Whats The Main Purpose Of Fasting?

[Haidar-e-karrar]

What's the main purpose of fasting?

Plz, I need some strong and good reasons. Thanks

[mouradf]

(salam)

There are many reasons of why we should fast..the main points of fasting. Some examples/reasons are

* self-control

*being obedient to Allah

* Trying to place our self to the Poor people..how they feel

* Refraining from bad deeds

* And Most important fasting is an oppurtunity for us Muslims to REPENT :)

[Blissful]

Fasting gives you many physical and spiritual benefits and is truly a mercy from Allah (swt)

- You are taught self obedience and self control and learn to restrain from forbidden acts ie. swearing, gazing, being spiteful etc

- Worship is increased and you have an overall sense of devotion to Allah (swt)

- There is many blessings received after a month of fasting, especially on days of worship like Laylatul Qadar.

- It is a time of forgiveness and repenting, and Shaytan is locked up in this month. All the better time to improve yourself without him getting in the way :P

- Fasting brings the family together after a hard days work and increases interaction between everybody and you gain a sense of community as well.

- It's also very good for you body wise and is a natural detox.

O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous - 2:183

^_^

Edited August 8, 2011 by Blissful

[La fata illa Ali]

The most important reason is simply because Allah (aj) ordered us to so it in the quran and for me, Allah (aj) hukm is enough of a reason.

Then all the other reasons.

Here is a narration for you:

Imam Hasan al-Askari (as) said:

"(Fasting was ordained) so that the rich may experience the pain of hunger and thereby bestow generously upon the poor."

(Bihar al-Anwar)

[Hameedeh]

(bismillah)

(salam)

^ All great answers. Thank you.

http://www.al-islam.org/beliefs/practices/fasting/

[Haidar-e-karrar]

Jazakallah, Everyone for sharing your knowledge, May Allah give you the rewards.

[smbtnt]

Quote

Trying to place our self to the Poor people..how they feel

Then what benefit is fasting to the the poor?

[abdulhusayn]

fasting? it is a kind of discipline where all your inner and outer existence refrain from sin.

it also train you to face your daily lives after the fast.

[AbuLayla]

I recently research and am lead to believe that by fasting we encourage a sense of closeness to Allah and it pleases Allah. Also furthermore by fasting we are also seeking forgiveness, which for me is good reason alone for me to fast.

I also feel it mellows me and teaches self control, to refrain from over indulgence and to appreciate all we have, as opposed to all we have not.

رحمك الله

Rahimakalla,

Ali.

[s.fatima]

This is a simple yet great question! I believe fasting is the test of patience. To have control over our sinful acts. They say in a state of fast one can become spiritually stable. Think of it as another opportunity given by our Merciful Allah to beg for his forgiveness. So, let us all take advantage and make the most of Ramadan!

PS- It's sad that a lot of us have made "food" the center focus of this holy month. Surprisingly, one can find various new and improved ways of cooking during Ramadan more than any other month! =)

[karan]

Allah TALAH NA FARMAYA K TUM PER ROZA FARZ KIA GAE HAIN JAISA K TUM SA PAHLI OMATON PER KIA GAE THA, TA K TUM PARHAIZGAR BANO.

LEHAZA FASTING IN THE BEST WAYS OF BECOMING PARHAIZGAR.

[El Cid]

This is a simple yet great question! I believe fasting is the test of patience. To have control over our sinful acts. They say in a state of fast one can become spiritually stable. Think of it as another opportunity given by our Merciful Allah to beg for his forgiveness. So, let us all take advantage and make the most of Ramadan!

