Why do Muslims fast in Ramadan?
Muslims fast in Ramadan because Allah commanded it, so that we may become people of taqwa. Here are the verses that made it obligatory, and what the Prophet ﷺ taught about its purpose.
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
Yaa ayyuhal lazeena aamanoo kutiba 'alaikumus Siyaamu kamaa kutiba 'alal lazeena min qablikum la'allakum tattaqoon
"O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous"
Quran 2:183. Translation: Sahih International.
أَيَّامًۭا مَّعْدُودَٰتٍۢ ۚ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍۢ فَعِدَّةٌۭ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُۥ فِدْيَةٌۭ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍۢ ۖ فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًۭا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّهُۥ ۚ وَأَن تَصُومُوا۟ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
Ayyaamam ma'doodaat; faman kaana minkum mareedan aw'alaa safarin fa'iddatum min ayyaamin ukhar; wa 'alal lazeena yuteeqoonahoo fidyatun ta'aamu miskeenin faman tatawwa'a khairan fahuwa khairulo lahoo wa an tasoomoo khairul lakum in kuntum ta'lamoon
"[Fasting for] a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey [during them] - then an equal number of days [are to be made up]. And upon those who are able [to fast, but with hardship] - a ransom [as substitute] of feeding a poor person [each day]. And whoever volunteers excess - it is better for him. But to fast is best for you, if you only knew."
Quran 2:184. Translation: Sahih International.
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًۭى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَٰتٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ۖ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍۢ فَعِدَّةٌۭ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۗ يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُمُ ٱلْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ ٱلْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا۟ ٱلْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَىٰكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
Shahru Ramadaanallazeee unzila feehil Qur'aanu hudal linnaasi wa baiyinaatim minal hudaa wal furqaan; faman shahida minkumush shahra falyasumhu wa man kaana mareedan aw 'alaa safarin fa'iddatum min ayyaamin ukhar; yureedul laahu bikumul yusra wa laa yureedu bikumul 'usra wa litukmilul 'iddata wa litukabbirul laaha 'alaa maa hadaakum wa la'allakum tashkuroon
"The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful."
Quran 2:185. Translation: Sahih International.
Arabic from the Uthmani text, with transliteration. Our teachers will check the transliteration before launch.
Guide
The purpose of fasting, in the Quran and Sunnah.
Muslims fast in Ramadan because Allah made it obligatory, and He gave the reason in the same verse: "that you may become righteous".1 The word is taqwa: being aware of Allah and guarding yourself from what displeases Him. Fasting trains this. If you can leave food and water, which are halal, for Allah, it becomes easier to leave what is haram.
1. Obedience to Allah
Fasting Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. The Prophet ﷺ said Islam is built on five: the testimony of faith, prayer, zakat, Hajj and fasting Ramadan.2 The first reason is simply that Allah asked it of us, as He asked it of the nations before us.
2. Gratitude for the Quran
Ramadan is the month the Quran was first revealed, "a guidance for the people".3 The verse ends: "and perhaps you will be grateful". Fasting, taraweeh and reading more Quran are how Muslims give thanks for it. Laylat al-Qadr, the night the Quran came down, is in its last ten nights. See Laylatul Qadr 2027.
3. Forgiveness of sins
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and hoping for reward, his previous sins will be forgiven."4 The fast is a yearly chance to start again.
4. A shield, and a deed for Allah alone
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Fasting is a shield."5 It protects from sin in this life and from the Fire in the next. In a hadith qudsi, Allah says that every deed of the son of Adam is for him except fasting, "it is for Me and I will reward it".6 No one can see a fast but Allah, so it is a deed of pure sincerity. There is a gate of Paradise, ar-Rayyan, through which only those who fasted will enter.7
5. Controlling the tongue and the self
The fast is not only about the stomach. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever does not give up false speech and acting on it, Allah has no need of his leaving his food and drink.8 The fasting person also keeps away from arguing, backbiting and anger.
6. Feeling for the poor, and generosity
Many scholars mention that hunger teaches the rich what the poor live with, and Ramadan is the month of giving: the Prophet ﷺ was most generous in Ramadan.9 This is a wisdom of the fast that scholars point out, but the Quran itself gives taqwa as the reason. Zakat al-Fitr at the end of the month is part of this. Work it out with the zakat al-Fitr calculator.
Allah is near
Right after the verses on fasting, Allah says: "And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided."10 Ramadan is a month of dua, especially at iftar and in the last part of the night.
When fasting Ramadan began
Fasting Ramadan was made obligatory in the second year after the Hijrah. Before that, the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims fasted the day of Ashura. Once Ramadan was made fard, fasting Ashura became optional.11
- Quran 2:183, translation by Sahih International.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 8; Sahih Muslim 16.
- Quran 2:185.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 38; Sahih Muslim 760.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1894.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1904; Sahih Muslim 1151.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1896; Sahih Muslim 1152.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1903.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 6; Sahih Muslim 2308.
- Quran 2:186.
- Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Aishah.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
Good to know.
Why do Muslims fast during Ramadan?
Because Allah made it obligatory in the Quran (2:183), so that we may gain taqwa. It is also a pillar of Islam, a way to thank Allah for the Quran, and a means of forgiveness.
Where is fasting mentioned in the Quran?
Mainly in Surah Al-Baqarah, verses 183 to 187. Verse 183 makes fasting obligatory, 184 and 185 give the rules for the ill and travellers, and 187 sets the times from dawn to sunset.
When did fasting Ramadan become obligatory?
In the second year after the Hijrah, about 624 CE.
Is fasting only about not eating?
No. The fasting person also guards their tongue, eyes and temper. The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah has no need of someone leaving food and drink if they do not leave false speech.
Do Muslims fast outside Ramadan?
Yes, voluntarily. Sunnah fasts include six days of Shawwal, the day of Arafah, Ashura, Mondays and Thursdays, and the three white days of each month.