Major Objectives of Fasting In the Month of Ramadan
Ramadan is the Holy month in the Islamic lunar calendar in which Muslims fast for the whole month. The fast starts from dawn till the time the sun sets. During the fast Muslims refrain from any kind of eating or drinking and abstain from sexual intercourse. The keeping of fast is mandatory upon every Muslim unless one is ill or in a journey.
Although the order of keeping fast coming from directly Allah Almighty does not leave any point to doubt for a Muslim, however, Islam encourages Muslims to ponder over the instructions of Allah, therefore, it is imperative that a Muslim try to understand the reason behind fasting.
Allah Almighty says in Quran:
“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard (against evil).” (2:183)
This ayah of Quran gives the most important single reason behind fasting. The guarding of one’s self from evil is the prime objective of fasting. Although this reason suffices the keeping of fast, however, a Muslim needs to dwell deeper to find out the other associated objectives of fasting.
The lines below discuss the different objectives that fasting in the month of Ramadan is aimed at achieving.
Doing Away With Bad Habits:
In the times of today people have developed lots of bad habits that are bad for both the character of a person as well as the health. Bad habits such as smoking, unhealthy diet, indulging in excessive eating, unhealthy sexual appetite, all are the habits which people succumb to throughout the year. With the arrival of Ramadan, for Muslims these things get forbidden for the whole month during the fast. Hence, it is when Muslims avoid all such things and to make things perfect this practice goes on for a whole month. Ergo, if anyone is looking to do away with such bad habits, then fasting in Ramadan definitely helps in achieving this objective.
Empathizing With Less Fortunate Ones:
During fast a Muslim neither eats nor drinks during the whole day for the whole month. This being deprived from food and water is perhaps the story of every other day of the people who are unfortunate and don’t have access to even the basic necessities of life such as food for eating and clean water for drinking. Thus, when a Muslim bears such kind of condition, he or she actually empathizes with what the less unfortunate go through every day and they then get to feel that how do such people live their life. This empathizing then leads to softening of their hearts and makes them more sensible as well as charitable when it comes to the less fortunate ones and their sufferings.
Appreciate The Blessings:
During any day throughout the year one does not perhaps realize in the right way the kind of blessings that Allah Almighty has bestowed upon us. We seldom realize for how long the sunlight stays, how long or short is night, what kind of satisfaction water brings, how does a single morsel of food feels when one is truly hungry. All these are blessings of Allah Almighty that are available to us throughout the year, but in Ramadan when we refrain from them, we actually learn their value of all these blessings. Hence, someone who has forgotten the blessings of Allah Almighty, during the fast realizes that there are countless of them, which we tend to ignore in our everyday life.
Health Benefits:
As discussed earlier, the eating habits of a Muslim get greatly changed with the fasting. During the fast Muslims refrain from eating, which is an excellent way of avoiding all the bad eating habits in which a person indulges throughout the year. Moreover, with fasting a person also gets to identify and realize the kind of food and its quantity that suffices for the purpose of satiation. Hence, by warding off the ills of overeating, a person actually gains health in the month of Ramadan.
Becoming A Better Muslim:
In Ramadan, you can learn to be a better Muslim which would help you in becoming closer to Allah Almighty. In the month of Ramadan, Muslims ensure regular prayers and indulge in Quran recitation as well as different types of activities of charity such as feeding people at the time of aftar. Moreover, there is also the obvious constraint of fighting evil and pursuing evil deeds. Hence, when a person refrains from evil, praises and worships Allah Almighty more, reads and recites Quran more, the ultimate result of it is the spirit of Islam finding its roots in that person which can then be carried on to the rest of the year for becoming a practicing Muslim. Therefore, keeping fast in the month of Ramadan actually lays foundation for becoming a better Muslim the practice of which can be easily applied of the rest of the year.
Social Relations:
Fasting actually helps in making the social relations stronger. It is during the month of Ramadan that all the family members gather around before Fajar to have Sehri (eating before dawn) and in the same way all the family sits together to eat and break fast at the time of Iftar. Moreover, during the whole month Muslims invite each other to do Aftar with them, which in addition to bringing them reward from Allah, also brings them closer to one another, hence making the social relations strong and healthy.
Bottom Line:
In a nutshell, refraining from evil temptations is the prime objective of keeping a fast, however, when a Muslim keeps fast for the whole month of Ramadan, it brings numerous benefits a majority of which are long lasting and go on for the whole year.