PS- It's sad that a lot of us have made "food" the center focus of this holy month. Surprisingly, one can find various new and improved ways of cooking during Ramadan more than any other month! =)

You couldn't have said it more perfectly, I learnt to control my urges by fasting and I truly believe that gave me the power to control myself. As for the food part, That's what most of Lahore is doing =P

[s.fatima]

You couldn't have said it more perfectly, I learnt to control my urges by fasting and I truly believe that gave me the power to control myself. As for the food part, That's what most of Lahore is doing =P

lol, I'm sure Lahore is at the top of the list! =)

[El Cid]

You sound like Karachi =p

[xstatik2]

Read this article which I found, it is nothing but ... mind boggling !!

Each Day of Fasting and its Merits

FASTING on each day of Ramadhan means the following to Allah, the Most

High, the Most Sublime:- You can save this huge narration and read it

day by day, until thirty days are over. This way, we can digest the

wonders of Allah and the wonders of His Greatness and Mercy on each of

these great days during the Holy Month of Ramadhan!

On p. 64, Vol. 2, of Safeenat al-Bihar, the Messenger of Allah (S) is

quoted saying that Allah Almighty has charged a group of His angels with

the task of supplicating for those who observe the fast.

On the same page of the same reference, Imam Ja'fer al-Sadiq (A.S.) is

quoted saying that if a person fasts during a hot day, and he suffers

from thirst, Allah will assign a thousand angels to wipe his face and

convey to him glad tidings, and when he breaks his fast, Allah, the most

Exalted, the most Glorified, addresses him with these words, 'How sweet

your smell and soul are! O' My angels! Bear witness that I have forgiven

him?.'

On page 96 of Thawab al-A'mal wa Iqab al- A'mal, and also on page 48 of

his book Al-Amali (or pp. 29-32 of old editions), Shaikh Abu Ja'fer

Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Husain ibn Babawayh al-Qummi al-Saduq (306-381

A.H.) quotes Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim al-Ma'athi saying that Ahmed ibn

Jaylawayh al-Jurjani al- Muthakkar quotes Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Bilal

quoting Abu Muhammad quoting Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Kiram quoting

Ahmed ibn Abdullah quoting Sufyan ibn 'Ayeenah quoting Mu'awiya ibn Abu

Ishaq quoting Sa'eed ibn Jubayr saying,

I asked Ibn Abbas once about the reward of one who fasts during the

month of Ramadan knowing its greatness. He said,

O' Son of Jubayr! Get ready to listen to what your ears have never heard

before, nor your heart has ever experienced, nor your soul has ever

reckoned regarding that about which you have inquired! What you are

seeking is the knowledge of the first generations and the last!

So I left him and prepared myself to meet him again. I returned to him

at early daybreak. Having said the morning prayers (together), I

reminded him of the tradition which I had sought, so he turned his face

to me and said,

Listen carefully to what I am going to tell you. I have heard the

Messenger of Allah (S) saying,

Had you ever come to know about your rewards during the month of

Ramadan, you would surely have thanked the Almighty a great deal more

(than you usually do).

When the first night is over, Allah, the Almighty and the Exalted One,

forgives the sins committed by all members of my nation, the ones

committed in secrecy and the ones committed in public, and He elevates

your status two thousand degrees and builds you fifty towns in Paradise.

* * *

On the next day, He rewards you for every step you take during that day

with the rewards of one who adored Him for a full year and the reward of

one of His prophets, and He will reward you as though you had performed

the fast for a full year.

* * *

On the third day, the Exalted and Dear One grants you a dome in Paradise

for each hair on your body, a dome of a white pearl on top of which are

twelve thousand light houses and at the bottom of which are twelve

thousand houses in each one of which there are one thousand beds and on

each bed of which there is a Heavenly Lady with large lovely eyes, each

served by one thousand servants the head-covering of each one of them is

better than this world and everything in it.

* * *

On the fifth day, He builds you in Paradise a million cities in each one

of which there are seventy thousand houses, inside each one of which

there are seventy thousand tables, and on each table there are seventy

thousand bowls, and in each bowl there are sixty thousand types of food

each one of which is different from the other.

