In the book, Spirit of Ramadan, the author Maulana Wahiduddin Khan explains that fasting in the month of Ramadan is a living creative process. Fasting aims to make man’s life a roza-oriented life. The purpose of fasting is to make one cautious in life (2:183) and to make one thankful to God (2:185). The spirit of Ramadan is abstinence, to put a curb on one’s desires. During the month of Ramadan one abstains from one’s desires like thirst and hunger as per compulsion, to learn to put a curb on other desires as per our intention. A person trained in this way starts leading a disciplined life by one’s own decision.
Symbolically speaking, the position of fasting is akin to applying brakes to the engine in one’s life. Brakes keep the engine of a vehicle in control. Without brakes in the engine, the vehicle will not work properly. The same is the case of fasting in the life of a believer. The fasting of that person is real fasting for whom fasting becomes akin to applying brakes as far as forbidden things are concerned in the eyes of God. Man should accord the place of brakes to fasting in his life so that he may travel successfully on the path of God.
