The Ramadan School of Fasting is a comprehensive educational institution that lasts for thirty days and nights. Once a servant enters this school, their soul is purified of corruption and sins, and their heart is healed from ailments such as envy, resentment, hatred, and greed. The vision of this spiritual school is to provide a roadmap for excellence, allowing the believer to achieve immense rewards and enter Paradise through the gate of Al-Rayyan.

The 6 Mechanisms of the Ramadan School of Fasting

To graduate from the school of Ramadan with “honors,” believers should focus on these six foundational pillars:

1. Attaining Taqwa (God-Consciousness)

The primary goal of Ramadan: The School of Fasting is mentioned in the Quran:

O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous (attain Taqwa)” (Al-Baqarah: 183).

Taqwa is a comprehensive term for performing acts of obedience and abandoning sins, whether large or small. The fasting person creates a “shield” between themselves and disobedience to earn Allah’s mercy.

2. Proximity to Allah Through Devotion

Fasting is a means of drawing closer to Allah by sacrificing permissible desires (food, drink, and intimacy) solely for His sake.

  • The Reward of Voluntary Acts: To maximize this proximity, one should increase Nawafil (voluntary prayers).
  • The Prophetic Guidance: As stated in the Hadith Qudsi: “…My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works until I love him…” (Sahih Bukhari).

3. Mental Clarity and the “Medicine” of Moderation

The Ramadan School of Fasting encourages reducing food intake to help the heart focus on Dhikr (remembrance). The Prophet ﷺ provided a universal foundation for health:

“The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach… one-third for his food, one-third for his drink, and one-third for his breath” (Tirmidhi).

Scholarly Perspectives on Reducing Food:

  • Medical Benefits: The physician Ibn Abi Masawayh noted that if people followed this Hadith, hospitals and pharmacies would be empty.
  • The Root of Disease: Al-Harith bin Kalada, the “Physician of the Arabs,” stated: “Diet is the head of all remedies, and overeating is the head of all diseases.”
  • Spiritual Benefits: Reducing food leads to a “softened heart, sharper understanding, and weakened anger,” while excessive food causes the opposite.

4. Recognizing Divine Blessings and Social Empathy

Fasting allows the wealthy to feel the pain of hunger, reminding them of the value of the food and security they often take for granted. This realization is meant to trigger social responsibility:

  • Seeking out the poor and the needy.
  • Alleviating the “bitterness of poverty” and bringing joy to those in need.
  • As the Prophet ﷺ said: “The food of one is enough for two, the food of two is enough for four…” (Sahih Muslim).

5. Training in Self-Discipline and Ego Control

Fasting is the ultimate tool for Nafs (self) discipline. When the stomach is hungry, the other physical senses become “satisfied” (subdued). By breaking the ego’s pride through fasting, the Muslim can submit to the Truth and reach the highest spiritual ranks.

6. Narrowing the Pathways of Temptation

The Prophet ﷺ taught that Satan circulates through the human body like blood. Within the Ramadan School of Fasting, fasting acts as a Wija (shield):

  • For the Youth: It tempers physical desires.
  • For the Soul: It replaces physical cravings with “pure spiritual worship,” protecting the believer from moral decay.

Conclusion: Balance in the School of Fasting

The article concludes with the famous story of the companion Hanzala (RA), who feared he was a hypocrite because his spiritual state changed when he went home to his family.

The Prophet ﷺ reassured him:

“By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, if you were to remain in the state you are in when you are with me… the angels would shake hands with you… But, O Hanzala, an hour for this and an hour for that” (repeated three times).

This teaches us that the “School of Fasting” is not about being a monk, but about bringing the discipline of worship into the reality of daily life.

By Alsayyid Ahmed Ahmed Sahloul