“O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwa” (al-Baqarah/183) — An Analytical Study
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the one sent as a mercy to all creation, our master Muhammad, and upon his pure family and noble companions.
Fasting is one of the great acts of worship ordained by Allah for this nation. Its purpose is to purify the soul, refine character, and bring about righteousness at both the individual and societal level. This noble verse opens with a call that combines attention, emphasis, obligation, consolation, and encouragement—all to highlight the greatness of this act of worship.
Allah addresses the believers with “O you who believe,” using a form of calling often used for those at a distance—indicating their elevated rank and noble status with Allah. The address comes directly to them, without intermediary, drawing their attention to the importance of what is being commanded. It affirms their faith while preparing them for a weighty obligation—one rooted in iman, requiring commitment, and whose reward is known only to Allah.
The obligation is expressed through the word “kutiba” (prescribed). Abu Hayyan explains that its origin relates to writing, but here it conveys the meaning of obligation and confirmation—something firmly established. Some also interpret it literally as what has been written in the Preserved Tablet. [1]
Thus, the obligation is emphasized in two ways: through the word “kutiba” itself, and through “upon you,” as seen in similar expressions like: “And Hajj to the House is a duty owed to Allah upon mankind” [Aal ‘Imran/97]. [2] This double emphasis reflects the significance of fasting in Islam.
The verb is used in the passive form, without explicitly mentioning the doer—though it is known to be Allah. Scholars mention that this subtlety reflects the difficulty of the obligation, whereas acts associated with mercy and glad tidings are attributed directly to Allah, such as: “Your Lord has prescribed mercy upon Himself.” [3]
The phrase “upon you” is placed before “fasting,” although the usual structure would be the reverse. This serves to draw attention first to the one being addressed, so that the soul becomes aware of its responsibility before hearing what it is responsible for. [4]
The word “fasting” is mentioned in a definite form, which may indicate either a known act or the general concept of fasting. The stronger view is that it refers to something already known, as fasting is an ancient form of worship prescribed for previous nations as well. Abu Hayyan states that no nation was left without being commanded to fast. [5]
Indeed, fasting was practiced before Ramadan was made obligatory. ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that people used to fast the day of ‘Ashura before Ramadan was prescribed, and when Ramadan became obligatory, the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever wishes may fast it, and whoever wishes may leave it.” [6]
In Islamic law, fasting is defined as: refraining from food, drink, and marital relations, with intention, during a specific time. [7] This is the outward fast. As for the inward fast, al-Qushayri describes it as guarding the heart from corruption, the soul from distractions, and the inner secret from anything besides Allah. [8]
Imam al-Ghazali further divides fasting into three levels:
1. The fast of the general people: abstaining from desires.
2. The fast of the elite: guarding the senses and limbs from sin.
3. The fast of the elite of the elite: protecting the heart from all thoughts other than Allah. [9]
He also beautifully notes that some people appear to fast while not truly fasting, and others appear not to fast while in reality they are. The one who fasts outwardly but sins inwardly is like a “fasting person who has broken his fast,” while the one who eats but restrains his limbs from sin is like a “non-fasting person who is truly fasting.” [10]
The verse then draws a comparison: “as it was prescribed for those before you.” This serves as consolation and encouragement. Knowing that previous nations were also commanded with this act makes it easier to bear and removes feelings of burden.
Scholars differed regarding the nature of this similarity:
• Some said it relates to the ruling and general nature, not the specifics of time or method. [11]
• Others said it includes the time and number, though this view has been debated. [14]
• The strongest opinion is that the similarity lies in the (the origin of obligation), not in its exact form. [17][19]
This aligns with the principle that different nations had different laws, as Allah says: “For each of you We have made a law and a way.” [al-Ma’idah: 48]
This comparison serves several purposes:
1. Raising determination and encouraging perseverance. [20]
2. Highlighting the importance of fasting. [21]
3. Easing its difficulty through shared experience. [22]
Finally, Allah states the purpose: “so that you may attain taqwa.” Ibn ‘Ashur explains that this expresses the wisdom behind fasting—it is meant to lead to taqwa. [23]
Taqwa means protecting oneself from sin—placing a barrier between oneself and disobedience. Fasting weakens desires and helps achieve this, as the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever among you is able to marry, let him marry… and whoever cannot, then let him fast, for it will be a shield for him.” [25]
Another meaning is that fasting leads a person gradually to taqwa by disciplining the soul and restraining evil inclinations. [26]
In summary, fasting is not merely abstaining from food and drink; it is a comprehensive act of worship that purifies the soul, strengthens faith, and leads the believer toward taqwa—the ultimate goal beloved to Allah.
