It is well known that fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the main duties Islam lays down for its followers. Some scholars consider these duties as pillars on which the structure of the Islamic faith is built. Needless to say, fasting in Ramadan ranks on a par with prayers and zakah in its importance as a main Islamic duty. Indeed, it enjoys a special status, since it can only be fulfilled through abstention, rather than through a direct or a positive action. For this reason, God is quoted by the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying in a qudsi, or sacred, Hadith: “Everything a human being does is his with the exception of fasting, which belongs to Me and I reward it accordingly.” This is due to the fact that there are no apparent signs, which indicate that a person is fasting.

It is well known that Islam is a religion with a keen sense of moral values. This is reflected in a serious moral code that all Muslims are supposed to observe. Good manners, politeness, kindness to others and keeping away from everything that is not conducive to good social relations are also parts of the Islamic code of conduct.

There are, however, certain aspects of morals and manners that are particularly associated with certain acts of worship. It is appropriate to consider here what sort of social values are associated with fasting.

The Prophet says: “Fasting is a shield. Let no one who is fasting commit any obscenity or foolishness. Should anyone engage him in a fight or a slanging match, let him answer by saying: I am fasting; I am fasting.”

The Prophet gives fasting a very apt description when he considers it as a shield, protecting the person who fasts from the fire of hell. The Arabic term used here also connotes a fence, and a means of protection. Indeed, fasting provides protection in more ways than one. Since fasting weakens the body, it also weakens sinful desires. This makes the fasting person more able to resist any temptation to commit any sin.

This is a negative way of protection that can be easily felt by everyone who fasts. Since man always feels the temptation to satisfy his desires through any available means, whether legitimate or not, the fact that these desires are weakened through fasting proves the protective aspect of this unique act of worship.

The other protective effect of fasting is seen in the fact that God rewards fasting very generously. It is well known that God rewards any good action by at least ten times its value. He multiplies His reward even more, to the extent that He rewards some good actions by 700 times their value. This figure, however, is not a ceiling for God’s reward. He may reward good actions much more generously. Fasting, however, is made an exception. Imam Malik relates the following Hadith which has been related by others in different wording, with the same import: “Every action a human being does shall be multiplied; a good action by ten times its value, up to 700 times, and even more as God may wish. God says: ‘With the exception of fasting, which belongs to Me, and I reward it accordingly.’” What is very clear here is that the exception is made in order to stress the greater value of fasting, and the greater reward it earns. God makes the exception and attributes it to Himself. He emphasizes that fasting is offered purely to Him. He, therefore, responds by rewarding it more generously than any other action. This is confirmed by a Qur’anic verse which states: “Those who are patient in adversity shall be given their reward in full, without reckoning.” (39: 10) The absence of reckoning signifies the fact that the reward is limitless. Most scholars and commentators on the Qur’an interpret the term ‘the patient in adversity’ as used in this verse as a reference to those who fast, for fasting can only be offered if a person has strong faith. What God wants us to understand here is that He accepts this act of worship which is dedicated to Him, since it cannot be done with false intentions, and rewards it on the basis of His own generosity, which is without limit.

Moreover, God rewards much more generously any good action done by any human being who is fasting. If God normally rewards a good action by ten times its value, He gives a much greater reward for the same action when it is done in Ramadan by a fasting person. Such rewards help shield the fasting person from the fire of hell. Since of the Day of Judgment our good actions are balanced against our bad ones, the multiplied reward gained through fasting appears to be of much greater value. A person whose good actions fall short of what he needs to offset his sins will find that the fact that he has done some of these good actions in Ramadan benefits him immeasurably, because God has attached to them a much greater value than they are actually worth. This is the positive way of protection fasting provides for man, which complements the negative way we have already explained.

During fasting, we are specifically required to abstain from any obscenity. In fact, the verb used here by the Prophet refers to obscene conversation, and it also refers to sexual intercourse and its preliminaries as well as talking about intercourse with women or with anyone else. This is due to the fact that fasting is not only an abstention from eating and drinking, but is also an abstention from sex. While conversation about food and drink is not prohibited during the day of fasting, we have this injunction to refrain from talking about sex, because such conversation can hardly be conducted without falling into obscenity.

We are also required not to act in a foolish manner. The Arabic term used here refers particularly to shouting and raising one’s voice in an unbecoming way. In some versions of this Hadith the term used refers specifically to indulging in any verbal dispute and raising one’s voice. The person who fasts is supposed to behave in a very decent way, even with those who try to quarrel with him.

This is re-emphasized by the rest of the Hadith that addresses itself to the case when a person who is fasting finds himself drawn into a verbal fight or a slanging match. He is told not to respond. What he should do is to make it known to the other person that he is fasting. By such a declaration he actually tells his opponent that he refuses to be drawn into such a verbal quarrel because he has made up his mind to observe the code of manners required during fasting.

Scholars elaborate extensively on this point. In this series, we shall not concern ourselves with such elaboration or with or with disagreement among scholars. We will try to give the general meaning of any Hadith we quote keeping clear from controversy.