Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 895 [Read full issue]
Shield from Hell-fire
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that fasting is a protection from the Hell-fire: "Fasting is a shield from the Hell-fire like one of your shields shielding you while fighting" [Ahmad, Nasai].
lbn al-Qayyim noted some of the beneficial and important aspects of fasting when he wrote,
The purpose of fasting is that the spirit of man was released from the clutches of desires and moderation prevailed in his carnal self, and, through it, he realized the goal of purification and everlasting felicity. It is aimed at curtailing the intensity of desire and lust by means of hunger and thirst, at inducing man to realize how many were there in the world like him who had to go even without a small quantity of food, at making it difficult for the Devil to deceive him, and at restraining his organs from turning towards things in which there was the loss of both worlds. Fasting, thus, is the bridle of the God-fearing, the shield of the crusaders and the discipline of the virtuous.
Compiled From:
"Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi" - Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, Vol. 1, pp. 317, 318