FASTING BETWEEN HUNGER AND TAQWA

Even after enduring hunger all day long, why do many people gain nothing from fasting except hunger and thirst?

This question is fundamental. In the Qur’an, the primary objective of fasting is explicitly stated not merely abstaining from food and drink, but attaining taqwa:

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيۡكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِكُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ 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.” QS. Al-Baqarah: 183)

This verse shows that fasting is an instrument, not the final goal. Hunger and thirst are only methods; the target is spiritual transformation: la‘allakum tattaqūn so that you may become people of taqwa.

Let us use a simple analogy: elementary school.

In school there are many rules:

1. Arrive on time
2. Wear a neat uniform
3. Participate in ceremonies orderly
4. Practice the 3S culture (Smile, Greet, Salute)
5. Obey school regulations

All these rules are important. But the question is:

Does someone automatically become intelligent simply by obeying school rules?

Of course not.

The main purpose of going to school is not merely to follow regulations, but to seek knowledge. If a student only focuses on administrative discipline without truly studying, they will go home without gaining any knowledge. They are physically present, but intellectually absent.

The same applies to fasting.

Many people feel “fully charged” at pre-dawn meal (suhoor). But once fasting begins, the only thought in their mind is:

“How do I survive until maghrib?”

They switch into “battery saver mode,” reducing activity and simply waiting for iftar. If fasting is understood only as restraining hunger and thirst, then it stops at the biological level. Meanwhile, the Qur’an demands more than that it calls for moral, intellectual, and spiritual transformation.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ once warned:

“How many people fast, yet gain nothing from their fasting except hunger and thirst.” (Narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Majah)

This hadith aligns with the Qur’anic principle that the value of worship is not determined merely by its outward form, but by the quality of awareness and intention behind it.

Interestingly, the verse about fasting (QS. Al-Baqarah: 183) is immediately followed by a verse about the Qur’an:

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَٰتٍ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ

“The month of Ramadan is the month in which the Qur’an was revealed as guidance for mankind and clear proofs of guidance and criterion (between right and wrong).” (QS. Al-Baqarah: 185)

This is not a structural coincidence. Conceptually, fasting and the Qur’an are two sides of the same spiritual educational process:

1. Fasting → controls desires
2. The Qur’an → provides direction and guidance

Without the Qur’an, fasting loses direction. Without fasting, engagement with the Qur’an is easily disrupted by distractions.

Imagine attending a professional seminar. Participants are required to:

1. Not eat or drink during the session
2. Not use their phones while material is being explained
3. Focus on the presentation
4. Avoid talking and disrupting the event

All of this is done to maximize concentration.

Likewise, fasting creates inner silence. Hunger and thirst act as boundaries, preventing the mind from being overly consumed by worldly matters.

The Qur’an affirms:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّىٰهَا

“Indeed, successful is the one who purifies his soul.” (QS. Ash-Shams: 9)

Fasting is a process of tazkiyah (purification). However, purification must be filled with knowledge and awareness, not emptiness or inactivity.

Taqwa is not merely a symbolic status. The Qur’an describes the people of taqwa as:

ذَٰلِكَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبُ لَا رَيۡبَۛ فِيهِۛ هُدٗى لِّلۡمُتَّقِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱلۡغَيۡبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقۡنَٰهُمۡ يُنفِقُونَ

“This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for the people of taqwa those who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend from what We have provided for them.” (QS. Al-Baqarah: 2–3)

This means taqwa has clear behavioral indicators:

1. Consistency in worship
2. Social responsibility
3. Moral integrity
4. Awareness of Allah’s supervision

If after years of fasting there is no improvement in these qualities, then we need to evaluate ourselves:

• Are we still at the level of “merely enduring hunger and thirst”?
• Or have we moved toward Qur’anic consciousness?

Fasting is not just an annual ritual, but a process of transformation. If school aims to produce knowledgeable individuals, then Ramadan aims to produce people of taqwa.

Now the questions become reflective:

• Is our fasting productive, or merely formal?
• Do we treat Ramadan as a season of intense engagement with the Qur’an?
• Is there measurable growth in understanding and practice afterward?

Let it not be that for years we only pass at the level of “enduring hunger,” but remain remedial in “character formation.” Ideally, every Ramadan should be a spiritual promotion to the next grade.

Because fasting is not about how strong we are in restraining ourselves but how far we are transformed.

@AbuMusa2026