Fasting: Moral Discipline

This Hadith explains the spirit of fasting. It shows that giving up food and drink in Ramadan is a symbolic act. The temporary fasting from food trains a person for another, more permanent kind of fasting. Through this small physical restraint, a person is being prepared for a much broader form of self-restraint. An Islamic life is essentially a fasting-style life. Islam teaches that a person should not live without limits. He must know the difference between halal and haram. He should speak kind and gentle words and avoid rude or harsh speech. He should deal with others justly and stay away from injustice. He should fulfill people’s rights and avoid violating them. Fasting acts as a yearly course that trains a person to live in society with moral discipline. A life of moral discipline demands unilateral patience. It is only possible when a person remains calm even after facing unpleasant behaviour from others. He forgives their wrongs and continues to treat them justly. This is a difficult test. That’s why, in Ramadan, a person is made to practice patience with something as basic as eating and drinking. Because when someone learns to bear a big hardship, smaller ones become easier to handle. It is mentioned in a Hadith that a believer and his faith are like a horse tied to a post with a rope. The horse roams around but eventually returns to the post. (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 11335) Fasting is like such a restraint.