In our last post we began our Ramadan 2025 series Inner Dimensions by thinking about how we can tap back into the spiritual aspect of our prayer, the foundation of our worship. Today I want to take it one step further and talk about fasting, the foundation of our Ramadan.
We know that there are two distinct dimensions to fasting: the inner and the outer. Our outer fasting is what we tend to think of most often when we think of Ramadan – no food, no drink, etc., from dawn until sunset for 30 days.
But Allah says in the Qur’an:
“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).”
Qur’an 2:183
This verse makes it clear that the point of fasting is not to make ourselves hungry and thirsty, but to use our physical hunger and thirst as a means to attain a higher status in our inner-selves, to become more righteous.
There are many ways we can achieve this during the month of Ramadan, but one of the first steps towards attaining taqwa through fasting is more mindfulness: being mindful of our goals and what we are doing to achieve them, of how our actions are impacting those goals, and of our shortcomings and how we can improve them.
Like last in our last post, I also want to share with you a couple of things that you can do on a practical level to tap into the inner dimension of your fasting, and begin your journey to attaining taqwa this Ramadan.
Check In
As a way to begin getting into a habit of mindfulness, it is imperative that we take time each day to check in with ourselves. What have we achieved today? What could we have done better? Where are we on the path to our goals and where are we falling short?
Schedule it in your to-do list if you have to in the beginning, but try to get into the habit of checking in with yourself and your relationship with Allah swt at least once a day, if not more.
(The Dua Journal - Original makes this so easy! A few guided questions each day with undated pages so you can fit it into your schedule whenever works best for you)
Media Fast
Consuming content has become such a natural part of our society today that we rarely stop to think about how it is affecting us. We are consuming almost from the time we wake up – blog posts, articles, news, TV, radio, magazines, books, social media – until the time we go to bed again.
One way to begin to tap into your spirituality during Ramadan is to cut out the noise around you.
Take a look at what you are consuming each day in terms of media. What is beneficial to you, i.e. teaches you something important, raises your iman, is necessary for work or school? And what is just idle entertainment? Having the TV on in the background, listening to music in the car, watching the news without actually benefiting from the information, and the list goes on.
Once you’ve taken stock of your consumption, see where you can cut things out. Not only will this cut out potentially negative influences and messages that you are consuming on a daily basis, but free up more time for you to fill with actions that will be of benefit.
Speech Fast
Once we’ve evaluated our input, we can start to look at our output.
The Prophet (saw) said, “Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)”
Narrated in Bukhari
One amazing way to really gain more self-awareness and practice mindfulness is to try to fast from unnecessary speech. This, of course, doesn’t mean you go completely silent, but it means that you choose your conversations and your words very intentionally.
This could look like fasting from the gossip or swearing that is so prevalent in our societies, but also so highly disliked in Islam. This could look like fasting from unnecessary chit-chat that is not sinful, but not useful either. It could even look like simply considering your words more carefully before you speak them.
It was a bit shorter today, but in shaa Allah I hope there were some thoughts here to benefit you! I would love to hear how your Ramadan is going so far, and I pray that the barakah and mercy of this month will be showered on us all!