And our final supplication is: All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
([1]) Abu Ḥayyān, Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf ibn ʿAlī ibn Yūsuf ibn Ḥayyān Athīr al-Dīn al-Andalusī (d. 745 AH), al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ fī al-Tafsīr, edited by Ṣidqī Muḥammad Jamīl, Dār al-Fikr – Beirut, 1420 AH, vol. 2, p. 177.
([2]) al-Rāzī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Taymī, (d. 606 AH), Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī – Beirut, 3rd ed., 1420 AH, vol. 5, p. 221.
([3]) Abu Ḥayyān, al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ fī al-Tafsīr, vol. 2, p. 177.
([4]) Abu Ḥayyān, al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ, vol. 2, p. 177.
([5]) Abu Ḥayyān, al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ, vol. 2, p. 177.
([6]) al-Bukhārī, Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Juʿfī, al-Jāmiʿ al-Musnad al-Ṣaḥīḥ al-Mukhtaṣar min Umūr Rasūl Allāh ﷺ wa Sunanihi wa Ayyāmih, edited by Muḥammad Zuhayr, Dār Ṭawq al-Najāh – Cairo, 1st ed., 1422 AH, Book: “Allah has made the Kaʿbah, the Sacred House, a means of standing for the people,” Hadith no. 1592, vol. 2, p. 148.
([7]) Muḥyī al-Sunnah, Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥusayn ibn Masʿūd ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Farrāʾ al-Baghawī al-Shāfiʿī (d. 510 AH), Maʿālim al-Tanzīl fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān, edited by ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Mahdī, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī – Beirut, 1st ed., 1420 AH, vol. 1, p. 214.
([8]) al-Qushayrī, ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Hawāzin ibn ʿAbd al-Malik (d. 465 AH), Laṭāʾif al-Ishārāt, edited by Ibrāhīm al-Basyūnī, Egyptian General Book Authority – Egypt, 3rd ed., vol. 1, p. 152.
([9]) See: al-Ghazālī, Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī (d. 505 AH), Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn, Dār al-Maʿrifah – Beirut, vol. 1, p. 234.
([10]) al-Ghazālī, Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn, vol. 1, p. 236.
([11]) See: al-Māwardī, Nukat al-ʿUyūn, vol. 1, p. 236.
([12]) Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj Abū al-Ḥasan al-Naysābūrī (d. 261 AH), al-Musnad al-Ṣaḥīḥ al-Mukhtaṣar, edited by Muḥammad Fuʾād ʿAbd al-Bāqī, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī – Beirut, Book: Virtue of Suḥūr, Hadith no. 1096, vol. 2, p. 770.
([13]) Abū Dāwūd, Sulaymān ibn al-Ashʿath ibn Isḥāq ibn Bashīr ibn Shaddād ibn ʿAmr al-Azdī (d. 275 AH), Sunan Abī Dāwūd, edited by Muḥammad Muḥyī al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd, al-Maktabah al-ʿAṣriyyah – Ṣaydā/Beirut, Hadith no. 2314, vol. 2, p. 295.
([14]) al-Qurṭubī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr (d. 671 AH), al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, edited by Aḥmad Aṭfīsh, Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyyah – Cairo, 2nd ed., 1384 AH / 1964 CE, vol. 2, p. 274.
([15]) al-Ṭabarānī, Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad ibn Ayyūb ibn Muṭayr al-Lakhmī al-Shāmī, Abū al-Qāsim (d. 360 AH), al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr, edited by Ḥamdī ibn ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Salafī, Maktabat Ibn Taymiyyah – Cairo, 2nd ed., Hadith no. 4203, vol. 4, p. 226.
([16]) al-Qāsimī, Maḥāsin al-Taʾwīl, vol. 2, p. 18.
([17]) al-Qurṭubī, Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 274.
([18]) al-Qāsimī, Maḥāsin al-Taʾwīl, vol. 2, p. 18.
([19]) Ibn ʿĀshūr, Muḥammad al-Ṭāhir ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭāhir al-Tūnisī (d. 1393 AH), al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr, Tunisian Publishing House – Tunisia, 1984, vol. 2, p. 157.
([20]) al-Biqāʿī, Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar ibn Ḥasan al-Ribāṭ ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Bakr (d. 885 AH), Naẓm al-Durar fī Tanāsub al-Āyāt wa al-Suwar, Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī – Cairo, vol. 3, p. 44.
([21]) Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr, vol. 2, p. 157.
([22]) Abū al-Suʿūd al-ʿImādī, Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Muṣṭafā (d. 982 AH), Irshād al-ʿAql al-Salīm ilā Mazāyā al-Kitāb al-Karīm, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī – Beirut, vol. 1, p. 198.
([23]) Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr, vol. 2, p. 158.
([24]) al-Māwardī, Nukat al-ʿUyūn, vol. 1, p. 236.
([25]) Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book of Encouragement to Marry, Hadith no. 1400, vol. 2, p. 1019.
([26]) al-Māwardī, Nukat al-ʿUyūn, vol. 1, p. 236.