* * *

On the sixth day, He will grant you in the Abode of Peace a hundred

thousand towns in each one of which there are a hundred thousand rooms,

in each room there are a hundred thousand beds of gold the length of

each is a thousand yards, and on each bed is a Heavenly Lady with large

lovely eyes whose hair has thirty thousand locks braided with pearls and

sapphires, and each lock is carried by a hundred concubines.

* * *

On the seventh day, the Almighty grants you in the Garden of Bliss the

rewards of forty thousand martyrs and forty thousand pious men (amongst

the truthful).

* * *

On the eighth day, Allah Almighty grants you the rewards of the good

deeds of sixty thousand worshippers and sixty thousand ascetics.

* * *

On the ninth day, Allah, the Exalted One, gives you what is equal to

what He gives a thousand scholars and a thousand devotees and a thousand

warriors fighting for Allah in a foreign land.

* * *

On the tenth day, He gives you the fulfillment of seventy thousand of

your worldly wishes and orders the sun, the moon, the stars, the

animals, the birds, the beasts, every rock and every rain-drop,

everything wet and everything dry, all fish in the oceans and all leaves

on the trees, to pray for your forgiveness.

* * *

On the eleventh day, the Exalted and Mighty One grants you the rewards

whereby He rewards one who performs the pilgrimage and umra four times

and one who performs the pilgrimage with His Prophets and the umra with

every Truthful or Martyr.

* * *

On the twelfth day, He takes upon Himself to replace your sins with good

deeds, then He multiplies your good deeds many times and gives you the

rewards of each of your good deeds a million times.

* * *

On the thirteenth day, Allah Almighty grants you what He grants the

devotees of Mecca and Medina and bestows upon you an intercession for

each and every stone and rain drop between Mecca and Medina.

* * *

On the fourteenth day, He treats you as though you had met and followed

in the footsteps of Prophet Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Daud and Prophet

Suleiman (peace be on all of them), and as though you had worshipped the

Almighty Allah in the company of His prophets for two hundred years.

* * *

On the fifteenth day, He fulfills ten of your worldly wishes and those

of the hereafter and grants you what He granted Prophet Ayub (A.S.),

then He orders the angels who bear the 'Throne' to pray for your

forgiveness and grants you on the Day of Resurrection forty lights: ten

on your right, ten on your left, ten before you and ten behind you.

* * *

On the sixteenth day, the Almighty grants you sixty outfits to wear as

soon as you abandon your grave and a she-camel to ride, and He will send

a cloud to overshadow you to protect you from the heat of that Day.

* * *

On the seventeenth day, the Almighty Allah says, 'I have forgiven them

and their parents and exempted them from having to undergo the hardships

of the Day of Resurrection?'

* * *

On the eighteenth day, the Praised and Exalted One orders Archangel

Gibrael, Mikael and Israfil (Peace be on all of them) as well as the

Angels who bear the 'Throne' and all Archangels to seek forgiveness for

the nation of Prophet Muhammad (S) till the next year, and He will also

grant you on the Day of Resurrection whatever rewards He grants to those

who participated in the Battle of Badr.

* * *

On the nineteenth day, all Angels in the heavens and on earth will have

already sought permission of their Lord to visit your graves and to

bring you every day a present and a drink (as long as you remain in the

barzakh).

* * *

So, if you complete your fast for twenty full days, the Almighty Allah

sends you seventy thousand angels to protect you from every accursed

devil, and He will have granted you for each day of your fast your

rewards as though you fasted a hundred years, and He will set a ditch

between you and hell and grant you the rewards of all those who recited

the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms and the Holy Qur'an, and will write

for you for each feather on Gibrael the reward of a full year and will

grant you the rewards of those who glorify Him at the 'Throne' and

'Chair' and will marry you to a thousand nymphs for each of the verses

of the Qur'an.

