The Garden of Knowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

24 Sha’baan 1447/13 February 2026

All praise is due to Allah, the Cherisher, Sustainer, Nourisher and Provider of the entire creation. May peace, blessings and salutations be upon our Beloved Prophet Muhammed ﷺ.

The month of Ramadan is a month of blessings, mercy and opportunity. The month of Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed. As Allah says in the Holy Quran in Surah Baqarah, verse 185:

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًۭى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَـٰتٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ

“Ramadan the month in which the Quran was revealed as a guide for humanity with clear proofs of guidance and criterion”

Ramadan is often understood as a month of refraining from food, drink, and marital relations from dawn to sunset. While this physical abstention is an essential component of fasting, it represents only one dimension of a far deeper spiritual, moral, and social/educational process. Islam presents fasting as a comprehensive act of worship aimed at transforming the believer’s heart, character, and relationship with Allah and creation.

Allah clearly states the objective of fasting:

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

“O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwa (God-consciousness).” (2:183)

This verse establishes that the ultimate goal of fasting is taqwa, not hunger.

1. The Spiritual Dimension: Cultivating Taqwa and Closeness to Allah

Fasting weakens the dominance of physical desires and strengthens the soul’s awareness of Allah. By consciously refraining from lawful pleasures, the believer learns to restrain from the unlawful. Hunger softens the heart, increases humility, and deepens reliance upon Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ

“Whoever fasts Ramadan with faith and seeking reward, his past sins will be forgiven.”
(Ṣaḥih Bukhari, 38; Sahih Muslim, 760)

2. The Moral Dimension: Discipline of Character and Behaviour

Ramadan offers us the opportunity to become better Muslims. It is a month where we can get rid of our bad habits completely rather than just pause it, and form new beneficial habits. It is a month which gives us a glimpse of what we are capable of doing on a daily basis. Thus fasting extends to the limbs and tongue.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

‏ مَنْ لَمْ يَدَعْ قَوْلَ الزُّورِ وَالْعَمَلَ بِهِ فَلَيْسَ لِلَّهِ حَاجَةٌ فِي أَنْ يَدَعَ طَعَامَهُ وَشَرَابَهُ ‏”‏‏.‏

“Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of him giving up his food and drink.”
(Sahih al Bukhari, 1903)

This includes avoiding lying, gossip, slander, anger, and harmful speech.

One may ask what is the best way for us to remove our bad habits and form new beneficial habits. Shaykh Sayed Habib Ali Jifri offered a solution in one of his lectures.

“In any action which your ego starts talking to you about doing, ask yourself if Nabi ﷺ was in the same situation, what would He ﷺ do and if He ﷺ was besides you at that moment how would he like you to be? Imagine you receive a message from Nabi Muhammed ﷺ saying that He ﷺ will be coming to stay with you for 3 days and He ﷺ is bringing his beloved daughter Fatima Zahra (R.A) to keep the women of the household company. What would each of us need to change? Starting from the bedroom, what would we need to change? What would we need to change on our Facebook and Twitter pages? What would we need to change from our browser history? What would we need to change from the CD’s in our cars? What friends around you would you be happy for Nabi ﷺ to know you friends with and what friends would you feel ashamed to introduce Nabi ﷺ to? What daily habits would you let Nabi ﷺ share with you and which ones would you feel ashamed for Nabi ﷺ to see you doing?”

3. The Educational/Social Dimension: Habit Formation and Lifelong Change

Ramadan acts as an annual spiritual training program. For thirty days, believers practice consistency in worship, discipline in behaviour, kindness and respects towards others most notably our parents, elders and neighbors and mindfulness of Allah. The aim is not temporary righteousness, but sustainable transformation beyond Ramadan.

In Iḥya Ulul Al Din Imam al-Ghazzali presents fasting as a discipline that curbs the appetitive faculties and reinforces reason and obedience to God, thereby elevating the human soul from domination by instinct toward a state resembling that of the angels, who act without the influence of desire.

We ask Allah to facilitate and allow us to bring about positive change in our lives and to accept our efforts from us and grant us understanding In Sha Allah!