by repletion and satiety, as the stomach is the home of disease and diet is the basis of remedy. Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah reported from Al-Miqdam bin Ma‘d Yakrib (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allah () say, “No man fills a utensil worse than his stomach. A few morsels that keep his back upright are sufficient for a man. If eating is necessary, he should fill one-third with food, one-third with drink, and leave one-third for easy breathing.” (Sahih Al-Jami‘, 5674)

At-Tabarani’s book “Al-Mu‘jam Al-Awsat” stated that Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet () said, “Fight in the cause of Allah so that you may gain spoils, fast so that you may be healthy, and travel so that you may get rich.” (Al-Haithami said that the reporters of this Hadith are trustworthy, but the scholars differed about its authenticity.)

It was said that eating before the digestion of previously-eaten food ruins people and causes the death of beasts in the wilderness.

A poet said:

Three things ruin people,

And cause the healthy to be ill,

Drinking wine, having sexual intercourse frequently,

And eating before the digestion of previously-eaten food.

Second: Fasting Protects Morals from Vice

The fullness of one’s stomach leads to the arousal of desires and enables Satan to control the person and lead him to sins, evils, and abominable acts, as satiety and gluttony lead to all evils. We should learn a lesson from Prophet Adam. Al-Qurtubi said, “Whenever a person decreases the amount of food he eats, his desire will be weak; whenever the desire becomes weak, acts of disobedience will decrease.”

When the stomach becomes full, the person becomes inclined to acts of disobedience and oppression, but when a person fasts, he becomes clam, tenderhearted, and tranquil. Therefore, the person who fasts is protected from all evils, preserved from all abominable acts, and guarded from all pitfalls. The Sahih Books of Hadith (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) stated the following Hadith, “Fasting is a protection against sins.” Ibn Mas‘oud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah () said, “One who can afford to marry should marry, because it will help him refrain from looking at other women and save his private parts from committing illegal sexual relations; and one who cannot afford to marry is advised to fast, as fasting will diminish his sexual power.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Fasting guards the servant’s organs, as Jabir ibn Abdullah said, “If you fast, then let your hearing, sight, and tongue refrain from lying and forbidden deeds; do not annoy your servant, and be dignified and tranquil on the day of your fast; do not let the day when you fast and the day when you do not fast be the same.”

A poet said:

If I do not protect my hearing from evil,

Lower my gaze and stop speaking ill of people,

I will not gain from my fasting except hunger and thirst,

Even if I say that I am fasting, actually I am not.

Al-Musnad and Sahih Al-Bukhari stated that Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet () said, “Unless one abandons falsehood and indecent deeds, Allah will have no need in his abstaining from food and drink.”

Third: Willpower and Self-Control

The fasting person should not be controlled by greed, should not be stirred by anger, should not be deluded by a doubtful matter, and should not submit to his desires. The one who does these acts is a strong person. The Two Sahih Books of Hadith stated the Prophet’s saying, “The strong man is not one who is good at wrestling, but the strong man is one who controls himself in a fit of rage.”

It was reported in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet () said, “When any one of you gets up in the morning in the state of fasting, he should avoid having sexual relations with his wife and should not behave foolishly and impudently, and if somebody fights with him or abuses him, he should tell him twice, ‘I am fasting.’”

When the fasting person’s desire is aroused, he should constrain it; if he has an inclination towards something evil, he should stop and control it with piety and religiousness. However, the person who does not fast may be controlled by his desire and evil inclinations.

A poet said:

When a person gets seduced and follows his desires,

He loses his protection and shield,

The person who follows his desires is like a slave,

While the one who controls them is like a king.

Fourth: Gaining Piety

The intent of the acts of worship and the result of the acts of obedience is piety, according to Allah’s saying: “O mankind, worship your Lord, Who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous.” (Quran 2: 21)

Piety is also one of the greatest objectives of fasting, as fasting is the main act that leads to piety. Moreover, the person who fasts in the manner prescribed by the Messenger of Allah should attain piety, as Allah, the Almighty, says: “O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.” (Quran 2: 183)

A poet said:

Piety is actually honor and nobility,

Your Love of the worldly life indicates humiliation and ailment,

The pious servant does not have any shortcoming,

If he attains piety, whatever wavers in his soul.

Fifth: Attaining the Status of Perfection:

This is the highest status in religion, according to Jibril’s famous Hadith. He said, “What is Ihsan (perfection)?” Allah's Messenger () replied, “It is to worship Allah as if you were seeing Him, and even if you do not see Him, He certainly sees you.”

Fasting involves watching over oneself; the fasting person does not eat or drink while fasting although he sees food while being very hungry and sees water while being very thirsty, and no one sees him (i.e., no one truly knows whether he is legitimately fasting or not). This is because he knows that Allah sees him and he deals with Allah from this perspective. Is there any Muraqabah (awareness that Allah is watching) or perfection better than this?

Sincerity… Fasting Is for Me:

Due to the above-mentioned reasons, fasting is an act of worship offered sincerely to Allah Alone, as Allah singles it out for Himself. Although all the other acts of worship are also done for the sake of Allah, fasting has some degree of peculiarity with regard to sincerity over any other act of worship. This is in accordance with the Divine Hadith which states, “All the deeds of Adam's sons (people) are for them, except for fasting, which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.”

Imam Ibn Hajar stated in “Al-Fat-h,” and Imam An-Nawawi stated in “Sharh Sahih Muslim” that fasting is far from hypocrisy and is like a secret between a person and his Lord which on one can see but Allah.

These are some of the objectives and benefits of fasting, which include many other points that I have not mentioned, as the benefits of fasting are limitless and too famous to be mentioned. O Allah, make us benefit from fasting and Qiyam (late night prayers), cause us to fulfill its objectives and gain its benefits, accept our good deeds, forgive our sins, and save us from Hell. Amen.