* * *

On the twenty-first day, the Almighty expands your grave a thousand

parasangs and lifts the darkness and loneliness of your graves and makes

your graves look like the graves of the martyrs and your faces like the

face of Prophet Yusuf (A.S.) son of Prophet Ya'qub (A.S.).

* * *

On the twenty-second day, the Almighty dispatches the angel of death as

He dispatches him to His prophets to remove your worldly worries and the

torment of the hereafter.

* * *

On the twenty-third day, you will pass on the Straight Path in the

company of the prophets, the first to follow the prophets, and the

martyrs, as if you had fed each orphan and clothed everyone who needed

to be clothed.

* * *

On the twenty-fourth day, you will not leave this life before each one

of you sees the place reserved for him or her in Paradise and is given

the rewards of a thousand sick and a thousand who go back to their creed

and will grant you the rewards of one who freed a thousand captives from

the descendants of Prophet Ismael (A.S.).

* * *

On the twenty-fifth day, Allah will have built you under His 'Throne' a

thousand green domes on top of each one of which is a tent of light.

The Almighty and Exalted One will then say,

'O' Followers of Muhammad! I am your Lord and you are My servants! Enjoy

the shade of My 'Arsh in these domes and eat and drink with enjoyment,

for there will be no fear on you, nor will you grieve. O' Nation of

Muhammad! By My Dignity and Greatness! I shall dispatch you to Paradise

in a way which will amaze the first generations and the last, and I

shall crown each one of you with a thousand light crowns, and I shall

provide for each one of you a she camel whose reins are made of light,

and in it are a thousand gold rings, in each is an angel looking after

it, in the hand of each angel is a light rod so that he may enter

Paradise without a reckoning?'

* * *

And on the twenty-sixth day, Allah will look at you with compassion and

will forgive all your sins except those of shedding innocent blood or

robbing people's wealth, and He will grant you every day a thousand

barriers against backbiting, lying and slandering.

* * *

On the twenty-seventh day, He will consider you as though you had aided

every believing man and woman and clothed seventy thousand naked persons

and equipped a thousand soldiers to camp in a foreign land to defend

Islam, and as if you have recited every book Allah has revealed to His

prophets.

* * *

On the twenty-eighth day, Allah will have built you in Paradise a

hundred thousand light cities and granted you in the garden of bliss a

hundred thousand silver mansions and a hundred thousand cities in each

one of which there are a thousand rooms, and granted you in the garden

of greatness a hundred thousand pulpits of musk inside each one of which

there is a thousand saffron houses in each one of which there are a

thousand beds of pearls and sapphires and on each bed a wife of the

Heavenly Ladies with large lovely eyes.

* * *

So if you complete your fast till the twenty-ninth day, the Almighty

Allah will grant you a million quarters, inside each quarter is a white

dome underneath which is a white camphor bed on which there are a

thousand mattresses of green silk on each one of which there is a

Heavenly Lady decorated with seventy thousand ornaments and crowned with

eighty thousand locks each one of which is decorated with diamonds and

sapphires.

* * *

So if you finish thirty complete days of fast, the Almighty will have

granted you for each day the rewards of a thousand martyrs and a

thousand foremost believers in His Prophets, and He will have assigned

for you the rewards of fifty years of adoration, and He will have

decreed a clearance for you from hell and a passage on the Straight Path

and a security against the torment. One of the gates of Paradise is

called al-Rayyan, and it shall never be opened before the Day of

Resurrection. It will be opened for those among the nation of Prophet

Muhammad (S) who performed the fast. Ridwan, custodian of Paradise, will

call out saying: 'O Followers of Muhammad! Come to the al-Rayyan Gate!'

So he will let my nation enter Paradise through that gate. Therefore, if

one is not forgiven during the month of Ramadan, in which month can he

be forgiven? There is neither will nor strength except from Allah; Allah

suffices us, and what a great Helper He is!

This lengthy tradition is also recorded on pp. 183-185, Vol. 8, of Bihar

al-Anwar.

http://www.abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=260346