What Is the Purpose of Fasting in Ramadan?
One of the many devotional practices Muslims observe at various points of the year is fasting (sawm). Muslims have different ways of fasting, including all forms of self-restraint. This includes not eating and drinking, feeding a poor person, being absorbed in the remembrance of God, avoiding gossip or saying mean things, not being greedy with one’s eyes or mouth, showing humility, and the purification of oneself.
The deeper purpose of fasting is striving to achieve God-consciousness (taqwa), so as to try to live by the ethics of Islam at all times. Individual believers can participate in fasting in whatever way they choose, since it is not meant to cause undue hardship.