Why do Muslims fast?

Muslims fast because God has prescribed it for them so that they may become righteous. Fasting is good for the body, and above all it reminds us that food and drink are gifts from God and do not belong to us.

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn until sunset. There are several reasons for this. The first is quite simple: fasting is healthy. Fasting for a month once a year helps us shed excess weight and regain strength and fitness.

More important, however, is the spiritual benefit. In everyday life we eat and drink whatever we like, as if we had created our food ourselves and as if it belonged to us. Through fasting, God reminds us that He created the food and gave it to us.

When we give up food and drink because He wishes it, we bear witness that we believe in Him as the Provider. In the hours of hunger and thirst we become aware that the water and food we otherwise take for granted are in truth a gift from God. We own nothing by our own power.

The hadith above shows that the one who fasts gives up food and drink for God’s sake. That is why fasting belongs to God in a special way. It is meant to make us righteous, as the first verse says, and to make us grateful for everything we receive each day.