Fasting or Just Pointless Hunger?

From childhood until now, we have all heard various reasons why fasting in Ramadan is obligatory. However, the true essence of it is something rarely discussed! Read on:

1When a person attains something desirable or beloved, they experience a pleasure known as contentment. A person naturally inclines toward what brings them this contentment, or what they believe will bring it, which we call desire/passion.

2When someone fails to attain what they desire; they experience a state called sorrow/grief.
3When a person perceives evidence suggesting that they might not attain what they desire, they experience a state known as fear.

4When a person experiences sorrow or fear, they become angry at the factor they believe has prevented them from attaining their goal, leading to anger/wrath.

5Due to human nature, most of our actions and speech throughout life are initially driven by desire and, if obstructed, by anger. These two states largely shape our behavior.

6forbearance/maturity is the ability to control these two emotions instead of being controlled by them. It means choosing what to desire and when to express anger. A forbearing person is one who possesses patience.

7 Hunger is the most effective tool for self-discipline, helping to restrain desire and anger, ultimately leading to forbearance.

8servitude to God—the fundamental purpose of our creation—is to prioritize God’s contentment and anger over our own. Achieving this state is impossible without forbearance because one must set aside personal emotions and align with divine will.

9Ramadan is an opportunity, under the vast mercy of God, to use fasting as a means of taking control away from desire and anger, thereby gaining mastery over ourselves and developing forbearance. This journey starts with controlling food, drink, and sexual relations, extends to controlling speech and behavior by avoiding the forbidden, and ultimately reaches controlling thoughts and remembrance, purging anything that leads to God's wrath and embracing thoughts that bring His pleasure—this is the path to true servitude.

Simply put; by making Ramadan fasting obligatory, God has given us the chance to shift from being controlled by desire and anger to controlling them—a transformation from an animalistic life to a truly human one! Fasting without understanding this wisdom is nothing but pointless hunger.

We ask God to grant us the ability to fast with knowledge and to attain the states of forbearance and servitude.