What Is Fasting ?

should set a conscious boundary for how far to go with them. The rule is: as long as these emotions are used for lawful personal benefit, they are acceptable. But when they begin to harm others, he must stop himself from acting on them. The month of fasting has been described in Hadith as the month of patience. (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 7577) This means fasting is a form of training for living a disciplined life. Fasting enables a person to live according to principles, not without restraint. In the month of Ramadan, a person undergoes this training through fasting—and in the rest of the months, he should continue to live by what that training has taught him. It is mentioned in Hadith: “Whoever fasts but does not give up lying and acting upon lies, then God has no need for him to give up his food and drink.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 1903) This shows that the outward form of fasting is to refrain from food and drink. But the real spirit of fasting is to give up falsehood and other bad actions. Fasting is actually a form of training to avoid evil. If a person follows only the outer aspect of fasting, but does not embody its inner and moral purpose, then such a person’s fast is not valid in the eyes of Islam. All India Radio, New Delhi, 11 February 1993.