يا أيُّها الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيامُ كَما كُتِبَ عَلى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

“…Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwā (piety and mindfulness of Allah).” (2:183)

Taqwā is to protect yourself from the punishment of Allah by avoiding His prohibitions and implementing His commands.

When we fast, we temporarily make harām on ourselves what is usually halāl (eating, drinking etc). This teaches us to say ‘NO!’ to our nafs and inner desires. This helps our taqwā to grow, making it easier to restrain ourselves from harām throughout the year.