THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FASTING AND LIFE
Brakes on Desires
FASTING in the month of Ramazan is not just a kind of annual custom. It is a living creative process. Fasting is related to the entire life of a human being, the aim of which is to make man’s life a fasting-oriented life.
The reality of fasting is to put a curb on desires. In one Hadith, this is referred to as ‘renouncing one’s desires’. Food and water are essential needs of man. Sleep and rest are also needs of man. During the month of fasting there are restrictions to these essential needs by compulsion. This training inculcates in man the capability to restrain his desires willingly so that he consciously leads a disciplined life.
There is a 50:50 ratio in all the actions man has to perform in life i.e. 50% of the actions require abstaining from something and the other 50% acting on something. In the Islamic creed, ‘There is no other God’ comes before, ‘there is one God’.
The aim of fasting for man is to apply a brake on his desires so that he may carry out the desirable deeds in this world.
The same ratio of negative and positive aspect is found in all the religious acts. In this respect, the aim of fasting for man is to apply a brake on his desires so that he may carry out the desirable deeds in this world.
Symbolically speaking, the position of fasting in human life is akin to the brakes in an engine. Brakes keep the engine of a vehicle in control so that the journey can be completed successfully. If there is no brake in the engine, the vehicle will not be able to function effectively.
The same is the case of fasting in the life of a believer. Man should accord the place of brakes to fasting in his life so that he may travel successfully on the path of God. The fasting of that person is true for whom fasting is like applying brakes on the things forbidden by God.
