Ramadan - Food for Thought

"Taqwā means godliness, devoutness or piety. Crucially, […] fasting is not merely about physical abstinence or exertion. […] The Prophet Muhammad (s) said, “All that some people get from their fasting is hunger and thirst.” (Ibn Mājah) […] Taqwā is not an automatic by-product of fasting. In understanding this, it is worth considering that Imam Al-Ghazzāli wrote that there are three degrees of fasting. Firstly, the fast of ‘the ordinary person’ – consisting of abstinence of the appetite, sexual intercourse, noise, arguing, etc. Next, there is the fast of ‘the select few’, who keep the ears, eyes, tongue, hands and feet together with all the other senses free from sin. Finally, there is the fast of ‘the elite’, which is the fast of the heart from bad thoughts, worldly worries and anything else that may divert from anything but thoughts of Allāh (swt)" --- Toobaa: Ramadan - Food for Thought