Sawm - Fasting in Ramadan
The month-long fast during Ramadan that cultivates self-discipline, empathy, and spiritual purification.
Sawm (الصوم) during Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam, requiring abstention from food, drink, and intimacy from dawn to sunset. Beyond physical fasting, believers fast with their eyes, ears, tongue, and heart—avoiding all that displeases Allah. The Prophet (PBUH) said that fasting is a shield against sin. Ramadan is when the Quran was first revealed, making it a month of intensified worship and Quran recitation. Beyond abstaining from food, the fast is meant to develop willpower, gratitude, and empathy for the hungry.
O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become righteous.
Rumi described fasting as the banquet of the soul, where by emptying the body, the spirit is filled with divine light and closeness to Allah.
Quran