In answer to a query by a dear friend, we consider here the cryptic and comprehensive pronouncement of the Quran about the philosophy of fasting and its universal and perennial relevance for the Divinely prescribed spirituo-moral regimen. The Quran says:

O you who believe, fasting has been made obligatory for you even as it was made obligatory for those before you so that you may inculcate in you the virtue of taqwa. (2:183)

The ayah says that fasting has been prescribed for believers as a means to attain to taqwa. Taqwa is generally rendered in English as piety or fear (and love) of God. A better and more comprehensive rendering will be God-consciousness i.e. to be ever conscious of the presence of God as one lives from moment to moment. The Quran itself, in the very first verses of surah al-Baqarah (s.2) defines the men of taqwa (muttaqun) in terms of their essential attributes. Their first attribute is that they believe in al-ghaib (the Unseen). That is to say that they are not as narrow-minded as to believe that nothing exists beyond the sensible reality. In other words they are not mere materialists. Secondly they establish salah, the system of prayer – the arrangement that ensures continuous and unbroken contact of the believer with the Ultimate Reality. Thirdly they spend for Allah’s sake out of whatever they have been gifted with, of wealth, knowledge and other capabilities. They do not live for their own selves alone but for the welfare and betterment of others as well. Fourthly they believe that man may be able to fulfil his animal needs on his own but if he wants to fulfil his human destiny and realise his moral and spiritual potential he has to turn to the guidance of Revelation. Fifthly and finally they believe that life continues beyond death and man shall render the account of his deeds in the next phase of life – akhirah.

Anyone who considers the discipline of fasting will immediately realise as to how it helps create the virtue of taqwa. You willingly renounce the so lovable ease and comfort of the last part of the night and the small hours of the morning to eat something in spite of yourself. For the whole day you restrain yourself from eating and drinking and other lawful pleasures simply because Allah has willed so and you believe that you are continuously under His watch and you do all this to earn His pleasure and to earn salvation in the Hereafter.

The ayah under our consideration says that fasting is only a means to the end and the end is taqwa. This is true of other prescribed forms of worship also. The salah, in Quranic words, restrains us from evil and vice; zakah not only purifies our wealth and possessions but also deepens our piety; hajj symbolizes journey towards Allah – the End of all ends.

More significantly the ayah tells us that fasting had been prescribed in other shariahs also. This again is true of other forms of worship mentioned above. With the difference of form, quantity and mode, all Divinely revealed religious disciplines had prayer, fasting, charity and pilgrimage as their parts. What does this mean? It means that though the prescribed forms of worship like fasting are means to the end, they are means which cannot be dispensed with. No one can claim that he can attain to the end of taqwa, nearness to Allah and salvation without adopting these means and no one can reach the end through any means other than these.     

Lastupdate on : Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
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