Book of Fasting (Kitab al-Ṣiyām)

Linguistically, ṣiyām derives from imsāk (restraint, abstinence).

In the Sacred Law it is defined as imsāk ʿan al-mufṭirāt (refraining from whatever breaks the fast) with the intention, from daybreak until sunset.

Fasting the month of Ramadan is the third pillar of Islam.

Fasting is among the most virtuous acts of worship because it gathers the three kinds of ṣabr (patience):

1. patience in obeying Allah,
2. patience in avoiding His prohibitions, and
3. patience in bearing painful divine decrees.

It is further distinguished in that Allah, Exalted is He, has attributed the fast to Himself and promised that He Himself will reward it. It is also a secret between the Lord and His servant, making it one of the greatest trusts.

The full range of its wisdoms and secrets lies beyond the scope of this brief treatise. I shall merely touch on a few of the many, so that the reader may glimpse something of Allah’s mysteries in His law and thereby grow in faith and certainty at a time when beliefs have been shaken and conviction has weakened. To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.

Among those lofty aims is the worship of Allah and humble submission to Him: the fasting person turns wholly toward his Lord, subdued and reverent before Him once the dominion of desire is curbed. Strength often tempts a person to arrogance and excess—“No indeed! Man transgresses when he thinks himself self-sufficient” (Q 96:6-7). Recognizing his own weakness and poverty before Allah, he sheds pride and self-importance, yields to his Lord, and deals gently with His creation.

There are also social benefits: the community’s collective engagement in a single act of worship at the same time, and their shared endurance—strong and weak, noble and humble, rich and poor—of the same hardship bind their hearts, unite their spirits, and join their ranks. Nothing is more potent than this firm resolve, which no amount of propaganda can overturn.