Allah, the Almighty, enjoined fasting on His servants not to make them suffer, nor that He, the Almighty benefits from their fasting, as He is not in need of His servants and the acts of worship they offer.
Rather, Allah enjoined fasting in order to benefit His servants in the worldly life and in the Hereafter, physically and spiritually, and in relation to their morals and religion. Allah, the Almighty, evidently mentioned in the Qur’an the intention of fasting is to become righteous. Moreover, the one who reflects on the objectives of fasting will find that these benefits are limitless and beyond description.
According to Ibn al-Qayyim, fasting acts like a rein for pious people, protection for fighters, and a sport for righteous people and those drawing closer to Allah. It is also offered for the sake of Allah more than any other act of worship and is considered a secret between Allah and His servant as no one else sees it. Fasting has an amazing impact on guarding the outward limbs and inward powers and protecting them from anything that may spoil them or make them unsound. Fasting protects the heart and the organs and restores to them that which illegal desires have stolen from them, as fasting is the greatest helper with piety.
The benefits of fasting include the following:
Fasting maintains the power of Allah’s servant and protects him from the diseases which are caused by repletion and satiety, as the stomach is the home of disease and diet is the basis of remedy. Imam Ahmad, Imam At-Tirmithi, and Imam Ibn Majah reported from Al-Miqdam Ibn Ma’d Yakrib, may Allah be pleased with him, that he heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam (may Allah exalt his mention), saying: “No man fills a utensil worse than his stomach. A few morsels that keep his back upright are sufficient for a man. If eating is necessary, he should fill one-third with food, one-third with drink, and leave one-third for easy breathing.” (Saheeh Al-Jami’a, 5674)
The fullness of one’s stomach leads to the arousal of desires and enables Satan to control the person and lead him to sins, evils, and abominable acts, as satiety and gluttony lead to all evils. Al-Qurtubi said: “Whenever a person decreases the amount of food he eats, his desire will be weak; whenever the desire becomes weak, acts of disobedience will decrease.”
When the stomach becomes full, the person becomes inclined to acts of disobedience and oppression, but when a person fasts, he becomes calm, tender-hearted, and tranquil. Therefore, the person who fasts is protected from all evils, preserved from all abominable acts, and guarded against all pitfalls. The two Saheeh (authentic) Books of Hadith (Saheeh Al-Bukhari and Saheeh Al-Muslim) stated the following Hadith: “Fasting is a protection against sins.” Ibn Mas’ooud, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “He who can afford to marry should marry because it will help him refrain from looking at other women, and save his private parts from committing illegal sexual relation; and he who cannot afford to marry is advised to fast, as fasting will diminish his sexual power.” (Imam Al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim)
Fasting guards the servant’s organs, as Jabir Ibn Abdullah said: “If you fast, then let your hearing, sight, and tongue refrain from lying and forbidden deeds; do not annoy your servant, and be dignified and tranquil on the day of your fast; do not let the day when you fast and the day when you do not fast be the same.”
Al-Musnad and Saheeh Al-Bukhari stated that Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Unless one abandons falsehood and indecent deeds, Allah will have no need in his abstaining from food and drink.”
The intention for the acts of worship and the result of the acts of obedience is piety, as Allah, the Almighty, Says in the Qur’an (what means): {O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous} [Qur’an 2: 21]
Piety is also one of the greatest objectives of fasting, as fasting is the main act that leads to piety. Moreover, the person who fasts in the manner prescribed by the Messenger of Allah should attain piety, as Allah, the Almighty, Says (what means): {O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous} [Qur’an 2: 183]
Due to the above-mentioned reasons, fasting is an act of worship offered sincerely to Allah Alone, as Allah singles it out for Himself. Although all the other acts of worship are for the sake of Allah, fasting has some specialty with regard to sincerity, rather than any other act of worship. This is in accordance with the Sacred Hadith: “All the deeds of Adam’s sons (people) are for them, except fasting which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.” (Imam Al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim)
Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/
