Fasting for Gratitude and Penitence

FASTING FOR GRATITUDE AND PENITENCE a special month of training meant to engender all those qualities desirable in Islam. The Encyclopedia Britannica has this to say in the chapter on fasting: “The month of Ramadan in Islam is observed as a period of penitence and total fasting from dawn to dusk. (Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume IV. p. 62) Penitence, undoubtedly an important part of Islam, so permeates the entire Islamic system that no Islamic act, including fasting, is devoid of this spirit. While enjoining fasting, in the following verses, the Quran tells us that its special significance in the month of Ramadan is developing gratitude as well as penitence: “Believers, fasting has been prescribed for you, just as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard yourself against evil. … so that you may glorify Him for His having guided you and so that you may be grateful to Him.” (The Quran, 2:183, 185)