Wisdom Behind Fasting- Part 1

by Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Saalih Al-’Uthaimeen

From the wisdom of fasting is that: It is an act of worship done for Allaah, 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 Allaah become apparent, as well as his love for Allaah and his longing for what Allaah 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 Allaah). When the believer knows that Allaah’s contentmentl ies in the fasting- which is abandoning those desires that he naturallyloves- 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 tranquility of his soul lies in his abandoning all that for the sake of Allaah. Because of this, many of the believers- if one of them were to be beaten or forced to break his fast during a day in Ramadaan without a valid excuse, he would not break his fast. So this is from the greatest and most profound aspects of wisdom behind fasting.

Source:
Majaalis Shahr Ramadaan pgs. 41-43

Taken from Benefit of the Day- Ramadan 1429