FASTING AND MORAL DISCIPLINE

According to Abu Huraira, the Prophet of Islam once observed: “When any one of you is fasting, he should refrain from all indecencies. He should not raise his voice. If anyone fights with him or abuses him, he should not retaliate, but simply say that he is fasting.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 1894)

This tradition tells us that fasting does not entail merely abstaining from food and drink, but rather demands that man should renounce all evil. If he is to shun his evil ways, he should not shout at people or allow himself to be provoked by each and every irritating circumstance. This shows that fasting is not just a ritual but aims rather at producing the true spirit within a man; which may change his thinking and his temperament; thus, bringing about a transformation in his character. In this way, fasting can change the entire personality of a person so that it becomes spiritual in nature.

 

True fasting makes a person sincere to the ultimate extent. Every aspect of his personality is coloured by his seriousness. He is not upset in the slightest by the gravest of provocations. No amount of provocation deflects him from the right path, and he becomes a peaceful member of society. He turns into a truly modest instead of an arrogant person and does not create problems for others. 

The individual who fasts in the real spirit will not give up eating and drinking while at the same time failing to abstain from immoral behaviour. His fasting will have no meaning if, when he changes the timings of his regular intake of food and drink, he does nothing to change an immoderate way of life. True fasting necessarily inculcates moral discipline in a person.