‘Oh, you who believe I give you and prescribe to you fasting. Maybe you will gain Taqwa (Piety).’
(Quran, 2:183).
Fasting is a gift from Allah (SWT). It is the fourth pillar of Islam. In the Holy Qur’an ‘Taqwa’ – the increasing of our piety and God-consciousness is cited as one of the benefits of fasting.
Muslims fast for the sole purpose of pleasing Allah (SWT) by adhering to His commands. With this intention, we hope to cleanse ourselves spiritually and draw closer to Allah (SWT). So, in what other ways does abstaining from food and drink in the daytime as a spiritual act, benefit us and our society?
Fasting weakens the Nafs/ego – The Nafs is that part of us that compels us to our animalistic desires. As we indulge our physical needs like food and drink, our Nafs is strengthened. By depriving our bodies of physical needs, the Nafs is weakened, and we are more inclined towards our spiritual lives.
Also, fasting encourages us to refrain from bad habits. As the hadith goes: ‘Whoever does not give up false speech and evil deeds while fasting, then Allah is not in need of his leaving food.’ (Bukhari, 1903). We want our fast to be as perfect as possible so that it is accepted, so we hold our words and actions to account more while fasting.
Fasting forgives past sins. And when our spiritual connection to Allah (SWT) is enhanced, we strive to be good and do good. Allah says about the fasting person: ‘He has left his food, drink and desires for My sake. The fast is for Me. So I will reward (the fasting person) for it and the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times.’ (Bukhari, 1894).
‘Prayer is the light of the believer and fasting is his shield from the fire.’
(Ibn Majah, 4210).
Even though fasting is a personal sacrifice, it also assists us in fulfilling our social responsibilities. As our spiritual selves are enhanced, we become more aware of others and their needs. We become more compassionate, firstly because thirst and hunger allow us to empathise with people who rely on our charity, and also because the focus on our spirituality helps us remember our responsibility towards those less fortunate than ourselves.
So the month of Ramadan is not just about refraining from food and drink. It’s also a time to be generous, especially to those who are less fortunate than us, those who experience hunger every day. For this reason, we are encouraged to increase charity in Ramadan.
When Ramadan is mentioned, we automatically think of fasting. But Zakat also features prominently in this month. There is no hard and fast rule that Zakat must be given in Ramadan. Muslims are free to give it throughout the year, piecemeal or in one lump sum. However, most Muslims prefer to give their Zakat in Ramadan for several reasons:
‘Establish regular prayer and give Zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger.’
(Quran, 33:33).
There are many benefits of giving Zakat for the giver, maybe even more so than for the recipient:
‘Verily those who give alms–be they men or women, and give Allah a beautiful loan shall be repaid after increasing it many times; and theirs shall be a generous reward.’
(Quran, 57:18)
Zakat is designed to help ease the burden of our Muslim brothers and sisters less fortunate than us. The people who have a right over our wealth – the widows, orphans, the disabled, the needy, the destitute are helped through what is due to them.
Zakat has the potential to change the world and make a fairer and more just society, by ensuring wealth is more equitably distributed.
At Akhuwat we tackle poverty by distributing Zakat as interest-free microloans. This allows donors who want to give Zakat, to achieve more; more than just helping someone for the immediate term.
When the loans are eventually repaid, the money is reinvested to provide new loans to other needy people. This is repeated again and again so that your initial Zakat donation helps multiple families for years to come.
Read more about Akhuwat’s various loan products and donate your Zakat with us this Ramadan.
Akhuwat
Akhuwat provides collateral- and interest-free loans to underprivileged families so they can help themselves out of poverty. With one of the highest loan return rates in the world, Akhuwat continues to transform lives one loan at a time. Akhuwat is registered in the UK with the charities commission (registered charity number 1136317)
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