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The Purpose of Fasting
October 13, 2006 on 2:43 pm | In Islam, Sawm, Tazkiyyah| By Ilm Seeker
One of the verses of the Qur'an we hear all the time in the context of fasting is this one:
Translation: O you who believe! Allah prescribed fasting upon you, as it He prescribed for those before you, that you may attain taqwa (piety, God-consciousness). [Al-Baqarah, 2:183]
Those last two words summarize the entire purpose of fasting: to attain taqwa.
We hear about taqwa all the time, this beautiful concept of being conscious of God (or being "God-fearing"). But what does it really mean? How can we apply it to our daily lives, and how do we earn it through fasting?
The answer is this--something we've all experienced at one time or another during our fast. We say things like "I won't argue with you, I'm fasting." "Oops, I can't lie, I'm fasting." "Wait, I can't do that, I'm fasting." Sometimes it happens deliberately--we acquire a sensitivity to things we can and cannot do. We can't eat. We can't drink. We can't lie. We can't backbite. We can't argue. We can't do so many things!
And that's taqwa! To be conscious of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), to remember Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) at all times and in all things, and to perform that which He perscribed and likes and to avoid that which He hates and prohibits.
In Ramadaan, we suddenly experience a "taqwa rush", as we grapple with the task of fasting one month straight. Some of us struggle. Yet we do it.
Our goal is to maintain and nurture that taqwa, and to cling to it outside of Ramadan as well as inside.
May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) grant us all increased taqwa and help us to benefit from this great and blessed month, ameen!
Related Posts:- So Why Are You Fasting?
- THE Purpose of Creation
- Ramadan Mubarak!
- Fasting in Muharram
- A River of Purity (Salat 101)
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Ramadan Kareem! and Jazak Allah khair for your website… it is very beneficial!
Comment by Eshev — September 12, 2007 #
dear brother asalam alikom
i need ur immediate help with my son’s homework today.
he has to write “taa’beer” about
“The importance of the month of Ramadan, Sawm, Reading Quran, and Salath-at-taraweeh, and zakah.”
will u pls write a few lines in Arabic text, so that he can copy it in his notebook.
jazakAllah khaira
ur sis in islam
@ia
Comment by @ia — September 25, 2007 #
Wa’alikum as-salaam,
We don’t encourage plagiarism (copying and pasting and claiming it’s your own), nor are any of us fluent in Arabic; so seek assistance from Allah, for He is Al-Aleem (the all-knowing), Al-Mujeeb (the one who answers when He is called)
Comment by Ilm Seeker — September 25, 2007 #