Every year when Ramadan arrives, millions of people hold back from food and drink at the same moment. But why? Is fasting merely going hungry, or is there a deeper intention behind it? In just a few verses the Qur'an answers this question, revealing both its goal and its spirit. Let us listen to the "why" of fasting from the text itself.
What does the Qur'an say?
O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwa (mindfulness/God-consciousness). (2:183)
The month of Ramadan is the month in which the Qur'an was sent down as guidance for people (...) Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire hardship for you (...) so that you may glorify Allah for having guided you, and that you may give thanks. (2:185)
When My servants ask you about Me, (tell them): "I am indeed near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me, that they may be rightly guided." (2:186)
Key word: "siyam" and "taqwa"
The word for fasting in the verse is the Arabic صِيَام (siyam); its dictionary sense is to hold back from something, to restrain (lexical note). The goal the verse names is taqwa, which the Okuyan meal renders as "mindfulness/sensitivity" (2:183). So even in its grammatical root, fasting is not merely "giving up" but a conscious restraint.
What do we learn? (interpretation)
The points below are readings drawn from the verses, not the literal wording of the text:
- The reason for fasting is stated openly: hunger is not the aim; attaining taqwa/mindfulness is the purpose for which it serves as a means (2:183). (interpretation)
- 2:185 binds fasting to the month of revelation, to the will toward "ease," and to gratitude; thus fasting is not a torment but an occasion of thankfulness and guidance. (interpretation)
- 2:186, which comes right after the fasting verses, says "I am near." For many readers, the placement of this emphasis on nearness in the very midst of fasting suggests that the essence of fasting is closeness to God and supplication. (interpretation)
An honest boundary
What is certain at the level of the text: that fasting was prescribed, that its reason is taqwa, that Allah desires ease, and that He is near to His servants (2:183; 2:185; 2:186). What is interpretive/inferred: drawing the conclusion "the essence of fasting is nearness" from the placement of 2:186 is a reading of meaning; it is a strong impression arising from the sequence of the verses, but the wording itself does not state it as a definition. The detailed timings and conditions of fasting (pre-dawn meal, the time of intention, etc.) are largely derived from hadith and fiqh; the Qur'anic text does not give these details, drawing only the frame (Ramadan, the exemption for the sick and the traveler).
Conclusion: Fasting is an invitation that disciplines not our stomach but our heart. The Qur'an presents it not for hardship but to make us more mindful, to call us to gratitude, and to draw us close to the Lord who says "I am near." Perhaps this is the most beautiful aspect of fasting: that in every hungry moment it reminds us how near our Sustainer truly is. Why not try drawing close to that nearness?
Source: Qur'anic verses (M. Okuyan meal). Presented with a text/interpretation distinction; not a fiqh fatwa.